I
recently blogged a report of a possible Legoland development deal in Florida. It seems
from this report that they are also in negotiations over a possible park in Illinois. There's no hint whether this would be in addition to a potential Legoland park in Florida, or if Merlin Entertainment (owners and operators of the parks) is looking at these as competing alternatives. IMO Florida makes more sense - it's more of a destination for tourists and can operate outdoor amusements year-round; previous rumors of a potential park in Kansas never went anywhere. On the other hand, Legoland is smaller than something like Disneyland and may be more dependent on the local population than it is on destination tourists - this location would be close enough to both Saint Louis and Chicago for day trips. For comparison, I've got a two-year-old and we've visited Sesame Place, a small theme park in Philadelphia based on Sesame Street. I can't imagine that place gets people traveling to Philly to visit it, but probably all parents of young children in the area have been there.
For the record, Sesame Place was certainly fun enough to visit again, probably in the summer since there were several water slides and a raft ride that were closed for the winter. My daughter was a little freaked out when we first came up to the gate and there was a giant Grover walking around, but by the time we'd been in the park a bit she warmed up to the idea of getting her picture taken with the characters. Elmo was, of course, the biggest hit.
