You are to create a theme park that celebrates and entertains its guests while educating them about the importance of our environment. It must be a fun place to visit, entertaining, exciting, visually attractive, and worthy of return visits.
Park operations must demonstrate ecological awareness, use alternate energy and renewable energy sources whenever possible and practical, emphasize recycling, and attempt to minimize the "carbon footprint" it creates. This park should be a place where guests who want to learn about ecology and the environment can do so and where guests who just want to have fun can do so in an environmentally-responsible way, and perhaps learn something in spite of themselves.
There are several requirements that must be included in this proposal:
1) There must be at least 4 distinct themed areas. One of these can be an entrance area, but it must also be appropriately themed.
2) There must be a themed icon structure
3) There must be an end-of-day show
4) Each themed area must have at least one full-service restaurant, one counter-service restaurant, and one shop.
5) Each themed area must have at least 3 attractions
6) There needs to be at least one live and/or 3D show
7) No attractions can be reused from any previous TPA4 proposals.
This park can be a stand-alone park or part of a larger park complex. You must identify its location, at least approximately. It may be a year-round park or a seasonal park, depending on its location.
The Deadline for posting is August 25th at midnight, website time.
Best of luck! We are all looking forward to see what amazing eco-friendly theme parks you will create for us.
What me and the judges decided upon was to have all 3 compete for the title in this finale challenge. The due date will be extended by a few days, more on this soon. Please run preliminary ideas by the judges and myself if you would appreciate feedback.
One other matter to discuss is the voting for this finale. To avoid any circumstances of a tie, the voting will be as follows. The poll, James, Jeff, and I will each cast one vote for the winner. Our decision will be kept secret until after the poll has closed. The one with the highest percentage from the poll will receive one vote, with ours to be cast at our own discretion. In case we have a 2-2 vote, Robert will serve as the official tiebreaker for this finale challenge.
I hope everyone has enjoyed reading and participating in this year's Theme Park Apprentice. Let the finale challenge commence.
On another note, the question has come up concerning pictures this week. A maximum of 10 pictures will be allowed, instead of the normal 5.
- Tom Staggs’ dedication to Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park.
Explore uncharted worlds, exotic coasts and imaginary places at Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park is where imagination truly meets reality. The reality that we can be more eco-friendly and it isn’t that hard. The reality that as time goes on, the world will wear away and we can help stop it.
Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park will be separated into six distinct themed lands that all surround a large bay (Sea of Magic) and all of them relate back to one major theme, where the sea meets the land…
These are the six lands, in order if you walked the park clockwise.
- Harbor of Discovery - The entrance area themed to Italy during its renaissance stage. A time of change. Harbor of Discovery is your gateway to the adventure that is going to unfold.
- Isle of Mykonos - Step into the Grecian coast where you will find a port along the water and a small Greek town built into the side of a rock formation.
- The Bermuda Triangle - A mysterious and ominous island located right in the center of the Bermuda Triangle.
- Pacific Port - Explore an old fishing town along the Pacific coast.
- Magic Lagoon - Explore an uncharted magical lagoon where your imagination can truly unfold.
- Conservation Island - Located just after Magic Lagoon, guests will walk across a bridge to learn about how to keep our oceans clean and helping endangered species.
What truly makes this park special is the use of alternative and clean energy sources. All of the restaurants located at the park have solar panels located behind them. These solar panels are able to harness the sun’s energy and power the restaurant’s kitchen. The solar panels are also able to power all of the lights throughout the park. In addition to this, with every trash can there is a recycle bin located just next to it. This helps promote saving the environment instead of filling it with our endless amounts of trash. Guests can recycle plastic, paper, glass and cardboard. Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park is what we believe to be a step in the right direction for the theme park industry.
Location
Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park will be built in unused space just off of Vista Blvd. If guests are headed to the Magic Kingdom, they will be almost there! Follow signs like this one that say “Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park, next right”. Once they are near, guests will turn right off of World Dr. and onto Vista Blvd. Guests will need to merge into their left-hand lane and turn at turn at the first left onto EarthSea Drive.
Once on EarthSea Drive, guests will know that they are in the right place when they pass under a huge rock archway with the words “Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park” on it. After the sign, guests will come up to where they have to pay for parking, and will be directed by cast members to where they will be parking. The parking lot will be separated into five sections to help guests where remember where they parked: The Pacific, Mystery, Lagoon, Europe, and Conserve sections. The Lagoon, Europe and Conserve sections are farther from the main gate and will offer a tram to drive them to the entrance.
Layout
Guests begin their quest through Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park at Harbor of Discovery. Here, the path splits into a v-shape and one leads guests to Isle of Mykonos (on the left) and the other leads them to Magic Lagoon (on the right). If guests opt to take the left pathway and head to Isle of Mykonos, they will find The Bermuda Triangle . Continuing around the Sea of Magic, guests will find themselves in Pacific Port after The Bermuda Triangle. After Pacific Port, guests will enter Conservation Island. The last land that guests will encounter is after Conservation Bay and it is Magic Lagoon. Once done with Magic Lagoon, guests will end up at their point of entry, Harbor of Discovery.
Park Icon
Just as Cinderella’s Castle, The Sorcerer’s Hat, Spaceship Earth and the Tree of Life serve as beacons for their respective parks, Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park will have its own park icon…
The One Earth Globe! A large, rotating globe located in the center of the park that symbolizes the world coming together to helping stop pollution and become more eco-friendly. The One Earth Globe is located on a jagged rocky island located in the center of the Sea of Magic. The jagged rocks themselves help hold the earth up as it rotates. A fine layer of mist surrounds the island, making it more ominous but yet helping it stand out even more.
Ticket Pricing
One Day Admission (ages 10 & older) - $89.00 USD
One Day Admission (ages 3 to 9) - $83.00 USD
Park Entrance
Once guests make their way to the entrance, they will come across bag check and then will be led to the main turn styles.
The entrance area is themed to a courtyard during the Italian renaissance that began during the 13th century and ended around the 16th century. The plaza is small and has a center fountain and two on either side of it. The architecture from Italy is reflected in the small buildings that surround the central plaza. At the far end of the plaza, guests will find 3 arches. Under each arch are the main turn styles. Above all three arches are the words, Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park. To the upper left of the plaza guests will find a tan building. This is the will-call station for guests who bought online tickets.
Harbor of Discovery
Right after the park’s main entrance, guests will be able to explore an Italian town located on the coast of Italy. Here guests can take the pathway to left dubbed “Oceano Street” or the pathway to the right dubbed “Baia Way”. The architecture carries on from the entrance way with different colored buildings, large glass windows, and different spires. Here there an abundance of street performers acting as Italian citizens who are constantly interacting with guests by doing crazy dances, playing live music or even trying to sell you a watch. Where the streets split there is a large fountain that is a replica of the Trevi fountain.
Around the fountain you can find park maps, park information and signs that tell which street will take you where. After a short walk down either Oceano Street or Baia Way, guests will come across the Sea of Magic and quite a few docks that have sail ships docked to them. If guests headed down Baia Way but wanted to go down Oceano Street to the Isle of Mykonos, guests can just take a short walk along the shore of the Sea of Magic until they end up at the end of Oceano Street.
Sea Port Goods - $$ - A counter-service restaurant located along Oceano Street. Guests can get counter-service options such as Italian dishes utilizing the sea like spaghetti with scallops, shrimp with creamy noodles and more. Inside and outside seating is available.
Taste of Italy - $$$ - Another sit-down, full service restaurant serving more classic Italian dishes such as spaghetti with meatballs, lasagna, ravioli and more. Guests can sit outdoors, indoors and outdoors on top of the restaurant’s flat roof. Reservations can also be made in advance. Guests can find this restaurant along Baia Way.
Articoli Market - An outdoor market located along Baia Way where guests can purchase assorted Disney merchandise.
Mercanzi Negozo - A simple shop located along Baia Way, this shop also sells Disney items and items that could be important to your day at the park such as water bottles, mist fans, and more. Here you can also have your name sown into a pair of your own Mickey Mouse ears!
Isle of Mykonos
This is the first land guests will encounter if they take Oceano Steet. Located along the water, Isle of Mykonos features architecture that you can find along the Grecian coast. Many docks jut out from this land and also harbor sailboats and other kinds of boats. The buildings are characterized by being almost all white and having small windows. An interesting feature about this land is that above and behind the buildings, guests can see windmills that are modeling after the ones at the actual town of Mykonos. These windmills are constructed on a man-made hill behind the all white buildings of the isle. An important aspect of the windmills is that they can generate actual clean energy using the wind that is able to power the lights and restaurants of the land. Though solar-panels behind the buildings are also used to contribute to the power.
Guests will walk down the cobblestone streets and be able to observe the Sea of Magic and the rest of the park located around the Sea of Magic. More streetsmosphere can be found here with live music and more singing and dancing to that of what you would find in Greece.
Seaside Dishes - $$$ - A full service restaurant located in a small white building along the docks of the Isle of Mykonos. The building is actually just the kitchen and where guests can order but the seating is all outdoors along the Sea of Magic. The restaurant is all organic and features many classic seafood dishes found in Greece.
Reservations can be made up to 9 days in advanced. Just call the Walt Disney World Resort hotline or make your reservation on disneyworld.disney.go.com.
Ocean of Discovery
A wild adventure to help save the ocean from man-made disasters!
Queue and Location
The first attraction guests will encounter in the Isle of Mykonos. The façade is that of the rest of the buildings in this land but with the attractions name above the entrance and will be the OceanSaver’s HQ. Guests will walk through the intricately themed queue about how the ocean is in a state of peril due to our harsh treatment towards it. This will be expressed in paintings and murals along the queue’s interior walls and many display cases. It gives examples of how oil spills and littering in the ocean causes the ocean to the slowly deteriorate.
Main Ride
The ride uses motion simulator technology similar to that of Star Tours. Guests will board their “Earthflyer 2000” a new technology adapted so that people can see the ocean and the state that it’s in. This vehicle is special and along the way guests will dive underwater, clean up and oil spill, soar above the ocean and blast away a clutter of litter floating throughout the ocean. Guests will land back at the OceanSaver’s HQ and exit their Earthflyer 2000.
Exit and Gift Shop
Guests will exit through the futuristic OceanSaver’s HQ gift shop where they can buy some merchandise about how they helped save the oceans in the form of t-shirts, mugs, and other assorted objects. Guests will exit through the building next to where they entered and will be back on the streets of the Isle of Mykonos.
The Gyro Place - $ - A quick service restaurant located in the center left of the street. The restaurant is easily recognizable among all of the other white buildings due to “The Gyro Place” being painted above the counter area. Guests can all different kinds of gyros and sit outside and around the counter area in the street.
Hercules: Live!
Located at the far left-end of the street, guests take an immediate left and proceed up a small staircase to the Parthenon! Built into the man-made hills behind the Isle of Mykonos, the Parthenon is a smaller version of its Greek counterpart.
The show itself is a condensed, 45 minute long version of the popular Disney film. Guests can tag along with Hercules on his quest to become a true god. Featured songs are: Go The Distance, Zero to Hero, Won’t Say I’m in Love, and A Star is Born.
The theater can seat up to 1,500 guests and is covered, similar to Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
One Sea, One Dream
A walk-through attraction at the end of the street on the left-hand side. Guests can walk through and find out what Disney is going to do to help start using free and renewable energy and ultimately help restore the ocean to proper balance. It addresses problems in our world today with the environment and the ocean itself. It also shows how guests can help achieve free and renewable energy.
The Bermuda Triangle
Once guests pass that charming Greek sea-side town, they immediately come across an eerie bridge. One that is made out of dilapidated wood and overgrown with tropical plants. At the end of this bridge, guests will see a dense jungle with jagged rocks sticking out above the trees and out into the Sea of Magic. Also, guests will see the eerie volcano of the popular Tokyo DisneySea attraction, Journey to the Center of the Earth rising above the dense jungle and jagged rockwork. Once guests cross the bridge, they will be immersed into the mysterious jungle on this remote island located in the center of the… Bermuda Triangle!
Guests will walk down the worn central street, surrounded by dense canopy and eerie animal sounds. The island is clearly abandoned, as old, overgrown wood buildings that surround the central path are falling apart and clearly beyond dilapidated. On the left side of the path, guests can find a pathway that leads to entrance to Journey to the Center of the Earth, omnimover attraction called Mysterious Cave, and full-service restaurant called Forgotten Hideaway. On the right side of the path, guests can find Island Gifts, counter-service restaurant called Secluded Eats. At the end of the path, guests can find the queue that leads toward Jungle Rescue!.
Once guests cross the bridge, they will be immersed into an overgrown tropical village. The buildings are rotting and falling apart, vines are over-taking them. Trees and other tropical plants are growing everywhere. Jagged and sharp rocks emerge from the ground at all places, even through buildings. This is due to the earthquake that left the island abandoned many years ago. Now the island is known as being forever abandoned, alone in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle.
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Guests will take a left off of the main village square and begin a quick walk to the mysterious volcano that lies just beyond the village limits. Guests will walk up a sloped pathway through a dense jungle and up to the volcano base. Here, guests will discover an abandoned research project. Old and abandoned research buildings owned by “Yensid Corporations” and an ominous entrance that leads directly into the center of the volcano…
Queue
Guests will enter the ominous cave entrance at the base of the volcano. Once inside, guests will walk around an abandoned excavation project, with scaffolding and more tools built against the cave’s walls. Lights flicker on and off that once gave light to the old research project. Guests will pass even further through a large crack in the wall and past the old excavation project. Here guests will walk around large steam vents and bubbling lava pools. The cave has an ominous mist that envelops the queue. Guests will pass the steam vent cave and enter the loading area, where guests will board their old steam-powered mine vehicles that were designed to explore the uncharted areas of the volcano that Yensid Corporations couldn’t visit on their own.
