First look: The LEGO model of the new LEGOLAND New York Resort

Nancy Trejos | USA TODAY

Nancy Trejos, USA TODAY

GOSHEN, NEW YORK--LEGOLAND New York Resort will make its highly-anticipated debut in this Orange County town in the spring of 2020.

It will be the ninth LEGOLAND theme park in the world. With 150 acres and more than 50 rides and attractions, it will also be the largest.

On Thursday, Merlin Entertainments, which operates LEGOLAND parks, unveiled a 10-foot LEGO model of the theme park at the construction site 60 miles northwest of New York City. The model is made of more than 135,000 LEGO bricks. It took 20 “Master Model Builders” more than 1,300 hours to design and build.

The real LEGOLAND New York will be even more grand with about 30 million LEGO bricks. Merlin is spending about $350 million to build its latest LEGOLAND, its largest investment in a single park to date. The USA has two other LEGOLAND parks, one in Florida and one in California. LEGOLANDs are located in Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Dubai, Malaysia, and Japan.

“We’re taking the best of our sister parks in California and Florida,” says Matt Besterman, LEGOLAND New York’s public relations manager. “We’re really upping our game here.”

It’s also the first major theme park to be built in the Northeast in years. Goshen’s proximity to attractions such as the Catskill Mountains, Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, and West Point made the location even more attractive. The Hudson Valley, home to Orange County, has many wineries and hiking trails.

“The Northeast has been a huge area of interest for us for many, many years,” says Phil Royle, director of development for LEGOLAND New York. “People in this area love to vacation in Florida, California, the Caribbean. Now people don’t have to get on a plane to get to a LEGOLAND park.”

Developers hope to attract visitors from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and beyond.

The park will be easily accessible. New York Stewart International Airport is nearby for those traveling from afar. On Thursday, transportation provider ShortLine Coach USA announced it will provide rides from Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City to the park.

“We want to change and flip flop the travel pattern,” Royle says. “Now people go to New York City and spend a day here. We want them to spend a week in the Hudson Valley and spend a day in the city.”

To entice them, LEGOLAND will have a 250-room LEGOLAND Hotel.

While the park will be open seasonally from spring to fall, the hotel will be operate year-round so that visitors can explore the entire Hudson Valley.

Each of the hotel’s 250 rooms will be dedicated to a popular LEGO toy. The property will have a restaurant with a kid-sized buffet table, a Castle play area, and children’s entertainment every night, Besterman says.

They will also get to enjoy being in the middle of nature. While the park will cover 150 acres, the entire parcel it is on totals 500 acres. LEGOLAND plans to plant about 5,000 trees to make it feel like a sanctuary.

The park itself will be divided into eight themed “lands.”

The Factory will be the first section visitors will encounter. It will house the Great LEGO Adventure ride, where kids will travel through the manufacturing process into a box and into the hands of a toy's new owner.

Bricktopia is where kids will work with the Master Model Builders to construct their own LEGO creations. An Earthquake Table will determine how sturdy their LEGO towers are. This area will also have an Imagination Celebration ride and a Stepping Tones attraction that will trigger LEGO instruments.

LEGO NINJAGO World will have a training camp where kids can learn the ancient art of Spinjitzu. When they complete training, they can test their skills on NINJAGO: The Ride, where they will battle the Great Devourer with their hands.

Heartlake City will be the home of the LEGO Friends Emma, Olivia, Stephanie, Andrea, and Mia. They will be able to take a balloon ride over Pinefall Woods and sample LEGOLAND’s signature Granny’s Apple Fries. Knights’ Kingdom will be the home of the LEGO Castle and the Dragon Coaster.

LEGO City will be the home of the Minifigures. A Rescue Academy will train kids to be LEGO City firefighters. A LEGO Driving School is where kids can earn their official LEGOLAND driver’s license.

Pirate Shores will have a galleon where the kids can experience the feeling of a storm. Another water ride will be called Rogue Wave Riders.

Miniland will be a collection of interactive LEGO figures in the shape of notable structures from cities around the country.

“You can go from the Statue of Liberty to Times Square in 30 seconds,” Besterman says. “It looks like you can visit the entire country all in one day.”

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