The Future of Lost Continent

[OrlLover]

While I am trying to trust Universal Creative, I worry that this is going to adversely impact Islands of Adventure's ambiance. Each "island" has always had a distinct feel and transported you. Toon Lagoon might have been a little weak in this area but it definitely had a fun setting. Lost Continent had an exotic feel and was so enjoyable as a place to walk through or to sit down and enjoy. I don't know much about Pokemon but, just doing some searches, I'm not sure that it has any distinct locations that would feel special. For someone who knows the game better, help me out. This isn't about interactivity on the rides or anything. This is about the setting that we walk through.

I understand the concern because even though I somewhat familiar with the franchise there really isn’t a distinct location that stands out in my opinion.

It would be cool if we could do a poll a something of the top 5 locations fans would like to see translated into a theme park experience.

Maybe then we could get an idea of what people are thinking when it comes to this area.

 

[Brian G.]

While I am trying to trust Universal Creative, I worry that this is going to adversely impact Islands of Adventure's ambiance. Each "island" has always had a distinct feel and transported you. Toon Lagoon might have been a little weak in this area but it definitely had a fun setting. Lost Continent had an exotic feel and was so enjoyable as a place to walk through or to sit down and enjoy. I don't know much about Pokemon but, just doing some searches, I'm not sure that it has any distinct locations that would feel special. For someone who knows the game better, help me out. This isn't about interactivity on the rides or anything. This is about the setting that we walk through.

This is the same park with “generic comic book cityscape” as one of its most popular lands.

 

[lowbudget]

I understand the concern because even though I somewhat familiar with the franchise there really isn’t a distinct location that stands out in my opinion.

It would be cool if we could do a poll a something of the top 5 locations fans would like to see translated into a theme park experience.

Maybe then we could get an idea of what people are thinking when it comes to this area.

To me its not the lands, its what era of Pokémon you put in the land. I agree that no one particular place sticks out as quintessential, there are definately some areas which are easily identifiable but Pokemon has always been about the Pokemon, not the land. 99% of your target demographic has an emotional attachment to 1, maybe 2 generations of Pokémon, miss their particular generation and you miss them entirely. Nail it for one generation, and you miss the others. Try to sprinkle a little from each generation and everyone leaves feeling "mehhh". That's the conundrum here.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

While I am trying to trust Universal Creative, I worry that this is going to adversely impact Islands of Adventure's ambiance. Each "island" has always had a distinct feel and transported you.

While I appreciate Lost Continent's overall design (some of the best work in the Florida parks), the land today (IMO) takes away from IOA. It's an entirely deserted area that acts as nothing more than a well-themed buffer between Seuss and Potter. While I'd prefer they just keep LC and add an original dark ride or coaster instead, Pokemon is a far superior option than just leaving the place abandoned.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

There’s a Pokemon design aesthetic that applies to the buildings and places in the games that I think will cover over well.

 

[belloq87]

While I am trying to trust Universal Creative, I worry that this is going to adversely impact Islands of Adventure's ambiance. Each "island" has always had a distinct feel and transported you. Toon Lagoon might have been a little weak in this area but it definitely had a fun setting. Lost Continent had an exotic feel and was so enjoyable as a place to walk through or to sit down and enjoy.

I don't know enough about Pokemon to be either concerned or excited about its aesthetic possibilities, but I do know that the atmosphere of Lost Continent Is (was) one of the best things about IOA, and it's no longer going to feel the same without it (especially the music).

With the severe truncation of the jungle in Jurassic Park, as well, some pretty significant bits that I associated with the "mood" of the park are not/will not be part of it anymore.

This is the same park with “generic comic book cityscape” as one of its most popular lands.

... And it's awesome. It's like stepping back into the Marvel of the 1990s.

 

[Tyc00n96]

Wasnt 100% sure where to put this:

 

[ParkRumors]

That is for Epic. It’s the shell of the building for the WWoHP expansion.

Also, FYI - anything posted on OCFL will be for Epic. North Campus permits are filed with City of Orlando.

 

[Tyc00n96]

That is for Epic. It’s the shell of the building for the WWoHP expansion.

Thanks!

 

[SkiBum]

This is the same park with “generic comic book cityscape” as one of its most popular lands.

Yeah, I know. I actually like that aesthetic for Marvel. It fits many of the comics, especially Spiderman. I guess that my main point is this, Does Pokemon have a setting that transports you? As I said, I honestly don't know. I fully acknowledge that they need to build rides in that area as it is currently just a passthrough. It just happened to be a nice relaxing passthrough.

 

[Brian G.]

Yeah, I know. I actually like that aesthetic for Marvel. It fits many of the comics, especially Spiderman. I guess that my main point is this, Does Pokemon have a setting that transports you? As I said, I honestly don't know. I fully acknowledge that they need to build rides in that area as it is currently just a passthrough. It just happened to be a nice relaxing passthrough.

