First Look At Ninjango At LEGOLAND California

Man-oh-man do I love being a LEGOLAND blogger!! On Thursday Alice and I were part of the first look at The new attraction at LEGOLAND California; the Ninjago ride!

This is unlike any ride that I have ever been on!  A controller free interactive ride. Controller free? Well, then how will you shoot and kill spiders (btw, shoot spiders! They are worth big points!) bad guys and snakes?? With the power that is in YOU, that’s how! Your hands are the controller.

The ride ties in Legos Ninja franchise, Ninjago.

From the maze of the line area to the ride itself, THIS is a fun experience!!!  The walk to the ride itself is full of posters with brightly colored pictures of all the characters. You’ll be able to brush up on your characters and learn about their history. By the time you have finished reading one poster it’s time to move up in line. Very smart LEGOLAND very smart! This was very helpful to me since I had one very excited 4-year-old that I was trying to entertain.

About the halfway mark in line is a corner with a Lego statue to pose with.  Perfect for us, because Alice has rules! We pose with each statue, each trip. End of story.

Just before the ride grab your 3D glasses and get ready for your 4D experience. The line moves quickly and the ride is totally worth every waiting second.

4D EFFECTS: Heat, smoke and wind are incorporated throughout the adventure, giving guests the ultimate interactive experience.

Settle in the bright red car and begin your “Spinjitzu (Ninja) training because you will be using your hands as your weapons, just like a Ninja!!  Ummmm this outta shape NaNa’s arms are still sore! I wonder if the folks at Triotech, the developers of the Maestro technology have a whole body app I could use, cause what a workout that 3.5 minute ride was!!

Using your hands like a ninja, wave them over the different pads in front of you to send blasts at the enemy. For those of us (aka The NaNa) that aren’t real good at video games don’t worry, a gentle flow of air comes up from the lap bar that helps you to feel the “hot zone” then you will know it’s time to push your hand forward and launch your blasts. Thanks to the photos at the end of the ride, the NaNa learned that I can’t shoot without sticking my tongue out or holding my breath! The screen shots of people in this ride are funny. Need to see if you scored higher than your friends? Don’t worry, your score is displayed underneath your photo. Tongue out, cheeks puffed, soooo not a good look for the NaNa. And the score??? Well, it’s safe to say it’s a good thing that Alice can’t read or she would blab to everyone how bad I am at video games.

RIDE TECHNOLOGY: Maestro technology is manufactured by Triotech, the world leader in media based interactive attractions. Maestro hand gesture technology features the ultimate ergonomics: Just like an orchestra conductor, guests will create an amazing experience by using their hands. It is very intuitive and adaptive to each guest’s playing style.

I can see kids wanting to go on this ride over and over again, the first ride is a lot of practice trying to coordinate eye and hand motions. (That’s my story and I am sticking’ to it!!) mostly I was shooting my arms out in spastic movements for the entire ride. Hopefully, there isn’t a video of that out in cyberspace!

LEGO NINJAGO MODELS: 22 new LEGO® models are going into NINJAGO World including LEGO shields representing each element, guardian dragons, swords of the four elements and an awesome 500 pound model of Nya and Zane created out of 73,600 pieces that took four Model Builders 550 hours to build!

• Guardian Dragons- Taking Master Model Builders more than 380 hours and made out of more than 77,000 LEGO bricks, each dragon stands more than five feet tall, three feet wide and weighs more than 400 pounds.
• NINJAGO Monastery- Standing more than nine feet tall and made out of more than 850,000 LEGO bricks, the NINJAGO Monastery sits in the center of NINJAGO World for all to build upon and enjoy.
• NINJAGO Dragon- With a wing span of more than seven feet and built out of more than 48,000 LEGO bricks, the NINJAGO Dragon took Master Model Builders more than 200 hours to construct.

This video gives you a general idea, but a real life ride-through of Ninjago’s 4D effects will have you getting back in line over and over again.  I personally can’t wait for May 5th when the ride opens to the public! Of course you won’t get the glitter and fanfare that we got to see. OH you should have seen the look on Alice’s face at this spectacular sight!

Zip-zero-nadda whines from us!  The imagery is amazing even if you can’t fight like a ninja you have GOT to take this ride. We had a great day at the Ninjago preview even with a few scattered rain showers! The rest of the day was spent in LEGOLAND on rides and even a walk through the LEGOLAND Aquarium. MAN we LOVE this place!!!

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Thank you LEGOLAND for allowing us to be there for the sneak preview!! I will end this post with my favorite shot of the day! Master Wu was AMAZING with the kids!! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! He never broke character, I am pretty sure he is the real Master Wu.