Another discussion to have right now is deciding on our
lands - ideally 5-7 of 'em plus an expansion pad. Each land would have a signature E-ticket and a few additional attractions. My vague thoughts on the potential lands (
WORK IN PROGRESS):
Base camp entry land - A village where explorers leave to discover the lost worlds, home to artifact museums, libraries, supply warehouses and other exploration aides.
Some have discussed doing Old Hong Kong as the entry, to satisfy local nostalgia. Ocean Park basically already has this land. Instead I propose something inspired by vintage Southern China mixed with a bit of Thailand - that's the most popular international destination for Chinese tourists so it holds a familiar appeal. Also a bit of a Himalayan foothill village vibe.
While we're discussing dividing most lands into a "local village" and the "lost world" beyond it, this entry land will be just the former. A nearby "lost world" land serves as its counterpart -
Shangri-La - Picturing this as set entirely within a lush mountain valley, somewhat like how DisneySea's Mysterious Island is laid out. Accessed from the entry land via mountain passes and tunnels. Maybe make our mountains U-shaped and facing the real mountains north of the site.
Attractions? A variant on Expedition Everest perhaps.
El Dorado - Initial area is a Latin village set against a lake near the jungles. In the jungles is El Dorado itself, city of gold, which exists mostly as ruins.
The E-ticket could be a boat journey to discover the city similar to
Lost World Expedition: The Search for Tarrant Ramn by
@mickeyfan5534 (and team?). Around this are winding jungle paths around ruins, including a DAK-style animal trail (Conquistador Trail) following the footsteps of former failed searches for El Dorado. In the village, a Coco attraction.
Atlantis - Either a Greek coastal setting like Santorini, or someplace in the Caribbean (to justify a POTC ride, which HKDL doesn't have). Either way, located with the village element facing Hong Kong's ocean.
Inland is a major indoors area set in Atlantis, seemingly underwater protected by force fields. Strong option for aquarium elements, which Chinese guests like. Attraction: Submarine simulator like TDS's 20,000 Leagues.
Do we want to reference Atlantis: The Lost Empire in any way whatsoever? Or alternately The Little Mermaid?
Antarctica - Another good indoor land option (we want 1 or 2 to combat HK heat/humidity).
@Evilgidgit has some ideas for this I believe. Maybe a research base set in and around ice caverns, leading to a Hollow Earth interior complete with dinosaurs.
Entry from the lush jungle (all of HKDL inevitably looks like a jungle) could appear like Argentinian glaciers with pathways inside leading "under the ocean" to the Antarctic continent.
Camelot - Here's a way to bring in old Beastlie Kingdomme ideas if we wish. Like the dragon coaster. Some talk has occurred about a King Arthur dark ride - I'm thinking trackless like Runaway Railway with a similar 2.5-D effect of traveling through stylized medieval manuscripts and tapestries. No extra thought put into this yet. Could be set along the ocean with a Giant's Causeway coastal appearance.
Lemuria - The Polynesian version of Atlantis, basically. I'm including this as an option if we want to add IPs like Moana and/or Finding Nemo.
To distinguish from Atlantis, the Lemurian city could be recently risen from the seas (with waterfalls simulating receding ocean waters) alongside a quaint coastal village. Ruins could resemble Nan Madol in Micronesia. Faces Hong Kong's ocean and island, naturally.
Africa - There are two options here.
One is Solomon's Lost City (name?), another jungle-set lost city ruin. Not sure especially how to distinguish that from El Dorado.
Another option is Wakanda. It's certainly a "lost world." That's
if we want MCU in this park (there is plenty getting built in HKDL's Tomorrowland). No solid ideas for either land.
Dhofar - An Arabian lost city (need to research names better - this name turns out is a real city in Oman). An option for representing a different culture in a unique desert setting, with inspirations maybe from Petra, Babylon, Egypt, and the Wadi Rum desert. No additional ideas for this one yet. Disney's Aladdin elements?
Greece - If Atlantis isn't Greek, or if we want to explore this topic further, we could do something like Mt. Olympus. Tied in with Disney's Hercules to an extent perhaps?
IP-wise, either S.E.A. or Indiana Jones could be applied to
any of these lands if they need something extra.
Just my ramblings. Something for discussion.