Main Ride
Riders then board steam-powered mine vehicles that travel through pre-drilled tunnels into the heart of the Earth. The ride begins through a cavern of colorful glowing crystals, before entering a giant Mushroom Forest, which is inhabited by strange insect and amphibian-like life forms. Before the car can proceed further, an earthquake causes a cave-in of the tunnel ahead, forcing the car off its planned route and down a side branch filled with giant egg-like sacks. The car emerges on the shore of the Subterranean Sea, and is nearly struck by a lightning from the electrified gas clouds. The finale comes when riders are forced into the fiery heart of an active volcano, where the riders come face-to-face with the giant lava monster that calls the Center of the Earth its home, before escaping back to the surface on the wave of an eruption.
Exit
After guests plummet down the final drop, the mine cart will slow down and stop at another portion of the volcano, the crystal caverns. Guests will depart their mine cart and proceed to exit the crystal caverns and out of the volcano and back into The Bermuda Triangle.
Ride Statistics
- The ride experience is a mirror version of the Tokyo DisneySea version. Though the ride experience is generally the same, the queue and pre-story is very much different.
- This version goes 51 MPH out on the final drop, 4 MPH faster than it’s Tokyo DisneySea counterpart.
Mysterious Cave
Located opposite of the entrance to Journey to the Center of the Earth, Mysterious Cave is easily recognized as a large cavernous entrance into the side of the volcano. The cave entrance is surrounded by more jagged rocks and part of the same dense jungle that is apparent in all of the Bermuda Triangle island.
Queue
The cave entrance is damp and dark. Stalactites and stalagmites surround the winding queue that weaves around in the cave. The queue is not as long and intricate as Journey to the Center of the Earth’s and guests will soon find themselves in the loading area. The loading area is still damp and dark, with the occasional echo of dripping noises and howls throughout the cave. Guests will board their omnimover vehicle and be off on an unknown adventure through the Mysterious Cave!
Main Ride
Guests will board the omnimover and proceed through a short pitch black segment of the ride. Soon, a green glow will overcome riders and they will be surrounded by electricity and green lightning, flashing on both sides of them. Soon the lightning will cease and a flashing blue glow will come over riders. Riders will look around and on other side of them will be bubbling coral reefs and animatronic fish scenes. The green lightning will flash again and a purple glow will come over rides. Guests will once again be surrounded by show scenes, but this time is an outer-space environment. Guests will be floating through space will comets blazing by them and twinkling stars and galaxies. Then, the lightning flashes again, but the omnimover begins to spin around.
Something has gone wrong. Guests are transported to the end of the dinosaurs. Dinosaur animatronics ground and screech as the comet approaches and the show scene is engulfed in flames and chaos. Soon, the green lightning flashes again and guests are placed in a different setting, a battle. Guests see ships on either side of them shooting. Loud explosions thunder through the dark and stormy room and waves crash against each other. Once again, guests pass this scene and the lightning flashes, leaving guests traveling through bright crystal catacombs until they reach the un-load area.
Guests will exit through a dimly lit cavernous corridor before they emerge out in front of the volcano and back into The Bermuda Triangle.
Forgotten Hideaway
Located in the main square, Forgotten Hideaway is a full-service restaurant serving organic island food choices. Forgotten Hideaway is located in a dilapidated two story building that used to be called the “Island Motel”, but the old sign is almost falling off. Guests can sit inside on the 1st floor or 2nd floor. There is outdoor seating on the porch on the 2nd floor, 1st floor and back behind the building itself in the jungle. (Near Journey to the Center of the Earth and Mysterious Cave)
Here is a taste of what you can find on the menu:
- Shrimp Scampi - Delicious shrimp basked in a classic island sauce served on top of noodles.
- Shrimp & Avocado Salad - Shrimp in a fragrant broth made with lager, chile and fresh ginger, then serves them with avocado and a light mango dressing for a great salad.
- Chicken with Banana Curry Sauce - Chicken braised in a sweet banana curry sauce.
Reservations can be made up to 9 days in advanced. Just call the Walt Disney World Resort hotline or make your reservation on disneyworld.disney.go.com.
Island Gifts - A quaint gift-shop located in an old shanty island shack along the Sea of Magic beach. Guests can walk into the old shack and purchase many general Disney souvenirs and souvenirs unique to The Bermuda Triangle such as a t-shirt saying, “I Journeyed to the Center of the Earth!” and many more unique items.
Secluded Eats - $ - A quick-service restaurant along the shore of the Sea of Magic themed to an old bait shop, guests can enjoy sitting down outside along the Sea of Magic and eating standard park fare such as hamburgers, salads, fries and chicken tenders.
Jungle Rescue!
Jungle Rescue! Is a 4-D show located inside the volcano about how the rainforests in South America and on some islands are constantly being reduced.
Located at the end of the town square just before the transition to the next land, guests will see a pathway that is guarded by two stone idols and that will seemingly lead through the jungle and towards Journey to the Center of the Earth’s volcano.
Queue and Main Show
The queue takes guests through a short trek through the jungle, where all around them is the process of deforestation, with multiple abandoned tools and machines that were once chopping down trees before the island became abandoned. Guests then approach the base of the volcano, where above them they can hear the screams of Journey to the Center of the Earth riders and see the entrance to the show through a cave. Guests will wait in the creepy cavern that is dimly lit by glowing crystals until cast-members open the show doors and direct guests to the 3-D glasses bins and their seats.
Once guests are seated in the ominous crystal theater that is literally one large cave, a rock wall in front of guests will split, revealing the show’s screen. The show is silly but yet educational adventure through the rainforests of the Caribbean. Donald Duck is the main star and guide and he provides plenty of humor along the way as we try to save the forest and the animals in it!
Once the show ends, cast-members will direct guests to the 3-D glasses bin where they can put them back. They will be directed once again to the show’s exit doors which will take them to the area of The Bermuda Triangle where Journey to the Center of the Earth and Mysterious Cave’s entrance and exits are. From there, guests just have a short walk until they end up back at the village square.
Pacific Port
Once guests continue past the mysterious and ominous island in The Bermuda Triangle, guests will find themselves in a charming, sea-side fishing town located on the Washington coast.
Here guests will along the shore of the Sea of Magic and explore the fishing town that lies along the coast. Guests will find House of Horror Hill a thrilling dark-ride/roller coaster, Splash-Bay Soakers a trackless ride located just off the shore where guests can soak each other, Stormy Seas , a boat ride about how over-fishing is becoming a major problem (sponsored by the MSC). Guests can also find The Wharf a full-service restaurant, The Fish House and Washington & Co., two quick-service restaurants and a plentitude of shops.
The architecture of the town consists of old brightly colored buildings and multiple docks, each home to different sail-ships and shrimp boats. House of Horror Hills lies behind the main town, amongst the eerie coniferous forest. Along the sides of the main town, guests can find The Fish House and Washington & Co., along with many different shops such as Pacific Goods and the ride, Saving the Seas. Along the water’s edge, guests can find The Wharf and Splash-Bay Soakers.
The Fish House - $$ - The first thing guests will encounter on the left-hand side of the main street, The Fish House’s exterior is themed as an old warehouse. Guests will walk inside the tall ceilinged building and be surrounded by old fishing nets and fishing poles. Guests can order some marine dishes such as Cobb Salad, Grilled Salmon and Tuna Casserole.
Washington & Co. - $ - The next thing after The Fish House, Washington & Co. is standard park food served out of a small tackle shop. Hamburgers, chicken, salad and turkey legs are served here. Sitting is all outdoors along the main street.
House of Horror Hill
Located behind the main fishing village and in a dense coniferous forest, House on Horror Hill is a dark-ride/ roller coaster hybrid. Guests will turn left to find a sloped pathway that leads up to the old house that is labeled as haunted by the locals. The whole street leading up the house is very old and not maintained. The old iron fences are rusting and overgrown with weeds and vines. The coniferous forest is practically growing over the pathway. At night, the lights flicker on and off that lead up the house.
The house itself is old Victorian, as seen above.
Queue
Guests will approach the house and find the queue. Guests will wind through the overgrown cemetery and go down a staircase through the cellar doors. The basement is dark and barely lit by flickering lights. The queue winds through the basement before going back up into the living room. Here guests will congregate and the lights will dim, and then go completely out. The fire place will suddenly flick on a fire and a voice will overcome guests. The booming voice warns guests that they should not have come here and that they will discover what is truly inside this house on the hill. The lights will flicker back on and the fire will disperse. Another door that was hidden opens and cast-members will direct the guests to the loading area.
Main Ride
The loading area is themed to a long corridor of the mansion that is lit by chandeliers that give off an eerie green glow. Cast-members will direct guests to their coaster car. Each train has just one car, but can seat 4 per row and has 4 rows.
The ride begins with a 13 ft. plunge into total darkness. The coaster train will emerge out of the darkness and into the dining hall. The train comes to a halt and the furniture begins to shake and some of the chairs begin to float off of the ground. Another booming voice screams at riders to get out and the train begins to accelerate to 15 MPH and zooms out of the dining hall. The coaster does a upward helix in the dark with lightning effects flashing around them. The short coaster section comes to a stop and the train emerges into a long corridor. Tall windows surround riders on either side. A storm starts and lightning flashes in the windows and the windows begin to crack.
The train reaches the end of the corridor and engages the chain-lift. Green lightning and wind effects surround the riders as they ascend the steep chain-lift. The voice overcomes riders again and tells them that will never escape the house. The train crests the lift-hill and plunges down a steep 47 ft. drop in complete darkness. The coaster twists around through tight helices, turns and drops in the complete darkness; with more green-lightning effects surrounding the coaster. The coaster doesn’t slow as it enters another hallway. The windows have a screen effect that shows the glass shattering as the train speeds by and the voice screams in agony. The train reaches the end of the corridor and slows down as it passes through a dense green mist. The train pulls into the unload station, themed to the damp and dark basement.
Exit and Gift-Shop
Guests depart from their vehicle and are lead down a short, creepy brick hallway of the basement. At the end of the hallway, guests can observe their on-ride photos and proceed to the gift-shop where they can buy multiple ride souvenirs. Guests walk up another stair-case and into the sunlight, knowing they escaped the house. The exit path starts in the backyard and wraps around the house where it connects with the main path.
Ride Statistics
- The coaster has a top speed of 42 MPH and takes place completely indoors.
- The coaster track and trains are manufactured by Premier Rides.
Splash-Bay Soakers
Located out on the Sea of Magic and just past House of Horror Hill, Splash-Bay Soakers is the same unique trackless ride system that Aquatopia uses at Tokyo DisneySea. The ride is located on a raised water platform so that the water is actually about 2 inches deep. Each vehicle is guided on a track and has an on-board squirt gun that promises loads of soaking wet fun!
Guests will walk out onto a dock that stretches out into the Sea of Magic. The dock is covered and serves as the station and queue. Here guests can watch the ride take place just to their left! Once guests board their “Soak Boat”, they
Stormy Seas
Stormy Seas is an indoor boat-ride located on the left side of the main street and just past the pathway that takes guests down to the House of Horror Hill. The attraction is a fun, learning experience about how over-fishing is becoming a major problem in our world today. The attraction is sponsored by the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council).
Queue
The façade is reminiscent of the town’s main fishing business: “MoreFish Co.”. The building is red and made out of wood and a sign spells “MoreFish Co.” above the queue’s entrance. However, some graffiti by the entrance door’s walls spells “Stormy Seas”. The queue winds through a few hallways that are dimly lit by swinging lamps above rider’s heads. Eventually, guests enter the loading area that is themed to the main fishing warehouse. Fishing nets and poles sprawl the old wooden floor. Guests then reach the end of the room and a cast-member will direct them to their 8 person boats.
Main Ride
The boat slowly departs from the station and makes a left turn. Immediately guests are in the midst of a stormy environment. The room is dark and lightning flashes around guests and wind effects whip around guests. To their left is a shrimp boat, rocking and being beaten by waves as animatronic fisherman holler as they pull up a net filled with fish and crabs. The boat pulls away from this scene and into the next room. Here is a gentler environment with a setting sun backdrop and gentle waves. There are three of the same boats pulling up more nets again and a voice overpowers riders. The voice says that over-fishing is becoming a major problem for today’s ecosystem. The boat reaches the end of the show-room and descends down a small 10 ft. drop.
Immediately guests are immersed inside an aquarium. Fish swim all around them as the boat slowly moves down the aquarium tunnel. The voice comes over again and says that fish are important to our world and over-fishing could damage that balance. Once guests move through the long aquarium tunnel, they emerge into the final showroom. Here, guests can see indoor fish-farms, similar to that on Living with the Land. The voice tells riders that fish-farms can help solve the problems of over-fishing and our ecosystem will eventually be renewed. The boat pulls back into the station and guests exit through the main fishing warehouse and back into the streets of Pacific Port.
The Wharf
The final “attraction” before the transition to Magic Lagoon, The Wharf is a full-service restaurant located out on the Sea of Magic. The restaurant is held up by wooden poles above the water. Guests enter up a stair-case into the fish themed restaurant. There is only indoor seating available but guests can sit near large windows and look out over the Sea of Magic and the rest of the park.
Here is a taste of what you can find on the menu:
- Baked Halibut Steaks - Italian-style vegetable and feta cheese topping is the perfect enhancement to delicious baked halibut.
- Cedar Planked Salmon - Smoked salmon by cooking it on a cedar plank. Served with rice and asparagus.
- Sea Burger - An all-beef patty served on a warm bun topped with bacon, smoked cheddar cheese and lettuce.
Reservations can be made up to 9 days in advanced. Just call the Walt Disney World Resort hotline or make your reservation on disneyworld.disney.go.com.
Magic Lagoon
After you’ve experienced the wonder of Pacific Port, prepare to let your imagination unfold in the Magic Lagoon! Here is where you can meet some of your favorite under the sea Disney characters such as Ariel and Nemo!
The land begins as you cross a beautiful marble bridge from Pacific Port and into Magic Lagoon. The land circles its own small “lagoon” that is extension of the Sea of Magic. Guests will find themselves lost in a world of magic. The buildings are all unique and brightly colored, with sea-shell inspired designs, similar to that of Tokyo DisneySea’s counterpart, Mermaid Lagoon. The shop’s and attraction’s entrances are all built into one large building where the façade is an intricate shell-like city with glistening towers and different coral and shell structures. The beauty is endless in Magic Lagoon.
