The LEGO Group to acquire LEGOLAND Discovery Centres from Merlin Entertainments
Posted by TheBrickPal,
LEGO has shared an interesting announcement regarding LEGOLAND Discovery Centres!
The press release follows:
BILLUND, DENMARK, 24 September 2025: The LEGO Group today announced it has agreed to acquire LEGO Discovery Centres and LEGOLAND Discovery Centres from Merlin Entertainments. The acquisition will include 29 Centres in nine countries which attract around five million visitors each year.
LEGO Group CEO, Niels B Christiansen said: “We are excited to welcome the Discovery Centres to the LEGO Group and appreciate all that Merlin Entertainments has done to bring the LEGO brand to life through these attractions. They will be an important addition to our global network of retail stores and allow us to offer fans of all ages even more memorable hands-on brand and shopping experiences. We are looking forward to welcoming the dedicated Discovery Centre teams who inspire visitors bring to life their imagination and creativity through the power of LEGO Play.”
CEO Merlin Entertainments, Fiona Eastwood said: “For 20 years, Merlin has partnered with the LEGO Group to bring its beloved brand to life through experiential play, including in the Discovery Centres. It is now a natural next step for the Centres to become part of the LEGO Group, allowing Merlin to strengthen its focus on driving the growth and success of LEGOLAND Resorts alongside our other attractions worldwide. Together with the LEGO Group, we look forward to the opportunities ahead as we build on our shared commitment to delivering exceptional experiences for families across the globe.”
Located in high traffic areas in major cities, the Discovery Centres offer visitors exciting hands-on LEGO play experiences, eye-catching builds and a variety of entertainment activities. Each Centre also includes a retail outlet. The first LEGOLAND Discovery Centre opened in Berlin in 2007.
The acquisition is expected to close around the end of the year with an estimated cash consideration of £0.2 billion (subject to customary closing adjustments).
Merlin and the LEGO Group will continue their long-standing brand partnership. Merlin will continue to operate eleven LEGOLAND Resorts around the world under licence from the LEGO Group, including the recently opened resort in Shanghai.
You may remember that back in 2023 LEGO worked with Merlin to pilot a VIP points program at select Discovery Centre stores, starting with a location in New Jersey, as they were not available before. With this change, we can guess that purchases will be eligible for Insiders points at all stores in the future.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!
68 likes
49 comments on this article
I remember I went to one of these back in 2012. I was really happy to see they still had stuff representing the 2007 LEGO Castle. I wonder if LEGO will use this to try and show off their newer products more often now.
They need to recreate areas of The Lego Movie in these attractions. That would work really well here. I'm talking about the animated scenes, not the real life basement counterpart because the designs and building techniques were extrodinary. Discorvery Centers do have the money and space to display them to.
It feels like the buildings here are meant to just be big and colorful, without regard to making a lived in Lego city for Lego minifigures. The Lego Movie perfectly captured that essence of a Lego world. A-FOL can dream.
Finally.
Having Merlin "do their own thing" for so many years has been quite frustrating. It will be nice to have a little more uniformity of experience going forward.
@Ottozone said:
"They need to recreate areas of The Lego Movie in these attractions. ."
LEGO no longer has that license and are working on new movie so I wouldn't expect to see anything based on TLM again.
As long as they keep B I G G O R I L L A it's fine by me
@Glacier_Phoenix said:
" @Ottozone said:
"They need to recreate areas of The Lego Movie in these attractions. ."
LEGO no longer has that license and are working on new movie so I wouldn't expect to see anything based on TLM again.
"
How do they no longer have a license for their own movie?
I remember being confused as a kid why my Lego gift card wasn't accepted at the in-park store. This is long overdue.
@Modeltrainman said:
" @Glacier_Phoenix said:
" @Ottozone said:
"They need to recreate areas of The Lego Movie in these attractions. ."
LEGO no longer has that license and are working on new movie so I wouldn't expect to see anything based on TLM again.
"
How do they no longer have a license for their own movie?"
The movie is Actually the property of Warner Brothers.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Modeltrainman said:
" @Glacier_Phoenix said:
" @Ottozone said:
"They need to recreate areas of The Lego Movie in these attractions. ."
LEGO no longer has that license and are working on new movie so I wouldn't expect to see anything based on TLM again.
"
How do they no longer have a license for their own movie?"
The movie is Actually the property of Warner Brothers."
Makes sense but silly.
I'm confident they can work out the license again if/when needed.
LEGO can just bill it back to us by adding 200 1x1 round plates to the next Icons set.
But will they really gain much of anything here? Sounds akin to those share buyback schemes, where companies with too much cash pump up their own value without any real investment.
And for us humble visitors, how is this going to affect the ppp ratio? (price per person. ha!)
