LEGOLAND Promo Bricks: Collecting May Be Addictive!
Many LEGOLAND Parks and Discovery Centers have offered printed promo bricks over the years. Also known as promotional or commemorative bricks, the fan community generally just calls them promo bricks. Join BrickNerd as we look into the past, present, and future of promo bricks.
Promo bricks generally take two forms: Duplo, Brick 1 x 2 x 2, or Brick 2 x 4 x 3. LEGOLAND California has only used the Duplo version, while LEGOLAND Deutschland has fully embraced the system brick version. As we’ll see, the other parks have often used a strange combination of both versions. I’ll mention here that this article isn’t going to be an exhaustive catalog or listing of all the promo bricks. We’re going to touch on the more common occurrences of LEGOLAND-specific promo bricks and discuss trends.
West Coast is the Best Coast
We’ll start our journey in sunny Southern California since that’s where my local park is located. LEGOLAND California has had about 100 Duplo promo bricks from 2000 to 2023. It’s difficult to determine an exact number for two reasons:
BrickLink didn’t include “LEGOLAND California” in the catalog item descriptions for many years. This makes it difficult to filter/search.
Many additional promo bricks were distributed at the park but may not have been exclusive to the park (i.e., LEGO Club Weekends).
What Makes Promo Bricks So Collectible?
For starters, the cost of entry to the hobby can’t be beat – they are free! (Of course, this assumes you’ve already paid for park admission). Living near LEGOLAND California, our family used to be frequent visitors and always enjoyed receiving new bricks. They weren’t just a commodity to build with—each one had an associated memory of an event or new attraction opening. As the collection grew over the years, it functioned much like a photo album. We could look back and remember many fun times together.
Getting some extra bricks also opened the door to trading with AFOLs that lived near other LEGOLAND parks. I developed multi year friendships with people in Germany and the UK. While not quite free, many trades were made with just the cost of postage.
Of course, on a few occasions I broke down and purchased some bricks, but for the most part I kept it as a low-cost hobby/collection.
Bricks Of Shame
In 2006, several different promo bricks were produced with pre-applied stickers on both sides instead of printing.
I would assume this was done as a cost savings measure. But I can’t imagine that either the specialized machinery or extra labor to manually apply the stickers would have actually saved money. The worst part was that the paper sticker material was much more prone to damage and fading than printed bricks! Don’t believe me?
via llpromobricks
There was a rumor that Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen (third-generation owner) visited LEGOLAND California during this time period and that a concerned employee pointed out the stickered bricks to him. He allegedly said that they shouldn’t be produced that way. After several months, newly released promo bricks started to appear with printing, and stickered bricks were never seen again. Coincidence???
Dwindling Numbers
via BrickLink
After many years with a steady stream of promo bricks, the supply at LEGOLAND California drastically dwindled. Starting in late 2006 through 2013, there was a shift from double-sided printed bricks to single-sided prints (with few exceptions). Starting in 2014, there has only been one new double-sided brick each year for their “Brick or Treat” event. It’s not advertised, but there might be another brick available to guests paying extra for a premium park experience…
Packaging Evolution
Via Brickfinder
For many years the promo bricks were distributed individually as a simple brick. Starting in around 2011, the bricks started showing up prepackaged in a bag with an age label and country of manufacture. No doubt this was done in response to more stringent child toy safety regulations. This extra measure certainly increased the cost of the bricks and may have contributed to the decline in new bricks issued.
Deutschland - Where System Promo Bricks Flourish!
LEGOLAND Deutschland takes the prize for the most promo bricks. There have been over 240 system bricks when you include bricks from Feriendorf (the adjacent lodging area)! From 2002 to 2007, the bricks were primarily red. Starting in 2008 they switched to using yellow bricks most often. Perhaps this was done for printing to show up better on a lighter color brick.
Some promo bricks other than deutschland are shown
There are some fun instances of “puzzle” versions of promo bricks from 2004 printed on three stacked 2x4 bricks. I’m unclear if these were widely produced/distributed or were limited occurrences. I don’t have the complete story, but I believe the bricks are printed on-site at this park. They used to be dispensed by some type of machine, but this may have been changed due to the brick packaging regulations.
LEGOLAND Windsor
LEGOLAND Windsor had 32 documented promo bricks from 2008 to 2014. The majority (28) were Duplo promo bricks. But there were four system bricks produced in 2012 celebrating the London Olympics. These Olympic-themed bricks were available to annual pass members upon reaching 5, 10, 15, and 20 park visits. In 2013, the park returned to Duplo promo bricks and continued the pass member visit count from 25 to 60 in increments of five. Sadly, this was the end of new Windsor promo bricks counting visits. Perhaps their pass members were burned out after 60 visits!
Can you spot the odd system bricks?
[Stop the presses! While researching this article I’ve just learned about a 33rd promo brick from Windsor in 2017. I’ll update this with more information when I have it. A collector’s job is never done…]
Florida - The Sunshine State
via bricklink
LEGOLAND Florida had one unusual LEGO 2x6 system promo brick in 2011. I don’t know any of the background on this brick. My wife and I visited the park during the opening week and received factory tour promo bricks, but we didn’t see any sign of this 2x6 brick.
The park has had a steady stream of at least 81 Duplo promo bricks from 2011 to 2024. From 2015 to 2017, there were annual pass promotions where pass members were issued cardboard display packages to show off some of the bricks they collected.
