The Future of Lost Continent (Poseidon Fury closing May 9)

[RFRees]

Now, from the other perspective not being a LOTR fan. I’d expect Hyrule for Zelda. It’s the mainstay location for all the games (or most, to my knowledge. Big fan but not an expert), and I honestly believe it just wouldn’t make a ton of sense to make another land other than Hyrule for Zelda.

If you look at Zelda compared to many of the LOTR locations, I think you can see that while different, they’re similar enough to not work in the same exact theme park. The same resort? Absolutely, just not the same exact park imo.

Correct me where I'm wrong but...

Hyrule is a country, which has many different locations, no? Hyrule Castle is just one location, though probably important enough to represent in the land in some way. "Hyrule" is the important part which I think we all agree needs to be included, but I think they have some flexibility on what specific locations to include within Hyrule.

If I were Universal, I'd overlay Lost Continent as Zelda for 'cheap' (far under a half billion), instead of leveling the entire land and starting from scratch. The only thing I'd build from scratch is one attraction to replace Sindbad. Here's how I'd do it:

• 1) Repaint the rockwork around Mythos and Poseidon's Fury. Remove anything Greek God related and replace with Zelda themed ruins. Poseidon's Fury becomes a walk-through attraction featuring Link solving puzzles and fighting baddies (staying true to the spirit of the games). Each room is rethemed, but the basic structure / path /concept of PF is kept in tact. (I'd probably have a narrator instead of Link speaking, to keep in theme of the games... Link doesn't speak, right? Could Zelda be the narrator?)
• Example of Zelda ruins:
  

• Zelda shrine/temple:
  

• 2) The bazaar outside of the old Sindbad theater becomes Gerudo Town or Kara Kara Bazaar:
• Gerudo:
• 

• Kara Kara:
• 

• 3) Sindbad's theater becomes a Wind-Waker sailing attraction, starting at a port (I don't care if a port is actually located near Gerudo or Kara Kara, it would be here). Guests board a boat similar to Pirates, destination is Hyrule Castle, with appearances by Tetra and her pirates, as well as references or narration by other popular characters (Ganon, Zelda, Link). I'd include a brief scene with a shark attack, as homage to Jaws. The ride would look somewhat cartoony (cell shaded), making it very much distinct from neighboring Hogsmeade and potentially LOTR.
• This ride could be an actual boat (similar to Pirates at Disney) or at could be a dry omnimover with simulated water (replicating the SLoP / Yoshi omnimover would save a lot of money). Either way, it would be an indoor family friendly ride, addressing the concern that IOA doesn't have enough family friendly attractions. (If I'm not mistaken, SLoP's footprint isn't massive, so this could actually fit within the space of the Sindbad theater area, no?)
• Universal would have some flexibility on the story, it doesn't have to stick to Winder Waker or any single game. They also have some flexibility on the Hyrule Castle and how a boat would travel through it, which could be through canals or a possible flood.
• 

On the other hand, for LOTR I'd feature Hobbiton, Mordor, and possibly Rivendell, depending on how much I could fit there (assuming this would take all of Toon Lagoon + Amphitheater). These lands would be very much distinct from the aforementioned Zelda lands and attractions. I imagine the investment into LOTR would be much larger, due the greater name recognition the franchise holds.

I think doing Zelda for a 'cheaper budget' (below a half billion) has a much greater chance of actually happening, which is the most important part.

 

[JungleSkip]

Correct me where I'm wrong but...

Hyrule is a country, which has many different locations, no?

Not really, no. Hyrule is a single place with slight visual variations depending on the legend being told in each game. But it generally has the same locations (Castle Town,Death Mountain, Zora’s Domain, Gerudo Desert) in each incarnation.

if Zelda does come to a park, I expect it to be based on Breath of the Wild (highest selling game in the series by a lot) and to be a completely new build.I doubt Nintendo would be keen on shoehorning one of their properties into existing infrastructure

 

[RFRees]

Not really, no. Hyrule is a single place with slight visual variations depending on the legend being told in each game. But it generally has the same locations (Castle Town,Death Mountain, Zora’s Domain, Gerudo Desert) in each incarnation.

if Zelda does come to a park, I expect it to be based on Breath of the Wild (highest selling game in the series by a lot) and to be a completely new build.I doubt Nintendo would be keen on shoehorning one of their properties into existing infrastructure

Well...

