Why Lego Opened Legoland and the Role the Parks Play

A solution to a crowding problem

By the mid-1960s the Lego factory was receiving about 20,000 visitors a year who came to see its models, and the pressure was more than the factory and exhibition could handle, so Godtfred Kirk Christiansen proposed an open-air display of Lego models.1 The park's Miniland was built from Lego bricks by model builder Dagny Holm and her team, while the factory visitors had come to view models produced for trade shows and shops.2

From one park to a global brand showcase

After Billund, new Legoland parks opened in Europe, North America and Asia from the mid-1990s onwards, and Lego says each park contributes creative models and an enjoyable experience in support of the Lego brand. An earlier park, Legoland Sierksdorf in northern Germany, opened in 1973 but survived for just four seasons.3 As of 2019, Legoland-branded sites made up about a quarter of Merlin's more than 120 attractions, and each resort typically drew 2 to 2.5 million guests a year.

The 2005 sale and the family's continuing stake

In 2005, during a financial crisis at the Lego Group, the four existing Legoland parks were sold to Merlin Entertainments, which gave Lego resources to reverse its operating losses of 2003 and 2004. Then-CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp said the sale would solve the short-term debt crisis and let the company focus on falling sales.4

Lego's family stayed involved: a minority stake remained after 2005, and by 2020 the family investment company Kirkbi held 50% ownership of Merlin alongside two investment companies. Kirkbi appoints representatives to the Merlin board, which Lego says ensures that, in close co-operation with the Lego Group, the parks are operated with due respect to the values of the Lego brand.