LEGOLAND New York Resort, Holovis and ETF Ride Systems Reveal The LEGO Factory Adventure Ride!

LEGOLAND New York revealed awesome details about another ride coming to their theme park in 2021. The LEGO Factory Adventure Ride will feature the world’s first use of on-ride tracking technology. By identifying the attributes of guests and mapping their position in the virtual space, the ride transforms riders into LEGO Minifigures right before their own eyes! LEGOLAND New York revealed the news at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) annual Expo in Orlando, along with the ride technology designer, Holovis. The event was also broadcast live on Facebook. Read on for more details about LEGOLAND New York, coming 2021, and see what's in store for this incredible theme park!

Disclosure: Some information and wording in this post was taken directly from LEGOLAND New York's press release. 

LEGOLAND New York is scheduled to open in the town of Goshen in 2021, and little by little we are receiving exciting details about its progress and what's to come! You can read all about LEGOLAND New York (and see a projected park map) in my previous blog post here, but today I'm going to tell you about their latest ride announcement!

rendition photo from Merlin Entertainment

“Imagine traveling through a LEGO Factory and suddenly seeing yourself as a LEGO Minifigure!" said Head of Public Relations North America for Merlin Entertainments, Julie Estrada. "With vision in hand, we looked to two of the world’s leading developers, Holovis and ETF Ride Systems, to create this first of its kind dark ride experience. I can’t wait to see the looks on our guests’ faces when they experience it.”

In the narrative-led experience, LEGOLAND New York guests will join Professor Brick on a thrilling and unpredictable adventure through the incredible LEGO Factory, meeting many whimsical characters along the way. Halfway through the ride experience, the ride vehicles, created by ETF, will spin guests until they end up face-to-face with a screen. First, guests will see their ride vehicle transformed into LEGO elements and then, a magical moment occurs as they see themselves appear as LEGO Minifigures! The on-screen recreation is customized based on guest’s attributes to present a unique experience…with the potential of surprises as well. Motion tracking even allows the Minifigure to move as the guest does. Holovis’ proprietary HoloTrac platform leverages advanced computer vision and tracking technologies underpinned by deep neural-network-based facial detection and recognition algorithms – all in less than 0.5 seconds!

 Check out this fun video of how the ride will work, and see for yourself!

“At Holovis, we pride ourselves on the ability to own the entire technical experience, so the delivery of the LEGO Factory Adventure is the perfect project for our turnkey, in-house capability. Working alongside Merlin Entertainments, we have created the ultimate in on-ride guest personalization and the ETF trackless motion vehicle integrates perfectly with the non-linear ride experience” said Holovis Creative Director Peter Cliff.

photo from Merlin Entertainment

“The vehicle we created for the LEGO Factory Adventure is meant to make guests feel as if they are a part of the automatic robot machinery that you would see in a LEGO factory,” said CEO of ETF Ride Systems Ruud Koppens. “We’ve never done this kind of ride before that is based on reality versus fantasy and we are very excited to work with Holovis and Merlin Entertainments to make this happen!”

photo from Merlin Entertainment

Opening in New York’s Hudson Valley, 60 miles northwest of New York City, LEGOLAND New York Resort will be the largest LEGOLAND theme park ever built, featuring more than 50 rides, shows and attractions across seven themed 'lands' on 150 acres.

The theme park’s three tiers of Annual Passes are on sale starting at $119.99, along with single-day tickets starting as low as $62.99. All are available for purchase on LEGOLAND New York’s website: www.LEGOLAND.com/New-York.

For more information about LEGOLAND New York Resort, visit their website or follow them on Facebook. And, of course, stay tuned to The Jersey Momma for more details! I'm honored to have been following and reporting about LEGOLAND New York since its first announcements. I was even able to see the construction site where the theme park would be built. To say that the construction of this park means something special to me is an understatement. I know how wonderful this is going to be for the families of the tri-state area, as well as the numerous jobs it will bring to the state. Stay tuned- exciting things are happening in Goshen!