The Future of Lost Continent

[Imperius]

Just make it Pokémon. Pokémon should get multiple lands throughout the parks like HP. Make this Pokéarth - Kanto - Rock Tunnel

It’s a walkthrough cave experience where you get interactive poke balls to catch Pokémon throughout. Place tall grass around the walkways for meet and greets with trainers and pokemom, poke center, Pokémon cafe replaces Mythos. Print money.

 

[OrlLover]

Maybe we’re all just unaware of a secret Florida law that says a resort complex’s second theme park must have large amounts of abandoned attraction space sitting vacant for multiple years. That might explain a lot in Orlando.

To be fair IOA doesn’t have a lot of vacant attraction space. Only this area actually but I get you we’re trying to be funny.

 

[USO92]

Maybe we’re all just unaware of a secret Florida law that says a resort complex’s second theme park must have large amounts of abandoned attraction space sitting vacant for multiple years. That might explain a lot in Orlando.

Business acumen and personal preference still remain completely separate despite what you would like. You have a personal preference - that has been made clear. If I put myself in admin's shoes and find that an attraction, that is waning in popularity, is having significant and repeated plumbing and mechanical issues even after an extended refurb - I'm going to advocate that it be closed and replaced. If it were a highly popular attraction, a la Hagrid's, it would be a different story. That's a smart money move. Whether any of us likes it doesn't really matter in the long run. Universal is a business first.

Now. Add in an unexpected box office success and strong SNW opening in Hollywood to our algorithm. 2+2=4 all the time. Your opinion is yours to have, but it doesn't seem like it's coming from anywhere other than an emotional response to what you feel should've been done - business side be damned. Meanwhile, a brand new theme park, the likes we've never seen before, is manhandling construction timelines in order to be done by 2025. Come 2 years from now PF will be a distant memory regardless of what stands in the land at that time. Plus a new family area in USF being opened sooner. Dare I mention all the other offerings and new experiences they've opened. Never satisfied.

 

[Casper Gutman]

To be fair IOA doesn’t have a lot of vacant attraction space. Only this area actually but I get you we’re trying to be funny.

And Sinbad… and Toon theater. That’s basically an entire land plus what amounts to a prominent mini-land in a seven-land park. It is not insubstantial.

 

[Nico]

And Sinbad… and Toon theater. That’s basically an entire land plus what amounts to a prominent mini-land in a seven-land park. It is not insubstantial.

Toon Lagoon Theater hasn’t had something consistent in 20 years. That’s not a Karen problem, nor is it a new complaint. I really don’t get what you want in all these posts. You want perfect parks. So do we. Now what?

 

[JungleSkip]

If PF sits empty with no work going on through 2024, I'll be with the people complaining about this.

But Sindbad wasn't replaced because that theater was specifically built for that show, and there was no sense in putting a bunch of money into it if the end goal of Lost Continent was demolition. And TL is what it is. I don't love that it's basically always been empty, but at this point I just expect it to always be empty.

 

[ReelJustice]

TL Theater is basically an expansion pad with infrastructure at this point.

 

[DodgsonHere]

Just make it Pokémon. Pokémon should get multiple lands throughout the parks like HP. Make this Pokéarth - Kanto - Rock Tunnel

It’s a walkthrough cave experience where you get interactive poke balls to catch Pokémon throughout. Place tall grass around the walkways for meet and greets with trainers and pokemom, poke center, Pokémon cafe replaces Mythos. Print money.

I really don’t think Pokemon needs multiple lands in separate parks. There aren’t enough iconic/distinct locations to differentiate one area from another. Nintendo as a whole can support multiple lands, I don’t see any single one of their IP needing multiple though.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

If I were in charge of ops at IOA, PF would have been my first choice for cost savings and direct that cash for street shows like at USF... and I would have made that decision years ago lol

 

[JungleSkip]

I really don’t think Pokemon needs multiple lands in separate parks. There aren’t enough iconic/distinct locations to differentiate one area from another. Nintendo as a whole can support multiple lands, I don’t see any single one of their IP needing multiple though.

