LEGOLAND California is getting ready to welcome an impressive new addition that is the first roller coaster coming to the resort in more than 20 years. This indoor, space-themed coaster is part of the single biggest in-park investment that Merlin Entertainment has made in a LEGOLAND park ever.
We recently got the chance to visit the construction site and see the progress on what’s coming, and we are very intrigued by this new addition. It actually has a higher top speed than Disney’s Space Mountain and interactive components that make the experience repeatable for families. If you’re planning a Disneyland trip with young kids, this new addition is a compelling reason to take a LEGOLAND day in San Diego.
Keep reading for all details about what’s coming and a peek behind the scenes at the progress! At Mickey Visit, we cover the latest Disney news, like the Disneyland Star Wars cantina set for a multi-week closure ahead of planned land changes, and the Disneyland kids’ special ticket offer price lowered to $47 per day.
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New Space-Themed LEGOLAND Coaster
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The Galacticoaster, LEGOLAND California’s new family-friendly roller coaster, will open in just a few months. In this experience, riders will embark on a thrilling space mission to save LEGOLAND, designing a spacecraft that will lure LEGO Brick Separators in to pry apart an incoming asteroid. In case you’re not familiar, these are the LEGO tools used for prying apart bricks, so you don’t hurt your fingers.
During the pre-show, you’ll be briefed by Chief Engineer Biff Dipper, an impressive new animatronic with more than 45 digitally projected facial features and nine body movements. Biff will explain your mission, then you’ll get a wristband and be sent off to the customization room to design your own spacecraft.
This part is pretty interesting and a little reminiscent of the interactive design process that Test Track used to have at EPCOT. There are two customization bays with 10 terminals that accommodate groups of 4 each. With your group, you’ll select a nose, wings, tail, etc., to design your own spacecraft to lure in the Separators. There are more than 625 different combinations possible, all based on real LEGO pieces.
For each element, you have 20 seconds to decide what to pick (and if you don’t pick, something will be selected for you).
From here, you’ll scan your wristband, and your design will show up throughout the ride. During the experience, you’ll see your custom spacecraft going through different spaces! Flora Liu, Senior Project Manager at Merlin Magic Making, shared how even though it’s a dark ride, the atmosphere feels romantic with stars everywhere and the glowing LEGO bricks.
Here is how LEGOLAND describes the new ride experience: “As the airlocks close and countdown begins, riders blast off through an intergalactic LEGO solar system filled with special effects, synchronized lighting, and surprise appearances from classic LEGO Space icons…who knows… a space cow may make an appearance!”
The coaster is built in a 30,000 square foot space, and the track is about 450 meters. The height of the speed of launch is about 40 miles per hour, which is faster than the top speeds of Disney’s Space Mountain coasters in Magic Kingdom and Disneyland (27 mph and 32 mph, respectively). There are four seats in each car, and the ride has a total capacity of 48 riders at one time.
Flora shared that the overall experience of the ride, which entails the customization room, family AR moment, and launch, is roughly 10 minutes. The ride experience itself is roughly 2 to 1/2 minutes. Riders must be 90 cm (36 inches) to ride accompanied, and 120 cm (48 inches) to ride alone.
LEGO Galaxy Opening Date
The LEGO Galaxy project, which has been in progress for over three years, opens on March 6, 2026. As we mentioned previously, this marks the single biggest in-park investment that Merlin Entertainment has made in a LEGOLAND park ever. It was still very much an active construction site when we visited, but it’s getting closer to completion.
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While the ride is also opening at LEGOLAND Florida, LEGOLAND California is taking it a step further by building a new space-themed land. Merlin Magic Making Creative Director Rosie Brailsford described how LEGO Galaxy is a “melting pot of all of the different themes of LEGO space that have existed essentially since the 70s.”
She mentioned how space is such a passion point for kids, as some are interested in aliens, space vehicles, or just the possibilities of space. This land leans into all of these elements, with something for the whole family. While the Galacticoaster is the main experience, there are also two other rides, G-Force Test Facility and DUPLO Launch and Land.
G-Force Test Facility is a spinning and rotating ride aimed at older age groups, while DUPLO Launch and Land, a reskin of the former Sky Patrol ride, is targeted towards younger audiences.
There is also a Junior Astronaut Training Zone play area for toddlers, a hands-on, rocket assembly bay where guests can build their own rocket, the Orbital Outpost retail shop, and a few different dining locations: U.F.O. (Ultimate Food Outlet), Stardust Treats, and Satellite Bites. We got a sneak peek of the food, and it was quite good. I am actually still thinking about the ube-frosted churros from Satellite Bites.
What Does This New Coaster Mean for Disney Families?
There are already a lot of very good reasons to add some time in San Diego to your Disneyland trip, especially if you’re visiting with younger kids. Between LEGOLAND, the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, SeaWorld, etc., there are a lot of fun attractions to explore.
For families with kids (especially those around 6-12 years of age) who are big LEGO fans, it would be a no-brainer to add a LEGOLAND day to check out this promising new coaster and the new land.
We have commented in the past about how this is essentially LEGOLAND’s version of Space Mountain, and the concept of a dark indoor coaster is bound to be quite exciting for kids, especially with an added interactive component. This coaster will almost certainly have very high demand when it debuts.
This expansion is coming as Disneyland is investing in several new rides and attractions at Disney California Adventure. Right now, there are two new rides under construction for Avengers Campus, a new Coco boat ride in progress, and an Avatar land on the horizon. You can see details about all the new rides coming to Disneyland here.
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