Potential Wicked land

[pumpkinbot343]

There’s been a lot of discussion about Wicked coming to the parks, and some executives openly flirted with bringing the IP, so I decided to make it its own thread.

Now my question is, how will they make the story for the land? Elphaba was never really a villain and is hiding somewhere as of the second film’s ending, there aren’t really any notable villains aside from Madame Morrible (who would make a boring theme park villain).

 

[Wicked Salad]

There’s been a lot of discussion about Wicked coming to the parks, and some executives openly flirted with bringing the IP, so I decided to make it its own thread.

Now my question is, how will they make the story for the land? Elphaba was never really a villain and is hiding somewhere as of the second film’s ending, there aren’t really any notable villains aside from Madame Morrible (who would make a boring theme park villain).

I've said in other threads that the story should be loosely set in early Wicked For Good/Act Two. You have the conflict between the Wizard and Elphaba. Propaganda has started against Elphaba, and Glinda is also established as a public figure. You have Fiyero in charge of the Gale Force, which could make an interesting group of walk-around characters as they ask guests if they've seen the Wicked Witch. Boq & Nessa are unaffected by certain events at this point in the story. Rides could focus on Elphaba attempting to save the animals, or the Wizard's next project for the Oz of tomorrow, perhaps air travel, so guests can have a defying gravity type experience without having a book report version of Defying Gravity. I'd have a Wizomania show either outside or in a theater and they could expand it with Glinda & Elphaba propaganda sections pulling from Every Day More Wicked. Setting it in the first movie limits your conflict, no yellow brick road, the girls don't have their personas established yet, and the main ride would end up being a recreation of Defying Gravity, and in my opinion, it lacks creativity. Also Elphaba's treehouse could make a great interactive playground and meet & greet location.

If they do just the Emerald City, they for sure need her treehouse, so we have a dedicated Elphaba area.

If they do another location with the Emerald City, I'd do Munchkinland because it will be more familar with non Wicked fans, and it works best with the time period the land is set in.

If they want to do Shiz, they could just pull a Ministry of Magic and have a different time period for each location.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Ideally, they go the Diagon route and create a land where the land itself can be the best form from the movies (pre-Defying Gravity jubilation in Oz or Shiz) while the rides can focus on the more dramatic moments.

Land Ideas:

• Shiz is a bit too much like Hogsmeade as a full land, so I think they'll go with the Emerald City to split the difference between Wicked and The Wizard of Oz
• If the Potter areas are defined by real areas with magic then the Wicked land should focus on a land that's designed and in a magical space but where no one has actual magic. In Potter magic becomes mundane, but in The actual "magic" of the land is the animals and their quiet underpinning of society.
• Wiz O Mania stage show a la Celestina in Diagon
• There could and should be a mini area with Shiz, even if it's not the main land. More on that in a second.

Ride Ideas:

• Defying Gravity - just name it after the song and focus on the end of the first film. Make it a more family approachable Kuka dark ride with AAs, no OSTRs, just lap bars.
• Train to Shiz - I think it's such a good idea they should just take it from Diagon wholesale. But this time the train doesn't actually need to *go* anywhere. Think Rise shuttle transit but you can go back and forth, not just one way. This allows a cool Shiz area with controlled weather for those who want that.

Other Attraction Ideas:

• Shiz walkthrough, to see the living spaces, library, and more.
• Dining hall from Dancing Through Life!