The Future of Lost Continent

[GAcoaster]

I kind of hope maybe at some point a new Merlin's Woods/Lost Continent appears in the future-- as part of the fourth park maybe, or even maybe as part of a waterpark? The concept is great and royalty free, so it could easily be used again somewhere.

 

[Dinoman96]

Yeah, I agree from a business perspective, Harry Potter was the right move that ushered in a new golden age for Universal...but at the same time, I also agree that IOA lost a lot of its soul when Merlinwood/Lost Continent got taken out back. Such is especially the case with Dueling Dragons, it absolutely made sense to retire it in its state as of 2017, but I was still really sad to see it go and get demolished like that, in its prime it was such a unique and iconic attraction and it felt like the first major loss IOA had in its years of operation.

Definitely feels like Universal Creative know that they lost something special there, that's why they've been making all of these tributes to it like the HHN house and even creating an all new dueling/racing coaster at Epic Universe as sort of a successor to it.

 

[Disneyhead]

Yeah, I agree from a business perspective, Harry Potter was the right move that ushered in a new golden age for Universal...but at the same time, I also agree that IOA lost a lot of its soul when Merlinwood/Lost Continent got taken out back. Such is especially the case with Dueling Dragons, it absolutely made sense to retire it in its state as of 2017, but I was still really sad to see it go and get demolished like that, in its prime it was such a unique and iconic attraction and it felt like the first major loss IOA had in its years of operation.

Definitely feels like Universal Creative know that they lost something special there, that's why they've been making all of these tributes to it like the HHN house and even creating an all new dueling/racing coaster at Epic Universe as sort of a successor to it.

And let's not forget the dueling red and blue dragons on the skyfly in the shadow of the new dueling/racing coaster.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Is there any noticeable movement on this area? I figured not but haven’t heard much about this for months. I’d assume a solid 2-3 year build if they’re theming it to Zelda. Especially if they bulldoze the land and start fresh.

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

Is there any noticeable movement on this area? I figured not but haven’t heard much about this for months. I’d assume a solid 2-3 year build if they’re theming it to Zelda. Especially if they bulldoze the land and start fresh.

There are walls up at the entrance and exit to Poseidon's Fury, queue is roped off but you are free to walk all the way up to the exit and pretty close to the facade if you wish. Notable to me is that there is no on-stage access to the building whatsoever, the walls are solid and don't contain a door or anything. Beyond that, nothing.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

There are walls up at the entrance and exit to Poseidon's Fury, queue is roped off but you are free to walk all the way up to the exit and pretty close to the facade if you wish. Notable to me is that there is no on-stage access to the building whatsoever, the walls are solid and don't contain a door or anything. Beyond that, nothing.

Good to know, thank you! If it’s eventually getting torn down it makes sense to totally block it all of.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I think it'll happen once vertical construction stops at EU and Dreamworks land.

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

Good to know, thank you! If it’s eventually getting torn down it makes sense to totally block it all of.

I don't think that's the case at all, once demo starts I would expect bigger walls pushed further out. I think these are just to discourage anyone from walking in there and poking around. I have to imagine Universal is well aware that this has become a popular thing to do when a theme park attraction sits SBNO (Wonders of Life, Triceratops Encounter, etc.)

 

[Arthur A Ablobab]

Its already themed and completed. You have to find the master sword and pull it out. Then you are transported seven years into the future.

Helpful tip... make your dining reservations now. Dining at Hyrule Castle with Princess Zelda actually has a seven year wait, so maybe... just MAYBE your table will be ready when you emerge from the Temple of Time.

 

[Mad Dog]

I never expected them to start redoing this area right away. They wanted it empty for now, for whatever reasons, so that's the way it is. I seriously doubt Zelda construction start is imminent. Probably in another year or two, or three.

 

[Killer Klown]

If the aim is still 2027 and the intent is still a total land redo/full bulldoze then next year would have to be the start of some movement which lines up with Dreamworks being finished and EU construction winding down.

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

I never expected them to start redoing this area right away. They wanted it empty for now, for whatever reasons, so that's the way it is.

Not sure if this was discussed here at announcement or not, but what I had gathered from asking around was that they made the decision to close because the operating/maintenance costs were outweighing the benefit of operation (to generalize). It never closed because they were ready to start with a replacement immediately, it closed because they knew it was on borrowed time and decided it was best to pull the plug early.

 

[Mad Dog]

Not sure if this was discussed here at announcement or not, but what I had gathered from asking around was that they made the decision to close because the operating/maintenance costs were outweighing the benefit of operation (to generalize). It never closed because they were ready to start with a replacement immediately, it closed because they knew it was on borrowed time and decided it was best to pull the plug early.

Yeah, that's what it always sounded like. They still ran it for a month or so after they said they were shutting it down for good, so it wasn't so bad they couldn't run it. They probably, as you said, didn't want to keep spending more money than they wanted to on maintenance.

 

[biggerboat16]

I do think it would be in their best interest to start teasing, maybe even if construction/announcement is still far off just so they can drum up hype. Maybe just paint a triforce on one of the construction walls

 

[JungleSkip]

I do think it would be in their best interest to start teasing, maybe even if construction/announcement is still far off just so they can drum up hype. Maybe just paint a triforce on one of the construction walls

They have an entire theme park to drum up hype for opening in the next 18-20 months

 

[Mike S]

I do think it would be in their best interest to start teasing, maybe even if construction/announcement is still far off just so they can drum up hype. Maybe just paint a triforce on one of the construction walls

You know Universal. We’ll see LC demolished, new buildings go up, obvious references to Zelda visible over the walls during construction, THEN the announcement.

 

[biggerboat16]

They have an entire theme park to drum up hype for opening in the next 18-20 months

I don’t even mean something super obvious that would take away from epic, just something like when cedar point started putting up a few really vague posters around frontiertown before they announced steel vengeance. More of a little nod of things to come for those paying attention

 

[TheCodeMan95]

You know Universal. We’ll see LC demolished, new buildings go up, obvious references to Zelda visible over the walls during construction, THEN the announcement.

I almost wonder if they're starting to change a bit though with these things. Kidzone closed and they immediately had Dreamworks characters on the walls. When Shrek closed, there was Minions on the walls.

 

[JungleSkip]

With LC redo being Nintendo, I expect we’ll see an announcement sooner rather than later.*

Remember, the only thing actually announced for EU is Nintendo

*As in not “soon” but “sooner than Universal’s normal MO”

 

[UniversalRBLX]

With LC redo being Nintendo, I expect we’ll see an announcement sooner rather than later.*

Remember, the only thing actually announced for EU is Nintendo

*As in not “soon” but “sooner than Universal’s normal MO”

Knowing Universal's mindset on announcing stuff... it'll either be really early or they'll put up the marquee before they announce it 2 weeks before opening. Looking at the timeline, doubt they announce anything in 2025 non-Epic related with the EU hype train starting next year. Do they announce it before EU? Or do they "package" an announcement with coming soon to UOR... a new theme park, new lands at the current parks, etc.? Or just wait post-EU? Would assume the best idea is to announce it after a year of EU to say "oh yeah, you can come back in 1 year for even more Nintendo...?"