Sorry for the long hiatus, but I'm back now, and it's time for the park's most ambitious land.
The Land of Narnia:
Taking its cues from the fantasy world created by C.S. Lewis, this land has a trio of major attractions that all qualify as E- or D-tickets. Even the transportation to this land, the Underground Railway to Narnia from High Street, has been plussed.
The main entry to the land is through the Castle of Cair Paravel, a large edifice (see image in Hub post) that is home to a number of spaces. Entering over the drawbridge, guests find themselves in an indoor forest where it's "always winter and never Christmas", dominated by a single lamp-post in the centre of the room. There is artificial "moonlight" to provide more illumination than is afforded by that lamp, as well as constantly swirling artificial snow. (Not sure whether this effect will be turned on constantly or just provide a flurry every 15-20 minutes.) The castle contains a character fine dining establishment upstairs, in the High King's Banquet Hall. There are also two separate themed walkthroughs, a character meet-and-greet facility, and a couple of retail outlets.
Exiting the back of the castle, guests find themselves in the royal gardens, which carefully transition from well-groomed formal gardens to picturesque ruins which is where passengers on the Underground Railway to Narnia emerge after their journey from High Street station.
The landscape is dominated by a mountain whose peaks can be glimpsed behind the castle from the hub. This is home to the land's mine-cart coaster attraction, Escape from Underland, themed to
The Silver Chair.
To the right of the gardens appears to be an inlet harbour where a full scale replica of the royal ship Dawn Treader is permanently docked as a fully explorable children's play area. This is also where guests queue for the simulator attraction themed to (and named after) the book,
Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The dockside buildings which house this ride (as well as a counter-service tavern) continue the castle's architectural style and meld into the next land, Castleborough, which is accessed through an arch between the castle and this building.
On the opposite side, but artfully cloaked by "forest", is Professor Kirke's mansion, where guests embark on a classic dark ride using trackless technology through the story of
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The mansion is placed in the English countryside and thus blends seamlessly into the neighbouring land of Hundred Acre Wood.
Attractions:
- Journey through the Wardrobe - the classic dark ride housed in Professor Kirke's mansion based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. This is a retelling of the book where guests queue through the mansion's rooms, furnished to embody the WW2 era, before boarding sleighs that take them through the wardrobe into Narnia to experience the snow of a land where it's always winter and never Christmas, the comforting scent of hot chocolate in Mr Tumnus' home and the temptation of Turkish delight in the Witch's palace, projection mapping that turns animals into statues, and right into the heart of an epic fight between good and evil.
- Voyage of the Dawn Treader - This simulator attraction will be slightly different in that guests are seated on the deck of a simplified Dawn Treader - not as elaborate as the one outside. This "ship" is just a single flat deck, with a balustrade around the edges and sails billowing above them (hiding their views of the very top of the chamber). The guests' seats and the ship itself are able to convey a range of motion, and the screen is a wrap-around projection dome. The chamber's floor is a shallow pool (made to appear deeper) with a wave machine and the gangway that guests used to embark will retract once they have boarded, giving the impression that they are on the open sea. There are three identical chambers to provide more capacity. At the ship's wheel is an AA King Caspian (resembling, and voiced by, Ben Barnes). During the ride there will be water and smoke effects as the ship fends off an attack from a rebellious governor, an Animatronic dragon that breathes fire, "invisible" creatures that board the ship to cause mischief (conveyed by effects built into the seats) and lastly the sea of lilies at the end of the world (light-up sculptures that emerge from the water).
- Escape from Underland - Similar to the Seven Dwarfs' Mine Train, but a longer and more elaborate version with several AA show scenes - the first where the aged King Caspian bids you to rescue his missing son and heir, then in the Giants' castle, the living gems of Bism, and finally culminating in an encounter with the Lady of the Green Kirtle who transforms into a huge serpent before our very eyes, sparking the last plunge to safety and a closing scene that reunites Prince Rillian with the king.
- The Underground Railway to Narnia - this is the terminus of the transportation from High Street, a Disneyfied version of Universal Orlando's Hogwarts Express. Guests emerge in the sunken ruins of Cair Paravel and can exit either through stairs connecting to the castle gardens above, or at platform level through the Founding of Narnia walkthrough.
- The Founding of Narnia - a series of chambers form a walkthrough experience narrating the founding of Narnia (as told in The Magician's Nephew) through a mix of tapestries, carvings, stained glass windows and animated dioramas. Guests also pass by the treasure chamber of the castle and can see, on the other side, the Swan Boats in the castle moat (who similarly look into the treasure chamber as they sail under the castle drawbridge).
- The Archenland Gallery - Guests can continue on to a second walkthough, this one located on the castle's upper level and retelling the tale of The Horse and His Boy.
- The Royal Galleon - a fully explorable galleon with multi level play areas, slides, water cannons etc.
Dining:
- High King's Banquet Hall - taking the place of other castles' character dining, this one has a similar premise and decor. Guests can meet face characters including the White Witch (who has her own chamber and props, i.e. sleigh and "frozen" sculptures), while wandering characters include High King Peter and Queen Lucy of Narnia, Merlin (from The Sword and the Stone) and Merida (from Brave). Guests dine on haute cuisine which draw on descriptions in the Narnian books (e.g., Calormene syllabub) and receive Turkish delight truffles to take away after their photo encounter with the White Witch.
- Mr Tumnus' Chocolaterie - the Faun's cosy cave dwelling built into the side of the mountain, offering flavoured hot chocolates (Caramel, mint, Turkish delight, white chocolate, etc.) and other chocolate treats including a signature Chocolate Trifle.
- Emperor of the Lone Islands - a large counter service outlet near the Dawn Treader, themed to a dockside tavern, offering quick service classics with a seafood emphasis (fish & chips, fried shrimp, seafood pie, lobster roll, crayfish salad)
- Lewis Tearoom - a smaller counter service in the Kirke mansion, selling sandwiches, scones and pastries
Retail:
- Royal Boutique - a British equivalent of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, located on the ground floor of the castle, offers young princesses and princes the chance to get fitted out like royalty
- Aslan's Treasures - the castle gift shop
- Telmarine Trinkets - the dockside gift shop
- The Magic Wardrobe - the Kirke mansion gift shop (this would double as the park's Christmas shop, in keeping with the book's theme, when Father Christmas's arrival heralds the end of constant winter)
Coming next: Castleborough