Best of BrickNerd: Weekend Highlight — Article originally published November 13, 2021.

LEGOLAND parks issued several special models in the past to commemorate milestones, holidays and special occasions. In my previous article, we learned about many of the models including a red Audi TT Roadster that became “the model that forever changed LEGO.”

The car’s design caused stress on the elements which led to all sets going through stringent quality control and design standardization. This effectively put an end to bootleg LEGO sets designed locally at various LEGOLAND parks in 2006. Or did it!?

Today we will explore several additional Ambassador Pass models created and given out by LEGOLAND California, and you’ll see that the new designs took it to the next level.

The Ambassador Pass

LEGOLAND California used to offer a lifetime membership called an Ambassador Pass (they stopped offering it in 2016, sadly). One of the benefits of the pass included an annual session with the park’s master model builders. The sessions usually consisted of a brief presentation about a recent addition to the park or a certain event. But that presentation was typically followed by a building activity.

For the first twelve years of the program, a take-home model was provided—and sometimes you could even choose between several designs. Those were the days! The annual sessions continue, but now any models or mosaics built during the activity portion are not allowed to be brought home and are instead kept for display in the park or broken down. Let’s take a look at the models that you could take home way back when.

Creative Creatures

In 2000, the park offered a Dragon model that was a significantly larger version of Olli. There were no printed instructions. Instead, there were a series of physical in-progress models that could be replicated. The model consisted of 125 parts.

The 2001 Lion is a little reminiscent of the Duplo lion photo opportunity in the parks. Officially he is named Lionel the Lion according to the printed instructions. In addition to the Ambassador Pass sessions, the lion was also provided to teachers at a special event to introduce them to educational opportunities in the park. The brown cone is actually a non-production part and only available to the parks (known as a Q-element—a part that does not exist in any publicly available set—not even on BrickLink—but is produced by LEGO only for special purposes). There were 112 total parts in this model.

Polly and Paco parrots from 2002 had printed color instructions! Both models were included in the bagged set which came with 130 parts. If the parrots look a little sad, it’s because they were too obscure to be included in Griffin’s nearly comprehensive LEGO parrot article earlier this year. 😉

Miniland Characters

Miniland figures were the Ambassador Pass model subject in 2003. Basic dimensions of the figures and many display examples were provided and you could create your own. I chose to depict my father who was an amateur magician. Technically it was a “build your own” model, but I’m counting this as a bootleg park model, primarily so all of the Ambassador Pass models are documented. If you’re keeping score at home, feel free to adjust your scoresheet as you see fit.

Balls of Fun

In 2004, the building activity was creating a 10 stud-diameter Sphere. The plain sphere was constructed from 110 bricks and plates. In-progress display models were available for the upper half of the sphere, and a black and white handout was available with a photo of the in-progress models as well as some brick paper (grids for sketching). After a brief discussion about building rounded shapes out of LEGO, a tray of single-colored bricks was provided to each table and we were encouraged to build and customize our completed sphere. I took it a step further and wandered from table to table to build a multi-colored maraca! (Naturally, I had to include some 1x1 plates inside so it would make the proper sound when rattled.)

Famous Places

The Vegas Pyramid was one of the two models you could choose from in 2005. This was to tie in with the opening of Miniland Las Vegas. Printed instructions were provided, but the 115 parts were available from self-serve bins. The Luxor hotel was not specifically referenced, despite being the obvious subject matter.

The Vegas Eiffel Tower was the second model choice in 2005, again with printed instructions and self-serve parts. This one had 151 parts. The completed model looks nice but is actually quite fragile during construction. Again the Paris hotel in Las Vegas was not specifically referenced, despite being the obvious subject matter. The model also pre-dated the official LEGO Architecture set of the Eiffel Tower by almost a decade!

Pirate Treasure

A Pirate Ship Diorama was the first model choice in 2006. This was to tie in with the opening of the Pirate Shores area in the park. Printed instructions were provided, but the 127 parts were self-serve from bins (if I recall correctly).

The Treasure Chest Bank was the second model choice in 2006. You could only build one of the two model choices. This was quite a nice model with the hinged lid and a working clasp. Printed instructions were provided, and the 215 parts were self-serve from bins.

Jungle Brick Bending

The Tree Frog was one of the model choices in 2007. Printed instructions were provided and the 90 parts had to be selected from bins. Younger attendees were encouraged to choose this model over the more complex alternative.

The Butterfly was the more complex model choice in 2007 and you could only build one. instead of instructions, printed sheets with flat patterns were provided for four different color combinations. The version shown below had 283 parts, provided in self-serve bins. Printed “exploded view” instructions were also provided for the construction of the central body. Of note, this model had a very strange construction step—the eight long, black antenna elements had to be BENT intentionally to create the legs and antennae of the butterfly. While effective, this just felt so wrong and I’m sure the elements were “stressed”!

Desert Adventures

The Obelisk was one of the two model choices available in 2008. This was to celebrate the opening of the Land of Adventure area in the park. Printed instructions were provided and the 100 parts had to be selected from bins. There was a Q-element in this model: four tan 75 2 x 2 x 3 Double Convex slopes (which continue to be incredibly rare). The brick-built LEGO lettering and a minifigure made this model popular, although it was hard to compete with the other 2008 model choice as you will see.

The Sarcophagus was the second model choice in 2008 with 181 parts. The lid actually opened and closed. I thought this was an exceptional model, and it started a new trend in higher-quality models. Several people I know even created their own versions of a mummy to place inside.

Event Icons

The Birthday Cupcake was available to commemorate the 10th birthday LEGOLAND California in 2009. The model was made from 92 parts. The cupcake was actually hollow with a removable lid that could hide small objects inside. The yellow slopes 75 2 x 2 x 3 Double Convex are also rare, having been used in the original Yellow Castle. The park also sold prebuilt copies of this model in the Club House Store for a brief period of time.

The Sand Castle model was available in 2010—and might be the craziest. There were printed instructions and 229 prebagged parts along with instructions for two versions of the Sand Castle which used the same parts selection. There were a couple of tan Q-elements in this model which are very notable: a 2x2 square flag, a half-pyramid 2x1 slopes, and a few 75 2 x 2 x 3 Double Convex slopes (like in the Obelisk). (How can this not be a regular production part yet!?) There were so many non-production tan elements in this sand castle that if you wanted to purchase them all individually to recreate the set from pieces on BrickLink, it would cost you north of $300.

Obscure trivia time: This may have been the first model with tan 1x1 cheese slopes to be released. They were initially created for the 10214 Tower Bridge set which had been publicly announced but was not available prior to the sand castle.

Star Wars

Finally we have perhaps the most infamous semi-official “bootleg” model from 2011, Han Solo riding a Tauntaun. This was to commemorate the opening of the Star Wars Miniland cluster and is the only model based on a licensed property. Printed instructions and 336 parts in bags were provided.

This was the largest and, in my opinion, the most exceptional of the Ambassador Pass models. There seemed to be a crescendo starting with the Sarcophagus and growing with the Sand Castle, peaking with this Tauntaun model. As you might expect, this is one of the most desirable LEGOLAND models that Star Wars collectors seek out, though thankfully it can easily be built out of basic bricks.

Unfortunately, this was also the last of the bootleg models.

The End of An Era

It is sad that this marked the end of the LEGOLAND bootleg models. I am not sure the reason why they stopped. There were 17 total Ambassador Pass models developed from 2000 to 2011. As an Ambassador Pass member myself, I obviously miss the exclusive models and the experience of receiving and building them. But I think there is something bigger that has been lost: these models were UNIQUE to each park and were a special treat. They were something to be proud of that spoke to each park’s culture and talent… and now that magic seems to have been lost in favor of corporate standardization.

At least we got five more years of Ambassador Pass bootleg models in California after “the model that forever changed LEGO” supposedly ended the program in 2006. The exceptional models released in that half-decade were the best of the series and were just hitting their stride. Perhaps they will return one day…

Would you like to see LEGOLAND bootleg models make a return? Let us know in the comments below.

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