Yea, I don't see Pokemon getting multiple lands. They would all feel very same-y (just like the games)

 

[Magic-Man]

I think the earliest we'll see anything open on this plot is 2026. 2027 is more likely.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Business acumen and personal preference still remain completely separate despite what you would like. You have a personal preference - that has been made clear. If I put myself in admin's shoes and find that an attraction, that is waning in popularity, is having significant and repeated plumbing and mechanical issues even after an extended refurb - I'm going to advocate that it be closed and replaced. If it were a highly popular attraction, a la Hagrid's, it would be a different story. That's a smart money move. Whether any of us likes it doesn't really matter in the long run. Universal is a business first.

Now. Add in an unexpected box office success and strong SNW opening in Hollywood to our algorithm. 2+2=4 all the time. Your opinion is yours to have, but it doesn't seem like it's coming from anywhere other than an emotional response to what you feel should've been done - business side be damned. Meanwhile, a brand new theme park, the likes we've never seen before, is manhandling construction timelines in order to be done by 2025. Come 2 years from now PF will be a distant memory regardless of what stands in the land at that time. Plus a new family area in USF being opened sooner. Dare I mention all the other offerings and new experiences they've opened. Never satisfied.

I love the idea that I’m the only poster mixing my idea of what’s best for the park with personal preferences, as though the folks arguing that the Lost Forest is as popularly recognizable as the Mushroom Kingdom are coming from a place of robot-like detachment. We’re all on a message board arguing about our opinions about the best course forward for a themed resort we like. (By the way, I like Zelda and grew up on the games).

Folks are touting Breath of the Wild’s 30 million unit sales as proof of its fitness for a theme park land. Grand Theft Auto 5 sold well over 170 million copies and I don’t think anyone is saying it should be a new land at EU. And just because one Nintendo property featuring the character who vies with Mickey Mouse for global recognizability was a mega-hit doesn’t mean every Nintendo property is ripe for theme-park addition, or we’d be talking about Ice Climbers world.

Decades ago, imagineers trying to create a dark ride based on Disney’s Robin Hood had it driven home to them that above all else, a property needs unique, varied environments to become a strong dark ride. Robin Hood would have been, to paraphrase them, nothing but “stone wall, Forest, stone wall, Forest…”. What is true of dark rides is true of theme park lands. You need a distinct, varied aesthetic, and as often as I’ve brought this up here, I don’t think anyone has really tried to define modern Zelda’s unique aesthetic. HTTYD is a good choice for a land because, though it’s popularity might be quite a bit less then Breath of the Wild, it has a unique, recognizable, interesting aesthetic - like Cars or Potter or Avatar or Star Wars or Seuss or any of the other great immersive theme park lands. The MCU is arguably the most successful media franchise in history (and, if we’re discussing personal preference, my favorite) but the land in DCA is utter garbage because much of the property lacks that unique, distinct aesthetic a theme park land needs. (Universal skirted this issue pre-MCU by making several bold artistic choices I love but which remain divisive). Honestly, if we were discussing a land based on Wind Waker, I’d be far less skeptical.

 

[Alicia]

I think the earliest we'll see anything open on this plot is 2026. 2027 is more likely.

Other than temporary street entertainment, yes. Agree 100%.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Toon Lagoon Theater hasn’t had something consistent in 20 years. That’s not a Karen problem, nor is it a new complaint. I really don’t get what you want in all these posts. You want perfect parks. So do we. Now what?

It’s a problem that is dramatically exacerbated by the removal of two other entertainment offerings, leaving three huge and highly prominent entertainment venues vacant. That’s a problem regardless of which administration started it.

We are all on a message board discussing a theme resort we love. I suspect we’d all like it to be as good as it can be. We have different opinions as to how to get there. We discuss them. I’m not sure why mildly critical comments are viewed as such abhorrent elements in that discussion.

