EPISODE 7 REWARD CHALLENGE
WALKTHROUGH WONDERS
ZWEILAND'S SUBMISSION
Beneath the ends of the very Earth lies a place of true darkness. It is invisible to any living mortal, but home to all the dead. This is Hades, the Underworld of ancient legend.
A low-key walkthrough attraction in the Lost Continent of Islands of Adventure,
The Depths of Hades is a tour of the Greek underworld. Rather than telling a tale of sadness and despair, it uses the theme to create dark gags and comedic effect.
“Filler” attractions like this walkthrough are exactly the thing that the park needs to add a new level of depth. While it may not be the most visited attraction in the park, it will tell a macabre story, lessen crowds, and (while you’d think hell would be hotter) provide an air-conditioned getaway from the relentless summer heat of Florida.
Appropriately located with the entrance just southwest of Poseidon’s Fury, TDoH will add another element of Greek mythology to the area. As seen in the map below, the walkthrough will extend north. Since (what I believe to be) an underground access road remains necessary as an artery into the park to reach Mythos and the Hogsmeade shops, it will be rerouted slightly to the west.
FACADE
The attraction's facade is an enormous rocky outcropping seemingly made of igneous rock. It looms forebodingly as guests approach. At night, the mountain will subtly glow with an eerie green light. The facade will be a new fixture of the park’s skyline, both by day and by night.
The entrance is a stone doorway, and is inscribed with Greek lettering:
Προσοχή, θνητός που τολμούν να εισέλθουν στην χώρα των νεκρών
(Beware, mortal who dare enter the land of the dead)
ATTRACTION
Guests are split into groups of around 30 people each in order to experience the attraction. Because of the fact that this is not a continuous walkthrough, but instead occurs in groups, a queue is necessary. The queue winds through a shadowy cave, lit in green torchlight. In some places, the cave walls are adorned with depictions of the major Greek gods.
SCENE 1
A projection of Charon, the infamous ferryman who carries the souls of the newly dead into the Underworld, appears on the rocky cave wall. He invites you to come explore the Underworld, beckoning into an opening on the other side of the cavern.
Charon: Ah, mortals? Normally I wouldn’t let you in. Hades has instructed me to make an… exception. But remember, this is a one-time opportunity-- and there’s no guarantee you’re ever coming back! [evil laugh]
Walking over to the opening in the other side of the cavern, you enter a “ferry boat” in the middle of the room. An animatronic of Charon stands guard at one end. This room operates somewhat like the Hydrolators in that it convinces you that you are moving vertically. Projections on the walls of shadows race upward, providing the illusion that you are moving down into the depths of the Earth.
You have now metaphorically crossed the river Acheron into the Underworld. The shadows abruptly stop moving, and a huge slab of rock moves out of the way to reveal another cavern. You are escorted out of the boat and into the next scene.
SCENE 2
An enormous iron gate marks the true entrance into the land of the dead. To pass through the gate, you must walk under the enormous paws of Cerberus, the giant three-headed dog that guards it. Cerberus keeps one of his heads fixated backward looking into the entrance, and one of them intently watching the Underworld itself, as to prevent anyone unauthorized from getting in and out. His third head swivels to watch you suspiciously as you make your way through the gate.
Now, you are confronted by the three (animatronic) Judges of the Dead: Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus. They preside from a podium lit in green, high over the floor. As you walk in, they begin to deliberate.
Minos: Order in the court!
Rhadamanthus: Mortals, let me read you your rights. You have the right to remain silent. That is all.
Minos: That’s actually a rule. Remain silent during the court procedure, or suffer the consequences.
Aeacus: Mortals! Normally we decide where to place the souls of the dead, based on their deeds: The Fields of Punishment, for the truly terrible. The Asphodel Meadows, for the ordinary and indifferent. And Elysium, for the great heroes.
Minos: But our deliberations today will decide whether you are worthy to enter into the realm of Hades.
Rhadamanthus: In fact, we have been discussing this matter for the last forty-five minutes. We are about to reach a conclusion.
[The judges huddle and talk quietly to themselves]
Minos: Mortals, you are free to pass onward.
SCENE 3
The cavern opens up into a small clearing, surrounded on every side by pomegranate trees. This is the grove of Persephone, the goddess kidnapped by Hades, who ate the fruit of the Underworld and could not return until spring.