Guests will encounter Nemo’s Underwater Rescue an interactive dark-ride, Les Poissons, a full-service character dining location, King Triton’s Carousel a beautiful carousel themed to the sea, Ariel’s Grotto quick-service restaurant, Magical Grill second quick-service restaurant, Jumpin’ Jellyfish a kid’s free-fall ride, WonderQuarium a walk-through aquarium and Scuttle’s Whozits a medium sized shop.
Nemo’s Underwater Rescue
The first attraction guests will encounter on the left hand side of the path. The façade is two tall spiraling shells side by side and multiple brightly colored coral reef structures. Guests will pass between the two tall spiraling shells and under a sparkling sign that says “Nemo’s Underwater Rescue”.
Queue
The queue winds through a coral reef environment. Multiple coral reef structures surround the queue line and the ceiling is a video screen giving the impression that guests are looking up at the surface of the water from the ocean floor. The lighting gives off the impression that guests are underwater by showing glimmering reflections of light on top of the guests and the coral that surrounds them. Guests move past the large first room and into the loading area. Large coral structures seemingly arch over the loading area and the ceiling is the same as the previous room, as well as the lighting, just on a larger scale. Riders then board their “sea cart” that seats 4 people (2 rows and 2 per row) as they can ride on different shells.
Main Ride
The ride system is the same used on Toy Story Midway Mania. Guests have their own “bubble blaster” attached to the vehicle in front of them. Guests shoot the bubbles at different fish that are alien to the environment and could harm the ecosystem. When guests notice the bad fish, they shoot the bubbles at the fish and the fish float off the screen in their bubbles. Be careful, you don’t want to hit any of Nemo’s friends or the fish that actually belong that. Each screen is a different part of the coral reef and some screens are more challenging than others.
Les Poissons
Just a short walk across from Nemo’s Underwater Rescue, Les Poissons is a full-service character dining location on a replica of Prince Eric’s ship. The ship floats out on the Sea of Magic and is docked on the coast of Magic Lagoon. Guests walk up a ramp and into the ship itself. Guests can choose to either sit inside or outside on the main deck. Instrumental versions of the award winning Little Mermaid soundtrack play over the main deck and the fancy interior dining area.
Here is a taste of what you can find on the menu:
- Chicken Marsala - Baked chicken breast topped with a creamy mushroom sauce and bread crumbs and served with a side of asparagus and white rice.
- Fish ‘n’ Chips - A classic dish that can appeal to all ages: fried fish and French fries.
- Spaghetti and Meatballs - Another classic. Noodles with a zesty meat sauce and 3 large meat-balls. Topped with cheese.
Reservations can be made up to 9 days in advanced. Just call the Walt Disney World Resort hotline or make your reservation on disneyworld.disney.go.com.
King Triton’s Carousel
A beautiful carousel brought over from Disney’s California Adventure where children and adults alike can board a royal carousel brought to you by King Triton. Riders board different kinds of sea animals instead of the classic horses.
Ariel’s Grotto - $$ - Located next to King Triton’s carousel, Ariel’s Grotto is a quick-service dining location where guests can dine in the midst of the secret grotto where Ariel performed “Part of Your World”. The grotto is an exact replica of the movie version. However, the top-half of the grotto is a screen, due to the height that would be necessary. Standard park-fare is served such as hamburgers, salads, chicken tenders and soda.
Magical Grill - $ - Not inspired by a movie, Magical Grill is to the right of the entrance to Ariel’s Grotto. Here guests can get snacks and refreshments with some outdoor seating available.
Jumpin’ Jellyfish
Also brought over from Disney’s California Adventure, Jumpin’ Jellyfish is located next to Les Possions and across from Magical Grill and Ariel’s Grotto. The attraction is located right next to the water as guests are pulled up a glistening and magical sea-inspired tower and left to gently float down to the ground on their own “jellyfish”. Great views of the Sea of Magic are guaranteed.
WonderQuarium
Next to Magical Grill, guest walk under a beautiful coral archway and into a beautiful walk-through aquarium. Here guests can observe a multitude of exotic fish, a shark tunnel, jellyfish and more. Even a hands-on section is available where kids can touch Sea Urchins and other shellfish. There is also a stingray tank where guests can touch the top of the stingrays.
Scuttle’s Whozits - A small shop at the end of the beautiful coral city and at the end of the Magic Lagoon itself. The shop is built into the main coral structure where guests enter and can explore classic Disney items. There is an abundance of The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo merchandise sold here.
Conservation Island
Magic and endless imagination end after Magic Lagoon and the reality and true beauty of the Earth begins to unfold as guests enter Conservation Island.
Conservation Island is the smallest land of the park and begins as guests cross another marble bridge from Magic Lagoon. Guests are now away from the secluded lagoon area and are once again along the shores of the Sea of Magic. Conservation Island is themed to a conservation station that works to preserve marine and land species that are slowly becoming extinct. Conservation Island is arranged in a plaza formation, with each of the sanctuaries and restaurants branching out from the plaza. No major theming is found here, but instead there is beautiful landscaping with flowers, fountains and palm trees.
Guests won’t be able to find any major attractions, but instead plenty of different “sanctuaries”. Guests can find the Sloth Sanctuary, The Manatee Pools and the Fish Preserve. Guests can find a full dining option, Dining with the Sharks, quick-service location, ManatEATS and a few small shops.
Sloth Sanctuary
The Sloth Sanctuary is dedicated to helping sloths who are an endangered species. 3 toed sloths and 2 toed sloths are featured here. If guests enter the main plaza of Conservation Island and just head straight, they will find themselves in the Sloth Sanctuary. The sloths have enriching and detailed habitats that guests can experience while also learning along the way about sloths and how deforestation is a major factor in their endangerment.
The Manatee Pools
Located just left of the Sloth Sanctuary, The Manatee Pools lets guests have an up-close encounter with rescued manatees who are endangered due to motor boats speeding and not paying attention in Florida’s natural lakes and rivers. Guests can look down into the manatee tanks and even walk down a small slope leaving guests completely immersed as they are at the same level of the manatees.
Fish Preserve
Located to the right of the Sloth Sanctuary, the Fish Preserve is an aquarium featuring exotic species of different fish that are currently endangered. The fish featured in this walk-through are the Atlantic Halibut, Acadian Redfish, Winter Skate, European Eel and the Goliath Grouper.
Dining with the Sharks
Dining with the Sharks is a unique dining experience. Located just to the right of the Fish Preserve, guests can dine with a live shark aquarium surrounding them at all sides. Many delicious seafood and non-seafood dishes are served.
Reservations can be made up to 9 days in advanced. Just call the Walt Disney World Resort hotline or make your reservation on disneyworld.disney.go.com.
ManatEATS - $ - A quick-service restaurant next to the Manatee Pools. Standard park fare is served and all seating is outdoors.
The Animal Store - Located next to Dining with the Sharks, The Animal Store is a store selling multiple plush animals. Each buy contributes to helping preserve the animals and the environment that they live in.
After guests are done exploring the small plaza that is Conservation Island, guests can take a short walk over another bridge and will end up back at Harbor of Discovery.
One Earth, One Ocean
One Earth, One Ocean is Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park’s daily night-time spectacular. One Earth, One Ocean premieres every night at 8:00 PM and can be viewed from any part of the park.
The show is about how land and the ocean are all part of the same thing… the Earth. With an awe-inspiring sound-track, over 1000 water-jets, fog effects, laser effects, mist screens and more; One Earth, One Ocean will deliver excitement and pure entertainment! The show also teaches and spreads the deep environmental message the park tries to maintain throughout many of the rides and lands that guests just explored. The mist screens help deliver the message in the form of videos as the beautiful water fountains dance in synchronized motions around the mist screens.
The laser effects and water-jets are powered by flywheels, which as they spin can transfer massive amounts of energy. Enough to power the 22 minute long show. The flywheels are hidden though behind Isle of Mykonos.
Come Experience Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park!
Come to Walt Disney World Resort for the grand opening of Disney’s EarthSea Adventure in late 2014! Discover, explore, learn and harness your imagination!
Experience it all at Disney’s EarthSea Adventure Park!
Nature's Wonderland
Location: Located approximately equidistant from the two largest metropolitan areas in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle, WA and Portland, OR), Nature's Wonderland will draw day visitors from the largest population pool in the region. The park is located in unincorporated territory of Lewis County, Washington, with a mailing address in Morton, WA. Access is from U.S. Route 12, as the park is located approximately 20 miles east (as the crow flies) from Interstate 5.
A: Seattle, B: Morton, C: Portland
Operating Calendar: Due to seasonal snowfall in this region, the park operates from mid May to late October (weekends only until mid June and after Labor Day; water attractions do not operate after Labor Day). Opening time is at 10:00 A.M. daily, and closing times vary from 6:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M.
Prices: Admission tickets are very reasonable. One day tickets are approximately $50 for adults and $35 for children 12 and under (children 3 or under are admitted free). Senior tickets are further discounted to $25 for those over 60 years of age. In addition, on days where the park is open until 9:00 P.M. or later, an evening ticket valid from 5 P.M. to closing can be purchased for just $20. Season passes are also available for $85 and include two days of parking (normal parking charge: $10, unlimited season parking: $40).
Park Information: The park is approximately 150 acres and features 20 rides, shows, and attractions, all included with admission. In addition, there are 8 dining locations and 6 retail outlets within the park. The entire park is divided into five themed areas.
Theming: Nature's Wonderland is themed to just that: Nature. The park's various themed areas explore the natural world, as well as how it has been changed by human interaction. To give park visitors an authentic wilderness experience, a minimal amount of groundwork occurred during construction. As a result, most of the plant life present is naturally occurring, and the pathways throughout the park, while paved, may be steep or slightly uneven in places. Buildings are kept below tree height, and for the most part the park's attractions are not visible from far away as they make use of the natural topography as much as possible.
Environmental Awareness: Nature's Wonderland has made an attempt to minimize their carbon footprint and be as carbon neutral as possible in order to preserve the natural environment for future generations. To cut down on resources used during construction, as much of the timber removed as possible was reused in the construction of the park's various buildings, fences, signs, and benches. For every tree that was chopped down and not reused, two trees were planted elsewhere as a replacement. 100% of the park's energy is generated through the use of renewable resources, including solar, wind, and geothermal energy. Natural gas is used for all cooking applications, and the park's steam trains run on biodiesel. Finally, all food packaging and eating utensils are either biodegradable or recyclable, and recycle bins are placed liberally throughout the park (just as often as trash cans). Helpful signs remind guests what can be recycled and what cannot.
Layout: Nature's Wonderland is laid out in a rough V shape. The entrance area is at the bottom of the V, then visitors can choose to go either left or right. Both paths proceed through two themed areas, and are separated by a hill in between them. At the far end, a walkthrough attraction allows passage between both ends of the V.
Parking: Parking is in a large, covered parking lot. The lot can accommodate 20,000 vehicles and has designated sections for handicapped and bus parking. The entire parking area is covered by a roof of solar panels, generating energy for the park.
Entrance: The park entrance is a relatively simple wooden archway with a row of turnstiles below it. On top of the arch, the park's name is spelled out, appearing to be made of logs tied together. In front of this are 8 ticket booths, designed to resemble the guard shacks found at many national parks. Off to the right is a larger wooden building that houses the season pass processing center.
Gateway Village
Upon passing through the entrance of the park, visitors find themselves in a town square surrounded by wooden buildings. The area resembles a small frontier town, with the various buildings resembling a variety of shops. These shops sell anything from standard souvenirs to freshly made desserts. Information, Lost Children, First Aid, ATMs and a restroom are all present in this area as well. Finally, two larger stores are located here.
Shopping:
The Grande Emporium: The largest gift shop in the park, the Grande Emporium sells almost any souvenir imaginable. Most (but not all) of the merchandise found at the park's other stores can be purchased here, along with all the standard park souvenirs (t-shirts, hats, souvenir cups, key chains, etc...).
Explorer's Essentials: Instead of souvenirs, this store sells things that may be required for an enjoyable day at the park but are easily forgotten. Sunscreen, sunglasses, umbrellas, rain ponchos, and a limited selection of over the counter medications can be purchased here, along with a variety of other miscellaneous items. Unlike most theme park stores, the prices at this location are only about 10% higher than they would be at locations outside the park.
Once guests reach the far end of the square, they cross a bridge over a stream, then find themselves in front of a stone mural carved into the hillside. It depicts a man standing on the edge of a cliff, and below him is a valley that is split in half. One half appears to be in its natural state, covered in trees and with a river winding through it. The other half shows a deserted wasteland where nothing grows. The mural symbolizes what happens when a resource is abused by showing the destruction that can be caused. While it is stone gray during the day, at night the mural is illuminated in many colors by an LED light display.
At this point, guests have the option of turning left or right.
The Riverfront
Guests that go left follow the stream until they reach the entrance of a valley. This is the Riverfront, a small outpost at the entrance to the forest. This section of the park has a national park feel, with few buildings and pathways that wind around existing trees. There are five attractions, two restaurants, and one shop in this section of the park.
Theme: The Riverfront is themed to nature in general. All of the attractions are about what can be found in the undisturbed natural world. This section of the park has a heavier education focus than others, but does contain two attractions that will appeal to those only looking for fun.
Attractions:
Wonderland Railroad: A 5 mile train ride into the surrounding wilderness. Guests are able to see a variety of plant and animal life during their journey, all of it naturally occurring. Narration is provided by a park employee, who rides along and gives information about what the riders are seeing. In total, the ride takes approximately 30 minutes, but can sometimes take longer as the train will stop for interesting sights. To reduce pollution as much as possible, the two steam trains used for this attraction run on biodiesel instead of coal or wood.
Cascade Chair: A four person chairlift up the side of a nearby mountain. The ride is approximately 15 minutes each way, and visitors gain about 700 feet of elevation during the trip up. At the top, there is an observation area with signs indicating landmarks in each direction. This is an excellent spot for pictures or the surrounding landscape, including some volcanoes nearby (most notably Mount Rainier).
World of Wonder: An IMAX 3D documentary about the natural world. The film showcases several different ecosystems, one from each of Earth's continents. The film is relatively similar to what may be found on TV, but the attraction is unique due to the presentation style. The feature runs approximately 40 minutes, and is shown once per hour. Outside the theater, a display provides more information on the locations where the documentary was filmed.
