Recently (in the last few months or so) I've gotten hooked on HBO's hit series, Game of Thrones, which is based on the series of novels A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin. At first I was skeptical of the show not only because of the density of material to catch up on but also because it didn't really seem like my kind of show. Nevertheless, I've really grown to appreciate the world building of the series, the music, the characters - I can now see why it's such a popular series!
With some of the more adult themes in the show, I originally thought to myself that this would never be able to be in a theme park, even though it has spectacular landscapes and points of interest that would be really fun to see. Plus with the expansive list of characters, for someone who has never seen the show, how would they be able to enjoy it as much as an avid fan?
For as much as I enjoy both Harry Potter lands, for non-fans -- it's hard to follow along with Forbidden Journey, whereas Pandora I felt took the film of Avatar, and focused on aspects that a novice would be able to understand and be enveloped in the story being told within the themed land. So as I was thinking of a Game of Thrones land, cutting out the bulk of the story (or at least presenting it differently) solves two issues at the same time. If you focus on the landscapes, scenery, and mythos of A Song of Ice and Fire, you cut out the bulk of the adult themes in the show, plus make it more accommodating to non-fans by focusing on more abstract, overarching themes from the series. And even with the mythos being about more teen/adult themes, it wouldn't be the first R-Rated Universal attraction. Terminator and basically all Halloween Horror Nights attractions for example.
Location in Universal's Islands of Adventure - The Lost Continent
Revamping The Lost Continent as A Song of Ice and Fire would be a good way to transition from Harry Potter into Westeros - which will be three distinct areas...
Winterfell Castle
Dragonstone
Mountains of the Moon
More details to come!
