For the Universal Orlando Resort, the issue of space is always at the forefront, and one of the greatest unused spaces is that of the giant lagoon that sits in the middle of Islands of Adventure.
Currently this space is not used for anything other than being a body of water - there is no nighttime show like the one that takes place in the water over at the sister park, which I am guessing is because the parks are so close that nighttime shows would complete with one another.
So that leaves the question of what else could be done there. Is it possible that new experiences could be placed over the water? Would they ever fill in the lake in whole or in part(going against the whole "Islands" theme)? Another consideration is the time it takes to walk all the way around the lake when you're trying to get somewhere. Maybe it's high time that walkways were placed above the water?
In an equivalent setting, Disney would place a castle there or some other feature to draw guests into the center of the park. So I am curious what other people think! I doubt there's any plan in the works for it right now, but at some point this has to be a consideration.
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The answer is Obvious - Swimming...
Open it up for public swimming...
I am not sure why you need this unused land. IOA is a great park and is adding Skull Island now. You want to take away from the Topography to build an unknown area…
Or:
Maybe Shamu could move there (ya know with all the Idiots saying empty the tanks) Shamu could have a nice new semi natural home… And if Shamu gets sick, a wizard from HP could simply use a spell to fix him/her…
I'm saying that Universal is land-locked and that the lake represents room for growth, either by way of a show on the water or by some other kind of attraction. The only way to bring in more guests is with more experiences, which have to go somewhere on their limited property...
Brian: Great idea for swimming in the lake. Throw in a few real alligators and you have a true to life Jaws like attraction. Great for spectators too, but it might cut into attendance totals.....LOL
I think if they filled in the lake, it would defeat the whole purpose of the "Islands of Adventure" name. I really don't see a huge need for a large piece of land in IOA right now anyway. I would, however, love to see Universal re-brand Toon Lagoon to something more modern, like the Nintendo brand or expand their Nickelodeon deal to use it there. They really could do so much better with it.
Even if the lake doesn't get filled in, it is still an unused space and a missed opportunity to provide entertainment or marketing of some kind.
@Rob, that interesting that there used to be a show on the lake. I feel like that body of water is much better suited to a show than the tiny lake in UO.
Nick: Yes, I saw some clips from it on one of the OU throwback threads. They also had boats that traveled from the Port of Entry dock to the area beyond the new crowd overflow bridge. There were some rumors flying last year about a nighttime show, but haven't heard anything recently. Have you seen the original tentative plans? They're pretty interesting. It was more wheel & spoke design like MK and themed to the cartoons and DC comics. But IOA turned out much better than that first plan. (Note: There was also a very short lived day time & nighttime plane, pyro & stunt spectacular on the Studio's small lagoon. I saw the clips. It looked like a law suit waiting to happen. That's probably why it didn't last very long.)
IOA had a water stunt show the summer of 2007. I actually videoed it with my first digital camera. It was a traveling stunt show, not a Universal created show. So-so at best. I also saw the USF night stunt show in January 1997, I think it was a Miami Vice or Lethal Weapon themed show. Very exciting with explosions and fire.
I always thought some kind of Hunger Games Island is a natural for the IOA lagoon. The movie had that island that rotated and caused all that destruction. How to do something that doesn't actually kill people would be a challenge.
@Rob, I haven't ever seen the original plans, that would be interesting to look at! I think the current concept is great, even if it adds significant travel time as you make your way around the park. It seems like something is destined to eventually take up that space.
There was a show in the lagoon that hit people with empty fireworks shells in Toon Lagon for the first few days the park was open.
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The park is called Islands of Adventure, so I would seriously doubt they would remove the lake now. Although, if you look up the original plan for the second park that morphed into IOA, there was no lake and that interior section was walkways. They did have a show on the lake during the early days but it was discontinued. With Universal continually building more hotels & attendance & expansion in an steady upward mode, I would guess that they will re visit the concept of a lake show, be it daytime or night, within the next few years. Either that, or a night time show featuring the volcano, in the new water theme park, which could be stupendous if done right.