Legoland Windsor has unveiled the first image from their headline attraction in the new LEGO MYTHICA area of the park.
The Flight of the Sky Lion is a 4D flying theatre attraction that will take guests on an adventure through the newly imagined realm, soaring and diving through the world's landscape.
Becoming the UK's first flying theatre attraction, the ride system is likely to be similar to that used in Legoland Florida, which is a Brogent Technologies m-ride system. As can be seen in the image, riders will likely be rotated from their boarding position through 180 degrees into a show building reveal, before taking-off on their adventure.
With the combination of floor-to-ceiling projection, subtle swinging movements and environmental effects, flying theatres can provide a unique riding experience where the rider can fully immerse in their surroundings.
First designed by Walt Disney Imagineering with the attraction Soarin' Over California in 2001, the flying theatre proved extremely popular within Disney properties where it was replicated at Epcot, Shanghai Disneyland Park and Tokyo DisneySea, and then further extended into the ride type for Avatar Flight of Passage at Disney's Animal Kingdom in 2017.
Secondary manufacturers have more recently begun selling their implementations, which has allowed the attraction type to appear outside of Disney properties, albeit using a modified ride system that rotates users into the theatre rather than lifting users into a concave dome like Soarin'.
The arrival of the ride type into the UK being an important milestone in history of UK dark ride attractions. If popular, the customisable ability of the ride type could enable other operators to introduce their own versions.