LEGOLAND Windsor installs Christie RGB projector

Photo credit: LEGOLAND^® Windsor Resort

Christie^®, a global leader in audio visual solutions, is delighted to announce that its award-winning RGB pure laser projector, the D4K40-RGB, has been installed at the LEGOLAND^® Windsor Resort, the UK’s favorite children’s theme park. With almost 2.5m annual visitors the park regularly evolves its offering and the Christie D4K40-RGB is a key part of the technology set-up for the resort’s newest attraction, The Flight of the Sky Lion.

The Flight of the Sky Lion is the UK’s first ‘flying theater’ ride and is the main attraction in LEGOLAND’s new £20 million ($27M USD) imaginary land ‘Mythica: World of Mythical Creatures’. Inspired by the ideas of children, the focal point is the Sky Lion that is created out of 685,530 Lego bricks. The ride itself stands 25m (82 feet) tall and visitors are transported below the Sky Lion’s wing to Mythica, where Lego creatures, such as the two-headed Hydra and Fire and Ice Bird come to life. The adventure is projected onto a 20m (65 feet) high concave screen, and the gondola, in which the audience sits, is capable of a 30-degree swing, 23-degree pitch and a few degrees sideways movement. The ride was created by Brogent Technologies.

Merlin Entertainments, LEGOLAND’s parent company, commissioned Brogent, a world leader in media-based attractions, to create the Windsor ride incorporating interactive AR elements with a combined creative and educational philosophy. The ride is encased in a huge 20m x 20m (65x65 foot) spherical dome which has a cut-out at the top through which content is projected onto the concave screen. Stefan Rothaug, Marketing & Sales, Brogent Technologies, relates how the D4K40-RGB became the chosen projector for the ride:

“It was clear from the design of the dome that we needed a single projector solution,” he says. “It was all we had room for. As such we needed the best possible unit we could find, and that turned out to be the Christie D4K40-RGB. We were blown away by the vibrant color reproduction, and the advantages of laser over lamp projection have come into their own in a theme park setting. With rides operating 10 plus hours a day, and almost 365 days a year, maintenance costs can be considerable but with laser there are no costly lamp changes every two to three months. It was our first time using laser projection and it won’t be our last.”

During the design and specification phase of the project, Brogent was able to draw on the help of Christie Professional Services, one of the audiovisual industry’s most trusted advisors in designing, manufacturing, deploying and supporting professional AV display systems. Professional Services helped Brogent with modelling lifetime costs for various projection solutions as well as calculating total number of lumens required for the dome space. “We were delighted with the help we received from Christie Professional Services,” commented Rothaug, “and we will definitely be drawing on their help in the future.”

Professional Services

Whether it’s pure RGB pure laser or Xenon technology, PLF or small screen, Christie Professional Services can provide a tailored, service-based approach to each customer. Services include technical support, on-site services, extended parts coverage, complete logistics support, remote monitoring and more. Professional Services offers complete system protection with concierge level support, flexible financing, and tailored pre-sales and after-sales.