Legoland Billund Resort (also known as Legoland Denmark), the original Legoland park, opened on 7 June 1968 in Billund, Denmark. The park is located next to the original Lego factory and Billund Airport, Denmark's second-busiest airport. Over 1.9 million guests visited the park in 2011, and 50 million guests have visited the park since it opened. This makes Legoland the largest tourist attraction in Denmark outside Copenhagen. The Legoland parks that have since been built are modelled upon Legoland Billund, most noticeably the Miniland area, which is made up of more than 20 million plastic Lego bricks.
History
The Lego company, led by Ole Kirk Christiansen, introduced plastic toys alongside their existing wooden toy line in 1949 after purchasing one of the first injection moulding machines in 1947. One son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen (GKC), was named the managing director of the family business in 1957 shortly before his father died and just two years later he bought out his three brothers. In the 1960s, GKC decided to open a Legoland Park adjacent to the Lego factory in Billund to promote his toy business; the factory itself was already drawing approximately 20,000 visitors per year by the mid-1960s, who came to view models produced for trade shows and shops. GKC hired Arnold Boutrop as the park's first general director and designer; after visiting Madurodam, the two men began finalizing plans for what would become Miniland, the main attraction of Legoland. Dagny Holm, a cousin of GKC trained as a sculptor who was hired as a model designer in 1961 is credited with much of the original design and building of Miniland. The park became an instant success, with 625,000 visitors in its first abbreviated season after opening on 7 June 1968.
Over the years, Legoland Billund has added many original models and rides. The park, which has now been expanded to cover , is divided into nine themed areas, including Duplo Land, Imagination Zone, LEGOREDO Town, Adventure Land, Lego City, Knight's Kingdom, Mini Land, Pirate Land, and Polar Land.
Today, Legoland Billund is the most visited tourist attraction in Jutland and the third-most visited attraction in Denmark, after Tivoli Gardens and Dyrehavsbakken. Several other Legolands have since been built in other parts of the world: Legoland Windsor Resort (1996) Legoland California (1999) Legoland Deutschland Resort (2002) Legoland Florida (2011) Legoland Malaysia Resort (2012) Legoland Dubai (2016) Legoland Japan Resort (2017) Legoland New York (2021) Legoland Korea Resort (2022)
The Blackstone Group, an investment firm, bought a 70% controlling stake in Legoland in 2005, with the remaining 30% still owned by Lego. The parks are operated by Merlin Entertainments.
On 29 May 2024, a fire suspected to have been caused by a short circuit inside an electric rail car that was being charged overnight erupted at the park's Miniland attraction, destroying several replicas of famous buildings and a model of a traditional Danish port.
Themed Lego Lands
, the park has 11 themed areas.
Adventure Land This area contains some of the park's more exciting rides such as the wild mouse roller coaster, X-treme Racers. Jungle Racers jet ski ride has a jungle theme and spins the riders quite fast. In 2010, The Temple was introduced, an indoor ride where riders board Explorer SUVs and are equipped with laser guns to shoot at moving targets in 11 scenes themed to ancient Egypt. The Temple also has a game area with an Egyptian theme, containing ring-toss, water-shooting, balloon-popping and a mummy game. The area contains two gift shops (Temple Gifts and Adventure Shop) and two restaurants. Falck Fire Brigade is a ride where you take your assigned vehicle to the scene of a fire where you and your fellow firefighters have to put out a fire in a building, and the fastest team wins.
Duplo Land Duplo Land (formerly known as Fabuland) contains rides and attractions for young children, with the Lego Duplo brand name. The Duplo Playhouse is a play area for children ages 2–6, which is themed like a city in which children can play. They can build using Lego, or play on planes and cars. There are also slides, stairs, interactive elements and a role-play area. The Duplo Train, a train ride that looks like a train made of Duplo bricks, takes two minutes to complete its loop. Duplo Planes is a plane ride similar to Disney's Dumbo ride, but with a Lego theme. The land also used to feature Duplo Driving School. This was a car ride for children ages 2–6, who are not yet ready for the Traffic School ride.
Duplo Peppa Pig Playground
For 2024, a new play area themed to the Peppa Pig television series was opened behind Lego studies. This is part of a joint partnership between Lego, Hasbro and Merlin Entertainments.
Imagination Zone This zone contains the Lego Studios, a purpose-built 600-seat 4-D theater, complete with special effects and a giant screen.
was added in 2007. The attraction starts off with an animated movie, featuring Lego figures and a submarine that travels down to the submerged city of Atlantis. There is also a Sea Life aquarium featuring a walk-through underwater tunnel and other hands-on activities with more than 800 sea creatures. Numerous Lego figures and models are in and around the aquarium.
Knight's Kingdom Knight's Kingdom contains The Dragon coaster, located inside a medieval castle. The ride starts with a slow-moving dark ride scene with Lego figures themed to medieval times, including a mighty dragon. Knight's Kingdom also has Knight's Barbecue Grill.
LEGO Movie World It features the Masters of Flight and Unikitty's Disco Drop found in the California and Florida versions with its exclusive ride being a Technical Park Aerobat.
LEGOREDO Town LEGOREDO Town is a Western-themed land that contains the rides Lego Canoe, LEGOLDMINE, Westernride and ghost The hunted House. LEGOREDO also has its own band called "The Rattlesnakes" and they play country music all day long. The mountain terrain of Lego Canoe offers a scenic background.
