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LEGOLAND New York
Goshen, New York
Merlin Entertainment
New Theme Park
Opening Spring 2021
 Park News - (5/31/21) Theme Park Archive got a chance to take a preview visit to the new LEGOLAND New York theme park and has posted a huge collection of pictures showing off the sections of the park that were open. This includes: Brick Street, Bricktopia, LEGO Castle, LEGO Ninjago and Miniland.
Overall, it’s a pretty good looking LEGOLANd park, it just needs a little time for all the landscaping to grow and fill in properly, as well as time for the park to finish up construction to a few areas that are still obviously still being worked on and may not be ready until later this year. They do list the highlight of the trip as being the new LEGO Factory Adventure ride, a unique dark ride not found at any other LEGOLAND park yet that uses trackless ride vehicles. With this in mind, I wouldn’t be surprised to find Merlin set to clone this ride to other LEGOLAND theme parks around the world in the next few years if it proves to be a major hit once the park opens.
(5/20/21) The new Legoland New York theme park will open for sneak previews starting May 29. Annual Passholders will get priority reservations over the next 48 hours over everyone else.
(4/30/21) A great collection of new pictures taken inside Legoland New York during a construction preview can now be found posted to ThemeparX. This includes a look at the park’s new trackless dark ride experience along with some of the other rides there as well as in the video below.
(1/11/21) A time-lapse video showing off workers finishing the installation of the Legoland New York park entry archway can be seen here. As I may have mentioned before, this final crunch-time for the park is perhaps one of the most exciting to watch as all the final theming all gets put into place, transforming the construction site into a themed landscape of wonder.
(12/19/20) A fun collection of recient photos from the Legoland New York construction site have been posted to ThemeparX this week. Check them out, because the park is really starting to look good now with a lot of the theming for the various structures looking nearly complete.
(11/18/20) According to a local news report, Legoland New York has been granted permission from the local planning board in Goshen to be able to open the park early for preview visits before the end of the year. This is all dependant on the park getting a sign-off on the plan from the State of New York, which is doubtful as they haven’t let any of the other parks open. With cases on the rise in the state, the chances of this happening are slim, but on Legoland’s side is that they are only asking to admit up to 1,400 guests per day into the park, sometime between now and January 2021.
The park is not fully built yet however, so areas still under construction will be blocked off, so this really is just a preview of the park experience. The areas planed for preview guests would be the Bricktopia area and attractions, including the Factory Tour Ride, the park’s carousel and a small portion of Miniland featuring Goshen landmarks.
The article also says that Legoland New York is hoping to hold the grand opening of the park sometime in the Spring, possibly around Memorial Day Weekend.
(10/21/20) According to the local news, the new Legoland New York theme park is still pushing forward for a planned 2021 grand opening. They say that the new hotel and all major rides and buildings have been built, with interior and facade work currenting in the process of being completed. The exact opening date has not yet been set, but the park could very well be waiting for the state to finally release some kind of guidance for theme parks, none of which have been allowed to open thus far in 2020.
(10/14/20) Theme Park Insider posted a great new video clip showing the trackless vehicles testing for Legoland New York’s new Lego Factory Adventure Dark ride. The trackless vehicles appear to be the “ETF Experience Mover” system if I’m not mistaken.
(June 2020) Based on footage shot of the Legoland New York theme park site on May 30th, there appears to be really almost no way that the new Legoland theme park could have opened this July, which was the plan until they officially delayed it to 2021 due to the pandemic. Give a quick look at the aerial footage of the construction site shown below and you will see a site that has a LONG WAYS to go. In fact, in my opinion, it looks like they’ve got about 8-9 months worth of hard work left ahead of them to get the park open from this point on. I really can’t see how they would have ever opened in July 2020 anything more than maybe a gift shop or preview center.
(4/1/20) LEGO Fans… you are going to have to wait an extra year to visit the new LEGOLAND New York theme park. LEGOLAND has confirmed that they have made the choice to delay the opening of the theme park until 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic rather than try to rush towards the previously announced July 4th opening date.
