Trivia: Egyptian theme rides set to open in March

North County Times (Barbara Henry)

Toning down the fear factor but still hanging onto the adventurous spirit of an “Indiana Jones” movie, Legoland California will open its Egyptian-themed “Land of Adventure” area March 10.

Four new attractions are planned as part of the park's largest single-year investment since it opened in 1999, park officials said during a news conference Thursday.

The new area's signature ride -- the Lost Kingdom Adventure -- takes visitors in mock, four-seater jeeps through mostly unlit rooms where spiders, snakes and scarabs (beetles) scramble over faux Egyptian artifacts. Visitors blast away at these creepy-crawlies and other hazards with laser “guns.”

Ride designer Bill Vollbrecht said Thursday that his favorite part occurs when the jeeps careen around a mock traffic accident where two skeletons and a jeep are embedded into a wall covered in metal spikes.

But don't expect any blood and guts -- even the pretend kind. After all, this is an amusement park geared toward families with children ages 2 to 12.