I can tell that the upcoming Lego Movie will be HUGE (merchandise is already flying off the shelves, there are already many positive reviews, etc.)! If this film is successful enough to warrant a sequel (which it most likely will), Legoland theme parks should capitalize on the upcoming success by developing a dark ride based on the movie.
In Legoland Florida, the ride would best fit in the place of the Flying School coaster. I can't speak for other Legoland parks, but the ride can fit into those parks, too.
It would be a slightly compact, multi-level version of the popular dark ride/simulator hybrids from Oceaneering (Spider-Man, DarKastle, etc.), complete with animatronics (character voices would be provided by their original voice actors), practical effects, 3D imagery (with distortion synched to the vehicle's movements) and interactivity, all taken to the Universal/Disney level of weaving technology with imaginative storytelling.
Sure, the licensed characters would have to be omitted from this ride (as Six Flags owns the US theme park rights to DC Comics), but a Lego Movie-based dark ride would easily become a guest favorite among many.
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Movie released today. Rotten Tomatoes loves it. It's probably going #1 at the box office.
I know its way to early for this, but i think there are pretty decent odds this could win best animated film of 2014.
I just saw the movie today; it was the best animated film I've seen in a while! This could warrant Lego Movie-themed rides at Legoland parks worldwide, and/or perhaps a sequel!
UPDATE: There is another place to put this ride: a grassy area between Lego City and Lego Technic. It's a hilly area, so some major terraforming would need to be done.
Wow. The reaction to this movie is taking a lot of people by surprise. This might turn out to be a huge development for the Lego parks, starting right now by driving interest and attendance.
I'd think that the parks need to get Emmet and Wyldstyle walk-around characters in the parks at all times, at minimum to start taking advantage of that. But yeah, this needs to move waaaay up the priority list at Merlin.
Entertainment weekly gives the movie an A and is comparing it to Wall-E and the Toy Story movies. Adding a Lego movie ride would host attendance at the Lego land parks. Those parks need it.
UPDATE: I just saw the movie. IT IS AMAZING! They should totally make a ride.
The Lego movie is an amazing piece of work - unfortunately, way more inventive or exciting than Merlin bother to put into their theme parks. They'd rather clone the same kid-skewering rides than invest any effort in something new or original.
I do really like Legoland Windsor but it's mainly for under-10s and I do wonder if the gulf in tone between the parks and the movie will have a detrimental knock-on effect for the parks.
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Dark rides are expensive to develop, but when done well, their appeal spans generations, so it's a high-risk/high-reward proposition. Unfortunately, that tends to keep everyone save Disney and Universal from investing in them.
Sally's made the dark ride quite a bit for financially accessible for smaller parks, which is why you're seeing so many of Sally's shooters at parks around the country, but beyond those, it's pretty tough to find many new dark rides. (FWIW, Legoland has a Sally shooter in California, don't recall about Florida right away.)
I really, really, really wish Legoland would tap into some of that Merlin/Blackstone cash and pay for a top-shelf dark ride at both California and Florida. And, yes, the movie could be a great catalyst to help make that happen. But you're also right to question how much appeal a movie-themed dark ride might have without the IP. Ultimately, Lego's creative team just needs to find the right story to drive the ride's narrative.