After a 13-month closure because of the pandemic, Legoland California officially opened its doors Thursday.
Now, guests can ride roller coasters, drive miniature cars and experience Miniland U.S.A for the first time in more than a year.
Legoland spokesperson Julie Estrada says capacity is currently limited to 25% in the orange tier, but any amount of reopening is great news for their employees.
“It's been a tough year. We had about 1,200 of our staff here at Legoland California that were on furlough,” Estrada said. “So, we are slowly rephasing, bringing them back in, retraining them.”
Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Bret Schanzenbach said reopening Legoland allows for tourists to boost the Carlsbad economy.
“Just think about somebody driving to Legoland, and who has to stop and use the gas station, stops for snacks on the way home, goes to a restaurant for lunch before or after. The number of incidentals connected to Legoland is gigantic,” Schanzenbach said.
He added that there is a lot more to tourism in Carlsbad, such as the beaches and golfing, but said “Legoland is the anchor.”
RELATED: Legoland California Reopens After 13-Month Closure
Legoland California is the last of the company’s eight theme parks across the world to reopen.
Estrada said that has given the California location insight on how to restart business safely, in addition to using facemasks and temperature checks.
“When you’re riding the rides, you'll stay together as a group and then there is a space in between, it’ll be cleaned intermittently,” she said. “There are hand sanitizer stations all throughout the resorts and we are contactless with all of our payments.”
Guests need to purchase tickets through Legoland California's new reservation system ahead of time. Legoland Hotel and Legoland Castle Hotel are also open for business.