• JK accepted an extremely lazy overlay of the existing rides/attractions at Merlinwood, so I'm just using this as precedence.
• Breath of the Wild was represented in my post in the walk-through attraction, as well as the lands (Gerudo Town and the temple ruins would be Breath of the Wild inspired). The only non-Breath of the Wild inspired attraction was the omnimover, which I think could be good to include to add some diversity to the land. The cell shaded / cartoony aspect could be explained by the ride being a 'story' which you are inside of.
• I'm also not picky about the 'Wind-Waker' theming to the omnimover. The biggest issue is that the Sindbad theater space is not massive, and the SLoP omnimover could probably actually fit in this location. So anyone suggesting a much larger ride (like a coaster) has some feasibility issues to work out with their suggestion.
• I'm really not sure why you said "no" to my point about Hyrule. You defined it exactly how I did.
  • Me: "Hyrule is a country, which has many different locations "
  • You: "Hyrule is a single place ... has the same locations (Castle Town,Death Mountain, Zora’s Domain, Gerudo Desert)"
• My point about Hyrule is only that "Hyrule" refers to the country (or kingdom) of Hyrule, not specifically to the Hyrule Castle. And while the Hyrule Castle is important and probably necessary to represent in some way, the entire land does not need to be the castle itself, considering most of the game (including BotW) takes place elsewhere.

 

[JungleSkip]

Well...

• JK accepted an extremely lazy overlay of the existing rides/attractions at Merlinwood, so I'm just using this as precedence.
• Breath of the Wild was represented in my post in the walk-through attraction, as well as the lands (Gerudo Town and the temple ruins would be Breath of the Wild inspired). The only non-Breath of the Wild inspired attraction was the omnimover, which I think is perfectly accepted to include to add some diversity to the land. The cell shaded / cartoony aspect could be explained by the ride being a 'story' which you are inside of.
• I'm also not picky about the 'Wind-Waker' theming to the omnimover. The biggest issue is that the Sindbad theater space is not massive, and the SLoP omnimover could probably actually fit in this location. So anyone suggesting a much larger ride (like a coaster) has some feasibility issues to work out with their suggestion.
• I'm really not sure why you said "no" to my point about Hyrule. You defined it exactly how I did.
  • Me: "Hyrule is a country, which has many different locations "
  • You: "Hyrule is a single place ... has the same locations (Castle Town,Death Mountain, Zora’s Domain, Gerudo Desert)"
• My point about Hyrule is only that "Hyrule" refers to the country (or Kingdom) of Hyrule, not specifically to the Hyrule Castle. And while the Hyrule Castle is important and probably necessary to represent in some way, the entire land does not need to be the castle itself, considering most of the game (including BotW) takes place elsewhere.

I mean, Breath of the Wild is cell shaded already, so that's not an issue.

Re: Hyrule, the way it read I thought you meant it was physically different places each game, my mistake.

I also don't think a small omnimover would work as the ride for a property like Zelda. I would think it would need to be something bigger, which is why a complete knock down/rebuild would be in order.

 

[RFRees]

I mean, Breath of the Wild is cell shaded already, so that's not an issue.

Re: Hyrule, the way it read I thought you meant it was physically different places each game, my mistake.

I also don't think a small omnimover would work as the ride for a property like Zelda. I would think it would need to be something bigger, which is why a complete knock down/rebuild would be in order.

I also dedicated Poseidon's Fury as well, and there's a lot they could do with that. And this is a land we're talking about, not just a ride... so in total they would be getting:

1. A family friendly omnimover, on the same scale as SLoP
2. A large story driven walk-through attraction (with possible stunt show aspects)
3. A full service restaurant.
4. Quick serve
5. Shopping, including Link hats
6. Meet and greet
7. Possible interactive experiences throughout the land

This would be far exceeding what the Simpson's, Kong, or F&F got. I understand people's love and dedication to Zelda, but I'm just being realistic. Is your main issue that I'm leaving out an e-ticket?

Was Pokemon at Kidzone ever planned to be e-ticket? I had assumed they were going to move forward with a similar concept to what I'm proposing above... and Pokemon is a far bigger franchise than Zelda.

 

[JungleSkip]

I just don't see Universal ever investing a good amount of money on a walkthrough attraction.

 

[RFRees]

I just don't see Universal ever investing a good amount of money on a walkthrough attraction.

I don't foresee Universal ever investing a good amount of money (e.g. $500+ million) on Zelda, so I guess we'll need to agree to disagree.

I want to see Zelda actually happen, so that's what I'm basing this idea off of.

Anywho... this is actually digressing from the point that a Zelda themed area could not fit within the same park as LOTR. So back to that topic. I still think it can.

 

[JungleSkip]

I don't foresee Universal ever investing a good amount of money (e.g. $500+ million) on Zelda, so I guess we'll need to agree to disagree.

I want to see Zelda actually happen, so that's what I'm basing this idea off of.

Anywho... this is actually digressing from the point that a Zelda themed area could not fit within the same park as LOTR. So back to that topic. I still think it can.

500 million is way more than what it cost to build Hogsmeade. I can definitely see them investing the same amount it took to build Hogsmeade on Zelda.

And the two can definitely coexist, but I don't see LOTR ever happening.

 

[RFRees]

500 million is way more than what it cost to build Hogsmeade. I can definitely see them investing the same amount it took to build Hogsmeade on Zelda.

And the two can definitely coexist, but I don't see LOTR ever happening.

I won't get picky into the exact costs. Let me rephrase... cheap vs expensive.

A Hogsmeade style overlay is in line with what I'm referring to. What I'm not suggesting is the route of Diagon (starting from scratch), which I assume would be more expensive.