 

[Casper Gutman]

If I were in charge of ops at IOA, PF would have been my first choice for cost savings and direct that cash for street shows like at USF... and I would have made that decision years ago lol

Honestly, I’d have happily closed PF if it meant filling one of the empty theaters with a significant new show.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Oh nice, we’re already in the “people who have heard a few vague business terms before use this as fuel to be condescending” phase of a ride closure thread

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I think the earliest we'll see anything open on this plot is 2026. 2027 is more likely.

Big “open MiB the year after IOA opens” energy.

 

[Alicia]

On the subject of date, back when Fear Factor was slated to be replaced with a Potter VR attraction, the plan was to have something new for Lost Continent for 2027.

When Potter VR was cancelled (a second time, for the last time) everything shifted around. Since the VR thing was intended to be the resort's 2024 offering, the KidZone replacement seems to have been fasttracked instead. Epic is still for 2025, obviously.

If they want to have something substantial for the existing parks in 2026, perhaps Lost Continent got bumped a year early as well.

Either way, no way anything big is opening here until then, at the earliest, in my view.

 

[JungleSkip]

I love the idea that I’m the only poster mixing my idea of what’s best for the park with personal preferences, as though the folks arguing that the Lost Forest is as popularly recognizable as the Mushroom Kingdom are coming from a place of robot-like detachment. We’re all on a message board arguing about our opinions about the best course forward for a themed resort we like. (By the way, I like Zelda and grew up on the games).

Absolutely no one argued the Lost Woods is as popularly recognized as the Mushroom Kingdom. You asked about iconic locations in the series that would look great in a theme park. You're now putting words into people's mouths

Folks are touting Breath of the Wild’s 30 million unit sales as proof of its fitness for a theme park land. Grand Theft Auto 5 sold well over 170 million copies and I don’t think anyone is saying it should be a new land at EU. And just because one Nintendo property featuring the character who vies with Mickey Mouse for global recognizability was a mega-hit doesn’t mean every Nintendo property is ripe for theme-park addition, or we’d be talking about Ice Climbers world.

Yes, the game that features mass murder, rampant drug use, sex, and glorification of crime probably shouldn't be in a family theme park, while an iconic adventure series from one of the company's most important partners probably does. The idea that Zelda would be some sort of theme park flop is hilarious, especially when it would be replacing an area of the park 90% of the general public never enjoyed outside of its restaurant and would be located in the same park as a land that prominently displays the IP of Gasoline Alley.

Decades ago, imagineers trying to create a dark ride based on Disney’s Robin Hood had it driven home to them that above all else, a property needs unique, varied environments to become a strong dark ride. Robin Hood would have been, to paraphrase them, nothing but “stone wall, Forest, stone wall, Forest…”. What is true of dark rides is true of theme park lands. You need a distinct, varied aesthetic, and as often as I’ve brought this up here, I don’t think anyone has really tried to define modern Zelda’s unique aesthetic. HTTYD is a good choice for a land because, though it’s popularity might be quite a bit less then Breath of the Wild, it has a unique, recognizable, interesting aesthetic - like Cars or Potter or Avatar or Star Wars or Seuss or any of the other great immersive theme park lands. The MCU is arguably the most successful media franchise in history (and, if we’re discussing personal preference, my favorite) but the land in DCA is utter garbage because much of the property lacks that unique, distinct aesthetic a theme park land needs. (Universal skirted this issue pre-MCU by making several bold artistic choices I love but which remain divisive). Honestly, if we were discussing a land based on Wind Waker, I’d be far less skeptical.

These aren't distinct enough? And HTTYD is!? Come on, man.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Honestly, I'm okay with nothing really happening here until 2026. As long as they keep Mythos/All Hallow's Boutique/the other shops open - along with maybe some streetmosphere characters and entertainment, I think this land can stay lively enough until it all gets bulldozed.