@PixelTheDragon said:
"I remember I went to one of these back in 2012. I was really happy to see they still had stuff representing the 2007 LEGO Castle. I wonder if LEGO will use this to try and show off their newer products more often now. "
If it's anything like the one in Toronto, they likely still have the same display of 2007 castle stuff in place!
Thank goodness! I worked at a discovery center for a while and was not the biggest fan of merlin. Plus I can finally use my VIP points there!
Am I supposed to cheer for corporate consolidation?
Oh hey they're using the past few years' $2 billion net profits for something
I couldn't care less about the LDC. But it is good they haven't taken over the LEGOLAND Resorts in the UK. My brother's family get a yearly Merlin pass and losing LEGOLAND would be a big deal to people that do the same.
@yellowcastle said:
"LEGO can just bill it back to us by adding 200 1x1 round plates to the next Icons set."
Make them 1x1 round tiles and stick a face on them. Then LEGO's Bricklink can add them as minifigures, Brickset will copy that and those 200 pieces will be worth $400 at least.
Oh wow! Awesome!
Seems to me that LEGO are mopping-up IP offers to fully own the entire ecosystem - BrickLink, Discovery Centres...how long before the Resorts? Watch this space...
I think LEGO needs to say something to their government about all the recent drone incursions.
Maybe the money would’ve been better spent on anti-aircraft artillery!
Seems to be happening with alot of what Merlin owns/runs, that it's selling off most of its big attractions and venues chains. Its sold off Blackpool Tower a few months back.
@peterlmorris said:
"I think LEGO needs to say something to their government about all the recent drone incursions.
Maybe the money would’ve been better spent on anti-aircraft artillery!"
Lego pays for their artillery? Maybe the Russians should stay out.
Weren’t theme parks part of the problem when LEGO nearly went under in the early 2000’s? It’s an unusual about-face, no?
Will they change the policy and allow AFOLs without children to see the Discovery Centres without it being a special event?
Will the discovery Centres be supplied better with moving exhibits and the spares needed to keep them working? If a train wears out in 3 months, the track in 9 months and too many people feel entitled to grab at any figures they can reach, it can soon degrade.
The opportunity to expand the LEGO stores at the Discovery Centres is a good way to grow the number of stores with a comprehensive product range.
@Jdrewg said:
" @peterlmorris said:
"I think LEGO needs to say something to their government about all the recent drone incursions.
Maybe the money would’ve been better spent on anti-aircraft artillery!"
Lego pays for their artillery? Maybe the Russians should stay out.
"
A drone has made an unlicensed incursion into LEGO City! Start the new anti-aircraft gun!
HEY!
Build the new anti-aircraft gun, shoot down the drone, and save the citizens. The new warfare collection, from LEGO City!
@peterlmorris said:
"I think LEGO needs to say something to their government about all the recent drone incursions.
Maybe the money would’ve been better spent on anti-aircraft artillery!"
Considering that Billund Airport, one of the airports that closed, only exists because of Lego, yeah, they have an interest there.
@yodaloop said:"A drone has made an unlicensed incursion into LEGO City! Start the new anti-aircraft gun!
HEY!
Build the new anti-aircraft gun, shoot down the drone, and save the citizens. The new warfare collection, from LEGO City!"
Shyt the comments down, nobody's going to top that.
Next stop... taking back the retail stores at Airports so the prices don't have to be 20% inflated :)
@kkoster79 said:
"Next stop... taking back the retail stores at Airports so the prices don't have to be 20% inflated :)"
So you think Lego sells its products at the lowest price itself? I seldomly buy directly from Lego since a lot of toy store (chains) offer much better deals for new sets.
Merlin Shareholders will be pleased after billions selling back the resorts, they now have another £200m cash inflow for something that didn't cost anywhere near that amount to create, and is probably not having the same level of visitors as when first opened.
No surprise to me. Actually, the only surprise is how long Lego let this license go on. Most companies that have as well known of a brand as Lego want to control every aspect of the brand (think Disney).
I hope this leads to better maintenance and quality control at the centers. We visited the one outside Chicago a couple of times over the past 10 years. Little had changed the last time we were there (about 2 years ago) from the first time, and at least one "ride" was not working. The Lego build & play area was very messy (like the workers did not clean up/organize on a daily basis), and they no longer seemed to have the "simulated Lego factory" where they explained how bricks were made. It was a much better experience the first time around.
There's probably a spreadsheet in the LEGO Retail group to plan each tier of retail experience by amenities, attractions and addressable market:
* Third-party stores like Target: Assembled models in boxes.
* Smaller brand retail stores: Large but generic statues, possibly a custom model or wall-sized mosaic, small play area, monthly events.
* Discovery centers: A Miniland with local landmarks, flat ride, 3D movie, large play areas, continuous events.
