In the early days, Universal concocted some ridiculous expositional mythology as to how all these “islands” ended up situated together around a lagoon, but suffice it to say that as Spielberg taught us, sometimes not seeing is more effective. The final product – Universal’s Islands of Adventure – appeared at first glance like something of a grab bag of random intellectual properties arranged among six “islands”: Port of Entry, Seuss Landing, The Lost Continent, Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, and Marvel Super Hero Island. The Hail Mary licensing of Marvel Super Heroes, the success of the Lost Legend: Jurassic Park: The Ride in Hollywood, and the development of from-scratch lands of legend maybe-kinda drawn from Disney’s cancelled Beastly Kingdom like a game of Telephone lead to a new park, with a new physical arrangement. (who would’ve contributed DC Heroes and Looney Tunes) caused the park’s lineup to swerve. Initially envisioned as a “Cartoon World” of licensed characters who could compete with Disney’s stranglehold on the family market, a falling out with Warner Bros. Like all great parks, it seems that a dash of chaos theory is to thank for the park’s final form. (So much so that my magnum opus, armchair-Imagineered, from-scratch new Disney Park, Fantastic Worlds, borrows the “IP Islands” concept and layout.) ![]() ![]() That – sort of without even noticing how revolutionary it was – the park invented the “IP Land,” where an entire area of the park was wholly dedicated to a single intellectual property… a concept that the park then re-invented a decade later with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and that now serves as the industry standard.That it was Universal’s first attempt to break away from the “studio” aesthetic of soundstages and backlots and interchangeable IPs and instead build immersive environments meeting and exceeding Disney’s standards, and.There are really two essential loglines that define the park: Image: Universal I should start by saying that I absolutely love Universal’s Islands of Adventure. The quick tour of this built-out park can be found on my Twitter, but if you’re ready for the deeply reflective, in-depth written report with all my reasoning and thoughts laid bare, then settle in for a tour to the four corners of the world in my reimagined Islands of Adventure! A Love Letter to “IOA” It’s purely hypothetical, impossibly unlikely, and we’re talking about full build-out – like, a decade of non-stop expansion and billions of dollars. As always, this is my interpretation of how I’d like to see Islands of Adventure evolve. Today, we’ll set course for Universal’s Islands of Adventure, envisioning what this park could look like at full build-out. Weirdly, that inspired me to return for another armchair-Imagineered redesign of one of my favorite parks. Image: UniversalĪnd now I think that maybe Park Lore’s purpose is more than just cataloguing history, but creating new ways to see the parks we know so well. Wilson of Ideal Build-out, I developed my own Blue Sky, armchair-Imagineered visions for how Disney California Adventure and Disney’s Hollywood Studios could (and in my mind, should) evolve, culminating in the design of my own from-scratch concept theme park – Disney Fantastic Worlds. Then, I hand-drew over a hundred detailed ride layouts, trying to create a cohesive, colorful collection that would help “paint the picture” of the parks in a new way.įinally, following in the footsteps of the incredible S.W. ![]() As simple as it may seem, my Park Paths series and my Comparing Kingdoms diagram seemed to make a lot of people happy, and change the way they thought about the parks they know so well. Three years and hundreds in-depth stories later, I’m still proud of those evolving stories… but I think I see a bigger picture now. When I started Park Lore, I really hoped that this site would become the place on the Internet to read in-depth but accessible theme park and ride histories a sort of deep dive library where you could get lost in the interconnected stories of Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, never-built Possibilitylands, and more… I’ve also written hundreds of quick-read Extra Features, and dozens of in-depth Special Features reserved just for those who support this project with Memberships. – “I Need You To Imagine” Podcast Extras (B|S|G|P).The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management.The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Orlando).The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (California).20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – Submarine Voyage.
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