I assume whatever is to replace Toon Lagoon is going the more Diagon route, and whatever is to replace Lost Continent is more Hogsmeade.

We really need to keep in mind that HTTYD was rumored to replace Lost Continent, and very likely these plans moved to Epic Universe. The rumored HTTYD stunt show and rumored full service restaurant I believe are similar to what we would have seen replace Sinbad and Mythos. Zelda was the next rumored IP to replace Lost Continent, and I believe their Zelda plans could have been similar to the plans for the HTTYD Lost Continent replacement. That being said... maybe a stunt show for Zelda is more likely.

 

[JungleSkip]

I won't get picky into the exact costs. Let me rephrase... cheap vs expensive.

A Hogsmeade style overlay is in line with what I'm referring to. What I'm not suggesting is the route of Diagon (starting from scratch), which I assume would be more expensive.

Sure, but I think the former is possible even with knocking down the antiquated Poseidon and Sindbad. Most of Merlin Wood was demolished for Hogsmeade. I'd expect the same for this, especially if they want a ride that's actually going to get people excited. (Also Diagon only cost around 500 million)

 

[Magic-Man]

Zelda won't have an omnimover as the main ride. The franchise is action based, so you need to represent that in the land. A trackless ride similar to MMRR and RoTR over at Hollywood Studios would be great here.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Sure, but I think the former is possible even with knocking down the antiquated Poseidon and Sindbad. Most of Merlin Wood was demolished for Hogsmeade. I'd expect the same for this, especially if they want a ride that's actually going to get people excited. (Also Diagon only cost around 500 million)

I believe Diagon was under $400 with HE included.

 

[Brian G.]

Zelda won't have an omnimover as the main ride. The franchise is action based, so you need to represent that in the land. A trackless ride similar to MMRR and RoTR over at Hollywood Studios would be great here.

I'd argue the franchise is fantasy-based, that just happens to have action - but ultimately, it's arguing semantics. While I'd like a thrilling ride, I can also see an omnimover-type ride working.

 

[RFRees]

Zelda won't have an omnimover as the main ride. The franchise is action based, so you need to represent that in the land. A trackless ride similar to MMRR and RoTR over at Hollywood Studios would be great here.

I might be missing something, but I'm not sure how an omnimover couldn't have 'action' but MMRR does?

I'm not suggesting the Omnimover would feel sluggish and boring. In my example I specifically mention a shark attack... that's action, no?

 

[Magic-Man]

I'd argue the franchise is fantasy-based, that just happens to have action - but ultimately, it's arguing semantics. While I'd like a thrilling ride, I can also see an omnimover-type ride working.

An omnimover would be a disappointment, IMO, unless it's a secondary attraction.

 

[Magic-Man]

I might be missing something, but I'm not sure how an omnimover couldn't have 'action' but MMRR does?

I'm not suggesting the Omnimover would feel sluggish and boring. In my example I specifically mention a shark attack... that's action, no?

MMRR has freedom of movement, and can adjust speed and direction at will. Omnimovers use a simple track and go pretty slow.

 

[RFRees]

An omnimover would be a disappointment, IMO, unless it's a secondary attraction.

IMO the real disappointment is nothing, which is the highest probability at this point.

MMRR has freedom of movement, and can adjust speed and direction at will. Omnimovers use a simple track and go pretty slow.

Simulated speed would be used. Also, speed =/= action.

There's certain IPs which should, in theory, require speed. Fast and Furious, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario Kart... but Zelda is not one of them.

 

[Magic-Man]

IMO the real disappointment is nothing, which is the highest probability at this point.

Zelda is selling like crazy right now, I'd be shocked if it didn't happen.

Simulated speed would be used. Also, speed =/= action.

There's certain IPs which should, in theory, require speed. Fast and Furious, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario Kart... but Zelda is not one of them.

For explosions and chase sequences, yeah. Zelda has speed. And omnimover just wouldn't be exciting like the games are.

 

[JungleSkip]

There's certain IPs which should, in theory, require speed. Fast and Furious, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario Kart... but Zelda is not one of them.

Can't disagree more. Doesn't need to be fast, but a Zelda ride system needs to be *dynamic*, which an omnimover certainly is not.

 

[RFRees]

Can't disagree more. Doesn't need to be fast, but a Zelda ride system needs to be *dynamic*, which an omnimover certainly is not.

You say you couldn't disagree more, then you agree with me:

Me: '"require speed. ... but Zelda is not one of them"​

You: "Doesn't need to be fast"​

Look I think we're splitting hairs about omnimover or not. My point is that whatever is planned for Lost Continent, IMO, is 1) going to fit within the current land (instead of demoing back of house buildings as others have previously proposed), 2) will likely using existing infrastructure, and won't be a complete demo like Diagon. The reason I suggested an omnimover is because SLoP (I assume) has a small footprint which could fit here. Any other ride/attraction that could fit within that area, which isn't an over-the-top expensive e-ticket ride (like RotR), is also a likely candidate for this location.