* Parks: A larger Miniland with local and select global landmarks, numerous rides, numerous retail and dining options. Awkward overlap with Merlin's aquarium properties.
* Third parties that serve the same market, like "Muzeum Lega" in Prague.
@Dash_Justice said:
"Am I supposed to cheer for corporate consolidation?"
When it benefits the consumer, yes. In my experience, LDC store prices are higher than if I go into a Lego store and I don't earn VIP Points and cannot use them. Bringing them together changes all of that.
A proposal for the Brickset programmers: site members can record the sets and minifigs they own, and then community stats are displayed in connection with RSOTD and RMOTD. How about extending the idea to the Parks/Resorts and Discovery Centers? (And maybe Brand Retail stores, but there are hundreds of those.) You could then run stats to prompt discussion, like "many members have been to a Park in Europe or North America, few to one in Asia" and "few of them have been to a Discovery Center, possibly because you need a kid in tow."
I wonder if this is Lego wanting total control over these assets or their first step to divesting from Merlin which seems to be having issues in the last few years, understandably given Covid closures impacts. A year or two ago Merlin was trying to sell the aquarium in Melbourne Australia without luck.
@dudeski said:
" @kkoster79 said:
"Next stop... taking back the retail stores at Airports so the prices don't have to be 20% inflated :)"
So you think Lego sells its products at the lowest price itself? I seldomly buy directly from Lego since a lot of toy store (chains) offer much better deals for new sets. "
No I wasn't saying that. I seldom buy from them too, however if you have ever visited a Lego store in the airport the prices are all 10-30% higher than Lego Retail! The reason is because these are licensed stores and not owned by Lego. They have all the Lego branding and look like mini lego stores especially to the kids, but go visit one and see the price mark ups. Why anyone would buy from them is beyond me.
As far as I am concerned, I have never been to a Discovery Center, nor do I plan on doing so.
Therefore a non-event for me.
Only goes to show that LEGO has too much money on their hands and don't use it to improve quality but on useless fluff like this.
Hopefully the one in Manchester will get a clean - felt like a needed a shower after visiting it with the kids - grotty
My nearest "brand store" is a discovery center, and the store part is in a perpetual state of chaos and maintained by the most apathetic college students. This news is therefore very welcome to me, and I hope the quality improves!
Comments here about moving LDC away from Merlin... However, since 2019 Merlin is owned by Kirkbi, which is the LEGO family investment arm.
This news is essentially just an internal shuffle of LDC from one entity to another within the same group of companies.
@chrisminett said:
"Comments here about moving LDC away from Merlin... However, since 2019 Merlin is owned by Kirkbi, which is the LEGO family investment arm.
This news is essentially just an internal shuffle of LDC from one entity to another within the same group of companies."
lol
Somehow we're all still going to pay for this.
@daewoo said:
" @Dash_Justice said:
"Am I supposed to cheer for corporate consolidation?"
When it benefits the consumer, yes. In my experience, LDC store prices are higher than if I go into a Lego store and I don't earn VIP Points and cannot use them. Bringing them together changes all of that."
I happened upon an LDC this Summer but never thought about VIP points. I just confirmed online that I did indeed receive the requisite number of points for that purchase.
More Alec and his Big Gorilla!
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Modeltrainman said:
" @Glacier_Phoenix said:
" @Ottozone said:
"They need to recreate areas of The Lego Movie in these attractions. ."
LEGO no longer has that license and are working on new movie so I wouldn't expect to see anything based on TLM again."
How do they no longer have a license for their own movie?"
The movie is Actually the property of Warner Brothers."
The movie itself may be owned by WB, but from what I understand, the IP that was created specifically for that film (as opposed to licensed IP that was borrowed in, like Star Wars) is co-owned by WB and TLG. This may have been arranged specifically as a way for TLG to retain veto power, like how they sold Merlin a 49% share of the LEGOLAND park system and let them run it, but their 51% controlling interest allowed them to shut down any changes they didn’t like. The current result of this would be that WB can continue to have exclusive rights to market and produce physical copies of the existing film until it falls into the public domain, but they can’t create any new works using characters like Emmet and Wyldstyle.
As for any new movie, Universal signed a five-year deal, which I’m pretty sure has already expired without one peep about a feature film being in the works. Vidiyo was a co-production with them, and was a bigger flop than TLNM. Universal may have backed off from any further plans after that.
@GrizBe said:
"Seems to be happening with alot of what Merlin owns/runs, that it's selling off most of its big attractions and venues chains. Its sold off Blackpool Tower a few months back."
Actually that’s not quite correct, Blackpool Council have owned the Tower since 2010, when they bought it off part of the Merlin business. Merlin continued to operate it until now, but the council seem pretty happy to run it themselves, it’s not like they’re looking for someone else to do it.
To be fair to Merlin, the Tower does look well cared for - maybe that’s where all their money went!