In all honesty, this is probably for the best all around, as when crunch-time hits during the final 6-9 months of construction, most new theme parks are forces to pick and choose which projects they will have the time to finish in time for the grand opening, leaving some attractions to sit idle until they have time to go back and finish them. Often times some attractions get pushed back into a “Phase 2” early on during construction, due to timelines or budgets, and get rescheduled for a year or two after the opening.
Considering that the park’s normal operating season would be open from April to October, this gives the park an extra 9-10 months to ensure that everything is up and ready for a proper grand opening in April 2021 with every attraction ready to roll on opening day. Case in point… just look at just how many rides were not ready to operate at Nickelodeon Universe at American Dream when they first opened. Even after several months, there was still one major roller coaster that had yet to open at American Dream by the time the park closed toi prevent the spread of COVID-19.
(3/23/20) According to this article, construction on the new Legoland New York theme park is still pushing ahead towards the proposed grand opening date of July 4, 2020. New safety procedures are in place for the work crews, including extra cleaning procedures in the office spaces and avoiding grouping together.
(2/24/20) There is still a bit of work to do on the park, but a few on-site construction pictures of the new LEGOLAND New York park can be found over at ThemeparX.
(2/13/20) The local news has posted a brief behind-the-scenes video of the new LEGOLAND New York theme park.
(11/20/19) Legoland New York along with ETF Rides Systems and Holovis announced at IAAPA a brand new dark ride attraction coming to the new theme park in 2020. It will be called the Lego Factory Adventure and will be “the world’s first ride experience featuring technology that turns visitors into Lego Minifigures.” You can see a picture of the ride vehicle below and follow the link to read a bit more about the new attraction itself and the technology being built into it, such as the Holovis HoloTrac system that will track the riders movements while on the ride, as well as help transform them and their movements into Minifigures.
(10/9/19) According to this report LEGOLAND New York has set July 4th, 2020 as the park’s opening day.
(6/6/19) According to this local report the first concrete building foundation was poured on Wednesday for the new Legoland New York theme park in Goshen. In this case, the foundation was poured for the park’s signature gift shop to be called, “Big Shop”. The park is said to still be on track for a Spring 2020 opening date.
(8/18/18) Merlin Entertainment and the LEGOLAND New York team have released all new details about the new theme park, including the eight themed lands that it will include. A live unveiling also included a look at a LEGO built model of the park, as it will look when it opens in 2020.
The world's largest LEGOLAND theme park will include:
The Factory - An area that will serve as the entrance to the park but also include a new "Great LEGO Adventure!" ride that will be exclusive to the new park. Guests will see what it is like to be a LEGO Minifigure going through the manufacuring process, packed into a box and eventually land into the hands of a child.
Bricktopia - A creative land where Master Model Builders will work with guests to create and test all kinds of LEGO built creations.
LEGO NINJAGO World - Themed to the LEGO Ninja show and will include the popular NINJAGO: The Ride attraction found at other LEGO parks.
Heartlake City - Home to the LEGO Friends
Knights' Kingdom - Home to the LEGO Castle and to a brand new version of the popular Dragon Coaster found at other LEGO parks.
LEGO City - This is where you'll find the LEGO Driving School, LEGO City Firefighting & Rescue Acadamy and more.
Pirate Shores - Water attractions thrive in this world of LEGO Pirates complete with a Galleon ride and the Rogue Wave Riders.
Miniland - It wouldn't be a LEGOLAND park without a Miniland, a huge series of structures and replicas of real world iconic buildings and places, all created in detail with LEGO bricks.
(6/22/18) According to various news sources the official opening date for LEGOLAND New York has now been pushed back one year to 2020 after attempting to make a 2019 opening date.
(2/9/18) The temporary court order blocking Legoland New York from clearing any more trees from their site was just extended until another court can make a final ruling. The clock is ticking however, as the area only allows trees to be "felled" between November 1st and March 31st, and if the work is put on hold much longer the opening of the park could be delayed for another year.
