Middle-Earth for Real?

Originally Posted by Mansun

Is there any news of a Middle Earth settings being constructed for real (obviously at a smaller scale) as some sort of theme park?

Originally Posted by Laylyn on the LOTR Plaza

Sometimes I find myself wandering off, sort of day dreaming about a place that I could live a life mirrored to that of those from the Lord of the RIngs. I may be crazy, and then again I may not be, but if I had the choice to live in a "refuge" with minimal technology and with the lifestyle of the characters that I have grown to know and love from these wonderful novels and movies I would. I know that this would/could probably never happen, but how wonderful it would be if it did ever come to pass. Just imagine, waking up everyday, and living a lifestyle based how you wanted it, and not how society wants you to live. Imagine, being raised as an Elf or Dwarf. Imagine learning to speak the language of the Elves or Dwarves and speaking it on a daily basis. Imagine growing and hunting for your food, with bows and axes, and living everyday as a wonderous adventure in which anything could happen. I know, it is just a fantasy, but the amish do it, and seem to love who they are, what they do, and what they have become. Just a note, parts of Montana look very much like Middle earth and the land is extremely cheap, so if there are a few hundred people or so who would like to even consider thinking about doing something like this in the future let me know, and I would be there in a heartbeat.

Hehe Mansun, you're not related in any way to Laylyn on the LOTR Plaza are you? He made the above quote just recently and your quote reminds me so much of the huge discussion that we just had about this subject. We discussed the idea of a theme park, amongst other things. I think it would be awesome to do something like this. I live in New Zealand, and we have the tours of the PJ movie sets still running. But they just aren't the same now that the props are gone. "This is where Bag End used to be. This is where Orthanc used to be. Blah blah blah. Someone should recreate it, I think. I'd love to go along and visit, but I don't think I could handle Laylyn's idea of moving in and living there permanently though