LEGOLAND

A hidden world, layered over a real park.

Client
LEGOLAND, Merlin Entertainments
Discipline
Themed entertainment
Role
Experience Director
Platform
In-park, RFID, Mobile app
Park
LEGOLAND California
Responsibilities
Experience strategy, hidden journey, concept development
Five screens from the LEGOLAND app showing badges, achieve status, points and the family dashboard

Overview

A park-wide game that made the physical environment respond to a child, without putting another screen in front of them.

LEGOLAND asked us to create a park-wide game that transformed the entire park into an interactive experience. We designed a hidden layer of play that let kids explore freely, complete challenges, and earn points, while parents could follow along and track their progress.

The governing constraint

No kid-facing screen time.

The digital layer had to make the physical park more interesting, not compete with it. The RFID keepsake became the interface.

An illustration of a family arriving at LEGOLAND California, each wearing a key on a lanyard
Britt uses sketches to tell the story of the experience.

The core loop

Tap. Unlock. Play. Keep going.

One physical object, recognised everywhere, turning separate attractions into a single continuous adventure.

The LEGOLAND Keypers end-to-end journey, from gate awareness through park-wide play to the closing ceremony
The end-to-end journey: arrival, park-wide play, the Hub, and take it home.

Two audiences, one system

Kids play. Parents orchestrate.

We created wireframes for every game kids would encounter as they explored and played throughout the park.

A grid of grayscale wireframes for the in-park games, from the attractor loop through nearby builds, treasures and the key tap

Outcome

1 Physical key, recognised park-wide
2 Audiences served by one system
0 Screens required of a child

Kids didn’t need to understand RFID, identity or connected systems. They needed to understand that the park knew who they were.

Next project

Men’s Wearhouse

Twelve concepts, sixty customers, two that survived.