THE FORCE IS STRONG AT LEGOLAND® CALIFORNIA FOR LEGO® STAR WARS™ DAYS

CARLSBAD, Calif. (June 18, 2011) –   Thousands of people found the Force at LEGOLAND® California during the first day of the popular LEGO® Star Wars Days at the family theme park in Carlsbad June 18 and 19. Park guests of all ages dressed as their favorite Star Wars characters and spent the day interacting with members of the 501st Legion of Stormtroopers and Rebel Legion.  Throughout the day, guests participated in out-of-this-world activities like the Droid Hunt, video game battles, Darth Vader meet-and-greets, Jedi trivia competitions and a costume contest.

LEGOLAND California’s newest addition, Star Wars Miniland, was a bonus to the themed event featuring six scenes from the live-action Star Wars movies and a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars all in 1:20 scale. More than 1.5 million LEGO bricks were used to create the 2,000 LEGO models seen in the planets Naboo, Geonosis, Kashyyyk, Mustafar, Tatooine, Hoth, Endor and Christophsis.

Also new this year, LEGOLAND California gives Park guests an exclusive preview to the amazing sand sculpture honoring Star Wars Miniland in The Beginning of the Park . Created by six of the world’s best sand sculptors, the detailed sand sculpture includes a sand version of the iconic Millennium Falcon, Darth Vader, Yoda and Luke Skywalker. The sand sculpture and it’s progress from start to finish can be seen on the new television show “Sand Masters” airing on Travel Channel June 19 at 10 p.m.

The popular Droid Hunt returned this year as guests of all ages received collectible “droid badges” if they were among the first in line at The Beginning of the Park. When guests wearing the collectible droid badges were “caught” within the Park by members of the 501st Legion, they had to respond to the question “How long have you had these droids?” to receive a raffle ticket for the chance to win fantastic LEGO Star Wars and LEGOLAND California merchandise.

Other features and attractions include the LEGO Star Wars Fan Gallery, highlighting LEGO Star Wars creations built by local fans and LEGO Club members; Jedi Trivia contests, which allow guests to use their Star Wars knowledge to compete for fabulous prizes; and a Miniland U.S.A. word scramble activity to discover scrambled letters hidden next to ARF trooper mini-figures. Those who locate all the letters and decode the secret phrase are entered to win an exclusive LEGO Star Wars Prize Package.

Guests are encouraged to dress as their favorite Star Wars characters and participate in the daily costume contest.  Prizes are awarded in two age categories each day: 8 and younger and 9 to 15.  Each prize package is valued at more than $500 and includes exclusive LEGO Star Wars toys, collectible gear and tickets to LEGOLAND California Resort.