Merlin Entertainments Group
Merlin Entertainments Group | |
---|---|
Industry: |
Amusement parks |
Year founded: |
December 1998 |
Owner: |
Blackstone Group |
Website: |
Merlin Entertainments Group (Merlin Entertainments for short) is a British amusement park operator company who operate the LEGOLAND parks. The group also own 70% of the LEGOLAND franchise, the other 30% belonging to The LEGO Group. It is the second largest amusement company after Walt Disney Parks. It is owned by the Blackstone Group. In 2019, the majority owner of LEGO Group, KIRKBI is set to buy the group.[1]
Merlin purchased the LEGOLAND parks from the LEGO Group in 2005.
Merlin attractions[edit | edit source]
Merlin operates and owns a variety of attractions.
LEGOLAND parks[edit | edit source]
- LEGOLAND Billund Resort
- LEGOLAND California Resort
- LEGOLAND Deutschland Resort
- LEGOLAND Florida
- LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort
- LEGOLAND Windsor Resort
- Future
- LEGOLAND Dubai (planned for 2011, since delayed)[2]
- LEGOLAND Japan (2016)[3][4]
- LEGOLAND Korea Resort (2015)[5][6]
LEGOLAND Discovery Centres[edit | edit source]
- LEGOLAND Discovery Center Atlanta
- LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Berlin
- LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago
- LEGOLAND Discovery Center Dallas Fort Worth
- LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Duisburg
- LEGOLAND Discovery Center Kansas City
- LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Manchester
- LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Oberhausen
- LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Tokyo
- LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Toronto
- LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester
- Future
- New Jersey (2010, since delayed)[7]
- LEGOLAND Discovery Center Somerville[8]
- Former
Other attractions[edit | edit source]
Merlin operates and owns a number of other attractions worldwide:
- Resort parks - Alton Towers, Gardaland Resort, Chessington World of Adventures, Heide Park, Thorpe Park
- Madame Tussauds - waxwork exhibitions, with branches found in Australia, Austria, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK, US and Thailand.
- Sea Life Centres - Sea Life centres can be found at LEGOLAND Billund, LEGOLAND Deutschland, LEGOLAND California and LEGOLAND Windsor, and at some other Merlin resort parks. They are also found in Australia, Belgium, China, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, the UAE, UK and the USA
- Wild Life Centres - Zoos in Australia
- Sea Life Seal Sanctuaries - three in the UK
- The Dungeons - found in Germany, the UK and US
- 'EYE' attractions - include the Sydney Tower, Blackpool Tower Eye, London Eye, Weymouth Sea Life Tower, Pepsi Globe and Orlando Eye.
- Australian Tree Top Adventures
- Blackpool Tower
- Earth Explorer
- Two ski resorts in Victoria Australia
- Hotels at Merlin parks, including Hotel LEGOLAND, LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel and LEGOLAND Hotel (California).
Annual Passes[edit | edit source]
Merlin offer annual passes in the UK, Germany, Australia and the US. These typically allow year long access to all Merlin facilities in that country.