Before I could put on the wizard's robe and go to Universal Studios Beijing to punch in, a new amusement park came.
Recently, on the official website of the Beijing Development and Reform Commission, the name of Legoland is prominently listed in the "Notice of Beijing Key Project Plan for 2022".
Photo/ Official website of the National Development and Reform Commission
From envying Disney to the double kitchen ecstasy of Legoland South at Universal Studios East, Beijing has only spent a few short years.
Photo: Sina Weibo
As one of the earliest imported toys to enter China, this small colorful square and his imitations are piled up with the entire childhood of the 80s and 90s.
In the impression, LEGO is a puzzle toy sold specifically to children, but as a generation grows, more and more adults return to the LEGO world.
图/IC PHOTO
According to a survey by market research firm NPD, the number of adult players who buy lego for themselves has increased by 65% since 2012.
Legoland, which has never set foot in China before, has also opened the simultaneous construction of Sichuan, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing.
What does LEGO bricks have to do with Legoland? What's in Legoland, which is suddenly popping up all over China?
1
Lego fanatical adults
Some people say that adults are nothing more than grown children.
But as we get older, we have to face the muddy adult life, and when there is a little respite, the most nostalgic thing is the simple happy time of childhood.
With a bucket of LEGO bricks in hand, you can play all afternoon, and Lego's unique immersion has attracted a large number of adult players to join the LEGO army.
Adult LEGO fans call it AFOL (Adult fans of Lego) and annually adult LEGO contests are held around the world.
AFOL Contest Photo/Sina Weibo
In lego's Play Well Report, 91 percent of adults believe lego is good for their happy lives, and 86 percent get stress reduction at High School.
"Use centimeter-square plastic bricks to unleash your creativity and wash away the fatigue of life during the immersive splicing process."
Spelling Lego has become a special healing moment in the lives of adult players.
In 1993, Lego entered the Chinese market, which was arguably the most rare imported luxury toy of that generation.
After the 80s Lego player Xiao Liu told the hard shell INK: "My first set of Lego was bought by my father in the friendship store with exchange coupons, when the salary of ordinary employees was about 50 yuan, the Lego price was 24, when I was a child, the toy was thrown almost, only Lego played from kindergarten to high school, and now it is still kept." ”
What magic does LEGO have to attract everyone to "enter the pit"?
In the past, toys were independent, more and more but did not store value, children played and did not like to throw away.
Lego is a kind of world construction, after buying a toy, and then buying ideas can be spliced together at any time into a new work.
As the LEGO slogan at the time advertised ," as long as you have inspiration, there are new LEGOs every day." ”
Lego is not just a toy, but also the "Lego economy" behind it.
In countries with developed toy markets, three generations of grandchildren play Lego, grandfather's passed to dad, and dad's passed on to children.
1992 vintage LEGO photo/IC PHOTO
In addition to the release of new models, LEGO often releases some out-of-print limited collector's sets, resulting in bricks becoming very valuable and forming a huge secondary market.
A set of Lego toys that began to appreciate from the moment it was discontinued.
Since 2000, the price of some out-of-print LEGO bricks has consistently increased by an average of around 12% per year.
There are even thieves who make money by stealing Lego, and the police caught a "Lego thief" in 2018 and seized 11 boxes of stolen Lego bricks.
Figure/Rule of law in progress
What is less well known is that this LEGO allure of the adult world is not in the company's development plans.
Before 2000, LEGO brick boxes would have logos suitable for 8-14 years old.
But as a variety of products continue to emerge, so does Lego's sophistication and sophistication.
Later, with the joint name of film and television IP and the addition of technology accessories, more challenging and difficult products have been launched, and this colored small square magnet has attracted adult players to join.
7541 parts of the Millennium Falcon LEGO bricks Photo/lego official website
It wasn't until 2020 that Lego released the first product labeled 18+, and it gradually spread out into a hardcore toy for adults.
So much so that today, stopping in front of the store, the father pulls the child to buy Lego, and you can't tell whether to buy it for the child or for yourself.
