by Sarah Herman
GKC toyed with the idea of building a LEGO park for some years before anything was put on paper. LEGO models intended for trade shows and department stores were frequently being visited by the public, drawing school groups and families to the factory. By the mid-1960s an average of 20,000 people a year made the visit to Billund. GKC noticed the way people marveled at their studio’s simple arrangements, but was desperate to keep the factory space clear for the growing workload, so he set about creating an outdoor exhibition instead. Despite the models’ popularity over the years, Godtfred’s original idea for the park was realistic but modest—an open-air show to fill a garden or possibly a soccer field. But by the time Copenhagen window designer Arnold Boutroup was hired as the park’s general director, charged with the task of visualizing their ideas and turning the designs into reality, the company had developed a theme park plan that was as vibrant and varied as LEGO bricks themselves. Although most of these ideas were considered too big, too difficult, and too unrealistic, one of Boutroup’s sketches showed a simple, circular, open-air enclosure with a few LEGO towns on display, and this was the model for the park when it opened on June 7, 1968.
Denmark had long been home to both Dyrehavsbakken (opened in 1583) and the Tivoli Gardens (1843), the world’s oldest amusement parks, the latter an undeniable inspiration for Walt Disney’s original Californian theme park, Disneyland, where he turned children’s playthings and cartoons into money-making family fun over a decade before the LEGO Group decided to give it a go. This was all great reference material for GKC and Boutroup when it came to determining how best to sell LEGO as an amusement park experience, but it wasn’t until the two men visited the Netherlands’ very own miniature city, Madurodam in the Hague, that their vision for LEGOLAND became clear. Opened in 1952, the Dutch miniature town built on the same 1:25 scale used for many of LEGOLAND’s structures has been visited by tens of millions of people. Having witnessed the charm and popularity of Madurodam’s minute reality first-hand—real Dutch buildings and landmarks shrunk down to give the visitor a true Lilliputian experience—the Danes knew that the same idea could work with LEGO.
Arthur Boutroup may have been influential in designing the park, but it was Dagny Holm, a chief designer in the model shop in Billund, who can be credited with supervising most of the original building work. A clay sculptor by trade, Godtfred’s cousin, Holm, initially found it difficult to work in the medium of LEGO bricks, but she soon learned that building a LEGO model was not a case of molding and shaping, as with clay, but rather creating a pattern, similar to embroidery. After years of hard work, Holm, together with her small team, had successfully reproduced hundreds of European buildings including a Dutch town, and Swedish fishing village, as well as many famous Danish landmarks. In total they had used nearly six million bricks. Although some older models have been updated, refreshed, or removed, some of her team’s work still stands in Billund today, giving the original park a sense of history not yet associated with the newer incarnations around the world.
With the model building well under way, the plot of land near Billund’s airport and the LEGO factory began to be carved out of the Jutland moors in 1966 in preparation for the tiny world that would soon be ready to call it home. The Billund Park that exists today is a far cry from the modest park that was originally built—it now covers an area of nearly 35 acres. Far more than a simple collection of LEGO models, the park was developed to include the main Miniland attraction, Fort LEGOREDO—a Wild West–themed area where you can pan for gold and play in an Indian camp; a driving school where children (aged six to thirteen) can drive electric cars around a realistic course, learning to obey the rules of the road; a life-size LEGO train; a children’s puppet theater; a LEGO building area; and the Christiansen family’s prized antique doll collection. The extensive doll collection, not connected to the modern LEGO aesthetic of the rest of the park, became a focal point when in 1978 the family paid $200,000 at auction for the most famous, and then most expensive, dollhouse in the world. They displayed it along with the dolls and other antique toys until 2006, when the collection was sold. This is not the only part of LEGOLAND Billund to have changed or disappeared over the years, and many new attractions have been added since. Despite this there’s one attraction included in all the LEGOLAND parks that has endured and goes from strength to strength—Miniland.
