This 4,500 square-foot retail store will stock more than 400 different LEGO� toy products and offer a unique interactive retail experience, expressing the LEGO brand values of creativity, imagination and discovery. Behind the ``larger than life'' red LEGO brick doors, LEGO Imagination Center is designed for children of all ages and provides a ``high-touch,'' interactive glimpse at the LEGO world.

``We're excited to be a part of Downtown Disney,'' said GFA Vice President of Retail Carol Stemmerman. ``The Disneyland� Resort in Anaheim is a major destination point for many visitors and this new LEGO Imagination Center represents a perfect partnership.''

Many currently unavailable items, which will be exclusive to LEGO Imagination Center, are being developed for the grand opening, including branded shirts, hats, backpacks and sports gear. The stores and three LEGOLAND� parks will also be the sole distributors of toys and clothing based on the LEGO play themes, such as knights' helmets and shields from the LEGO Castle sets and a cuddly plush version of the LEGO� BABY line.

In addition to a huge assortment of all the latest LEGO toys, including the hard-to-find European lines for girls, Scala and Belville, LEGO Imagination Center will offer guests exuberant, experience-based activities. The store pulls shoppers into action with brick-filled play areas, intricate and whimsical models, vibrant LEGO colors and upbeat music for a unique and total LEGO experience.

The striking architecture of the Anaheim LEGO store is a creative departure from what shoppers normally experience. A classical pavilion style exterior sets off the oval shape of the building, and leads guests into an exciting world of colors, textures, sound and imagination. Inside, people will discover a connecting network of LEGO ``worlds,'' each featuring toys, clothes and other products from specific lines designed for infants, toddlers, youngsters, pre-teens and teens. Center stage in the store will be LEGO brick models, including a life-size giraffe, an airplane, an animated T-rex and many other dramatic creations.

``We're looking forward to the opening of this new LEGO store,'' Stemmerman said. ``In addition to the LEGO Imagination Centers at Mall of America and Downtown Disney in Orlando, another LEGO store is opening in The Shops at North Bridge on Michigan Avenue in Chicago this November. We are currently researching possible sites for future stores, and plan to open more LEGO stores around the globe over the next few years.''

Visitors to the Anaheim LEGO Imagination Center will be able to purchase several new state-of-the-art products coming out this fall, including the new Vision Command™, the latest addition to the popular LEGO MINDSTORMS™ robotics kits. A new product division, LEGO Time, with a clever assortment of watches and LEGO Wear, colorful and practical clothes for kids, will also be featured in the stores.

Located in the heart of the Disneyland� Resort, Downtown Disney� will be an entertainment mecca of themed shopping, dining, nightclubs and other entertainment venues, all within walking distance for guests, conventioneers and local residents. Downtown Disney� District will become a unique gathering place, connecting two theme parks-the all-new Disney's California Adventure and Disneyland-along with the Disneyland� Resort Hotels.

Global Family Attractions is the division of the LEGO Company that oversees development and operation of all attractions and retail centers. Currently there are three existing LEGOLAND parks in Billund, Windsor and California, and a fourth under construction in Germany is scheduled to open in 2002. There are two LEGO Imagination Centers: one at the Mall of America in Minnesota and the other at Downtown Disney in Orlando. There are also two LEGO Stores currently under construction: one at The Shops at North Bridge in Chicago that will open November 2000 and the other at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California that will open in early 2001.

The family-owned LEGO Company was founded in Billund, Denmark in 1932. By the year 2005, the company wants the LEGO brand to be the strongest in the world among families with children.

SOURCE: LEGO Global Family Attractions

[Posted 10/09/2000]