Eric's Germany Journal, Legoland

Friday, September 5, 2003

Legoland is an easy trip from Ulm, 20 minutes by train and 10 minutes by bus.
Legoland sign
Legoland.

Legoland

Legoland Deutschland is a lot like any US amusement park, with attractions such as the water ride below. There are some exceptions. One, there are a lot of Lego pieces, as in the woman below. Two, the food is different, of course. There are some common things like pizza and cake, but there are also Schnitzel, Wurst, and Schupfnudeln. Three, a few of the attractions might not do well in the United States. I'll get to that later.

Boat on a water-filled slide descending from a fake mountain Lego-woman with a Lego-net and a pigeon recipe Lego-book feeding Lego-pigeons Train with Lego-theme decorations
Water ride. Feeding the Tauben. Lego train.

Animals

There are a lot of animals made of Lego pieces around the park.

Dinosaur made of Lego pieces Hippopotamus made of Lego pieces Leopard made of Lego pieces
Dinosaur. Hippopotamus. Leopard.
Lizard made of Lego pieces Owls made of Lego pieces Flamingos and elephant made of Lego pieces, at a pond
Lizard. Owls. Flamingos and elephant.

Places

Ponte di Rialto made of Legos Ponte di Rialto
Lego Ponte di Rialto. Real Ponte di Rialto.
In the center of the park, there are scenes from various places in Europe. Somehow seeing Venezia (which I have visited) in Lego pieces was amusing while seeing Berlin (which I have not visited) was not.
Piazza San Marco made of Legos Piazza San Marco
Lego Piazza San Marco. Real Piazza San Marco.
I wish I had photographs that matched viewpoints more closely. Some of the details match well, although I think they have not captured Piazza San Marco as well as some other places.
Venice made of Lego pieces
Lego Venezia.

I do not have a photograph to match the scene at the left, but it did capture for me the feeling of a typical Venezia view.

Neuschwanstein Castle made of Lego pieces Neuschwanstein Castle
Lego Neuschwanstein Castle. Real Neuschwanstein Castle.
Marienbrücke
Real Marienbrücke.
Marienbrücke made of Lego pieces
Lego Marienbrücke.

Above is Neuschwanstein Castle, and to the right is the bridge near the castle.

Square with fountain and old buildings made of Lego pieces Square with fountain and old buildings Square with fountain and old buildings made of Lego pieces
Lego Römerberg. Real Römerberg. Lego Römerberg.
My photograph of the real Römerberg is taken from the opposite direction of the two above photographs of the Lego Römerberg, but you can match up the fountain in the left image and the red tower in the right image.

Street scene in Berlin made of Lego pieces Truck moving in Berlin made of Lego pieces Munich airport made of Lego pieces
Lego Berlin street. Lego Berlin traffic. Lego Flughafen München. I will be there in 12 days!
In the Lego Venezia, the boats move, and, in the Berlin street scene above, the Straßenbahn is moving on tracks. In the middle scene, the truck is moving and turning, and it is not on tracks. There are no visible restraints, so something else is guiding it, and pretty well—the movement is smooth. In the airport, some of the planes taxi and turn, also without restraints, and some have working propellors.

Things

View of Legoland, including self-pedaled ride Kids in small cars in a Legoland park driving area
Self-pedaled roller coaster. Driving area.
So, I looked around park and went on some of the rides, including the water ride and a roller coaster.

To the right are two attractions that I did not try and that might not catch on in the US. The first is a self-propelled roller coaster. The cars have to be pedaled. The climbs and drops are pretty mild, and it takes work. The second is a driving area where kids stay in their lanes, stop at intersections, and wait for other drivers. If they are going to insist on realism, there should be traffic jams.

Near the self-propelled roller coaster is a self-powered drop tower—two people sit on a bench attached to the side of a rotating tower. They pull on a rope to raise the bench. When they reach the top, they let go to enjoy the drop. I think the the rope winds onto a spring-loaded reel, so you do not have to lift your own weight, and the drop is less than free-fall.

Another attraction is Gold Search. For €3, they give you a sieve and a pan, and you pan for "gold" in sand in their running stream. The "gold" looked like some sort of black metal. When you collect enough, you turn it in, they weigh it, and they give you a medal if you have enough. I do recall seeing something like that at some park in the US, but not for a long time.

A fossil-hunt attraction appeared to be similar to the Gold Search, but I did not investigate what you have to find or what the reward is.

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© Copyright 2003 by Eric Postpischil.