Slopeslide: A unique attraction for a theme park, Slopeslide is an alpine slide. Guests board a wheeled cart and are pulled to the top of a slope by a cable, then roll down a fiberglass trough. Riders have a brake lever on their cart and are in control of their own speed the whole way down. Restrictors are in place so it is difficult to crash the sled, but still possible for those who go excessively fast and do not heed the warning signs.
Canopy Cables: A ropes course attraction featuring a unique trail through the forest. Guests are attached to a harness, and are then free to proceed along the course in whatever direction they wish. The attraction features three circular courses, each taking 10-15 minutes to complete and featuring up to 20 crossings. Throughout the journey, signage identifies various plant life. Depending on the course, climbers are between 10 feet and 100 feet above the ground below. Once on this attraction, guests may proceed around the courses as many times as they wish before leaving.
Dining:
Riverfront Grill: A quick service restaurant located right on the waterway. Guests can purchase a variety of standard amusement park food, such as hot dogs and hamburgers, at this eatery, then enjoy a pleasant meal on the outdoor deck. Unlike the park's other restaurants, food at this location is prepared on an outdoor natural gas grill in full view of park visitors.
Aqua Lounge: An indoor, full service restaurant featuring a menu of seafood selections. Although the building is a simple wooden structure to blend in with the rest of the area, the dining room is modern and painted in aquatic blues and greens. Tables and chairs resemble rocks, and various furnishings are shaped like aquatic plants. A full wall aquarium lines one side of the room, adding to the relaxing atmosphere.
Shopping:
Wilderness Gifts: A medium-sized store selling a variety of souvenirs. In addition to common park souvenirs, this store sells unique items representing the wilderness, including small plants and wooden sculptures.
Miners Camp
For guests who instead turn right, they follow a path upriver to Miners Camp. The area looks like a large campsite, with tents set up seemingly at random among the trees. A few permanent buildings, mainly made of rusting sheet metal, are also present. With eight attractions, including two major rides and a live show, this is the largest area of the park.
Theme: Miners Camp is themed to the resources that can be taken from the Earth. All of the attractions here reference a natural resource in some way, whether directly or indirectly. The attractions in this section of the park will generally appeal to all members of the family.
Attractions:
Sawmill Plunge: A log flume themed to the process of logging. Riders board the logs at a dock, then float past an animatronic scene depicting loggers chopping down trees. They then ascend the lift to the top of the hill, where a brief scene of cut trees being loaded into a truck is seen before riders plunge down the first drop of around twenty feet. They then float through the sawmill in a dark ride section before reaching a final drop of about four stories into a lake. Riders then return to the loading platform to disembark. Total ride duration is approximately 4 minutes.
Goldmine Express: A Vekoma Mine Train roller coaster, and the headliner attraction of Miners Camp. Riders enter the attraction through a building labeled Cascade Mountains Mining Co. Inside, the queue winds around displays of various materials that are commonly mined in the world today. The queue then proceeds through the equipment yard past old mining machinery before arriving at the railroad dock, where riders board the train.
The ride begins with a dark ride section through the mine. As guests proceed deeper and deeper, veins of gold ore become visible along the walls. The ride then ascends the first lift hill. During the ascent, a yell of "fire in the hole" is heard before an explosion causes the track to collapse, sending riders on a winding race down the mountain. A second lift hill occurs when guests reach the bottom, dragging them to a secondary shaft, then riders complete a coaster section in the dark. Finally, a third lift hill out of a flooding cavern gives trains the height required to complete the last section of the coaster (outdoors) and return to the station.
Essentially, something like this but with natural theming instead of an artificial structure
Goldmine Express is just under a mile long and features a total elevation difference of 75 ft. The initial plunge is the largest single drop in the ride at 40 ft, and trains reach speeds of 40 mph during their nearly 4 minute journey. The ride is capable of operating five trains simultaneously due to a dual loading station and has a height restriction of 42". Riders are secured by individual lapbars.
Timber Axe: A standard pirate ship attraction located near Sawmill Plunge. The ride is themed to look like a large double-bladed axe. Queue line displays describe the history of lumberjacks.
Oil Drums: A teacups attraction with cups themed to large oil drums. Riders are capable of spinning the drums at the desired speed by turning a wheel in the center. Queue line displays give facts about crude oil and the extraction process, and highlight regions of the world containing high concentrations of natural oil reserves.
Where in the world...?: An interactive walkthrough about the different environments on Earth, and what types of resources can be obtained from each one. Each room of the walkthrough is themed to a different continent, with each individual display being one environment on that continent.
The Harvest: A shooting dark ride. Guests enter the queue through a barn. While in line, guests view information on various crops, then proceed past a group of farmers complaining about a storm scattering their crops. Another asks guests for their help, and demonstrates the flora collector 3000, a special device that can rapidly collect stay produce. Guests then board 4 person tractors (2 rows of 2) and proceed out of the barn (in reality, they are entering a show building).
The ride itself is a Sally Corporation shooting dark ride. Guests proceed through nine scenes, each a different portion of the farm, and attempt to collect produce by shooting the targets. Points are scored for each correct target hit, while points are deducted for hitting incorrect targets (such as miscellaneous animals that appear randomly). Some targets move, but most are stationary. The final scene in the ride shows the farmers thanking guests for their help while loading baskets of produce into a truck. Riders then proceed to the unload station and exit through the side of the barn.
Geothermal Plant: A guided tour through the park's geothermal energy plant, used to produce electricity for the park through natural thermal energy. Between this plant and the solar panels above the parking lot, nearly 100% of the park's energy needs are met.
Living in Harmony: A live show about the appropriate use of the Earth's resources. Topics such as overuse, underutilization, depletion, biodiversity preservation, and pollution are explored in a way that is both entertaining and educational. The show features both live actors and animatronics, and runs approximately 30 minutes. Depending on the season, the show plays 3 to 8 times daily. The theater used for this show seats approximately 2,000 spectators and is located inside the largest tent in Miners Camp.
Dining:
Miners Diner: A full service restaurant located near the mining complex. Guests can enjoy burgers and sandwiches similar to what you would find in most diners. The building resembles an old 1950s diner both inside and out.
Camp Grub Tent: The second largest tent in Miners Camp houses a station service restaurant and dining commons. Food here consists of breadbowl soups, grilled chicken, roasted corn, and miscellaneous other items (typically stuff that can be cooked over a campfire). The seating area is indoors and utilizes simple wooden tables and chairs, with minimal decoration inside the tent.
Shopping:
Supply Store: A shop selling natural souvenirs such as polished stones and mineral rocks. Also available are t-shirts and hats themed to various natural resources.
Rainbow Valley
Proceeding up the V from Miners Camp, guests reach Rainbow Valley, a large valley hidden from the front of the park by the central mountain. The valley appears almost completely untouched by humans. Natural formations are all over, and the stream winding through the park appears to originate here. This is the smallest section of the park, with only three attractions.
Theme: Rainbow Valley is themed after animal life, and is the one section of the park in which live animals are kept. The buildings in this section of the park generally resemble natural formations, often those various animals may call their home. Attractions in this section of the park vary widely, with one non-ride attraction, one family-friendly ride, and one thrill ride.
Attractions:
Grizzly Run: A large GCI wooden coaster that makes use of the natural terrain of the park. Guests enter the ride through a cave and wait in an underground queue area before climbing to the station hidden in the trees. The ride begins with a lift hill into the mountains, then follows an unpredictable terrain-hugging course through the forest. Riders experience speeds as high as 60 mph and a total elevation difference of 115 ft during the 2:30 ride along 4700 ft of track. The ride is capable of running two 24 passenger Millennium Flyer trains, and riders are secured by a shared seatbelt and individual lapbars. The height requirement to ride is 48".
Picture this ride obscured by trees
The Great Migration: A motion simulator in which riders follow a flock of birds south aboard a research aircraft. The queue line begins with an optional aviary, then guests proceed up a wooden walkway to a gigantic tree (the only artificial tree in the park). Proceeding inside through a massive hole in the base of its trunk, guests are assigned to one of four 40 passenger simulator units.
The flight almost immediately has problems when the designated flock is unable to be found due to heavy fog. However, using radar, they are eventually located. The flight is somewhat uneventful until word of an approaching storm forces the aircraft to veer off course. In the thunderstorm, the aircraft is struck by lightning and nearly crashes into the ground, but the pilot manages to restart the engines just in time. They then proceed out of the storm and discover a valley swarming with birds, the location of the migration. The flight then lands at a nearby research facility, into which riders exit. The flight lasts approximately five minutes.
The exit ramp of the attraction features several displays about the behavior of birds and a couple bird exhibits showcasing birds that cannot be safely let loose inside an aviary. Riders then exit through a short tunnel.
Path of the Forest: A one mile pathway through the forest past various animal exhibits. Many animals native to the Pacific Northwest are seen, but the selection is not limited exclusively to them. Each exhibit features informational signs about the animals inside. The path forms a loop and is not level due to grade changes. Thunder Ridge is accessible from the far end of the pathway.
Dining:
Mooseburger Inn: A full service restaurant featuring a variety of meat-based dishes (burgers, steaks, chicken, etc.). This restaurant is located inside the one building in the area not resembling a natural formation: a large wooden cabin. The inside appears just as a rustic cabin would, complete with wooden support columns in the middle of the floor, furniture that looks like it was handmade, and decorations created out of animals (all are artificial, of course).
The Knothole: A counter service restaurant located in the false stump of a tree. The food served here is plant-based, such as salads. A small seating area with picnic tables is located nearby.
Shopping:
Animalia Incognito: A small store selling animal-themed accessories. Feathered hats and necklaces, furred bracelets, paw gloves, animal print shirts and jackets, and more can be found here. Also available are plush toys of the various animals found in the Path of the Forest attraction.
Thunder Ridge
Located up the valley from The Riverfront, Thunder Ridge is named for the large ridge at the back of the area. To access the area from any other section of the park, visitors must climb a significant grade. Once here, visitors find an area that resembles an outdoor weather station.
Theme: Thunder Ridge is themed to the elements, and features primarily thrill rides. Attractions in this section tend to be light on education and all about the fun aspect of the experience. Families with children under elementary school age will probably find this section of the park unsuitable, as their children will likely be scared by or unable to experience the attractions in this section.
Attractions:
River Expedition: River Expedition is a splash boat ride, but significantly extended from the generic model. Riders board at the dock, and are taken up a lift hill to departure point alpha. From here, the ride follows a winding path through the forest, as visitors pass animatronic versions of wildlife native to the region. As the boats wind around a bend, riders come upon a damaged camp, then enter a show building disguised as a cave. Inside, riders experience a simulated thunderstorm and are stalked by a pack of wolves before a landslide occurs and riders plunge out of the show building down an 8 story drop. The boats then return back to the dock, where exiting riders can pause at a display with information about the animals of the Pacific Northwest. Total ride time is approximately 6 minutes.
Eruption: An S&S combo tower blasting riders out of a volcano. The 20-story complex tower is located on top of the ridge, and is the only attraction in the park visible from outside of it. Riders board one of the three towers inside the volcano, then are launched skyward to a height of approximately 180 feet. Riders then bounce a few times before coming to rest approximately 2/3 of the way up the tower. They are then pulled to the top, pause for approximately 5 seconds, then drop and bounce until they return to the base of the tower. Each tower seats twelve riders, and the attraction has a ride time of 90 seconds.
Tornado: An indoor rotor featuring wind effects and storm sounds. Riders stand against the wall of a circular room, which spins at high speed before guests are picked up (in reality, the floor drops away). The ride cycle is approximately two minutes.
White Lightning: The park's largest and most intense coaster, White Lightning is a massive B&M inverted coaster that dominates the ridge. The coaster follows a freeform layout all over the mountainside, with visible sections and hidden sections. The ride features two underground tunnels and five inversions during the course, and due to its length White Lightning is capable of operating three 32 passenger trains simultaneously.
There is currently no such thing as a terrain inverted coaster, so instead imagine this built on a hillside.
White Lightning is 5500 ft long, has an elevation difference of 190 ft, largest drop of 155 ft, reaches a maximum speed of 66 mph, has a duration of 3:30, and features 5 inversions (loop, dive loop, cobra roll, corkscrew). The ride incorporates a layout with elements of many of B&M's designs, including those not commonly found on an inverted coaster such as an initial drop at a nearly vertical angle, airtime hills, and a hammerhead turn. Riders must be 54 inches tall to ride this coaster.
Dining:
Weather Center Cafeteria: A station service restaurant serving a variety of standard park food, such as hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken strips, and pizza. This location has the largest variety of any dining location in the park. A large indoor seating area is available, which is decorated with pictures of various storms. The building appears ultra-modern and is kept in pristine shape.
Tsunami Bar: An indoor full service restaurant and bar. The restaurant is themed to surfing and other ocean-based activities, and features a variety of selections. This is also the only place in the park where alcohol is available without a food purchase, as the restaurant includes a full bar (wine is available at the Aqua Lounge, and beer is available at Mooseburger Inn, but only to diners at both locations).
Shopping:
Elemental Goods: The largest souvenir store in the park (excluding the Grande Emporium), this shop sells weather and natural disaster related merchandise, as well as attraction t-shirts for the four rides in this section of the park.
Nighttime Spectacular:
On nights where Nature's Wonderland is open late enough, a special show occurs at 9:30 P.M. Dubbed Northern Lights, the show is a laser spectacular visible from the entire front half of the park. A variety of lasers and lights illuminate the night sky in a dazzling display of color synchronized to an audio score. The show lasts approximately 10 minutes, and celebrates the natural world through light and sound. Projections onto the hill in the middle of the park add to the show, incorporating the surroundings for a truly unique, one of a kind production. During the day, all of the equipment required for the show is hidden on poles that descend into the ground, and it is only raised up at night when it is required.
Nature's Wonderland may not be the largest park out there, but it is certainly one of the most unique. Where man-made experiences live in harmony with natural beauty, and fun and education fit perfectly together with one another, a magical feeling is born. Come vist Nature's Wonderland, the largest park in the Pacific Northwest.
