As the final destination of our tour of Denmark, we spent Sunday (July 6) at Legoland Billund: the 140,000 square meter- theme park in a small town in Jutland. Before hitting the rides, though, we first went to Hotel Legoland for a presentation and tour. Here we learned about the history of LEGO, founded by carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1932, and then Legoland, which later came along in 1968.
Each of us received two basic, yellow, 8-prong Legos at our seats in the conference room (free souvenir!); we were informed we passed the first test of the interview by playing with the blocks right away in the lecture. However, I was equally appreciative of the paper and pen given to us- even taking notes. Since I work for a different entertainment company back at home, I was really interested by the company's past, transforming from a wooden toy manufacturer (1934) to a plastic brick producer (1958). Next came the park and later (1991) Hotel Legoland; both were sold to Merlin Entertainments Group in 2005. Viewing the rankings of entertainment companies worldwide, I was intrigued by just how successful Merlin has become, really working to achieve its goal of "catching Mickey."
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| Best lecture ever?! |
Of course, the basic stats of LEGO are impressive as well: the population of Billund is only 6,000, but 54,000 Legos are produced every minute. LEGO comprises 8% of toy sales worldwide and sells 15 boxes per second. The name LEGO came from the Danish leg godt, meaning "play well" in English but also "I connect" or "I put together" in Latin. Talk about perfect naming for a company.
After the presentation, we toured backstage at Legoland. Though the information we gained is to stay private, I will remark that this was a truly neat experience I'm glad we had. Our tour guide and self-proclaimed LEGO-geek, Anne, told and showed us much about the company I wouldn't have known otherwise. We also came close to the factory where Legos are made, literally right next to Legoland.
Finally, we were then released to go explore the park. The rest of the day was spent riding the attractions, eating refreshments, taking pictures, and, undoubtedly, admiring LEGO statues. For the entire duration of my day, I could not help but be thankful and happy for the chance to be a guest at Legoland. Working as an associate at an amusement park, I caught myself reflecting a lot on typical park operations and comparing with my employment/ experience. It was an amazing feeling to just go on the rides and have fun, especially since I'm normally selling food at my summer job back in Michigan.
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| Waiting in line for the Polar X-plorer, my favorite ride of the day. This roller coaster caught everyone off guard by stopping at one point and dropping through the floor before continuing on until the end. Definitely a fun ride, even zooming past real penguins! |
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Eating a hot dog for lunch while watching a LEGO croc try to eat a LEGO person. Yup.
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| LEGO clothes hanging from the line.. |
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| LEGO scenes everywhere! |
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| Caught the very end of the performance, which is cast by divers from Ukraine. Several are Olympians! |
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LEGO Canoe ride, sitting in the front of the boat.
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The most fascinating LEGO creations in Legoland were depictions of cities and famous attractions. I could double the size of this blog just with all of the pictures I took, but instead I'll leave it at this one of Nyhavn. This scene illustrates Copenhagen in LEGO form, complete with the colorful buildings, the ferry, and even a hot dog cart.
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Great day hanging out with these great people!
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| Unintentional model pose (or awkward pose, you decide) at the end of a fun day at Legoland Billund. |
