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The newest ride at Legoland Florida Resort lets kids “become the ninja,” with the help of technology that's not found anywhere besides a Legoland park.
The recent opening of the Lego Ninjago World and its Ninjago the Ride introduces Polk County to a hand-recognition technology developed for Legoland parks by Montreal-based Triotech, which specializes in interactive attractions. The ride recognizes kids' karate chops and other ninja-inspired hand motions and translates them into 3-D action on large projection screens. The more targets riders “hit,” the higher their score.
It took months of market research and technical testing to perfect the technology, also used at Legoland parks in Billund, Denmark; Carlsbad, Calif.; and Malaysia. More than 100 linked computers work behind the scenes to allow the action to unfold in real time.
“It's not pre-rendered, which means it uses very advanced 3-D technology projected on a super-large screen while the vehicle is moving and the user is tracked by the computers,” Triotech Founder, President and CEO Ernest Yale says. “So there are layers and layers of challenges. It's a very complex ride. You won't have a ride like this anywhere else in Orlando, for sure. We wanted to do a ride that's considered one of the most truly interactive rides in the world.”
In addition to showcasing this cool new technology, the ride also provides the Winter Haven theme park with a much-needed indoor attraction that offers protection from Florida heat and rain. Tying it to the popular Ninjago brand — which has a movie coming out in September — helps make it a must-do for pint-sized visitors.
The ride is the latest expansion in the Polk County park's five-year history and just one of the additions expected for 2017, which will also see the opening of Legoland Beach Retreat in April. “We've always said that we would add something new into the park every year without fail,” says Adrian Jones, divisional director of Legoland Florida Resort. “We're more than doubling our accommodations in the same year as launching a massive new ride. So 2017 is a big year for Legoland Florida Resort.”
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