The Future of Lost Continent

[Mad Dog]

In a park with the colorful Toon Lagoon, Marvel city, and Seuss, why does everyone associate the entire park aesthetic with PoE or LC?

Because they look so damn good. POE and Mythos catch the eye....in a really good way.

 

[DOOMBOT]

I think there is truth to the notion that losing Lost Continent entirely will kill a good part of the original Islands of Adventure's unique visual and tonal identity. Yellow parchment, sandy shores, clay buildings, grand ruins. I believe it will feel like a different park without it.

Merlinwood -> Harry Potter was a rather 1:1 translation of visual and thematic identity. It was a very solid design decision that kept the general vibes of the park intact, with a significantly more popular fantasy world of wizards and dragons in the back, while the front half of LC retains its' mediterranean and Atlantic stylings that flow directly with the semi-adjacent Port of Entry.

I do think it's for the best, as Lost Continent is a literal shell of its' former self currently. Outside of that visual flair, it very obviously isn't pulling its' weight as a land. That said, it will still be a loss, and maybe one that we will look back on as some kind of turning point for the resorts' history.

 

[Mike S]

I think there is truth to the notion that losing Lost Continent entirely will kill a good part of the original Islands of Adventure's unique visual and tonal identity. Yellow parchment, sandy shores, clay buildings, grand ruins. I believe it will feel like a different park without it.

Merlinwood -> Harry Potter was a rather 1:1 translation of visual and thematic identity. It was a very solid design decision that kept the general vibes of the park intact, with a significantly more popular fantasy world of wizards and dragons in the back, while the front half of LC retains its' mediterranean and Atlantic stylings that flow directly with the semi-adjacent Port of Entry.

I do think it's for the best, as Lost Continent is a literal shell of its' former self currently. Outside of that visual flair, it very obviously isn't pulling its' weight as a land. That said, it will still be a loss, and maybe one that we will look back on as some kind of turning point for the resorts' history.

Wouldn’t be a problem if they used Zelda.

 

[Jake S]

In a park with the colorful Toon Lagoon, Marvel city, and Seuss, why does everyone associate the entire park aesthetic with PoE or LC?

Because they look so damn good. POE and Mythos catch the eye....in a really good way.

and because toon lagoon, marvel city and seuss are pretty unappealing aesthetically (imo, of course).

 

[rabbitsmoon]

I'm very stoked for the movie, but The Odyssey seems like a longshot for a theme park.

Like, what's the popcorn bucket gonna be? Is there merchandise potential beyond a helmet-shaped food receptacle? It's not a very fun story. Odysseus having a bad and difficult time is basically the whole thrust of the thing.

 

[Killer Klown]

 

[Tyc00n96]

Is this just for the right side of LC?

 

[Alicia]

Is this just for the right side of LC?

I think the first 5 acre one was. This one seems to be for more so probably all of it.

Edit: I haven’t had a chance to look it over, but acreage also includes drainage or runoff for environmental impact, so I’m not certain.

 

[Tyc00n96]

I think the first 5 acre one was. This one seems to be for more so probably all of it.

Edit: I haven’t had a chance to look it over, but acreage also includes drainage or runoff for environmental impact, so I’m not certain.

2027 seems ambitious no? (Could be extended like the post said)

 

[Viator]

It's finally happening y'all--Christmas Island is finally coming out of the damn bulletin wall.

 

[Magic-Man]

Could two different projects open up at two different parks in the same year? Orlando Drift, the Ministry of Magic expansion, and this all seem to be around 2027/2028.

 

[Blue]

For me it’s that if Zelda goes to Epic and Pokémon in Islands that’s all 3 of Nintendo’s biggest franchises being used with USF leveraging absolutely none of them when this is their biggest get since Potter and could be argued to actually be bigger.

It almost seems like Universal doesn't know what to with USF. Spreading Nintendo around like Potter just seemed kinda obvious to me and now the park that needs the biggest boost is going to be left with nothing. Really hope this ends up being Zelda and Pokemon still ends up in USF.

