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LEGOLAND(R) California unveils plan for 250-room hotel.
Jan. 19, 2009
CARLSBAD ---- The owners of the LEGOLAND(R) California amusement park will seek
permission Wednesday from the city's Planning Commission to put a 250-room,
Lego-themed hotel on part of their parking lot.
"I think it's something people have asked about for a long time," park
spokeswoman Beth Downing said Friday as she discussed the hotel, which is
proposed to occupy the RV parking lot next to the main entrance.
One of the LEGOLAND amusement parks in Europe already has its own hotel, and
"kids love the themed rooms," Downing added.
LEGOLAND California, which opened in 1999, occupies a roughly 128-acre parcel
south of Cannon Road and north of Palomar Airport Road. Until 2005, the company
that makes the children's plastic Lego building blocks owned it.
The park's new owner ---- British-based Merlin Entertainment Group Inc. ---- has
added a second attraction at the amusement park site. The Sea Life Aquarium,
which requires a separate admission ticket, opened last year.
With the aquarium and the proposed hotel, LEGOLAND is striving to become "more
than a one-day destination for families," Downing said Friday.
The hotel project will require both city and state Coastal Commission approval
because it falls within the state's coastal review zone. Construction is
expected to take two to three years, Downing said.
The proposed hotel won't be the only lodging facility within walking distance of
the park. Two independently operated hotels, including the recently opened
Sheraton Carlsbad resort, already exist just outside the park's gate.
The Sheraton, which will have 350 rooms once all phases of construction are
completed, is part of a wave of new hotels in town. Recent city statistics
indicate that Carlsbad now has 3,634 hotel rooms.
Some tourism industry watchers have recently said that there's already a glut on
the local market, given the recent national economic downturn.
At Carlsbad Tourism Business Improvement District board meeting in December,
several area hoteliers said their occupancy rates for November and December were
likely to be lower than last year, adding that forecasts also weren't likely to
be good for the coming year.
City officials have said the final 2008 hotel tax revenue figures should be
available later this month or early next month.
Initial indications were that November occupancy rates were holding somewhat
steady, but that city hotel tax revenue would be down, one city official said
during the tourism board meeting. That indicates that hotel operators are still
renting rooms, but at lower prices.
The Planning Commission meeting is set to start at 6 p.m. Wednesday at City
Hall, 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive. The commissioners will be asked to approve a
series of things related to the project, including changing the amusement park's
parking requirements.
The requirement is 94.5 spaces per acre of active theme park, while the proposed
standard would be 80.08, a new city staff report indicates. The report notes
that Carlsbad didn't have a parking standard for amusement parks until Legoland
came along and created the 94.5-space standard based on what other communities
had.
However, the report continues, LEGOLAND peak parking figure for 2007 showed that
it could get by with a lower parking rate standard and still meet visitors'
needs.
Plans call for the three-story hotel to include a 14,383-square-foot restaurant,
11,051-square-foot retail space, a 6,364-square-foot bar/lounge, an outdoor pool
and a water play area. It's proposed to be built in two phases, with the first
phase containing 175 hotel rooms.
<http://www.northcountytimes.com/articles/2009/01/18/news/coastal/carlsbad/zc5bec3f29ddd84758825754000604326.txt>
-end of report-
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In lugnet.mediawatch, Abner Finley wrote:
> LEGOLAND(R) California Miniland gets a 2009 presidential makeover.
>
> As the presidential inauguration nears, organizers are thinking big in
> Washington, D.C. On the West Coast, inauguration planners are thinking small -
> very small.
Snipage...
> Gary McIntire, who has worked in the model studio for two years.
>
> First, the six model makers gathered information about who will be on stage and
> what they will be wearing. After that, it's a matter of creating a likeness
> through hair style and color, facial hair, glasses, distinctive clothing and
> body shape.
>
> "You'd be surprised at what you do to make them recognizable," said McIntire,
> 28.
More Snipage...
> Designers are creating President-elect Barack Obama (red tie) and his wife,
> Michelle (red dress), and their children; Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his
> wife; President Bush and first lady Laura Bush; the Cheneys; and the Clintons.
> -end of report-
This was on the 6:00 pm news on the "local" Hamilton, Ontario (CHCH) television
station. My wife thought that these were a new "set" coming
out... I had to explain to her that these were at Legoland California.
Rolls eyes... goes to show you that even if the Significant Other is
Lego tolerable, they sometimes need to be "educated".
;)
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LEGOLAND(R) California Miniland gets a 2009 presidential makeover.
As the presidential inauguration nears, organizers are thinking big in
Washington, D.C. On the West Coast, inauguration planners are thinking small -
very small.
This week, miniature characters will take their places on the steps of the
Capitol building in Miniland U.S.A. at LEGOLAND.
Model builders at the Carlsbad theme park began creating about 1,000 4-inch-tall
figures from tens of thousands of LEGO bricks early this month. It takes 30 to
40 LEGO [bricks] to build each figure. Several hundred additional figures will
come out of storage for the crowd scene.
The challenge is to make identifiable figures using faceless LEGO bricks, said
Gary McIntire, who has worked in the model studio for two years.
First, the six model makers gathered information about who will be on stage and
what they will be wearing. After that, it's a matter of creating a likeness
through hair style and color, facial hair, glasses, distinctive clothing and
body shape.
"You'd be surprised at what you do to make them recognizable," said McIntire,
28.
Designers are creating President-elect Barack Obama (red tie) and his wife,
Michelle (red dress), and their children; Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his
wife; President Bush and first lady Laura Bush; the Cheneys; and the Clintons.
They also are assembling U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Rev. Rick Warren of
Saddleback Church and a quartet of musicians on stage.
If you look closely, you might spot Oprah Winfrey in the crowd.
The scene will depict Chief Justice John Roberts swearing in the new president.
There was one major adjustment, however. LEGOLAND inauguration was switched from
the Capitol's back steps to the front, where it's more visible to visitors. The
scene will remain through May.
-snip-
<http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jan/13/1m13bell00518-legolands-miniland-gets-presidential/>
-end of report-
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