A more complete gallery of all LEGOLAND Florida promo bricks (and all the other parks) is available at LLPromoBricks. Note that the site counts 4066 and 76371 brick variations separately, so our counts may differ slightly. Be sure to use the drop-down menus to fully explore this wonderful resource!
via llpromobricks
New York, New York
LEGOLAND New York has only had one single-sided site-specific Duplo promo brick since the park opened in 2021 (not including general ones showing rides or events that appear at other parks).
But wait, there is another known brick... one that is a mystery! A double-sided Duplo brick was distributed while the park was under construction showing the planned opening date of [July 4th] 2020. Who knew that a pandemic about to strike and they wouldn’t open for a few more years…
Middle East and Far East Promo Bricks
LEGOLAND Dubai started with two Duplo bricks in 2016 and has had approximately 60 system bricks from 2016 to 2024. While it’s unlikely I’ll ever get to visit this park, I would love to see their Miniland area enclosed in a domed building.
via bricklink
Legoland NY’s new gondola via Dave Schefcik
Too bad other parks don’t protect Miniland from the elements, though Florida did just put up some tents, and New York’s gondola ride might offer some shade for the builds below as it stretches over Miniland.
via bricklink
LEGOLAND Japan has joined the promo brick trend with a puzzling mix of six Duplo bricks from 2016 to 2018 and 114 System bricks from 2017 to 2024. As far as I can tell, they are all printed on one side. One unusual occurrence is the six different color versions of the Factory [Tour] bricks. I would also be curious to learn the story behind the four versions of the “Happy Rainy Day” bricks. Were they distributed to park guests as a small consolation for visiting the park in the rain?
via bricklink
LEGOLAND Malaysia produced 28 single-sided Duplo promo bricks from 2015 to 2020. Sadly, they seem to have given up on the promo brick distribution.
LEGOLAND Korea has yet to officially join the promo brick party. I’m not aware of any system or Duplo promo bricks distributed at the park. But you can read about a printed test brick here that indicates perhaps some are planned for the future.
Billund Has Been Short Changed
via bricklink
Somewhat surprisingly, the original LEGOLAND park in Billund, Denmark only has one documented promo brick. In 2017 they had a Duplo brick with the common theme of Brick or Treat. Perhaps there are others out there waiting to be discovered and documented.
More Bricks to Discover
via bricklink
Branching out from the parks, many LEGOLAND Discovery Centers worldwide have issued 149 Duplo promo bricks and 16 system promo bricks since 2008 according to BrickLink. I suspect the actual number may be quite a bit higher due to the many locations and somewhat sporadic issuance of new bricks.
Misprints Happen
With many thousand bricks produced, there are bound to be occasional misprints. I have three LEGOLAND California bricks that were supposed to be double-sided but only are printed on one side. But my personal favorites are two bricks with both prints on a single side! I have always suspected a bored factory working may have done this intentionally, but I’ll never know. You can read about other misprints from around the world here.
While not technically a misprint, LEGOLAND California had an oopsie with the 2004 to 2005 New Year’s Eve celebration brick. The park first received a full order of bricks printed with 2004… but nobody wants to celebrate the ending year, but rather look forward to the coming New Year. So, all the bricks were reordered with 2005 printed instead. I can’t recall if the 2005 bricks were received in time for the New Year’s Eve event or not. But one of the versions was distributed New Year’s Eve and the other version was later distributed to park guests rather than just recycling them.
A Sampling of Non-LEGOLAND Promo Bricks
LEGOLAND Parks and Discovery centers don’t have a monopoly on LEGO promo bricks. Here’s a sampling of a few other interesting examples.
Toys R Us (remember them?) had a four-week promotion during one of their Bricktober events. This was one of very few multi-promo brick graphics produced over the years.
There have been multiple promo bricks issued for LEGO Brand Retail (LBR) store openings and Master Builder events. The Jedi master has been just one of many subjects built by fans and a Master Builder over 2 to 3 days.
ryan McNaught (aka brickman) via the brick life
Keepers of the History
There have been several resources over the years attempting to document the history of promo bricks. Fellow Californian Mark Papenfuss had an extensive history on his promobricks.com website, which unfortunately went offline several years ago. A German collector, Michael Friedrichs, launched promobricks.de many years ago, but they have transitioned to a prominent German language LEGO news and reviews site. And finally, there’s the BrickLink catalog. But BrickLink uses crowdsourcing for many of their catalog entries, and the promo bricks have really fallen behind, especially for foreign countries.
But thankfully there’s a fairly new resource available. Bryan Maike started LLPromoBricks a few years ago. I’m amazed at the depth of information he has already assembled. No doubt the entries will continue to be added/updated as more data is gathered. If you haven’t already clicked on one of the links, I recommend you take a look around his site.
Looking To The Future
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or Buzz Lightyear) to predict that LEGOLAND Deutschland will likely continue their long tradition of plentiful promo bricks. LEGOLAND Dubai and Japan also seem to have a strong promo brick series. And LEGOLAND California will probably continue their meager single annual Brick or Treat promo brick. It’s disappointing to see a number of parks reduce or discontinue the bricks completely.
But hopefully the promo bricks will continue as a fun way to capture LEGOLAND memories for builders and collectors of all ages for years to come.
Do you collect promo bricks? Let us know in the comments below.
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