(1/18/18) The early land clearing taking place already for LEGOLAND New York came to a stop this week as part of a temporary restraining order to cease tree-clearing at the 500-acre site. While likely a temporary delay, the move could cost the park an extra year of construction, as tree-clearing on the site is only allowed between November and March to protect the "roosting areas" for two species of bats. According to Merlin, if they don't get back to clearing the site before the end of January, the opening could be delayed from Spring 2020 to 2021.
(10/30/17) LEGOLAND New York is confirmed as official and had a break-dropping ceremony last week to promote the new park set to open in 2020. The video below shows off some clips of officials talking about the park mixed with some preview graphics of the park as well.
(10/25/17) According to this update, the Legoland New York project now has all the approvals they need to move forward and if all goes well, Merlin hopes to open the park by Summer 2019.
(10/24/17) While those opposed are still planning on fighting off the Legoland New York theme park project, it was reported here that the town of Goshen voted unanimously to approve the plans for the proposed theme park. The article did not make it clear if that was the final approval needed for the park to proceed or if there are still other votes that have to be finalized before construction can begin.
(10/20/17) Sounds like the locals in Goshen, NY are going to fight against the proposed Legoland theme park development as long as they are able. From the sound of things the opponents of the theme park project are gathering signatures in an effort to get the matter taken to a public vote by the citizens to either deny or allow the project to continue. No word on if this will happen however.
(9/27/17) Good news for the proposed Legoland New York theme park proposal. While there are still a good number of opponents who are trying to derail the project, the park was just approved for a crucial 20-year tax break program from the Orange County Industrial Development Agency.
(8/8/17) According to the local news the proposed Legoland New York park project has taken another large step forward as the Goshen Planning Board gave their unanimous approval for the project and zoning changes required to make it happen.
(7/22/17) According to a local news report the proposed new LEGOLAND New York theme park for Goshen took another big step forward this week when the town's Planning Board voted 5 - 1 to accept the submitted Final Environmental Impact Statement. From here the park project moves on to a 'finding statement' phase, and once that is approved, they can move ahead with the approval process for the final site plan. The next meeting over the project is planned for August, and if everything goes smoothly for the rest of the process, they say Merlin would like to begin construction by the end of 2017 which would allow for them to hopefully open in 2019.
(12/19/16) The NIMBYs are getting organized in New York it seems, as it was just reported that an attorney representing those against the new theme park is taking legal action to try and halt the public hearing set for this coming week. He claims that the community is being "hijacked" by Legoland, and brings up a number of issues that they want addressed before the issue ever goes to a public hearing. Follow the link to read more details on the situation.
Of course the biggest problem that threaten a new theme park proposal is time... the longer those against the project can stall any form of progress, the more expensive the project becomes for the theme park developer. As the old saying goes, "Time is money".
(12/5/16) The proposed LEGOLAND New York theme park has quietly opened a "welcome center" in the Village of Goshen to help show off their intent and build up support for the park project before the proposal goes before the public again.
Like any new theme park proposal, there are always some NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) who reject anything new that they feel will change their way of life somehow and fight against it even if they don't plan on ever visiting the park. The new welcome center can be found at 6 North Church St in Goshen, which will have an official ribbon cutting for the site on Dec. 17th.
(11/21/16) Legoland New York took another step forward this past week as the local planning board in Goshen voted unanimously that the park's draft environmental impact report was ready for public review. A Dec. 15th public hearing is now set. You can read more details here.
(10/24/16) According to the local news the local government sent back a report about the proposed new Legoland theme park in New York, requesting more thorough answers to many subjects and questions before the details of the proposal can be released to the public. Key areas to be addressed included more traffic impact studies, noise issues, air quality and more. Merlin confirmed that they will address these issues with a new impact statement as soon as they are able.
(5/29/16) According to this update from the local news, Merlin and Legoland officials have confirmed the Goshen area as their choice location to build the next Legoland theme park and hope to appear before town officials in the near future to begin the approval and rezoning needed for the project. The site is said to be a cluster of empty farm properties along Harriman Drive, off Exit 125 on Route 17.
(5/27/16) According to this local news station Legoland has purchased property in the area of Goshen, New York (North of NYC) on which to build the largest Legoland theme park in the US. Time will tell if this is a real deal, or a false rumor. If true, the park could open as early as 2019.
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