I think the idea that Pokémon doesn’t have a “transportive” setting comes from looking at it a bit too narrowly. It isn’t built around one singular, iconic location like Potter, so it actually has the flexibility to pull together a mix of places to make it work; kinda like how Marvel uses a general comic cityscape to capture that comic feeling.

In Pokémon’s case, you’ve got both urban settings and all kinds of natural biomes, so you can move between beaches, jungles, mountains, deserts, even icy areas, etc.

And that relaxed passthrough vibe actually lines up really well with Pokémon. It’s supposed to feel like you’re wandering around and discovering things at your own pace. Like I said earlier, it’s not about just seeing a lagoon; it’s about what’s in it. Jurassic Park is essentially just a jungle, but what makes it stand out is that there are dinosaurs. Pokémon works the same way.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I think Pokemon will ultimately be judged by its kinetic energy and how you interact with the Pokemon and land elements. If the land is designed like SWGE, beautiful & grand yet barren, it will fail. If it's designed like SNW where it feels alive with energy, it'll win.

As long as they can buffer the area between Hogsmeade and Pokemon with a small berm, I think we're in for a home run.

 

[Palutena]

I would say the thing with pokemon is that there’s always less focus on very specific locations than broad “regions” instead that usually encompass a number of cities , routes , unique locales etc . You won’t find fans who necessarily remember a specific location in a game as iconic or the such on their own versus having a favorite region . This comes with the fact that most of the pokemon series is more so about adventure than settling in one place. I would even say part of the fun of a new pokemon game is usually “Okay , where are we going next ?” (along with the new pokemon of course)

As said a lot of the heavy lifting of a pokemon land is mostly going to be the fact “There are pokemon here” . But there are still things found across almost all pokemon games that will make it feel like “you’re in a pokemon world “. Namely stuff like a Pokemon Center , probably a PokeMart and a Pokemon Gym .

 

[RFRees]

I'd like to see multiple biomes within the single land.
One concept: beach/aquatic biome near the lake, leading into jungle or forest biome, with a town/city near center, volcano or temple at back-end/attraction entrance.

 

[OrlLover]

So assuming all current buildings are being demolished how many acres are we working with here?

I hope it’s enough for at least two major attractions.

Three would be ideal with major E and D ticket rides and then a smaller one for the kiddies.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

So assuming all current buildings are being demolished how many acres are we working with here?

I hope it’s enough for at least two major attractions.

Three would be ideal with major E and D ticket rides and then a smaller one for the kiddies.

Rough measurement on Google Maps gave me about 8 acres!

 

[OrlLover]

Rough measurement on Google Maps gave me about 8 acres!

Both attractions preferably should be indoors with maybe a small outdoor portion if they go with a Pokemon Safari snap type experience.

Different biomes can play a major part in this with maybe a water ride as well. IOA probably has enough of those already unfortunately.

 

[ZachPL]

I'd like to see multiple biomes within the single land.
One concept: beach/aquatic biome near the lake, leading into jungle or forest biome, with a town/city near center, volcano or temple at back-end/attraction entrance.

And for a city area, I would like if they went with a japanese building style for the architecture. That would make it more unique (at least for the US) than a basic cityscape. I know in the more modern generations they moved away from that, but the first couple of generations was based on different regions of japan.

 

[RFRees]

And for a city area, I would like if they went with a japanese building style for the architecture. That would make it more unique (at least for the US) than a basic cityscape. I know in the more modern generations they moved away from that, but the first couple of generations was based on different regions of japan.

Very much agree with this, for a few reasons. UOR has a ton of different landscapes already through the three parks, but almost none of those are Eastern Asian inspired (aside from the small Kung Fu Panda section at USF). Also, a remote Eastern Asian inspired temple/town would fit neatly into IOA's overall aesthetic compared to a more urban environment (which might work better at USF).

 

[SkiBum]

I think the idea that Pokémon doesn’t have a “transportive” setting comes from looking at it a bit too narrowly. It isn’t built around one singular, iconic location like Potter, so it actually has the flexibility to pull together a mix of places to make it work; kinda like how Marvel uses a general comic cityscape to capture that comic feeling.

In Pokémon’s case, you’ve got both urban settings and all kinds of natural biomes, so you can move between beaches, jungles, mountains, deserts, even icy areas, etc.

And that relaxed passthrough vibe actually lines up really well with Pokémon. It’s supposed to feel like you’re wandering around and discovering things at your own pace. Like I said earlier, it’s not about just seeing a lagoon; it’s about what’s in it. Jurassic Park is essentially just a jungle, but what makes it stand out is that there are dinosaurs. Pokémon works the same way.

Thanks for explaining this. I actually feel a little more optimistic about this. Like I said, I haven't played Pokemon. I did watch the movie but that's the limit of my exposure.