The city of Carlsbad expects to issue the permits within the next several weeks, the city's planning director told a local newspaper yesterday.
The move is not unexpected. Merlin's CEO told TPI last year that the company planned to build Sea Life centers next its to Legoland parks. A Sea Life center has been park of the plans for Legoland's proposed Kansas City-area park.
Legoland California said the 36,000-square-foot facility, which will be a separate ticket, should open in summer 2008.
This will be the first Sea Life center in the U.S., and the competition for sea-themed attractions in Southern California is, of course, fierce, with SeaWorld San Diego just down the road and Long Beach's Aquarium of the Pacific serving the L.A. market.
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If Legoland is trying to compete with Sea World in the "sea life aquarium center" regard, I believe I can say with some confidence that they won't be doing it with dolphins, whales, seals, or sea lions (unless they're going to book a contract show, and I don't think Marine Animal Productions is in any shape to supply such at the moment).
Given this, I would be most curious to see more details on the new development. Anyone else...?
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