Legoland Deutschland

The park opened in 2002 near Günzburg and is aimed squarely at children between about two and twelve, with rides scaled to that range rather than to thrill seekers. Its Miniland section is the reason adults come: models of German and European landmarks and cityscapes built at scale from around twenty-five million bricks, including Berlin, Munich, Venice, the Allgäu and a working airport, with moving trains, boats and vehicles. Other areas cover pirates, knights and Ninjago themes, and a hotel and holiday village stand beside the park. It closes for the winter months.

History

The LEGO Group opened Legoland Deutschland at Günzburg on May 17, 2002, nine months earlier than planned, on 43.5 hectares, with 40 attractions in 7 themed lands built of 50 million bricks, and 1.35 million visitors came in its first year. In 2005 the four Legoland parks were sold to Merlin Entertainments; for its tenth anniversary in 2012 the park opened Flying Ninjago and added Ninjago scenes to Miniland, and by then it had 50 attractions and 55 million bricks, including the world's largest Lego building, a model of Munich's Allianz Arena (Wikipedia, Legoland Deutschland Resort).

The main sights

• Miniland - European landmarks in about twenty-five million bricks.
• The moving models - trains, boats and vehicles running in the miniature cities.
• The themed areas - pirate, knight and Ninjago sections with rides.
• The child scale - rides built for roughly ages two to twelve.

When to go

April to October; the park closes for winter, roughly November to March. Summer holidays and weekends bring long queues. Online booking is cheaper.

Good to know

It closes for several winter months. Rides are aimed at young children and will bore teenagers. Peak-day queues are long and food prices high.

Nearby

Ulm lies west; Augsburg is east.

Key facts