Discovery - The Theme Park.
Because there is no thrill quite like Discovery.
Why Discovery (Channel/Communications)
Discovery channel is synonymous with educational based entertainment; recognition and admiration for its goals and programming transcend all demographics. Still not convinced? Look at the figures:
431 Million homes worldwide have access to Discovery Channel directly (and millions more have access to Discovery Communications produced content through programme sales to other networks and co-productions with other broadcasters like the BBC)
170 Countries have Discovery branded channels available
71.96 – Harris Poll Equitrend score for main Discovery Channel brand 2012 - 2nd highest in Topical TV interest programming category, down from 1st in 2011
63.84 – Harris Poll Equtrend score for Animal Planet 8th in Topical TV down from 7th in 2011.
33 Languages are featured in Discovery Communications programs
29 Different network brands contain potential material to theme attractions around.
All of this leads to
5 Themed areas to discover (plus central area)
1 World Class tourist destination
Although this pitch will only contain detailed information on a single park, there is no reason why a larger park resort complex cannot be considered using content from other Discovery owned networks that don’t fit in any way with the current theme. Additionally Discovery’s partnership with the BBC can be expanded upon to bring more inspiration for the park to draw upon – both for the current park and any future second gate.
Location
Discovery - The theme park is placed just outside San Francisco, one of America's most popular tourist desitinations. It is far enough from Los Angeles to be distinct from the existing parks in that area, but still able to benefit from the climate and economic benefits of Calfornia
Pricing
Pricing is done on a height basis, in the theory that those who are unable to ride the larger rides should pay less; this effectivley means that Child Discounts are available to those who would be restricted to the same experiences a child would. All rides with minimum heights are designed to have the same minimum.
Over Restricted Ride min height: $50
Under restricted height: $30
Those over height are issued with armbands preventing them from needing to be measured in the future.
Guests with mobility or health issues that will not be able to ride the more intense rides can also purchase the lower priced ticket.
Discovery App
The Discovery - the theme park Smartphone app is the smart addition to your day. You can not only use the app to find your way around the park and update everyone on Social media to your day, you can use it to purchase FastForward (Fastpass) passes whilst you are in the park.
You can also use the NFC ability on some phones to allow people in your party to charge purchases to a single account, paid for by a single payment at the end of your day, to your credit card, or direct to your phone bill or App Store account (extra charge may apply) to save you carrying around cash - if you're in a family group you can even chain a few phones to allow other members to make food and souvineer purchases to the same account - you can even set spending limits to ensure they don't overspend their pocket money.
If your phone doesn't have NFC, you can collect some easy to remove stickers that contain RFID tags, allowing you to use this function not just here, but at Discovery stores.
The 4 main “Main” attraction areas of the park sit on an outer half ring, starting from “Walking With…” on the far right, and moving clockwise through “Animal Planet” (representing the world before industrialisation), M5 Industries (representing “Today”), “Raging Planet” (Showing the world of the near tomorrow if solutions to todays problems are not found and enacted), and finally “Sci” representing the distant future and high science; moving through these areas in an anticlockwise fashion tells the “Narrative” of the main part of the park – studies have shown amongst supermarket shoppers in the US that they tend to veer to the right and then continuing around the store anticlockwise, and crucially spend more money when they do.
Central to the area is the main plaza, including the “Oneworld” icon and theatre.
Master Control
Wheras Disneyland and Magic Kingdom has its station, Discovery has Master Control, a seemingly high tech building complete with many oversized satellite dishes. This building contains ticketing, a large store to exit through, and some space for an attraction accessed from the Plaza
OneWorld Plaza
Because this is your world
The OneWorld Plaza is themed to be a “Global Town Square” each area between paths/streams The structures are built in trapezoidal style blox to encourage the eye to see the paths through the gaps of the buildings. There is one block for each of the continents – North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Australia/Pacific region. These contain smaller attractions and retail and restaurant opportunities. It is a celebration of Discovery’s global reach, recognition and admiration.
In most of the space you'll find plenty of benches, small garden beds, and other theming elements to make this seem like an idealised town centre
OWP is open 30 minutes prior to the main opening of the park, with most stores and food outlets open at this point.
Master Control Building:
In the Master Control building, but accessible only from the plaza side are the usual amenities at park entrance - Lockers, Guest relations, Stroller and Wheelchair rental.
From Us, to you. (Ride)
You can explore the world of TV here through, a combination of walk-through and People-mover attraction, that explains how Discovery broadcast their channels to the world, from Master Control your car will take a ride up a “Space Elevator” to the Satellite and then down to the cable head end and through to the back of the TV Screen. Its more informative than thrilling (although is presented in an exagerated comedic style), but will keep the kids entertained as you wait for the Rope Drop.
Discovery Store (Retail)
The main exit up until 1hr before close (At that time, the main entranceway also doubles as an exit for crowd control purposes), this “Exit through retail” contains everything you’d expect to find in a Discovery store, and more.
Blocks in the main area are themed around different world areas
Bells Beach Classic (Ride)
FlowRider attraction themed in an Australian Beach style. Changing rooms and Wetsuit rental are included in the structure.
Wok and Roll (counter service)
Design your own stir fry dish with your choice of Meats, vegetables, rice and Noodles, themed as if it were a quick service resturant in Downtown Tokyo
What Not to Wear
Inspired by the show and themed as a european boutique., this boutique contains all of the latest fashions from the show, and from up and coming designers this boutique is like no other. User our Magic Mirror technology to show just how good our fashions will look on you whether we have them in stock, or need to order them especially for you.
Napoli Pizzeria (Table service)
Just like Mama used to make. Using the freshest ingredients, and traditional recopies from the home of Pizza, you'll dine in the traditional surroundings of an Italian Pizzeria on Pizza fresh from our wood fired ovens.
The Cantina - (Counter Service)
The Cantina takes the Subway approach to Tacos, Burritos and Fajitas. Fresh ingredients from local growers cooked fresh and in front of you. You'l eat in surroundings
OWN the day
Oprah has her own store, and its exclusive to Discovery - even though it looks like it belongs on the American Main Street. In here you'll find plenty of Oprah's favourite things, books written by OWN stars such as Dr Phil, and plenty of other things to help you achieve your life affirmations and goals.
OneWorld Subway (ride)
A motion simulator ride based off the above system map picture, you'll take a rapid ride around the worlds subways, taking turns at rapid crazy speed, and jumping over seas and oceans. You'll start in san fran, follow the blue line around south America, back through to Lisbon and onto Izmir, down on the brown line to Tehran, changing onto the green line to Kitakyushu, jumping a large part of Japan to Tokyo, on the red line to Shangahi, maroon through to Rotternam, on the brown line through London and Glasgow, jumping the atlantic to Boston and New York, changing back to the maroon line at Newark, up to seattle, and completing the loop in San Francisco.
OneWorld – Icon and stage– Ideally sponsored by the OneWorld Airline Alliance (American Airlines, British Airways, QANTAS, etc).
Centre to the plaza is the “OneWorld” globe, based of the Discovery channel globe this model of earth is held suspended above a pool of water. The world however contains a lumber of flashing fibre optic lights where major populated areas are, that light and flash in proportion to how much internet traffic is estimated to take place in that location at that time, representing the interconnected nature of our modern world.
Markings around the pool are based off roman numerals with water jets around the edge turning the pool into a giant clock – the jets move around based on a 3 handed clock (so the outer edge changes jet every second.
The oneworld pool is filled from water channels that separate the “lands” from each other, representing different cultures coming together to form one world.
On the hour, an animatronic shark swims through the streams separating lands, and around the OneWold pool, in honour of “Shark Week”, the shark is also the central character in the OneWorld theatre show at the end of the day.
At 1hr 30 minutes minutes to park close this all changes. Rather than mark the current time the jets are now counting towards the start of the “oneworld” show. It starts with the inner ring fully “jetted”, and the outer ring continues to count the seconds, with an additional jet in the middle ring added every minute. This acts as a symbolic curtain to the show, and all jets drop at the start of the show.
A stage (where the globe is centred from ) raises during this time, with the globe in turn sinking into the stage. Parts of the plaza to the south of Oneworld are actually sunken seating stadium style that rises when required (Thus allowing the space to be used for other things in other times).
The oneworld theatre is a stage that is ordinarily sunk under the pond. After the stage rises the globe sinks into the structure and is covered by the stage floor (Rubber mesh to avoid slippage). Although the globe is sizeable there is still space for a retraceable screen, and a staircase on either size where actors for the various parts emerge and retreat.
OneWorld Theatre Show –the Shark (30 mins).
“The Shark” tells of selected stories from the globe told about sharks:
The show opens with the “Shark Charmers” of what is now Sri Lanka. Prior to the invention of modern SCUBA Tamil divers were famed for their ability to dive impressive depths to collect pearls – although they’d show the physical signs of physical strain brought by pressure difference, they’d be ready to go again for a second dive in almost no time. There was only one thing these divers seemed to fear – the Shark. Before undertaking work divers would seek the assistance of “Shark Charmers” who would perform rituals to ensure that the mouths of sharks would close at the divers command. To ensure that all in the show are protected, the show begins with one of these rituals.
We are then taken to the Australian Dreamtime, a time when the animals took the form of men. A pair of oysters are watching a shark fish for stingray, and steal one that he takes and hides it. The shark confronts the Oysters, but they deny taking the ray and the shark lets them go. After feasting on ray, the oyster brothers fall asleep, and waken to being attacked by an angry shark. The Oysters are flattened by the shark, explaining how they became the shape they are, whereas the shark had one of the oysters boomerangs become stuck in his back, creating his fin.
The show moves on to Fiji, where the Shark God Dakuwaqa has learned from a friend of a powerful god on the Island of Kadavu, seeing to prove that he is the strongest, Dakuwaqa sets of off to face this god, who turns out to be jn the form of an octopus. After an epic struggle, the Octopus bested Dakuwaqa, and agreed to release him from his tentacle grip only if he gave up his fighting ways, and promised to protect the people of the island.
The show then ends in Africa for a more lighhearted story than the last 2, where we meet a monkey and a shark (The shark is a modified version of the animatronic that swims around on the hour such that it can carry a person). We see them at the beginnings of what seems to be a friendship, with this growing over time. Until the shark invites the Monkey back to the Shark's village over the sea. On the way the shark reveals his true plan… The shark's chief is sick, and only a monkey's heart can save him. The monkey, thinking quick, tells the shark that he left his heart behind… The shark swims him back when the Monkey reveals his trick… Completing the story as to why Monkeys do not swim and ending the show on an amusing tone.
Walking With…
This area represents Earth’s prehistory, and is constructed as a rainforest. Buildings are themed as if they are natural parts of the landscape where possible – caves, large trees, etc. Where not possible they are apparent simple timber and canvas structures.
Even today, not all of the Earth’s surface has been walked by man. Large areas are currenly inaccessible due to difficult terrain and the density of trees in the forsests that surround these. In one of these previously unknown Valleys, Discovery reasearchers have found a forgotten world, one where dinosaurs and other creatures of wonder still wander, and where you too can walk, with the dinosaurs. Striking out from camp Attenbourgh, you'll find the following Star attractions.
The belly of the beast (ride)
Discovery Researchers have found a sick Argentinosaurus, the largest Sauropod. In order to help heal him, and learn more about these creatures, you’re to head into the belly of the beast, in this river rapids style ride you’ll go through the digestive tract of the Dinosaur. A (waterproof) speaker will let you know of what base camp can determine about the dinosaur through the on board sensors, before you eventually reach, errr, the other end.
Tyrannosaurus… Run! (Ride)
This is a wooden roller by consutrction, but the trains are instead in a style typical plunge coaster style (8 across,almost stadium style) and deliberately restrict the rider from looking anywhere but in front.
The reason for this is to allow the trains to contain a state of the art surround sound system. During the initial drop the system will give the riders the impression they are being chased by a Tyrannosaurus Rex, the obscured view preventing the guests from spoiling this illusion. After weaving through overbanked turns through what appears a wild forest in order to get away from the monster (with the sounds of destruction from behind heightening the experience), the coaster ducks into an underground chasm (with the sound of bat-like creatures) before returning to the station
The Forgotten Valley (Ride)
Forgotten Valley puts a different spin on the typical Dinosaur experience. As Walking With… “Dinosaurs” are presented as being left over creatures in an otherwise inaccessible valley, the Forgotten valley is built with the real world concerns that would apply in real life – Ecological concerns -- not disturbing the animals, leaving a small footprint as possible. In order to facilitate this, the main way to experience our dinosaurs is via a suspended cable car. These large pods float over and through the Valley, past scenes – occasionally coming a bit too close for comfort, directed by on ride guides (think Jungle Cruise, but in the air, and you’re most of the way there).
Camp Attenbourough Picinic Point (Counter Service Restaurant)
Use the Discovery - the theme park Smartphone App to pre order your Picnic hamper (or if you don't mind waiting order from the counter), made with only the freshest items from local bakeries by artisan bakers, and gourmet delicatessen products, our Picnic baskets offer a wide range of heathy, wholesome foods for all of the family, no matter what your dietary requirements are.
The Picnic Point is just a small walk away from the kiosk where a beautiful waterfall feeds into pool within the forest.
Jurassic Steakhouse
The Biggest and best steaks ever is what you'll find at the Jurrasic Steakhouse. We serve the best Californian Beef, and prized steaks from around the globe in an outdoor, jungle setting.
Animal Planet
This area represents the world as unspoilt by man. Buildings are in the style of 17-18th century buildings built in wilderness areas (lots of timber)
Alcadile Swamp (Animal Attraction)
Alagators and Crocodiles fascinate and scare people the world over –and well they should being impressively powerful predators; this fascination has lead Crocodiles and Alagators to be a key staple of Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. Make sure you stop by at feeding time to see the Aligators and Crocodiles perform death rolls.
Birds of Prey (Animal Attraction)
Make sure you stop by for our Falconry Exhibitions, see Magnificant Hawks, Falcons and Eagles take to the sky, and strike (simulated) prey.