As you pass by the trees, a peculiar phenomenon takes place. In a manner based on the classic illusion The Orange Tree by magician Robert Houdin, small blossoms will begin to grow on the tree. The leaves will move apart, revealing large pomegranate fruits hanging from the branches. The illusion is described in the video below (skip to around 5:00).
Edit: apparently you will have to click to watch the video on YouTube.
Out of the grove, the cavern opens up as you walk up the huge granite pathway to the Palace of Hades, built in forced perspective to appear imposing. The doors slowly open and your group is let into a main hallway area.
The remainder of the walkthrough takes place in the Palace, but stone cutouts in the walls enable you to see different scenes outside.
SCENE 4
This is the throne room of Hades. A solid obsidian throne sits at the end of a long hallway lit by torchlight, but it is unoccupied. Your group is ushered into the center of the room, into an area where they must observe the scene from behind railings, and the lights abruptly turn off.
The darkness does not last for long. Using a Pepper’s Ghost effect, the figure of Hades appears on the throne.
Hades: I have been here all along, invisible. I have watched you on your journey to this place. I know now that you are indeed worthy to discover its secrets.
Hades points to a painting on the wall, which illuminates. The painting depicts a stylized map of the entire Underworld. While Hades continues to point, the painting begins to expand into a doorway, similar to the effect used in Enchanted Tales with Belle. Behind the doorway lies a window overlooking the entire Underworld, corresponding exactly with the painting. It is actually a diorama, to the same scale as London in Peter Pan’s Flight.
Hades disappears, the lights come back on, and you proceed through the doorway and past the diorama.
SCENE 5
A cutout in the wall overlooks the Asphodel Meadows. They are grey and bleak, with ghostly flowers covering the ground. Spirits stand in the meadows, waiting, for all of eternity. A clock is ticking, very slowly, to show the passage of time.
Hades (voiceover): These are the Asphodel Meadows. They are so named for the asphodel flowers that blanket their ground. They hold the souls of all who did not make any significant contributions to the world-- evil or good. There is no meaning to time here. We may have been watching for three seconds or three thousand years.
(Obviously the meadows are pretty boring for a walkthrough, so this scene is cut short.)
SCENE 6
A larger cutout overlooks the Fields of Punishment/Tartarus. This is a vast diorama lit in red flame. This scene is home to several gags, many of them taken directly from Greek mythology:
- Tantalus sits in a pool of water below a fruit tree. Whenever he tries to reach for the water or fruit, it recedes away from him.
- Sisyphus rolls a boulder to the top of a hill, but it rolls back right before he reaches the top every time.
- The Danaides attempt to carry water to fill a bath, but the water always leaks out.
- A spirit is strapped down on a table and forced to listen to a tune that sounds remarkably similar to It’s A Small World.
- A mosquito is buzzing around a spirit, but every time he successfully swats it, another one appears.
Hades (voiceover): These are the spirits that did great evils in their lifetimes. As such, we have found ways to, keep them, ah, occupied for eternity.
SCENE 7
One last cutout overlooks Elysium. These are pastoral fields of eternal bliss and serenity. Although there is no sun in the Underworld, a warm light shines from an unseen source. A blue lake lies in the center of the field, and in the middle of the lake is an island filled with parks and cottages.
Hades (voiceover): This is Elysium, the place where we send souls that did great things in their lifetimes. *grumbling* They made me include it, I much prefer sadness and suffering. Oh well. In the middle is the Isle of the Blessed, for the greatest heroes.
SCENE 8
Once again in the throne room (actually a different location, but identical to the last), an animatronic Hades sits on his throne.
Hades: This concludes our tour, foolish mortals. But your time here is not over. You didn’t actually think that you would be allowed to return, I hope? No, no mortal is permitted to leave this realm. I apologize for the inconvenience, but you will remain here for eternity.
Lyre music begins to play from above.
Hades: Alas! The music of Orpheus. It is the only thing with the power to soften me. Very well, I will let you all go. At least consent to bathe in the river Lethe, so that you may forget what you have seen? No? All right then. Follow Orpheus out of the Underworld. If he does not look back before you are all out of the upper realm, then you are free to go.
A projection of Orpheus appears in a cave tunnel that exits the room. Your group follows him as he continues to play the lyre. Not once does he look back as sunlight begins to fill the cave. Eventually, he disappears and your group exits into the upper realm, into the small courtyard between Poseidon’s Fury and
The Depths of Hades.