Legoland California - when will the Miniland be fixed?

[pdxbricks]

First, I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this topic, but I think that someone from the Lego group should see this. I understand that Legoland parks are not managed by Lego any more, however since they represent the Lego brand there should at least be some oversight on how this is done.

Here is my family's experience with Legoland California:

- First visit was in summer of 2008 - it was great, everything that my then 4 year old daughter, my wife and I expected and more! Specifically to Miniland, all exhibits were working, trains were going back and forth (the one around the farm, two monorails in Las Vegas and I think one more), some of the cars were going around the roads in various cities, but some were already broken, as you could clearly see thread marks on the road where they used to go. Being that this was 8-9 years after opening, you could see some of weathering on the buildings and exhibits, which is expected, I suppose.

- Second visit was in September/October 2014 - great experience, especially on the first day (Thursday) - no lines on almost any of the rides, we felt like we had the park for ourselves! Then the weekend came and things started getting crowded... but I digress: Miniland - now this is almost 15 years since the opening and 6 years since our last visit, and it looks like nothing was done in the meantime. None of the trains worked, to the disappointment of my 2-year old son who simply adores trains. There was 1 car moving in New York City model, another one in Washington DC, and that was it. There were some boats that were moving, but most were not, since the cables to which they are attached have fallen off the pulleys. You could see some additions, like a brand new firetruck in otherwise weathered New Orleans, and San Francisco display slowly taking shape, but otherwise everything else was just 6 years older and not very well cared about in my opinion.

- Third visit was in December 2014 (yes, we bought three memberships for $200 a pop for the three of us, since our son is still younger than 3yr), we actually just came back home tonight and I had to write this and post it - it was crazy, I have never seen so many people in Legoland, which on one hand is good for the revenue but it's terrible if you happen to be there on those days, the lines were 60-90 minutes long on most of the rides. So instead of waiting in line, we went to Miniland. On the bright side, San Francisco model was completed, and it looks great! Unfortunately the street cars are not moving, even though there are rails for them. Also, some of the boats were repaired, as someone finally put the cable back on the pulley. The rest of the Miniland was in a really sad state: there were one or two cars moving in one of the exhibits, no trains were moving (even though the train around the farm exhibit was replaced with a "Christmas train", no one bothered to fix the engine I guess), no cars in Manhattan were moving, the lacquer cover on the MGM hotel in Las Vegas model was peeling off from the side and flailing in the breeze like a tatter from a ghost ship mast, the Santa with reindeer model was sadly sagging from one of the New York skyscrapers, unlike the witches that were spinning around during our previous visit and that everyone was pointing at. A section of the roof of the Sydney Opera caved in. All in all, it was fairly disappointing experience.

So there you have it. We are planning to go again sometimes in March (we live ~350 miles away in Phoenix), and I hope that at least some of the things we saw will be repaired. After all, the sign at the entry to the Miniland says that it's the "Heart of Legoland" so I think that it should be kept in a better shape than it is now. You can go to so many other amusement parks for a ride on a roller coaster, to a water park or aquarium, but the Miniland is what should be a really unique experience that sets Legoland apart from so many other amusement parks in southern California, or for that matter Worldwide!

[LegoPanda]

Same goes for Legoland Germany, most train and cars work, but the bricks are all weathered and cracked/broken, ad then you have a few super shiny looking new cars, I was pretty sad upon seeing how bad it got maintained

[paul_delahaye]

Legoland Windsor is in the same sorry state. Whilst I understand that the likelyhood of Legoland still being in existance had the Merlin/Blackstone group not taken control in the early 200x, It just feels like it's being turning into a theme park only now with almost no links to their past. Don't get me wrong, it's still open which is great, but I think they really could do with overhauling these Miniland areas.

I think I heard a rumour that the Master builders which used to be based at the parks, are focused on making models for the new Discovery centres, I'd even heard that Legoland Windsor had contracted out some of their model building as they don't have the resources to keep up with the model demand?

Also my memory from the park, in Kids meals you used to get a poly bag as a toy with a kids meal, now all they supply is some rubbish plastic token from China. It's really a little poor.

I used to have an annual pass, but I let it lapse, despite the park only being 30 minutes from my home. I just did not feel I got value for money when Miniland was my favourite part. I know spend more time going to Lego shows organised by local LUGS

[technic70s]

We went to California Legoland in Jan 2010, having been to Bullund in 2006, we through the California one was very tied as well.

We latter found out that the models there, being a very sunny location, are sprayed with a protective coating, this coating is sand blasted ( using walnut shells) every now and then.

I also noted that a lot of the trucks, cars and trains were not running as well.

[Kim Thomsen]

The only proper and direct way to share your concerns on topics and matters that concern the LEGO Group is to call consumer service.

They register and distribute any complaints, praises and concerns within a streamlined and highly effective system.

I'd assume the Merlin Group to have similar registration and distribution of consumer feedback.

If you feel something reflects on the LEGO brand, do call consumer service and let them know your concerns - that is what they are there for and trust me when I say that we do want our consumers to call us and give us feedback - how are we to improve and fix stuff if we never ever hear about it through the proper channels?

Thanks in advance for helping us help you having a better experience.

[paul_delahaye]

Thanks for your comment Kim,

I gave my feedback to Merlin through their touchscreen panel at the theme park, I think this is an official way, but never heard anything back.

This appears to be a bigger issue than one customers feedback which at the end of the day, one complaint is rarely going to get little notice.

What this topic is discussing is an obvious issue with Miniland across 3 parks, in 3 countries. All of which are in a tired state. We all love LEGO hence we are discussing our concerns here. If you are a LEGO rep, and have an input with LEGO, it might be benefical for all if you mention this topic to one of your Colleagues and share our concerns about the poor state of the Miniland areas within the parks.