Octopusses Garden (Ride Grouping)
Here you'll find a collection of rides intended for younger children. You'll find a range of spinning flat rides and a train targeted at the under 7's, all themed around animals. Centre piece is a large Octopus with Cars on its tentacles which rise and fall as the ride goes around.
M5 Industries
This area’s name and most apparent theming is based around what is perhaps Discovery Channels’ most successful franchise – The Mythbusters.
In any given episode of Mythbusters you’ll find many examples of the ecological awareness of the Mythbusters team – okay so their application of the “Reduce” part of the 3R’s might be a bit off beat (Cue video of a Cement mixer being reduced to small pieces), they epitomise Reuse and Recycle – when they “build” something you’ll often see them at Junkyards looking for the perfect part that another has thrown away; when they need to destroy a vehicle, they tend to select vehicles that would be scrapped or end up in landfill anyway, and rather than always buying new crash test dummies, they dedicated an entire special to rebuilding “buster”, who in himself was an already recycled crash test dummy when he “joined” the team.
The mythbusters also dedicated myths to finding ways to best use energy – from car fuel economy myths to busting “perpetual motion” machines. In this area you’ll be able to be a part of some of their favourite myths, and explore some new ones
MythTastic (Live Action Show with recorded Elements).
In this interactive show, the “Third” Mythbuster team (joined by videos of the Mythbusters) take on a few myths – and get the audience to participate as well. Prior to this experience opening Mythbuster-fronted specials including this team will air – some taking on theme park based myths to help in the initial promotion of the park
The Stage area is set to resemble the front entrance of M5 Industries, with a video screen standing in for the main entrance (sunken as to not spoil the illusion of being outside M5). Adam and Jamie appear in the doorway and introduce the Myths to be “Busted” in the show and the special team of “Mythbusters” who will examine the myths.
At critical points the team exploring the myths will be joined (via the video screen) by the other Mythbusters… Kari will appear to provide some research data they need, Grant will tell them that a critical piece of apparatus has been left out for them, whilst Tori just appears through the entrance in an otherwise quiet part of the show, injuring himself for the guests entertainment.
Myths explored are rotated frequently, allowing guests who come on multi-day passes to potentially be able to experience a new myth with each visit.
JATO Car – Failure is always an option. (Ride)
Viewers of Travel Channel’s “Rollercoaster Wars” named their 2nd favourite roller coaster in the US as Cedar Point’s Top Thrill Dragster, a 17 second experience containing a launched start, a steep incline, a top hat followed by a steep drop and regain of speed – yet despite their admiration for such a ride the show identified a way to make it even better – as it is fans of the ride prey for a “rollback”, well coaster fans, we’ll try to deliver but as this is Mythbusters failure is always an option. (A similar ride exists at UK’s Thorpe Park, named “Stealth”)
Guests in the queue area are treated to scenes (some aired, some not) from the Mythbusters exploring the “JATO Car” myth shown early in the shows history. The train is themed to appear as a stretched car with mock rockets strapped to it (These rockets will seem to ignite in ride).
JATO Car works on the same ride system as Top Thrill Dragster, but with one important difference – a randomising element is also included; at random the ride will provide one of the following experiences:
Failure to launch: The Ride almost gets to the top of the top hat, but stalls. Adam’s voice can be heard through on ride speakers laughing, and saying “This is Mythbusters, failure is always an option”. The Car rolls back to the station and is launched again, this time with the intention of going all the way around (of course, it is possible that unforeseen circumstances might force a second Rollback, we call these “lucky”).
Failure to stop: The ride completes a circuit but does not stop in the station, instead heading back up the top hat and stalling as it reaches the crest (Grant can be heard on the on ride PA saying “Oops, sorry about that, braking robot malfunctioned, but hey, its Mythbusters”), and the train rolls back into the station.
Overload: Just before launch riders can hear Jamie say “Jamie wants big boom”, The car is launched with enough power to go around twice (or extra power is added via LIM to allow the second circuit). As it arrives back in the station Tory can be heard saying “How much powder was I supposed to use again?”
With the exception of Jamie’s message all messages are played in reaction to what happens on the ride rather than the intended effect (eg- in the event of an unintended rollback Adam’s message plays, even if “Failure to stop” had been selected by the randomizer)
In order so guests don’t feel short changed a cast member before launch Adam’s voice can be heard in the station during boarding giving odds of what he thinks might happen in the experiment (much like he does in the show) eg “33% chance it doesn’t get to the top, 33% chance it goes all the way around, 33% chance is goes around twice and 1% chance Godzilla attacks destroying the experiment” (there are multiple versions of this recording, again selected on a jukebox basis, to prevent the 1% joke getting dull).
During specialised events these randomized elements can be chained (eg, allowing a Failure to launch and an overload, or multiple “failure to launch” events).
Homemade Jetpack (Ride)
This Roto drop style ride straps guests into seats similar to the Homemade “Jetpack”; unlike the show the packs seems to work, climbing to the top of the ride. The ride then rotates for a random number of seconds before the jetpacks “run out of fuel”, plunging guests into a near freefall, only to spark back up to live at just the right moment.
Does Recycling work? (Ride)
This omnimover style attraction puts guests into the show. In the station area the guests are “met” by a virtual Adam and Jamie (in the same room they discuss myths on the show) who in the same style of the show announce the myth they will be looking at is “Does Recycling Work?” Guest are then taken through a recycling plant showing the process of Recycling (directed by Kari, Tori and Grant), and are then show what Recycled materials can be turned into – including this very theme park. The guests return to the “briefing room” where Adam and Jamie come to the conclusion that the “myth” of recycling working is clearly confirmed.
Alameda County Diner (Food - Counter service)
Themed as a “cop hangout” / typical 20th century diner, this location serves classic American Diner Faire. It is themed and named in honour of the Alameda County Sheriff’s department who have helped the team on countless myths.
Jamie's Clear-out (Retail)
Its time to Clear out the old M5 Warehouse. In here you'll find perform your myth at home kits (Yes, these ones you can try at home), as well as prints of the "Blueprint Pictures' you see in the show, and if you're lucky some one-off art pieces by Adam and Kari.
Byron's "alternative cuisine" (Full service restaurant)
Byron's is named for Kari Byron. Technically the cuisine could be called "Vegetarian" (much like Kari) but the term is not used at Byrons due to the negative connotations it has to meat eaters - its easy to presume that its bland and boring. Its not a vegetarian restaurant, its a restaurant where all of the dishes just happen to contain no meat. The menu exists of comfort food favourites served
Raging Planet
This area acts as a warning, and contains attractions based around extreme weather conditions – conditions that are expected to become more prevalent if the predictions behind AGW are correct. It is themed as a town struck by disaster, a disaster left to the guests imagination. Buildings have boarded windows, flower beds appear to have been battered by storm and slightly overgrown with weeds, other fixtures appear battered.
Deadliest Catch - SOS (Ride)
This Motion simulator with 4D effects puts you in the action. An all too common raging storm has struck the fleet, and one of the ships is taking on water fast, and it falls to the Coastguard to mount a rescue. Not only will you feel the waves as you join the coastguard on the rescue, you’ll feel the storm and seawater flying over the bow of the ship.
Storm Chasers (Ride)
A modern recreation of a classic "Virginia Reel" coastern (using the old style ride mechanisms, modified only where required by health and safety law to give it a "raw feeling). This ride puts you right into the path of a tornado. Your Storm-chaser vehicle is caught up in the high winds and is blown through the town with plenty of rapid, unbanked, turns
Supervolcano (Ride)
Lying under the surface of Yellowstone Park is a massive super volcano that could erupt at any moment. On this Launched vertical Freefall you'll experience just a fraction of the power what will happen should the volcano ever erupt. In line TVs show scenes from the "How will the world end" episode of Curiosity (starring Samuel L .Jackson) explaining the power under Yellowstone and the effects if it goes off.
Disaster Aid Station (Counter Service)
Perhaps the most unique food outlet ever to be considered for a theme park. MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) are likely not to have been encountered by most theme park guests, but the media through war and disaster movies have given them a high profile. In this outlet, you can select your "meal" from a selection of MREs made by the same companies that make the US Military's MREs in similar packaging, and prepare it just like in the field - no fire required, the Field Heat Element is included. Whilst it may not be the tastiest food you've ever eaten, it is certainly an experience that you'll never forget.
Beached Cruise Lines (Table Service)
The disaster has caused a cruise liner to find itself precariously beached near the town. With a hold full of food for a cancelled journey, and a dining room going wanting, it seemed only logical that the cruise company would turn the situation into a profit centre. Here you'll find the latest and best in Californian Seafood, and be able to dance in the ballroom after you eat to our big band - a perfect place for Mom and Dad to eat while the older kids do their own thing.
Sci
Sci is our deep tomorrow land, buildings are build in a very futuristic style, with scientific names and concepts used everywhere. The attractions are based around the Science Channel, and the Curiosity series.
Design of this area breaks a lot of rules and conventions of theme park design. Its broken up into 3 parts with large (mostly faux) buildings and faux mountain ridges breaking up the area, presenting each of these areas as their own unique land with no clear LOS to other areas. The Paths that lead to the other parts of the area (and the Raging Planet area) go through the buildings/cliffs and are themed inside through psycholdeic style lighting to be some sort of wormhole or portal - giving the impression in a separate parallel universe.
Alien Invasion (ride)
Alien invasion is a pair of rollercoasters based on the Eurofighter Roller coaster ride system. However, although they're intertwined and designed to interact with each other on the ride, they aren't so much dueling/racing coasters as they are dogfighting coasters. One coaster is based around an F35 Lighting II (a nod towards fans of the Xcom game series - Possible opportunity for a tie in with 2K games), the other designed to be based on a Flying Saucer. Both roller coasters offer very different experiences as both aircraft battle it out in the skies.
Both coasters have unique queuing systems, and basically treated as two separate (but interacting) rides.
The "Alien" experience begins in a mysterious looking warehouse. The last 1/4-1/3 of the queue is not a linear queue, but rather a maze of separate paths that lead to the main station area (guests are separated into car/train load sized groups for this). Within the maze video and animatronic FBI agents along with the guests are investigating the warehouse as a part of an X-Files type investigation, with doors opening into the next area at certain times to ensure that guests don't arrive at the station at the same time as another group go guests. As the guests get towards the end its made clear that the "owners" of the warehouse have returned and is not happy with their, of the FBI's presence and are seemingly chased towards the area where a UFO is waiting. An FBI agent tells them the UFO is their only way out of the building, if they can figure out how to fly it. After the crew get in, the UFO goes off seemingly on autopilot.
Both Roller coasters offer a very different experience. Although both are launched by LIM or Pnumatics (a fighter aircraft or UFO going up a lift hill would break the theming too much), both coasters have an individual focus. As the UFO is based on more advanced technology, it pulls a large number of inversions and other rapid direction changes to try and stay ahead. The Lightning-II is more about speed (with extra LIM boosts along the way), climbs and dives. At different parts in the coaster one or the other train will be deliberately ahead of the other, and sound and lights on the trains will suggest weapons fire as the two aircraft dogfight for superiority.
As this is an Earth based production, the Humans eventually win. The Lighting II lands at another landing strip (before following a return path to the "start" station) where USAF staff are there to help the guests dime bark, whereas the Alien side seems to "Crash Land" in a field, and reduce workers on site help the guests disembark.
Junkyard wars (ride)
Race recreations of your favourite cars in the series in this Go-Cart style attraction.
3Net theatre - Showing Cyberworld (Ride)
This attraction might best be described as a concession showing off 3D TV and Movie technology to encourage people to take up subscription TV packages that include the 3Net channel. Its Imax Screen plays Cyberworld http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0233508/ gives the following synopsis: "Phig takes us on a tour of CyberWorld, a museum of 3-D exhibits. The "exhibits" (i.e., earlier 3-D productions) include the bar sequence from Antz; the "Homer(3)" segment of _"Simpsons, The" (1989)_ , and the shorts Monkey Brain Sushi, Flipbook, Out of the Box, Liberation (a Pet Shop Boys music video), Krakken, and Joe Fly and Sanchez".
Schrodinger's Fine Dining (Table Service)
Schrodingers offers a restaurant of the future style experience in its near future, but high class surroundings. There are no wait staff (although a server will come and assist you on request), everything is instead ordered by touchpad. Shrodingers offers typical fine dining cuisine, however if you're ordering of the menu you're doing it wrong… The speciality of the house is the "Schrodinger Special", you will not know what you've received until you remove the lid (you can state likes, dislikes and any allergies/dietary requirements in the pad to prevent dish rejection issues).
Before Tomorrow Cafe (Counter service)
Taking its inspiration from the futuristic "Cafe 80's" in Back to the future (and its name from the show "Beyond Tomorrow" shown on Science Channel) , this Cafe presents a near futuristic cafe, but done in the style that they're trying to make it look like its set in the past - this creates a discontinuity between some out of place and misinterpreted memorabilia (as the past always is) and futuristic restaurant fittings clashing with modern day stylings.
Park Policies
All Materials used in construction of the park are recycled or sustabiably manufactured/harvested. In order to prevent litter only extremely limited take away food options are available, guests are encouraged to dine in, where items are served on recycled materials. No Bottled drinks are sold in the park - guests are given a refillable bottle on entry, and all drinks are included in the price (water, Juices and Sodas).
So, this Summer, Winter, Spring or Fall, come to Discovery, because Discovery is the greatest thrill of all.
Entrance: Obviously a globe is a reasonable choice for a park icon, but I worry that this might draw similarities to Universal Studios and DisneySea. I think there could have been possibly a more reasonable choice here, but it would have taken a lot more brainstorming. I’m not sure what could possibly work in an aquatic themed theme park other than a globe, but I do feel that there should be a logical answer. Maybe a fountain would have been a good choice, reading more so into your entrance proposal. A grand fountain, rather than a recreation of Trevi could have been a dynamic opening. Besides the icon, Harbor of Discovery seems to be the second DisneySea copy. I think having a Renaissance themed opening is a great idea, but it has been done. I would have loved to see this as a whole land to the park as Italy is worthy of such. I find the Italian culture has been promoted around Disney parks as an excuse to eat pizza and pasta.