Taken from LEGOLAND Billund’s impressive LEGOTOP viewing platform, this photograph shows part of the park today, including the Peugeot Traffic School, LEGO Studios, and the Knight’s Table castle. © Eileen Sandá
Even waterways to represent Europe’s rivers and harbors were re-created, as can be seen in this Miniland model of Bergen, Norway. © Eileen Sandá
Miniland’s models are made to last, like this re-creation of the Nyhavn district in Copenhagen, which was constructed in the 1980s. © Eileen Sandá
Considered by most to be the heart of all LEGOLAND parks, the Miniland at Billund is where the true spirit of the LEGOLAND ethos lies. Boutroup’s original intention was that the park would communicate the many possibilities the LEGO brick provides and the challenge it poses to our imaginations. And this challenge is no more obvious than in Miniland. GKC and Boutroup believed that visitors would enjoy seeing scaled models of real buildings and locations rather than fictitious creations from the designers’ imaginations, and they were right. But for the designers charged with this task, there was an added level of accuracy and attention to detail required if they were to produce buildings that tourists from all over the world were to recognize.
Before the days of sophisticated computer design technology, in order to recreate a real Swedish village, designers spent time there taking thousands of photographs from every angle. They also recorded measurements to determine the true size and correlation of all the village’s buildings. Back in the studio, hours were spent producing 1:25 scale models made from plaster and wood, before LEGO designs were drawn up on graph paper and allocated to individual builders. Dagny Holm’s building team had far fewer brick styles to work with than designers today, but the models they produced were still impressive—the only real cheat employed by builders, which is still used today, was the use of glue to hold bricks together so that the models—that remained outdoors throughout the cold and wet Danish winter—could withstand the elements and the necessary handling and transportation.
Much like the real world, Miniland is always changing. As model designs have become more sophisticated and the LEGO parts collection has grown accordingly, more and more possibilities are open to designers. Models are checked frequently for wear-and-tear, sun and weather damage, and real-world accuracy on a regular basis. But whether it’s changing one of the 11,000 light bulbs, fitting in a new building to keep up with the world’s ever-changing skyline, or adding an entirely new Miniland installation, the LEGOLAND team endeavors to keep the park’s central attraction fresh and exciting.
One such development took place at Billund in the 1980s, a one-year construction of Copenhagen’s Nyhavn Harbour and the surrounding area. A locale of considerable public focus and recognition, there was no room for error, and eight designers were entrusted with the task of pulling it off. The resulting colorful installation made up of over three million bricks includes 123 buildings and forty-one ships floating in the water. A more recent attempt to top this feat was the 2004 completion of a mini Billund Airport, to tie in with the opening of the new terminal there. On completion it was the largest single structure in Miniland. LEGOLAND’s designers’ enthusiasm for the limitless number of new, clever ways to show off their skills means that the total number of individual bricks used in Miniland has shot from six million to twenty million in the last forty years.
Bjørn Richter‘s Mount Rushmore at LEGOLAND Billund is still one of the park‘s most impressive LEGO sculptures. © Jeremy Tilston
One man who knows all too well what it means to use a lot of bricks is artist Bjørn Richter. Better known as the man who built Mount Rushmore (a
lbeit out of LEGO bricks), he is a Danish LEGOLAND legend whose intricate designs have truly stood the test of time at the park. Commissioned in 1970 to produce three works on a scale never seen before, he was not limited by the 1:20 or 1:25 scale of Miniland, and was free to build as he saw fit. This was an instant attraction for the young artist who said, “I felt that it would be exciting to join a unique idea from the very start. There were almost no limits to travel for inspiration or research.” Richter was inspired by the Native American culture he had seen on his travels, and began designing Mount Rushmore. He had never built from LEGO bricks before and while describing the material as similar to working with clay he had to use a more methodical approach than he was familiar with. “Because of the mathematical logic of the system it was possible, and necessary to design the layout on huge, printed sheets,” he explained. “Then I drew outlines of the shell, which was built with DUPLO bricks to save time. After that, the shell was modeled in detail with ordinary-sized bricks.”
Bjørn Richter spent two years working on his Chief Sitting Bull statue, which still stands in LEGOLAND today. Photo courtesy of Bjørn Richter
Installed four years later, the rocky relief consisted of 1.4 million LEGO bricks and 40,000 DUPLO bricks. Bjørn Richter was a close friend of Dagny Holm’s who worked on the buildings and stylized animals while he developed his large-scale structures. “Nobody had ever seen that kind of work, or thought it possible,” he said. “I gather I broke some limits and rules.” Not satisfied with his first record-breaking brick count, Richter topped it with the Great Bison Hunt relief, and the Chief Sitting Bull sculpture, which when finished stood thirty-six feet tall and required 1.75 million bricks. Describing the atmosphere working at LEGOLAND, Richter said, “Everything was new; nothing like LEGOLAND existed anywhere. There was a pioneering spirit at that time, which promoted the best of creativity.” Not surprisingly, given their artistic credentials and impressive stature, Bjørn Richter’s work still stands in LEGOLAND today, although they do get a fresh layer of lacquer every spring.
Slightly faded, after years braving the elements, Chief Sitting Bull observes the wonders of LEGOLAND Billund from his rocky perch. © Jeremy Tilston
Despite the summer tourist season being well under way by the time Billund was ready to open in 1968, the world’s first LEGOLAND saw 625,000 visitors make the trip to the moors that year to witness the spectacle—a number that far surpassed GKC’s expectations. This park made from LEGO bricks situated far from the nation’s capital soon became the second most visited tourist destination in Denmark after Copenhagen and has remained so ever since. Today, LEGOLAND Billund’s annual attendance is around 1.7 million with 44 million people having visited the park since it opened its doors over forty years ago.
With things not having gone quite to plan in Germany, it was understandable that GKC was reluctant to push forward with another park. His son, Kjeld, however, realized the potential to expand and promote the LEGO brand through the parks, and in 1989 set things in motion to develop a worldwide LEGOLAND building strategy. Most of today’s major theme parks were built in the 1970s and it was throughout the 1980s that the theme park industry came into its own, adding new attractions and locations, drawing people to destinations all over the world in search of fun and thrills. While competing with the likes of Universal Studios, Disney parks, and Six Flags, LEGOLAND also stood out on its own, more specifically targeting a younger audience. Kjeld’s plan was to seize this momentum and LEGOLAND’s uniqueness and roll out the Billund model in a number of different locations. Rather than build the parks with outside help and outside funding, the LEGO Group decided to take matters into its own hands and run the show itself.
When, in 1992, Windsor Safari Park went into receivership, TLG leaped at the chance to buy up the land. The Safari Park, which had been at the site since 1969 (the year after Billund was opened), housed a large number of animals in outdoor enclosures, as well as Seaworld, an attraction featuring performing dolphins and a killer whale. Despite its prime location, visitor numbers to the park had trailed off and owner Themes International suffered crippling financial losses, in part due to expensive new developments at the park. New homes were found for all the animals and the LEGO Group moved in to renovate. Nothing of the original park was left behind except for a funicular railway.
LEGOLAND Windsor is now one of the U.K.’s top theme parks, and was joined in 1999 by LEGOLAND California in Carlsbad and in 2002 by LEGOLAND Deutschland in Günzburg. Each of these distinctive theme parks includes its own personalized Miniland attraction featuring iconic buildings from the country they are situated in. But Miniland is only part of the LEGOLAND experience, and all of these parks include a variety of rides and experiences for families to enjoy. LEGOLAND parks are aimed at three- to twelve-year-olds with roller coasters suitable for younger children, stunt shows and theatrical displays, driving schools, and activities that involve teamwork and interactivity so the whole family can participate.
In 2005, after a period of financial loss across its business, the LEGO Group decided to sell a 70 percent stake in the LEGOLAND parks to Merlin Entertainments Group (MEG), a theme park and attractions operator owned by the Blackstone Group. While LEGO still has a share in the parks, MEG has developed the brand to include a new resort development in Florida, now the biggest LEGOLAND park in the world.