My feeling still stands that Miniland does not appear to be a focus area for Merlin currently, in my opinion Merlin now see rides as what the customer want, but I still say, if Merlin had not taken on the Parks, I don't think they would be in existance today so I don't think Merlin running the parks is a bad thing.

Paul

[pdxbricks]

Paul, great reply, there is really nothing much to add to it!

Kim, thank you for your suggestion, I will contact both LEGO and Merlin CS, however as Paul pointed out this is an issue in more than one LEGOLAND park.

[Kim Thomsen]

Which is why it is important that you make sure to let us and Merlin know that you are concerned.

The more people that gives this feedback - the more likely someone is to act on it.

[Legogal]

Kim, Thanks! I agree but would add that we need to give feedback to both companies BECAUSE the parks are centered around Miniland, and the only plastic products I saw there are LEGO. Their condition does affect the reputation of TLG.

Again Merlin badly needs the feedback from those of us who have visited their parks. I encourage folks to let them know what you see in their parks.

Last year I was in all six parks, and noticed similar problems in all of the Minilands except for LL Malysia, which was too new to show much wear. After much thought, it seems to me that Merlin or whomever made a huge mistake by not covering the Miniland part of the parks. There is just no way that the bricks in the lovely, unbelievably complex builds can hold up under the elements. This is an overwhelming problem in the warmest/sunniest climes in FL, California and Malaysia. It is quite frustrating to travel that far and see that the bricks have faded badly and that many "moving" features do not move, especially in the newer parks.

I view the Minilands as the most important part of the parks...one can go anywhere for "rides" as there are theme parks all over the US and much of the rest of the world. But there is not one other Miniland that is comparable in size and reputation as being outstanding compared to the Minilands.

Even in Gunzburg, there was too much sun in June; that was a surprise as I was expecting rain and clouds. At least there were some trees to hide under. In CA,, the damage is horrendous because the park is getting old. In the newest US park in FL, the damage already is terrible and is getting worse as the bricks age. And in Malaysia, there is almost no shade in the park. Everyone rides the Duplo train around because it is too hot to walk (I was there in early October) and the train provides a shady seat some of the time. I once received a serious sunburn in 30 midday minutes in the tropics, and spent a week in bed painfully recovering. This is not what they want their guests doing.

Without a doubt, a roof over Miniland would have saved the builds from much of the damage. in the US South, many playgrounds are shaded by tall trees or by a roof because it is too hot for children to play. The equipment can burn your skin. And parents are not crazy about their children lining up early for skin cancer. Also there is almost no seating in several of the parks. Grandparents, the elderly and the disabled do visit in large numbers and require shaded seating in order to enjoy the parks. The very young also need a shady place to sit when there is no shaded, dry grass around.

As AFOLs, we want the Legoland parks to shine. Most of us want to visit the parks and enjoy Miniland as the highlight of our trip. We will sacrifice and travel long distances and pay enormous costs to visit the parks if they are worthy.

Thanks again for folks taking the time to post feedback. (I have had responses from Merlin mgmt to my reviews on tripadvisor.com.)

I realize that the landscaping would have to change towards more shade plants, but that is easy to do if you plan for it from the start. When we built two 10 sq meter (10x10 feet) arbors to our back patio, I changed out the plants to shade varieties, and they are doing quite well. This would be a massive job in parts of the Minilands, but all are not like Billings, which is almost overgrown with plants.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Legogal

[Zande2r]

Noticed this thread and I can provide a tad bit of closure as I work there. We do try and rotate the builds in and out of mini-land ever few years and sand blast the old ones so they look better. The issue really comes down to money, it costs a lot of money. There is a lot of man hours in just one building and there is a lot more then that in miniland

[paul_delahaye]

On 6/12/2016 at 8:31 AM, Zande2r said:

Noticed this thread and I can provide a tad bit of closure as I work there. We do try and rotate the builds in and out of mini-land ever few years and sand blast the old ones so they look better. The issue really comes down to money, it costs a lot of money. There is a lot of man hours in just one building and there is a lot more then that in miniland

I'm unsure whether you work at the California Legoland or another one, but I've had the opportunity to spend a day at the California site only two weeks ago and to be honest, as an adult who is not interested in the rides and has travelled 6000 miles to see Legoland, and really Miniland, I went away quite disappointed. Giving this thread started 18 months ago, I was expecting to see some improvement to Miniland, but if anything, it continues to show it is in decline and in need of some serious TLC. I need to ensure this feedback is passed onto Lego.

Whilst I appreciate your reply, telling me it costs a lot of money to maintain, when I've also spent a lot of money over $200 for 2 adults to have 1 day in the park with Parking. This is not acceptable. Some of the repairs, and minor things could be resolved in a matter of minutes. Luckily I have a few pictures from my visit just to show everyone what I'm seeing needs to be fixed. This is not to mention the 2 Jet Ski's which had sunk in one of the exhibits, I never took a picture of that. Also giving we are now coming into the start of high season, you would expect to see the miniland area in tip top condition after a winter period, but it was like a building site or a large number of models were missing.

The luxor needs a couple of bricks to be reconnected

Lincoln Memorial, missing

50% of the white house missing

New York, just a complete building site

Trams not running

Another model missing

No water, in total disrepear

Another model missing

Monorails not running, and looking very broken

Random orange 1 x 6 rogue lego brick in the water? This was seen in a couple of other places as well. Not just this one.

Another rogue orange Lego brick in the water around Treasure Island

None of the hill trams running in San Francisco

The lock system was completely destroyed

Overall, most of the animated vehicles were no longer running, apart from the couple of floats in New Orleans, the couple of new looking double decker buses and maybe one ropey looking car, all other vehicles were out of action.

Overall, really disappointing,

Edited February 20, 2022 by paul_delahaye