Madame Tussauds entity ceased to exist. On 17 July 2007, as part of the financing for the Tussauds deal, Merlin sold the freehold of Madame Tussauds to private investor Nick Leslau and his investment firm Prestbury under a sale and leaseback agreement. Although the attraction sites are owned by Prestbury, they are operated by Merlin based on a renewable 35-year lease. Madame Tussaud's wax museum became a major tourist attraction in London, incorporating (until 2010) the London Planetarium in its west wing and a large animated dark ride, "The Spirit of London", opened in 1993. Today's wax figures at Tussauds include historical
Madame Tussauds New York the world. With new figure launches every couple of months and over 200 figures, Madame Tussauds New York Is one of the largest locations in the United States. The figure making process for Madame Tussauds is about four months long and each figure costs about $300,000 to produce start to finish. The process begins with a sitting with the subject to decide on the figure's pose, outfit, hair, and makeup. After these details are agreed upon, the studio artists from Madame Tussauds take over 250 precise measurements and photographs of the subject. Once all of the measurements have been recorded,