Either way, I can't believe IOA is about to get another big project before USF.

 

[Killer Klown]

Either way, I can't believe IOA is about to get another big project before USF.

IOA supremacy will forever reign!

 

[RFRees]

It almost seems like Universal doesn't know what to with USF. Spreading Nintendo around like Potter just seemed kinda obvious to me and now the park that needs the biggest boost is going to be left with nothing. Really hope this ends up being Zelda and Pokemon still ends up in USF.

Either way, I can't believe IOA is about to get another big project before USF.

I think they had a bunch of misses with USF after Diagon. It doesn't help that SNW, Pokemon, and MoM all got moved to the other parks (reportedly). But the general public isn't really tracking these misses. As long as USF gets a couple of wins they should be good.

 

[Magic-Man]

It almost seems like Universal doesn't know what to with USF. Spreading Nintendo around like Potter just seemed kinda obvious to me and now the park that needs the biggest boost is going to be left with nothing. Really hope this ends up being Zelda and Pokemon still ends up in USF.

Either way, I can't believe IOA is about to get another big project before USF.

Well, USF is in the process getting a brand new massive coaster. Is that all the park needs? Of course not. But it's still a big project.

 

[belloq87]

Well, USF is in the process getting a brand new massive coaster. Is that all the park needs? Of course not. But it's still a big project.

It's basically going to be a lateral move, though (unless there's a whole lot about it that we don't know). An unthemed coaster replaced by another (mostly?) unthemed coaster.

Assuming it's a better ride design than HRRR, it will be a win for coaster fans, but won't move the needle on the park's larger deficiencies.

 

[rabbitsmoon]

It's basically going to be a lateral move, though (unless there's a whole lot about it that we don't know). An unthemed coaster replaced by another (mostly?) unthemed coaster.

Assuming it's a better ride design than HRRR, it will be a win for coaster fans, but won't move the needle on the park's larger deficiencies.

Highly disagree with this sentiment. HRRR was a total lemon and a mediocre to bad ride experience. This new coaster (presumably) is going to be completely sick. I expect this to be an anchor attraction for USF the way Velocicoaster is for IOA.

 

[Clive]

Highly disagree with this sentiment. HRRR was a total lemon and a mediocre to bad ride experience. This new coaster (presumably) is going to be completely sick. I expect this to be an anchor attraction for USF the way Velocicoaster is for IOA.

In fairness to Belloq’s point, though, the general public just sees a coaster. Rockit was still popular despite it being a lackluster coaster. The new one should be better, yes, both in layout and theming, but USF will still have the same problems it had prior to Rockit closing.

 

[Fedic]

HRRR was a total lemon

What metric are you basing this on? As someone who's ridden over 200 coasters, was it my favorite? Absolutely not. But it always had a line and my understanding is the GSAT score was good.

 

[rabbitsmoon]

In fairness to Belloq’s point, though, the general public just sees a coaster. Rockit was still popular despite it being a lackluster coaster. The new one should be better, yes, both in layout and theming, but USF will still have the same problems it had prior to Rockit closing.

I just don't agree. This would be like saying the public can't tell the difference between Mean Streak and Steel Vengeance. I don't think you'll need to be a thoosie to perceive the massive upgrade in terms of ride experience and aesthetic.

I also think it flattens the issue to call both coasters "unthemed." HRRR's theme was nonsensical, but I think coasters depend more on aesthetics and emotion than storytelling anyway. And HRRR's aesthetic was trash! We don't know what the new one will be like exactly, but even as a lapsed F&F fan, I get heart palpitations every time I see those cars do their drift testing out in Hollywood. It's going to be cool.

What metric are you basing this on? As someone who's ridden over 200 coasters, was it my favorite? Absolutely not. But it always had a line and my understanding is the GSAT score was good.

I mean a lemon in the classic colloquial sense. The manufacturer was in way over their head and delivered something that stunk from day 1. There's a good ElToroRyan video about it if you're curious. Maybe I'm being too confident about a mulit-launch coaster from Intamin being more reliable, but we'll see!