Merlin Entertainments is bringing a new type of visitor attraction to its Legoland theme park in California next year, with the introduction of an undersea submarine adventure travelling through a 300,000-gallon aquarium.

Called Lego city: deep sea adventure, the experience – a first for North America – is scheduled to open in July 2018 and will put visitors inside one of eight 12-person submarines. Guests will make a four-minute journey through the giant aquarium, which will be populated with more than 2,000 sea creatures including sharks, stingrays and more. There will be a mix of real life and Lego elements, with crabs, octopuses, and plants made out of Lego among the theming planned for the ride.

In addition to getting a look at the aquarium’s inhabitants, interactive gaming consoles allow riders to find hidden treasures, scoring points for each item they can discover.

The ride will replace the former miniature golf course and will be able to accommodate more than 1,000 people an hour. The base model already exists at Merlin’s Lego parks in the UK, Dubai and Japan, but according to Legoland California general manager Peter Ronchetti, this version will be the “biggest and best” in existence.

“We’re taking it to the next level with our interactive treasure hunt,” he said, speaking following the announcement.

“Our master model builders are hard at work creating beautiful characters, creatures and some little surprises that will appear underwater.

“Not only will our guests see these real-life sea creatures, but they will also be looking out for where our treasure is buried and we’ll be able to find out who’s best at Legoland California.”