2
Legoland "piled up" China
Legoland was born out of a whim.
Lego originated from a wooden workshop in the Danish town of Billund, and in order to meet the purchase of manufacturers around the world, the founder Christison would pile up the new products of the year in his backyard to display, and later more and more toys until the garden was filled.
One day he had a whim, so he might as well make these samples into a miniature park, so there was the world's first Legoland.
The earliest Legoland photo/Lego official website
Before Legoland entered China, there were eight in the world, in Denmark, the United States (2 seats), the United Kingdom, Germany, Dubai, Malaysia and Japan.
Photo: Lego's official website
Apart from the United States having two, there has never been a second country with so many LEGOLANDs under construction.
It's hard not to wonder why Legoland is so concentrated in China.
In order to enter China, the LEGO Group's partner, British Morin Entertainment, has been repeatedly tested for many years.
In 1993, Denmark's Baolong & Co. officially opened the distribution of Lego in China
In 2007, Chinese mainland's first LEGO independent brand store opened in Beijing
In 2017, Chinese mainland's first LEGO authorized store opened in Shanghai
In 2020, construction of China's first LEGOLAND began in Meishan, Sichuan Province
In August 2021, the construction of Legoland Resort Shenzhen began
In November 2021, construction of Legoland Shanghai Resort began
Shi Furui, general manager of Shenzhen Legoland Resort, said in an interview: "The Chinese market has great potential, and it is planned to build 20 Legolands in the future, of which at least 5 will land in China."
"If all four LEGOLAND parks open in China, they will occupy Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, three of China's super-first-tier cities, as well as Chengdu with a population of 40 million in the southwest region."
Disney was founded 51 years ago, Universal Studios was founded 58 years ago, and Merlin surpassed Universal Studios in only 20 years to jump to the second place in the world, and the development potential is very rapid.
There's a more interesting phenomenon, with the older Disney Park, universal studios and LEGO Parks following suit.
At present, Universal Studios has 5 hotels in the world (Los Angeles, Orlando, Singapore, Japan, Beijing), four of which are Disney's first movers, Universal Studios was subsequently established, and Legoland followed the betting model.
Figure/Hardshell INK
3
What's in Legoland?
Legoland in every city has its own character, such as Legoland Windsor in the United Kingdom, a scaled-down version of London with the world's smallest fireworks display, and Legoland Malaysia, which has the only LEGOLAND Aqua that is open all year round.
Legoland Japan Photo/IC PHOTO
Programmer Xiao Xu is a post-90s LEGO fan, its first box of LEGO comes from the xiaoshengchu gift sent by his mother, in order to punch the clock, he has been to a number of LEGOLAND parks in Malaysia, Nagoya, and Windsor, England.
His favorite part is the "mini-world" in Legoland.
Lego bricks are used to spell out landmarks from around the world, such as St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, Mt. Fuji, etc., and even the expressions of the characters are colorful.
LEGOLAND Mini World Photo/IC PHOTO
Although Lego does not have the popular IP of other parks, its own fan group loyalty is very high, especially in some post-80s and post-90s families, a block spans two generations.
"Going to Disney or Universal Studios is about experiencing something new and exciting, but at Legoland, I prefer to see every piece like an exhibition."
To figure out what's the difference between Legoland and other parks? Hard-shell INK found Wei Xiang, a professor and researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Teacher Wei told us: "The global theme parks are basically divided into two categories, one is a comprehensive technology amusement park represented by Disney and Universal Studios, and the other is a non-cognitive skill park represented by Legoland. ”
"There is no shortage of comprehensive theme parks such as Disney in China, and it is precisely the parks with professional knowledge that are still blank in the Chinese market."
We don't know if the upcoming Legoland will be able to adapt to the Chinese market.
But for those adults who still have a childlike heart, there is another utopia in the busy life that can feel relaxed and relieved.
Reporter: Qu Xiaoyi, Editor: Yifan Proofreader: Lu Qian
This article is produced by Hard Shell INK, welcome to share in the circle of friends
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