THE OTHER LEGOLAND
Many people wrongly believe that LEGOLAND Windsor was the second park to open, twenty-five years after Billund. In fact, it was only a few years after the LEGO Group was rightfully patting itself on the back for its success in Denmark that it decided to license out the LEGOLAND idea to a German company. With LEGOLAND Billund swiftly becoming one of the most popular tourist attractions in Denmark, there was no time for the Germans to waste, and they quickly set about building a park in Sierksdorf on the Baltic coast. Opening in June 1973, little is known about the park’s initial reception. What is known, however, is that in 1976 the LEGOLAND license was pulled because of disagreements and, after just a few seasons in operation, the park was closed down. The Sierksdorf site was sold and transformed into Hansa Park—a family-oriented theme park. In the first few years of business, LEGO models could still be seen at Hansa Park. It was this negative experience with Sierksdorf that prompted GKC to refuse to expand the LEGOLAND parks arm of the company and the reason it wasn’t until 1996 that a second park was opened by TLG in Windsor. This later expansion to the U.K. and California meant that finally, in 2002, LEGOLAND returned to Germany.
MEG is also responsible for launching a new LEGO experience. The first LEGOLAND Discovery Centre was opened in Berlin in 2007 and seven more have been rolled out since—one in Duisburg, Germany, four in the United States, one in Manchester, England, and one in Tokyo. These indoor attractions are suited to any climate and offer visitors more of an interactive experience based on the LEGO itself than rides and attractions. Still aimed primarily at young children, the centers include 4D cinemas, factory tours, model builder workshops and interactive classes, building zones, soft play areas, and LEGO shops to purchase all the latest toys. Of course the centers also include a Miniland (on a smaller scale than the outdoor parks), bringing the true LEGOLAND experience to many people who cannot make the longer journey to one of the LEGOLAND parks. Merlin Entertainments Group is looking at potential future sites in Europe, North America, and the Far East.
A view of Windsor’s miniature LEGO world in the heart of the Berkshire countryside. © Richard Ashworth
Some of London’s most famous buildings and monuments are on display at LEGOLAND Windsor. © Richard Ashworth
LEGO bricks are not the only thing on offer at LEGOLAND parks—rides and stunt shows like this entertain millions of visitors every year. © Richard Ashworth
CHAPTER 3
1978–1988: The Golden Age
The world was changing. By 1975, the Space Race had drawn to a close, but an international fascination with adventures in galaxies far, far away
was just getting started. In 1977, Star Wars: A New Hope first hit cinema screens across the world, and along with it came a surge in licensed products tied to the movie, action figures, and other space-related toys. Affordable consumer technologies were making their way into middle-class homes and the launch of products such as the Atari 2600 (1977) and the Sony Walkman (1979) were a clear indication that children’s “toys” were embarking on a new era. The end of the 1960s saw the fall of some of construction toys’ biggest names—A. C. Gilbert’s Erector sets, and Frank Hornby’s Meccano both saw steady declines in sales during this period. As author Dan Fleming explains in his book Powerplay: Toys as Popular Culture, these toys were symbolic of the period they were invented in. Having emerged from a time of industrial growth and change, they allowed children to achieve engineering feats in their own home, as the world itself built taller buildings, faster cars, and larger airplanes in front of their eyes. Fleming explains that Meccano’s success was intrinsically linked to the capitalist wave experienced in the early 1900s, which faded away as the world focused on other things. Contrastingly, it was around this time that the LEGO Group was growing and emerging as a must-have toy, largely because of thematic developments and the introduction of a standardized human figure that would go on to define and drive the System more than any other part since the launch of the new LEGO brick in 1958.
What the LEGO System had managed to achieve, beyond being a less mechanical version of a Meccano set, was a play environment that lasted long after building, an inclusive building technique that encouraged girls and boys of any age to build from their imaginations. But there was something missing from the houses, cars, planes, and fantasy worlds these children spent hours playing with, and that something was people.