@Sepulchure:
The main change customers should see is that the LDC stores should be synched with the VIP program directly, meaning you can both earn and spend actual points.
@Zandy5:
I shopped there so rarely (being an extra hour round trip past the LEGO Store, which is already a 90-minute round trip) that I frequently forgot to do this, and I don’t recall them ever inquiring directly, but you could still get the 5% discount if you told them you were a VIP member. It worked out slightly in your favor as the VIP format gives you $5 off after you’ve already spent $100, while the LDC discount effectively lowered that to $5 off for every $95 you spend (because it’s applied directly to the qualifying purchase, not to a future purchase).
@CCC:
It’s not clear from the article if TLG will be taking over operation of the LDCs, or if they’re just buying out Merlin’s investment. Merlin could still end up running them on a contract basis.
@kelloucq:
I’m unclear on whether the theme parks contributed to their two large annual losses, or if it was just determined that the park system was an unnecessary distraction that could be tapped for instant cash flow. My employer used to own its trucking fleet, but eventually came to the conclusion that they weren’t in the trucking business. So they sold that all off to a trucking company and hired them on a contract basis to manage all things related to shipping. Functionally, things didn’t change much, but now the operation also has to cover profit margin for the contractor, but the contractor also has specialized knowledge that could allow them to lower the overall costs. The important thing for us is that this entire operation has now effectively been reduced to a few dollar amounts in corporate ledgers. Pay the bills, and someone else figures out how to make it all work. That was essentially the relationship TLG had with Merlin, except the cash flowed the other way.
@daewoo:
I’ve only been to two LDCs, and that has not been my experience. Granted, the Chicago LDC is right across the street from one of the Chicagoland LEGO Stores, and the Michigan LDC is only half an hour from the Metro Detroit LEGO Store, but prices have always been MSRP when I’ve shopped at either. It was the kiosks LBR ran two decades ago that had massively inflated prices. And as I already mentioned, flashing your VIP card should get 5% deduction applied at the register.
@kkoster79:
Interesting. I’ve only ever encountered one of these, in Salt Lake City, but I didn’t pay attention to prices because the only thing I was interested in was getting a passport stamp. This might explain why they didn’t know what I was talking about.
@daewoo said:
" @Dash_Justice said:
"Am I supposed to cheer for corporate consolidation?"
When it benefits the consumer, yes. In my experience, LDC store prices are higher than if I go into a Lego store and I don't earn VIP Points and cannot use them. Bringing them together changes all of that."
While that may be true in the short term, in the long term the consumer most definitely loses. Just one look at movie studios, tech companies, clothing, and other corporate conglomerates that have formed over the past three decades.
@blueshift said:
"My nearest "brand store" is a discovery center, and the store part is in a perpetual state of chaos and maintained by the most apathetic college students. This news is therefore very welcome to me, and I hope the quality improves!"
I got news for you who runs all Lego stores....
@GirlWoman said:
" @blueshift said:
"My nearest "brand store" is a discovery center, and the store part is in a perpetual state of chaos and maintained by the most apathetic college students. This news is therefore very welcome to me, and I hope the quality improves!"
I got news for you who runs all Lego stores...."
LDC stores are not currently managed under LEGO Brand Retail, which operates official LEGO Stores and LEGO.com. If it's true that Kirkbi now owns Merlin, then yes, it's all fully under the same umbrella, but still standing on the other side of the handle.
@PurpleDave said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @blueshift said:
"My nearest "brand store" is a discovery center, and the store part is in a perpetual state of chaos and maintained by the most apathetic college students. This news is therefore very welcome to me, and I hope the quality improves!"
I got news for you who runs all Lego stores...."
LDC stores are not currently managed under LEGO Brand Retail, which operates official LEGO Stores and LEGO.com. If it's true that Kirkbi now owns Merlin, then yes, it's all fully under the same umbrella, but still standing on the other side of the handle."
I was referring to the part about college students lol
@GirlWoman said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @GirlWoman said:
" @blueshift said:
"My nearest "brand store" is a discovery center, and the store part is in a perpetual state of chaos and maintained by the most apathetic college students. This news is therefore very welcome to me, and I hope the quality improves!"
I got news for you who runs all Lego stores...."
LDC stores are not currently managed under LEGO Brand Retail, which operates official LEGO Stores and LEGO.com. If it's true that Kirkbi now owns Merlin, then yes, it's all fully under the same umbrella, but still standing on the other side of the handle."
I was referring to the part about college students lol"
Well, that's who works in them, but not who runs them. Being brought under the LBR umbrella means the management has to answer to the same people who oversee the regular LEGO Stores, and that means the local store managers may end up feeling pressure to enact some changes. Carrot or stick, they'll have to figure out how to appease their own bosses, or risk losing their own jobs.