LEGOLAND Discovery Center Arizona Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
The ceremony is over and the LEGOLAND Discovery Center Arizona is officially now open for children and adults to explore, build, and play.
The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was held yesterday, the day before the official opening to the public, just outside the entrance to the activity center. The fountain with the LEGO Octopus and scuba divers greeted guests waiting for the official ceremony to begin.
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The LEGO figure led the parade and was accompanied with a marching band followed by special speakers, adults, and children ready to see what all the excitement was to be discovered inside.
Joanna Hobday, The General Manager of LEGOLAND Discovery Center Arizona and SEA LIFE Arizona Aquarium opened the ceremony by greeting the media and families in attendance. Hobday said “LEGOLAND Discovery Center Arizona is a 40,000 square foot indoor attraction. We feature fun and exciting LEGO themed rides, including Kingdom Quest and Merlin’s Apprentice. We have a 4D cinema and also numerous build and test play areas so families can really get involved, play together, learn together. It’s all about that learning through play and that’s what we do.”
John Jakobsen from Merlin Entertainment who is in charge of all of the openings for Merlin Entertainment shared this is the 9th LEGOLAND Discovery Center opened across America. Jakobsen grew up in Denmark near the corporate headquaters of LEGO and had the fortunate opportunity to attend a LEGOLAND theme park where his family frequented. He went on to say “The core idea behind LEGO is playful learning and I’m certain that’s exactly what will happen here at LEGOLAND Discovery Center.”
Carolyn Florence, General Manager of Arizona Mills Mall, thanked all of the local people and construction crews who helped to build the new entertainment venue for families. Florence’s excitement over the opening carried through in her dancing to the music and enthusiasm for the fun ahead. She continued with “We cannot wait for these doors to open and have you see the amazing things inside. My personal favorite is the 4D movie theatre.”
Maliki represented the Creative Crew which is a group of 12 children who love LEGO bricks. As an eight year old he held his own on stage in front of the many people gathered together expressing his love of building with LEGO bricks. Maliki summed up pretty much every child’s reason for creating with bricks by saying “I love building with LEGO bricks because you can build anything. If you can imagine it, you can build it.”
The final speaker was City of Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell. Mayor Mitchell shared on behalf of his city council colleagues and the City of Tempe welcoming Merlin Entertainment and Arizona Mills Mall to their Tempe family. Growing up in a family that embraced learning in all forms, Mayor Mitchell shared “Children from Tempe and from across the entire state of Arizona can now visit and use their creativity as well as their imagination to learn and grow well. I can’t think of anything better.”
LEGO Master Model Builder Alecsander Posta, along with the Creative Crew, presented the key for LEGOLAND Discovery Center to Mayor Mitchell. The golden key was made of yellow LEGO bricks.
Following the presentation the official ribbon cutting was under way. Unfortunately the scissors never worked even though multiple attempts were made and ultimately the ribbon was never officially cut. It made for quite a bit of laughter from everyone.
The Creative Crew knocked down a gigantic pile of LEGO bricks to reveal the LEGO figure behind it and the center was officially open for all in attendance to enjoy their first look inside.
LEGOLAND Discovery Center opened to the public today.