Isle of Mykonos: I think this would be the most welcome addition for a land at a Disney park. There is a lot to be explored with Greek culture, such as mythology, Hercules, and the island nation’s incredible history. Showing the windmills here was another great, green effort that fits in well as you described. I thought the Gyro Place could have been expanded a bit more to a sit down restaurant as it is a large part of Greek cuisine. Seaside Dishes sounded great, and I am glad you did include Greek influence. You had two really strong attractions located here. The Ocean of Discovery was done well, using appropriate technology. I enjoyed how you fit this ride into the Greek section of the park, still relating it a bit to the land that they are in. Obviously oil spills are a huge problem in the world and I am glad that you are shedding some light on them. Hercules Live is an obvious decision to have placed here, and I’m glad it is here. I could not envision a Greek themed land without a standard Hercules show. One Sea, One Dream, however through off the synergy of this land. The idea seemed as a filler attraction, while not relating so much to the rest of the Grecian inspired experience.
The Bermuda Triangle: This was the biggest anticipation for me to be a great land. However, I think you went in a completely wrong direction by focusing on Mysterious Island. As I said in the previous proposal, this was a huge misstep for AJ. I think it proved as a bigger misstep for you, because the theme relates so much to DisneySea. Don’t get me wrong, I think the ride is one of the coolest things built for Disney but I am also against the reproduction of rides. You had a chance here to invent amazing rides relating to the culture of Bermuda, such as subjecting guests to a whirlwind hurricane experience or giving them a taste of Island music. I did like the aspect of depicting this land as an overgrown tropical land. I think this worked great to shed some mystery and adventure into the land. I did find the Mysterious Cave attraction to be more of a fresh treat than Journey was. It sounded like a beautiful ride from the beginning, but instantly transports guests to a world of disaster. With this ride elevated to E-ticket status, I think you could have started this land right with this ride as the major emphasis. Jungle Rescue introduced some much needed kid-friendly and 4-D fun to the land. I thought this could be a cool but educational show. The Forgotten Hideaway restaurant had my mouth watering. I’ve been on a tropic and Seafood kick lately, and this sounded fantastic! It seemed to stay very true to the island flavor that I wish some of the rides partook in.
Pacific Port: In remarkable contrast to Bermuda Triangle, this was the one land I thought would be a carbon copy of the American Waterfront. However, this land turned out to be my absolute favorite of the theme park. I thought the premise for this land was well done, and the rides and restaurants fit very well within this land. House of Horror Hill, sounds like a Haunted Mansion that is on steroids. The coaster would obviously be a main attraction to this park, certainly to thrill and scare audiences. Rather than stick to a safe and family friendly script, I think you managed to provide a ride that is there for the placement of scaring people. This Claude Coats approach, rather than the zany and gag-filled Marc Davis scenes of Haunted Mansion helps set this ride apart from the dark ride counterpart. Splash Bay Soakers is obviously a rehash of aquatopia, so I’m not sure it would be appropriate to call it a unique system anymore. Unfortunately, some of the ride description was cut off here, leaving readers not knowing what happens when they board their soak boat. I think the Stormy Seas attraction was the best ride of the whole park. The ride relates to the House of Horror Hill, but explores a more appropriate theme. The theme of a fisherman in a storm is a timeless tale, and I am glad that you decided to include it here. Not only did it include an environmental theme, but it fit perfectly with the theme of this land. As for the restaurants in this land, I thought the Fish House and Washington & Co were good ideas, but the standout was the Wharf. I think guests would really be transported into this restaurant, feeling as if they were on a dock.
Magic Lagoon: This is a very difficult part to judge for me. The land is essentially a combination of the Seas with Nemo and Friends, and Mermaid Lagoon in DisneySea. I did enjoy the Nemo’s Underwater Rescue ride, mimicking Toy Story Mania. I could see this ride instantly being a crowd pleaser in this land. However, the rest of the land fell flat for me. It just sounded too copied for me to appreciate. The two rides brought over from California Adventure are nothing to laud over in my opinion. I did think you did well with the restaurant choices in this land. I thought Les Poissons was done well, and would be an interesting restaurant experience. It seemed to be immersive to the Little Mermaid theme, while still retaining dignity as a full service restaurant. It would also be a treat for many kids to dine in the magical Ariel’s Grotto.
Conservation Island: My impression of this land is that it was absolutely wonderful. It sounded like a mini, conservation themed version of Discovery Cove. I think this was accomplished much better than Rafiki’s Planet Watch in Animal Kingdom. I thought the choices of animals was very interesting, straying away from the typical endangered species. The Manatee Pool was my favorite part of this land, but I thought the Fish Preserve was designed equally as well. The odd duck is the Sloth Sanctuary, but I can’t help but find myself liking it.
One Earth, One Ocean: I instantly fell in love with the nighttime spectacular seeing it as an aquatic and environmental version of Illumination. I think the show description could have been expanded a bit upon, but the entire proposal was long enough.
Conclusion: Honestly, there were parts I loved, and parts I was not too fond of. I liked the parts that you were implementing original ideas, but some strayed from the central theme. I think the rides that you took from other parks could have easily been replaced with new concepts to entertain the audience. My advice to you is to not be afraid with venturing into new ideas and broader concepts. Don’t be afraid to take risks, and not rely on what would be expected. I think you have done great during this competition and I wish you the best!
Environmental Awareness: I found this information to be excellently composed. It truly shows how the theme park is encouraging being environmentally friendly. You indicated that the theme park would be run completely on clean substances, have biodegradable packaging, and would encourage guests to continue the environmental efforts.
The Riverfront: What is not to like about this land? Honestly this land embodies what Nature’s Wonderland is about. The Wonderland Railroad sounds like an excellent ride to see flora and fauna on a slow motion train ride. The Cascade Chair instantly transports guests into the real natural world, being able to see what lies beyond the horizon. While the World of Wonder show sounds breathtaking, I did find the length of the show to be a bit on the long side. I’m not sure most people would want to watch a movie for 40 minutes, while they are anticipating all the rides and thrills. I wasn’t too sure of the placement of the Slopeslide here, as it feels like a filler attraction rather than fitting in with the theme of the Riverfront. Canopy Cables ends this land on a great note, continuing the rustic feel and offering a sense of adventure. The dining and restaurants further added to the synergy of this themed land, offering wooden goods and appropriate menus. I thought the aqua lounge was a good choice to have to showcase typical river fish on the menu.
Miner’s Camp: While the left side focusses on true harmony with the land and breathtaking experiences, going right takes a completely different side. This land that emphasizes living with the land proves to humans that we are affecting the earth by using wood, gold, and oil in the world. Obviously I could see this land getting a lot more attention than the latter, mainly for the thrill factor that is found in this section of the park. Everything seems to work so well together. Sawmill Plunge and Goldmine Express both sound like the two stars of this land. Sawmill Plunge sounds like a well-designed ride, with appropriate theming. Goldmine Express easily rivals the likes of Big Thunder Mountain, but has a rich backstory to the ride. Timber Axe and Oil Drums sound like two interesting takes on classic park fare. I really do enjoy when people take such a simple ride and make it over into something unique. I think the Harvest, Geothermal Plant, and Living in Harmony were three other good attractions but may have been overshadowed by the exploration into the other natural resources. I did think that Where in the world was out place in this land, feeling that it strived to be more of an educational experience that did not relate so much to Miner’s Camp.
Rainbow Valley: I think this was a no brainer to put a land like this into your park. While it fits well, a whole theme park based around animals in America would have been redundant, and quite boring. I think you did a great job with the design, especially indicating that it would look like animals’ natural habitats. For me Grizzly Run sounded a bit cliché to me. There are so many rides based off of the bear already, and nothing particularly special was brought to this standard wooden coaster. I realize that this park has no connections to movies or other industries, but I think this coaster in particular could have benefited from a storyline like Brother Bear or another wilderness film. I did think the Great Migration was one of the best rides in the park, however. I think it would be a cool concept to fly along with the birds, in a fashion similar to Soarin. Path of the Forest did seem a bit rushed in the concept, and I wish we would have had some examples as to what animals we would see. Again the dining and shopping offerings perfectly fit with the theme of the land, pleasing both carnivores and vegans alike.
Thunder Ridge: The final land, taking an emphasis on weather and disasters, is another very thrilling land. I think this land sounds like the most fun, showcasing many natural disasters that can occur in the world. You had some wicked thrills here, with River Expedition being my favorite. My only wish is that the name was given a bit more thought as the ride sounds excellent. Again, you took really interesting takes on classic rides, such as the rotor and a drop tower attraction. Both worked very well in the land, showcasing the feeling you would experience being right in the middle of these disasters. White Lightning sounds like a superb coaster, delivering a hair-raising thrill. I did find it to be a bit reminiscent of Grizzly Run, sounding rushed with little storyline. I thought this was a clever land, to a superb park.
Nighttime Spectacular: The idea to bring a Northern Lights to a park on a nightly basis is a great way to end the day at the park. I could picture this being incredibly breathtaking, and wonderful. As for the musical score, I’m not sure what would be most appropriate. There could be so many different roads to take, but the one that comes to mind is setting it to the classical tune, Vivaldi’s the Four Seasons. Of course this would make the show extremely long, but I think it could be extremely enjoyable.
Conclusion: Just when I thought you were burned out the past couple of weeks, your proposal dominated this week. It clearly emphasized nature and protecting the environment, while adding in an impressive amount of thrills. I think you did a great job designing this theme park, and only wish that I could visit it myself. I honestly could see this park being built, and could only imagine the amazing hotel and other amenities to accompany this complex. One thing I would suggest is to not be afraid to be definitive in some aspects. Take a stance as to what exactly is going to be placed in the theme park. Also be sure to proofread each entry. Some rides I would have considered filler attractions, and did not find them necessary. I’d make sure everything fits together, and remove the weak links. Good luck with the vote, and I hope you do participate again!
Walking With:
I think this was a great land to begin things with, showcasing some superb dinosaur rides. One thing I loved was that I was able to hear about some real dinosaur rides, rather than the midway ones at Disney World. The belly of the beast ride was my favorite concept of the land, but it might make some people a bit squeamish being inside a dinosaur. You implemented some great technologies in this ride and in Tyrannosaurus. The illusion of being chased by a T-rex was an awesome idea, which as you said could not be spoiled due to how the trains are fashioned. The Forgotten Valley was another great concept for a ride, which finally introduced some ecological awareness to the park. I loved the basis for this attraction, showcasing dinosaurs as if they were still alive today. The two restaurants included sounded excellent. I think they fit very well with the synergy of the land, one going with an adventurer route, the other being a carnivorous jungle themed steakhouse.
Animal Planet: Honestly, I thought this land could have been designed on a much grander scale. It does appeal to the little kiddies with the Octopus Garden, however. I thought your major ride, similar to a Dumbo, was such an awesome idea. The two animal attractions were great choices as well, showcasing fantastic animals that one might not see every day. I thought Alcadile swamp was the better of the two, and could see this getting a lot of attraction from young or teen boys.
M5 Industries: I was really looking forward to a land based off of Discovery’s most notable show, Mythbusters. The reasoning behind this land made it fit perfectly in with the environmental message that was conveyed. While it may have been challenging, I would have loved to have known what kind of myths would have been busted in Mythtastic. A recollection of their most notable relating to the environmental theme would have been awesome to see live in person. When I got to the JATO Car, I thought this was the best ride of the park. It reminded me of a dysfunctional version of Test Track. The three problems, that could potentially occur, were designed very well and offer and element of surprise to each ride. The homemade Jetpack ride sounds like another well thought out themed ride. The ride and the concept both seem like a lot of fun, giving guests the chance at a big thrill. Finally, Does Recycling Work was a great final addition to the land. I thought this was a bit necessary to recover the environmental theme, and the ride gives the guests a very positive message to resound with them. The two restaurants were well thought out as well, still immersing guests into the show’s environment.
Raging Planet: This 4th land that explores weather and natural disasters has a good backstory to go along with it. I liked that you created this town that has been ravaged by a natural disaster. Obviously, the land is similar to AJ’s Thunder Ridge, but you still managed to have different experiences in your land. Storm Chasers was my favorite ride, taking the classic Virginia Reel and giving it a Tornado overlay. It was a unique way to present a Tornado in ride form, as most would probably not consider a coaster as the basis for a twister ride. The two other rides did not live up to Storm Chasers, but were still well designed. I would have loved to have a little bit more information on Deadliest Catch, but thought the premise was great for a motion simulator. I did, however, think Super volcano might have been a bit out of place. It was a good ride, which mirrored AJ’s, but I just felt that it worked better in the land he was conveying. As for the two eateries, I thought the Beached Cruise Lines was simply amazing. I thought the fancy restaurant would definitely attract an adult class, and could give them an incredible dining experience. As for Disaster Aid Station, I enjoyed the fact that it fit well into the theming of the land. However, I would be extremely wary to try a place like this for food. I’m not sure I could see this counter service receiving much business. Nevertheless, it was still a very unique restaurant to conceive.
Sci: The last land of Discovery closes things on a very positive bang, relating the land to aliens and future discovery. This featured possible the most fantastic and interactive ride, Alien Invasion. This ride which is essentially a battle between humans and outer space would be a one in a lifetime experience. I think what would be interesting, is to see which coaster would win in reality, instead of fixing it so humans would always win. The different endings would be a crowd pleaser and would create an element of surprise. I could envision seeing a post-ride video where the aliens destroy planet earth…err is that a little too evil? Well anyways, I still think it would be a great coaster. With such a top notch ride, I only wondered what could follow it up. I thought Junkyard wars would be an interesting ride, further adding to the post-modern world theme. I’m not sure I quite grasped the concept of 3Net Theater, however. I found it as a ploy to get people to subscribe to a tv station, something I found as an insult to the land. The dining offerings were well done again, especially the highly futuristic Schrodinger’s. Having a fully automated and electronic “wait staff” is a great idea, but of course not great for the wait staff.
Conclusion: The Discovery Park was designed very well in my opinion. However, I still think more could have been done to put a greater emphasis on how green this park would be. I found a nighttime show to be absent in this proposal, and would advise you to make sure everything is off the checklist that we provided. It’s been a please reading your proposals this season, and I hope you continue to improve in your impeccable story telling in the future. Thanks for competing and good luck!
