Bricks Stack Exchange has been given an opportunity, for the first time ever, to attend an official LEGO event since becoming a Recognised Fan Media site in February 2017.
This June I attended the LEGO Fan Media Days event on behalf of our ambassador jncraton. The event consisted of three packed days of presentations, tours, interviews, discussions/feedback sessions as well as a 'secret unveiling'.
In the heart of Billund lies LEGO House, a place for LEGO Fans and families to experience the playfulness of LEGO. The LEGO House is due to open on the 28th September 2017. It will include paid attractions as well as an area open to the general public, including eateries and a LEGO Shop.
The LEGO House consists of four individually coloured experience zones with a Masterpiece Gallery featuring fan made creations, the History Collection in the basement which illustrates the development of the company and LEGO brand over time.
Image: LEGO® House: seen from above
Presentations
Representatives across five continents attended and gave short 5-10 minute presentations about a variety of LEGO fan communities.
CEO Session
We were also given a chance to have a group interview with the current LEGO CEO Bali Padda about a broad range of topics.
One of the topics I found most interesting was the commitment by The LEGO Group to conduct research into developing fully sustainable plastic, a goal (set by the previous CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp) which they aim to achieve by 2030.
LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery Reveal
The LEGO House General Manager Jesper Vilstrup and Senior Experience Designer Stuart Harris gave a presentation revealing the first models to feature in the Masterpiece Gallery.
Three towering dinosaurs, each representing the core build styles of System, Duplo and Technic will feature in the centre of the gallery at the highest point inside the building.
Tree of Creativity
One of the largest (6 million bricks) and tallest (15m high) LEGO models ever built. It is surrounded by a staircase that winds its way around the tree, up to the top floor.
As you climb the stairs, it becomes apparent that the tree is inhabited by small colonies of minifigures representing most of the major LEGO themes.
World Explorer
The three islands included in this area include: a towering city island, town & countryside island and a paradise fairground island.
All of the models are packed full of exciting details and the whole collection of models feels alive.
These islands have some of the most spectacular light setups I have seen, almost every building and many vehicles have lighting incorporated into them.
Flickr: Recognised LEGO Fan Media Days 2017 (Day 1 - LEGO House Tour)
The LEGO Idea house is less than a minute walk away from the LEGO House and adjacent to Ole Kirk's House (the original home of Ole Kirk Christiansen, founder of The LEGO Group).
Private Museum
The buildings houses a private museum of The LEGO Group, the museum is used primarily for staff, business relations and media.
The museum follows the LEGO history in chronological order, weaving between smaller rooms covering the themes of Star Wars, Duplo and Education.
Memory Lane
Tucked away, below the LEGO Idea House is 'Memory Lane' a archive of almost every LEGO set produced from 1966 to the present day. The purpose of the archive is to document the history of LEGO sets and provide reference for employees.
At the rate LEGO are producing new sets, there will only be a few more years until every shelf has been filled.
The current basement is too small and not suitable for long-term storage, being underground it's particularly vulnerable to natural disasters (such as flooding). There are plans in the near future to move above ground to a larger storage space.
Flickr: Recognised LEGO Fan Media Days 2017 (Day 2 - LEGO Idea House)
On the final day we had a chance to relax and explore the beautiful LEGOLAND park in Billund. We had a short tour of Miniland and had the chance to see two of the newest attractions.
Worlds Tallest Minland
New for 2017, the 'Worlds Tallest Miniland' features five of the tallest buildings from around the world built to a 1:150 scale of their original design. The models combined are built out of over 830,000 bricks.
The five models shown above (from left to right) include:
A sixth model of the Eiffel tower also features in the area along with a 24cm high rendition of the LEGOLAND LEGOTOP ride.
LEGO Ninjago World
LEGO Ninjago World opened in Billind in 2016, the first new area of the park since Polar Land opened in 2012. Ninjago World is based around the popular line of Ninjago LEGO products a collection of elements of fantasy, ninjas and dragons
The main attraction, perhaps rather appropriately named 'Ninjago The Ride' is an indoor dark ride where guests are transported around on moving vehicle and must use hand movements to defeat the villains shown on the projectors ahead.
I really appreciate LEGOLAND attractions that encourage guests to physically interact as much as possible. Perhaps my favourite example of such a ride would be the Fire Brigade attraction featuring in most LEGOLAND parks.
Guests must physically pump a hydrant to be able to put out the fires and power their fire truck. There is a healthy competitive spirit and it's perhaps one of the few rides where you are required to do all the work.
Flickr: Recognised LEGO Fan Media Days 2017 (Day 3 - LEGOLAND Billund)
There was a nice group photo from the event posted on the LAN:
