The LEGO Group acquired the LEGOLAND Discovery Centers and LEGO Discovery Centers from Merlin Entertainment back in Spetember 2025 in a ~$250 million deal. The acquisition includes 29 facilities in nine countries which attract around five million visitors each year. It does not include the 11 LEGOLAND Theme Parks and Resorts which Merlin to continue operating under licence from the LEGO Group. Merlin will now focus on the theme park locations while the LEGO Group will see the LEGO Discovery Centers as an important addition to their global network of retail stores allowing fans memorable hands-on brand and shopping experiences

I live closest to the LEGO Discovery Center in Atlanta and I got an email announcing the shift would take place on February 27, 2026. It announced that, “From 27 February 2026, the companies operating under the LEGO® Discovery Center and LEGOLAND® Discovery Center brand will be owned by the LEGO Group.” This email was more about data policies than anything else, humorously titled, “A change to who looks after your personal data” and didn’t include any further information about operational changes. As of today, February 25, 2026, the Merlin Entertainments logo is still on the website and even season passes are for sale. My guess is that like the Six Flags and Cedar Fair merger, for the first few months or year there will probably be very little change, but no doubt we’ll see some changes down the road.