AJ Hummel – Nature’s Wonderland – Stylistically a “V” shape to the park is as good as any other shape, but it always irritates me in parks like King’s Dominion and the Disney Parks near the Rivers of America where you have to completely back out of a section instead of following the path around the entire park to get at the attractions like at a well laid out park like Cedar Point. In your first land, it seems to be very light on attractions, and specifically high throughput attractions, while the Railroad can eat a line if you have enough cars, the slow chair lift seems to be an extremely mild attraction, the IMAX movie, extremely long, yet tame, the slide will have a line that lasts for days, and the ropes course will have so many people on it that you won’t have time to stop and look at the view before some obnoxious moron behind you is stepping on your heals while screaming into his cell phone. Typically these are the types of attractions that need to be buried at the back of the park or run as upcharge attractions to keep the lines down. You don’t start really getting into the good high throughput attractions until we reach the Miners Camp. In fact, I like all of your attractions in the Miners Camp, I just would have swopped the entire land with the one that you had to walk through to get there. I like Rainbow Valley, with the exception that it is a pain in the butt to get to, you are also going to have some problems with the names of the attractions here, Grizzly River Run is already owned by Disney and Six Flags owns a Mooseburger Lodge. You seem to have the same problem in the next land with names Eruption is already owned by Six Flags, Tornado is used by everyone, and White Lightning has been used before, but is the new name of the GCI coaster going in at the Fun Spot in Orlando. It seems up one leg you have three lands and up the other only one land. I can’t figure out why you wouldn’t connect them in the back in order to wick people away from the main entrance. While I like what you have here, it seems very small and if you fill up your 20,000 space parking lot, you are going to have lines lasting for days, even the Mickey and Friends parking garage at Disneyland has only 10,250 spaces…..and if the park is 150 acres where are all of the attractions? Both parks at the Disneyland resort and all of the hotels and support facilities are inside 160 acres. I hate to draw an unflattering parallel here, but these are numbers that the Hard Rock Park had, and you see what a colossal failure that was….but they only had 11 rides on 55 acres…..all of which were relatively high output rides with 5 roller coasters. I like the core concept of this park, but it needs more….well….everything……Cedar Point has 70 attractions, and while those numbers are extreme, that is where you need to be heading. Universal is the only park that can get away with only having 6 decent attractions. As a patron of the park, I think my experience would be one where the initial reaction would be that the park was beautiful, then after waiting in line for an hour each for my first time rides, I would be a little ticked off. After hour long waits for each additional ride and passing up the slide because the fast pass is for some time next week, I would get all snotty, find an employee to abuse and then leave the park to never return and flame online. But it is beautiful. AJ, you have done an amazing job throughout this contest. Best of luck on the outcome…..I look forward to competing against you in the future.
Chad H – Discovery – The Theme Park – Full disclosure here…..if I were to create an entire theme park based on this challenge, it would have taken me about 3 seconds to decide to run forward with the Discovery Channel properties. This may work in your favor or against you, as I would have probably done things differently. San Fran-freak-o is an interesting choice for a new park, as you have direct competition with Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Gilroy Gardens, California’s Great America, and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. I like your height/fee system, it seems to be more in line with what a guest’s is going to experience. While you are the only one that mentioned a smart phone app, I would consider that a minor oversight be the other competitors, as your marketing department is going to insist upon this soon after you open if it is not already done. It is an interesting choice to have a FlowRider right at the front of the park without any connecting facilities to go with it, I would have expected an entire water park attached nearby to the FlowRider. I don’t get the OneWorld Subway idea, so I am going to skip it and assume that I would never ride it. In an interesting presentation issue, I do believe that you have a nighttime show, but you have it buried in with your description of the OneWorld fountain and stage. I don’t understand your show….at all…….although I like the idea of the Shark as the central figure and park icon, but the three different stories seem to go together like copies of “50 Shades of Grey” and a kindergarten class. Belly of the Beast….gross and cool. Tyrannosaurus…Run!.....very cool….from a structural standpoint this sounds like a tall order. The Forgotten Valley seems somewhat tame, but cool. In the Animal Planet section, I would think that a large ride of some sort would be in order, but it seems like this is the kiddie land back here. The M5 area seems to be where I could just geek out for long periods of time, the rides sound cool, the junkyard atmosphere sounds like fun…..it all just sounds like a lot of fun. Your Raging Planet section seems a little tame for such a powerful name. I like your MRE restaurant…..it sounds similar to the tube restaurant I had done for the TOC, very quirky, but unfortunately, MRE’s have a lot of trash associated with them, which goes against the grain of the rest of the park’s feel, but it seems to fit regardless. The Sci land also seems to have a nice bunch of thrill rides, with the dogfighting coaster a particularly interesting bit of designing……although it sucks that the humans win every time…..we’ll get those guys eventually. While your land is probably the least “environmental” of the three parks, it seems like it would be a ton of fun to go to……but then what is the reason for going to a park in the first place? To get preached at? Or to have fun? Chad, while I have not always seen eye to eye with you throughout the course of this contest, I must say that you have become an extremely adept competitor with great ideas and style that everyone else should be gunning for when we try to do this again. I look forward to competing against you in the future.
Bryce McGibeny: It is just about impossible to give a complete critique of a park this size without the critique being larger than the proposal. I'll try to hit the high (and low) points in no special order.
I was excited to see the name of the park, as I am a fan of the Earthsea trilogy, but soon realized that it had nothing to do with it. You called it an "adventure park" which makes me think of adrenalin-rush activities like bungee jumping, zip lines, etc. but it had none of those. There were several potentially thrilling attractions, but it didn't come across to me to be an adventure-type experience. That is not to say that I found it boring- quite the contrary, I found most of the park to be a very interesting combination of attractions and entertainments that the entire family could enjoy.
The layout reminded me very much of Islands of Adventure. Your attention to details in the description of the location in WDW was remarkable, and your explanation of the park layout was clear enough that a map was not needed. The "One Earth Globe" sounds like a beautiful and appropriate icon, and a great location for the "One Earth, One Ocean" show in the evening, although why you would want to hide the flywheels that provide the energy seemed strange. Why hide it from the crowd? Use is as a further educational attraction to show how it can provide the energy for the show in a responsible manner.
"Harbor of Discovery" would be a beautiful entrance to the park, but it seemed to have little or nothing to do with the theme of ecological awareness. Italy is already at WDW in Epcot. It isn't needed twice.
"Isle of Mykonos" was much better at demonstrating energy harvesting with the windmills and solar panels (which for some reason you felt a need to hide behind the buildings when you should have shown how they can be used harmoniously with modern structures). The three attractions were a good blend of action, entertainment and education and appropriately located in this land..
"Bermuda Triangle" had a high point of the park ("Journey to the Center of the Earth") and a low point ("Mysterious Cave"). OK, "Journey..." has little or nothing to do with the theme, but it is such an outstanding attraction that it is begging to come to WDW, and this would be the best location for it by far. "Mysterious Cave" seemed to be pointless and totally lacking in any cohesive theme- just a bunch of random special effects thrown together with no message at all. "Jungle Rescue" was a saving grace for this land, using a too-often ignored Disney character (Donald Duck) to keep thing light and fun after the thrill of "Journey..." and the bewilderment of "Mysterious..."
"Pacific Port" sounds like a beautiful change from the abandoned overgrowth of "Bermuda Triangle" , and once again has a high point and low point. The high points were "Splash Bay Soakers" and "Stormy Seas" which provided fun and entertaining education. "House of Horror Hill" would be a great haunted house, much more scary than "Haunted Mansion", but totally pointless here. It didn't fit here or in any land in this park.
"Magic Lagoon" would be a magnificent sight, and the mixture of attractions are the best at interweaving the theme of ecological awareness with entertainment of all the lands. Nemo's Underwater Rescue would be great fun as long as it was made clear which were the good fish. King Triton's Carousel would be a good addition for the younger visitors, and the WonderQuarium is a great name for a very appropriate attraction.
"Conservation Island" would not be the most exciting land, but would be the most important land to the overall concept of the park. I think you did a good job of focusing on endangered animals without replicating Animal Kingdom attractions.
The night-time show, "One Earth, One Ocean" sounds very inspirational and visually impressive.
All of your shows and restaurants were good to outstanding in title, theme and presentation...except for Les Poissons. I understand where the title came from, and to most die-hard Disney fans they would understand it with no problem, but the vast majority of the "unwashed masses" would see it and wonder why they were naming a restaurant Less Poison! "I ain't eatin' in no greasy spoon with the word "poison" in the name!"
The attention to conservation concepts was mentioned at the beginning of the presentation, as was the use of solar panels to power the restaurants and park lights. A good number of attractions emphasized ecological conservation and awareness, but I don't think that most visitors would be very aware of an emphasis on ecological awareness or education. Would this be a good thing or a drawback for this park? Unfortunately, much of the answer is in the details that are impossible to contain in a proposal like this, in spite of its length.
All in all, this was a very good proposal for a very difficult challenge. It had some weaknesses, mostly some major attractions that had nothing to do with the park or its mission, and some missed opportunities in a more unified theme, but it also had some really well-conceived features that would be a great addition to the list of must-see attractions.
AJ Hummel: "Nature's Wonderland" is a brave and beautiful proposal for this challenge. Your choice for location was very surprising, but really makes sense considering the lack of parks in that area and the theme of the park. You obviously did your research in locating it here.
I was very impressed how attentive you were to the concepts of renewable energy and minimizing the carbon footprint of the park's creation and operation. The "environmental awareness" portion, including the use of solar panels covering the parking area, showed me that you truly understood the challenge and approached it aggressively and thoughtfully.
Gateway Village was a very complete collection of guest services. The mural here (which I assume is the "icon" for the park) would be a visually beautiful introduction to the overall theme of the park.
The Riverfront was an interesting mixture of thrill rides and educational experiences. My biggest concern was with Slopeslide- no corporate lawyer in their right mind would allow an attraction where there was a chance that a rider could admittedly intentionally wreck during the ride and cause damage, injury and/or death to themselves or others. Other than that, the attractions looked like a great mixture of fun and education.
Miner's Camp had some great thrill rides, uniquely themed and totally appropriate for this park. The addition of the educational attractions ("Where in the World...?"; "Geothermal Plant"; "Living in Harmony") was a nice counterbalance to the overall thrill factor here.
Rainbow Valley is a small but well-balanced land. I was glad to see that you didn't forget about live animals in this park, and their inclusion in these three seemingly unrelated attractions actually made this my favorite land in your park.
Thunder Ridge was a very interesting concept for a land. I was concerned that access would be difficult since you did say that there was a significant grade to climb. An alternate, more ADA-friendly access should have been included. Once there, however, guests would find some kick-butt thrill attractions (although I thought that "Eruption" seemed out of place in a weather-based land).
"Northern Lights" would be a very dramatic and entertaining nighttime show, and sounds like a great closing to a day at the park.
Overall your collection of dining and shopping facilities in all the lands sound uniformly of high quality, well-themed and appropriate for this park, with some extremely unique dining opportunities for guests.
"Nature's Wonderland" was an extremely well-themed, well-conceived park with a unifying theme that bound all of the lands together in a way rarely seen in many parks. Each land can stand alone as a great experience, but together they support each other in telling the complete story of ecological awareness that was the entire point of this challenge. This was an elegant proposal, excellently-written, well-crafted and undoubtedly the best work you have presented in this entire competition.
Chad H.: "Discovery- The Theme Park" was an extremely ambitious proposal, one that I feel (and I suspect you will concur with) was perhaps too ambitious for the time available to you. I liked very much your layout diagram, and how you had researched the best way to present the story of the park to guests. The Lands were an interesting collection of attractions and concepts, all united by the Discovery Channel concept.
And there is a major problem. Television programming changes. Shows are cancelled. New ones are added. This park could, in twenty years, be as outdated as the original Tomorrowland at Disneyland was. Keeping it fresh and contemporary would be extraordinarily expensive. But assuming that Discovery Channel had deep enough pockets and enough dedication to it to keep it updated still doesn't solve the biggest problem.
You designed a magnificent, extremely entertaining, science park, probably the best in the world.
But that was not what you were to design. It was to be a park featuring ecological and environmental concepts, energy conservation, and reduced carbon damage to the planet. Where this was mentioned in the proposal, it was almost as an afterthought.
I found many of your attractions to be very fine concepts that would make this park a great experience. Some were extremely unique, such as the OneWorld Subway, Tyrannosaurus...Run!, JATO Car, and Alien Invasion, but they really had little or nothing to do with the environmental theme. "OneWorld", the icon, stage and show were brilliant in description and would be magnificent to see. M5 would be a wild and fun experience, and the names you created for your shops and restaurants were inventive and showed the thought that you put into this proposal.
I really, really liked this proposal! It would be a world-class destination park that I would probably never get my wife and kids out of, but I have to return to the original theme of this challenge. You took us on a fun, exciting, educational trip, but it was down the wrong road.
Overall, this has been a great competition with several outstanding competitors and quite a few difficult challenges. I had a particularly hard time due to all the travelling I did this summer, forcing me to complete a few challenges in a single day (challenges 5, 6, and 8). Tim's right that I did get burnt out, and for the later challenges I just submitted something not caring if I got eliminated or not (I just refused to drop out). Once I got to the final, I decided that I better do the best job I could and although I struggled with it quite a bit, it payed off in the end.
I really enjoyed playing this year, and hope to compete in future competitions, but I'm not going to deal with a month's worth of vacation while competing again. Fortunately, next summer is looking pretty open, but we'll have to wait and see what the future holds.
After the finale, I've done some reading and pondering over the comments that you have left concerning how the competition is run. There have been suggestions concerning the length, conception, voting, and level of difficulty. The suggestions that have been left are being given a great deal of consideration by myself, and the fellow judging panel. While nothing is finalized or set in stone, I've decided that it is in the competition's best interest to revert some of the ideas that were present within the first few seasons. These upcoming changes will be in place by next Summer. Again I thank you all for reading and participating in this year's Theme Park Apprentice.
-Tim
