Carlsbad, Friday, 7 November 2025.
Merlin announced yesterday Thursday a dual‑coast rollout of LEGO® Galaxy—a more than $90 million investment across LEGOLAND® California and Florida—anchored by Galacticoaster, billed as the first indoor, space‑themed family coaster, opening in early 2026. For retail and park ops professionals this is notable both as a synchronized product deployment and as a staged experiential marketing play: a nationwide “Junior Galaxy Explorers” contest invites kids aged 6–12 to submit LEGO spacecraft creations by 31 December 2025, generating earned media and testing guest interest pre‑opening. Operational implications include indoor coaster throughput and AV‑driven storytelling integration, cross‑resort marketing coordination, and clear upside for F&B and retail capture through themed merchandise, limited‑edition builds and stay packages. Expect opportunities to influence repeat visitation windows, seasonal programming, and loyalty offers tied to annual passes. The contest also serves as a soft‑launch mechanism to validate guest flow and messaging ahead of commercial operations.