Middle-earth amusement park

[Lalwendë]

Oh dear me, not Disney! Nor would I be pleased with Blackpool Pleasure Beach taking on the job after they destroyed Southport's Pleasureland. Maybe Camelot would be an appropriate company? Or Alton 'Two' Towers?

Now I can see Shelob's Lair, a rollercoaster in total darkness. It would be one of those where you sit with your legs and arms dangling freely. As you go hurtling through the darkness vast spiderwebs hit you in the face and eerie voices scream "precioussss". The air is chill and dank. Then at the height of the coaster, a blinding bright light flashes on and this huge animatronic spider bears down on you as you plummet to your doom.



There would be two carousels. Bill The Pony would be for the kiddies, nice and gentle, the 'horsies' soft and cuddly. However Shadowfax would be strictly for grown ups who would be held down upon their steely steeds by mere G Force as the carousel hurtled round like a mad thing.

[Boo Radley]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

Oh dear me, not Disney! Nor would I be pleased with Blackpool Pleasure Beach taking on the job after they destroyed Southport's Pleasureland. Maybe Camelot would be an appropriate company? Or Alton 'Two' Towers?

Now I can see Shelob's Lair, a rollercoaster in total darkness. It would be one of those where you sit with your legs and arms dangling freely. As you go hurtling through the darkness vast spiderwebs hit you in the face and eerie voices scream "precioussss". The air is chill and dank. Then at the height of the coaster, a blinding bright light flashes on and this huge animatronic spider bears down on you as you plummet to your doom.



There would be two carousels. Bill The Pony would be for the kiddies, nice and gentle, the 'horsies' soft and cuddly. However Shadowfax would be strictly for grown ups who would be held down upon their steely steeds by mere G Force as the carousel hurtled round like a mad thing.

... You frighten me.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Boo Radley

... You frighten me.

You're not the only one then. I have to keep away from mirrors.

I aim to please.

[Sauron the White]

Lalwende - I mentioned Disney because that is the one company everyone associates with the massive theme park. A place with much more than just rides but hotels, restaurants, theaters, playhouses, and landscaped to the nth degree. The overall effect is to create a world that you enter into.

Legate - I love your idea of the falling car that goes with the Balrog and Gandalf when the bridge collapses. Kind of like the fall at the Haunted Hotel at MGM Studios.

What about:
- a hotel modeled after the Prancing Pony Inn
-a ride where you are in Grond and crash through the gates of Minas Tirith
- a restaurant where you feast with the Elves ala THE HOBBIT (the menu possibilities there are endless..... anyone for red meat off the bone?)
- hotel rooms up in the trees ala Lothlorien
- a low cost no frill hotel modeled after orc lodgings
- Corsairs ride battling the evildoers going much further than POTC ever did

[Elfchick7]

The funny thing is that Disney actually did have the rights at one point but sold them to New Line. Haha

Anyway, there would definitely be Lothlorien and Rivendell restaurants. There would have to be some nice hobbit-ish and man-ish pubs. There should be a hobbit hole cafe, which, of course would be in a real (larger scale) hobbit hole. There would be a take-a-photo-as-a-middle-earth-character shop. Elven archery, for ages twelve and up, would be a nice touch.

Ooh, there must be a virtual reality "Flight to the Ford" ride on a mechanical horse. {movie or book version?} You would feel the ringwraiths breathing on your neck as you hurry to escape them. All the time being surrounded by their shrill calls. Then when the river washes them away you would feel the spray of the galloping waters.

What about a barrow-downs walk through? *eek* With Barrow Wights coming unsettlingly close.

There could be an Emyn Muil maze!!!! All the time with random hints of, "Follow us quickly this way, precioussss." Coming from a hidden speaker system.

[Elfchick7]

I thought of more. Haha. There would be shops for clothing and accessories from different M.E. cultures.

There could be Minas Tirith roller coaster, a glittering caves boat ride, a Fangorn play ground, and mushroom cafe!

This is fun!

[Bêthberry]

Okay, let's do this with a little more thought as to how it would be organised, working along the lines of the Grévien & Cie company, which runs such amusement parks as Parc Asterix, outside of Paris, rather than Disney.

So, first of all, would we have different domains, where rides, galleries, stores, cafes would reflect the local culture? Thus, a Shire domain, a Rivendell, a Lonely Mountain, and so forth. A rollercoaster in The Shire domain, or in Fangorn Forest, would be wooden, like the Tonnerre de Zeus at Parc Asterix, but a steel multi-looping ride would more likely be found in .... Mordor?

Of course, the entrance would have signs saying "Quenya spoken here" (in Quenya), or "Sindarin spoken here" (ditto). Directional signs throughout the site would be in runes and English, possibly.

Another point to consider would be the primary Age the park would be set in. It would make most sense to set most of it in the Third Age, as likely that is what people know best. That might allow a time travel section, where we could go back to The Second Age and its battles. Or even have a multi-media section where we experience Eru's initial song. Imagine a ride which recreates the flood of Numenor! Raincoats for this one, please. This would allow for the very exciting futurama section where we could envision a Seventh Age of Middle-earth. Not our own world with its industries and machines and pollutions, but a wholly imagined "what if": a 'modern' vision of Middle earth in keeping with attributes most popular from the early ages. (yes, I know, this would not be in keeping with Tolkien's sense of the long defeat, but hey, this is all about experiencing an imaginary concept.)

An entertainment section, with musical shows, comedy routines, concerts, might be called The Party Tree. Rides where chairs spin round and round might be set in the Lothlorien section, suggesting flets. If we allow PJ his version, we could even have a shield boarding run like a bobsled run in Helm's Deep.

We could develope games appropriate to each domain too, although I wouldn't think that a ring toss game called Dwarf toss would be PC.

And of course, when the park closes at night--10 pm or 11 pm?--there would be the obligatory Gandalf's Fireworks.

[Elfchick7]

I like how you think, Bêthberry. I agree it would definitely be divided into domains.

Also in the front entrance/exit, before guests actually enter ME, there would be a tribute to Tolkien. Maybe a short film about him, then a bookstore, then the main park.