Mini Land is the heart of any Legoland park. The 1:20 scale Lego brick models feature landscapes, sights and buildings from all over Denmark, as well as famous landmarks from other parts of the world. The LEGOTop observation tower is a place to view the entire park. The models and structures in Mini Land were made using more than 25 million Lego bricks. Country Added Closed Image Description Denmark 1968 – Featuring models of Billund Airport, Copenhagen (Amalienborg Palace, Nyhavn), Dybbøl Mill, Klampenborg Station, Lilleby (a fictional village), Møgeltønder, Ribe, and Skagen. Egypt ? – Featuring model of Abu Simbel temples. Germany ? – Featuring models of Düsseldorf (promenade along the Rhine), Neuschwanstein Castle, and Tegernsee The Netherlands ? – Featuring models of Amsterdam and the surrounding landscape. Norway ? – Featuring models of Bergen and its harbor. Scotland ? – Featuring models of Crail and Eilean Donan. Star Wars 2011 2019 Models removed shortly after Disney purchased the Star Wars franchise. Sweden ? – Featuring models of the Gota Canal. Thailand ? – Featuring model of The Grand Palace. United States ? – Featuring models of Hollywood, Kennedy Space Center, and the United States Capitol Building.
Ninjago World Ninjago World, which opened in 2016, features NINJAGO: The Ride, an interactive dark ride using gesture controls. The technology was developed by Triotech, who had previously developed the interactive Voyage to the Iron Reef dark ride at Knott's Berry Farm. +Annual attendance at Legoland Billund Year Attendance Ref 2005 1,490,000 2006 1,460,000 2007 1,610,000 2008 1,650,000 2009 1,650,000 2010 1,650,000 2011 1,600,000 2012 1,650,000 2013 1,800,000 2014 1,925,000 2015 2,050,000 2016 2,091,000 2017 2,120,000
Pirate Land Pirate Land is a pirate-themed area. It features the Pirate Splash Battle where participants get wet. Other rides include Pirate Wave Breaker and Pirate Boats.
Polar Land Polar Land is a North Pole and South Pole theme area that opened in 2012. This themed area was partially created from part of the Lego City themed area and the Event Center. It features the Polar X-plorer roller coaster, Builde a boat, arctic basecamp and Ice Pilots School.
Ice Pilots School was previously named Power Builders and carried a Bionicle theme when it was part of the Lego City themed area.
Attractions Roller coasters Ride name Manufacturer Year opened Themed land Image Additional information DragenThe Dragon Mack Rides 1997 Knight's Kingdom Starts inside the medieval castle with a large dragon intimidating the riders; height limit 100 cm. Flyvende ØrnFlying Eagle Zierer 2018 LEGOREDO Town A family coaster where you plunge from Eagle Rock above the ground Polar X-plorer Zierer 2012 Polar Land A Polar-themed family coaster that reaches a speed of 65 km/h with a 5-meter freefall drop section; height limit 120 cm. X-Treme Racers Mack Rides 2002 Adventure Land A Wild mouse coaster that reaches a speed of on a track (1312 ft) and a height of ; height limit 120 cm. Minifigure Speedway Zierer 2026 A duelling roller coaster that will reach speeds of across a pair of tracks, which are taken in both forwards and reverse directions.
Water rides Ride name Type Year opened Themed land Image Additional informationJungle Racers Carousel (dual) 2000 Adventure Land Water jet ski ride Log flume 1992 LEGOREDO Town Dark ride1991 Pirate Land Renovated 2024 Pirate Splash Battle Rail-based 2008 Pirate Land Splash battle water shootout on a course
Other rides
Ride name Type Year opened Themed land Image Additional informationCaterpillar Himalaya1971 Miniland Rider height minimum 90 cm. Moved to its new position in 1983Falck Fire Brigade Fire fighting2006 Adventureland douse the fire yourself Walkthrough dark ride/drop tower 2014 LEGOREDO Town a walkthrough attraction with a drop tower at the end Aquarium 2007 Imagination Zone a sea life aquariumLego Studios 4D film theater2001 Imagination Zone a 4D theater in Imagination Zone that shows 2 movies — Lego Ninjago 4D and LEGO® City 4D – Officer in PursuitLego Top Observation tower 1984 Miniland 36 m highLego Train Train ride 1968 Miniland a themed 2-minute train rideLloyd's Lazer Maze Maze 2016 Ninjago World a laser maze rideMonorail Monorail1985 Miniland Interactive dark ride 2016 Ninjago World a dark ride where riders use their hands to shoot Nintendo Game Show Play area Miniland play Nintendo gamesPirate Carousel Teacups Pirate Land spinning cupsThe Temple Interactive dark ride 2010 Adventureland dark ride laser shoot-out
Kiddie rides
Ride name Type Year opened Themed land Image Additional information Adventure Path Play area 2000 Adventureland play area in AdventurelandDuplo Planes Carousel 1984 Duplo Land airplanes, built where caterpillar wasDuplo Playhouses Play area2001 Miniland play areaDuplo Express Train ride1994 Duplo Land a 2-minute train rideFrog Hopper Drop tower 2009 Miniland mini drop towerLego Safari On-track driving1972 Miniland on track cars on a Safari. Renovated 2017 Lego Duplo Peppa Pig Children's Play Area 2024 Duplo Peppa Pig Playground Themed to the children's show of the same name, part of a three-way partnership between Lego, Hasbro, and Merlin Entertainments.LEGONDOL Ferris wheel1984 Duplo Land mini Ferris wheel, Renovated in 2025/26 replaced with new designMini Boats Boat ride1971 Miniland where children can sail their own boats. Renovated 2022Music Fountain Play area2001 Imagination Zone water play area. Renovated in 2026, with the old models replaced by new ones.Pirate Wave Breaker Rocking tug 2009 Pirate Land 90+ cmSEAT Traffic School Driving simulator 1968 Miniland electric cars for 7 – 13 years oldWestern Ride Carousel1988 LEGOREDO Town Western themed carousel
Building experiences