America's Biggest Legoland Coming To New York

The largest Legolan amusement park in the United States is officially coming to New York.

The Legoland in Goshen will have amusement park rides modeled after Lego's famous construction blocks. It will be even larger than the Legoland Discovery Center coming to the the American Dream Meadowlands, which is slated to open in 2019. The only two other Legoland amusement parks in the United States are in California and Florida. There are six international locations.

But parents and kids will have to wait a little longer for the New York park. The $350-million park is slated to open in 2020 with a 250-room Legoland hotel and an aquarium, Merlin Entertainments Chief Executive Officer Nick Varney said in a press release Wednesday. The Goshen Planning Board approved the project recently.

“We have spent a lot of time building relationships in the community, listening and responding to concerns, and we are looking forward to building a theme park that will enhance the community and be a tremendous neighbor,” Varney said.

The park will be built on this 500-acre tract off Route 17 in Goshen. (Google Maps image)

The new park will be off of Route 17 in Orange County, about 60 miles north of New York City. About 2 million people are expected to visit the park annually, according to an NJ Family report.

Legoland amusement parks are vastly different and larger than Legoland Discovery Centers. Those are geared towards kids 3 to 10 years old and are indoors.

Photo: The entrance to Legoland California theme park next to North America's first ever LEGOLAND Hotel at Legoland in Carlsbad, California. The three-story, 250-room hotel is located at the entrance of Legoland California theme park. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)