Land Overview
Taking over the now defunct Marvel Super Hero Island, is now a land dedicated to the rather nostalgic and entertaining Ethereld's Kingdom, which is based off Don Bluth's Dragon's Lair. Watch as you step as you begin to enter this rather charming world.
If you choose to take the path from Port Of Entry, you'll then proceed to walk across a wooden bridge that stands over a bubbling river produced by a waterfall, where near the willow trees planted in the area, you can spot Marina Pharos's lighthouse from the area.
Heading across the bridge, you'll then walk through a short path with some trees and bushes, and if you look closely, you'll notice ancient runes carved into the trees. After walking a little further, you'll then approach a typical medieval fortress with a grid gate with AA guards watching over the area, who will have animations such as reloading their arrows, or firing their cannons.
Walking inside, there are two seperate sections of the land. One area consists of two seperate castles who join together at a symmetrical line that proceeds to blend the two together using moss and overgrowth to make it appear that the two castles are the flip side of the same coin. One of these castles has dark bricks anf is overall more ominous, with taller trees in the area casting shadows, the cawing (just sound effects btw) of crows who have made their nests their, and the overall miserable state of the castle, with it slowly crumbling away and bleeding back into nature once more, with trees growing over piles of bricks, moss consuming large parts of the wall, and the walls missing bricks. Meanwhile the other side is generally better maintained and has clearly been repaired in the fast few years. There are flowers planted in the area, but their growth has been maintained so they don't spread like wildfire. The castle is a light grey compared to the darker greys of the other side of the castle. Banners sway around the sides of the castle proudly, and the torches near it are lit.
The darker castle is The Mordroc Castle Match, a coaster elevator hybrid E-ticket, and the lighter castle is The Time Warp, which is an interactive dark ride.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the land, is the village. The village primarily takes after abandoned medieval scandanavian villages, with the houses primarily consisting of wooden structures and logs stuck together with straw thatched roofs, although we aren't actually using thatched roofs, that would be a hazard, it just looks thatched. The path around this area also primarily follows a dark wooden one instead of a dirt one. The first building on the way in is Hilda's Holstery, with The Treasury being placed towards the end of the land. The Garden Of Eden is placed right around a path that leads to the castle section, and The Armory and Dirk & Daphne's are placed vertically to eachother near the beginning of the area. Meanwhile, The Bard's Stage is placed right at the end of the area.
Once you exit this area, you board a more industrial based bridge that mainly utilizes steel and wires that looms over the ocean, and as you walk further, you begin to approach Republic City with the famous statue of Aang in the distance.
The Mordroc Castle Match
Queue
The Queue of The Mordroc Castle Matchup is primarily a hybrid of an outdoor and an indoor queue. The queue itself follows a limestone path going through the crumbling, overgrown ruins of Mordroc's Castle, with the outdoor segments mostly following through parts of the castle that have long since collapsed after the events of the game.
Throughout the queue, most of the walls having carvings into it recalling the events of the original, with occasional omages to the original attraction, with the halls containing a cauldron, some of the rolling balls, and a seemingly abandoned pot of gold, along with other remnants of the past signaling certain rooms and stages from the game. Along with the word based carvings on the wall, are carved in 'art' (just scratches that create lineart of certain figures during certain times.
The queue loop primarily consists of Celtic Based Music loops that lead up to the (un)loading station, which is a dark roon that mostly seems to have traces of excavation, with occasional traces of some coins on the floor with a tall ceiling to signify how the treasure's been long since removed, and right in the middle of the queue is the cracked, gradually rotting skeleton of Singe.
Mechanics/3 Tracks & Variants
The Mordroc Castle Match will use a combination of current technology used in the parks to create a new, thrilling experience by using a combination of three tracks total and by being a combination of an E L E V A T O R and a coaster.
How the base track works in the ride is that ride primarily connects to a track most of the time, however during the descension periods and the finale, the carts will load onto a seperate track connected to the elevator. The cart then has a lock mechanism that will prevent it from moving within the lift. The lift then uses similar functions to the one within the Tower Of Terror. For scenes within the vehicle, the vehicle will use the ' 'totally rare' ' and ' 'virtually unused ' ' screen technology {TM}.
As for how the three tracks method works, is that at the loading station, there is another rotating piece that rotates onto three different tracks clockwise. In order to prevent a similar incident to The Smiler, there's an system within the ride that'll alert whenever a cart is on the track, and there shouldn't be much issue with this one as it doesn't need to worry about the wind.
As for the effects in the ride, the ride primarily uses a combination of screens and animatronics. Screens are used for motions that would be impossible without paying for a more advanced yet more fragile AA or paying for a stunt AA and going past the budget, in which the screens are animated in traditional Don Bluth fashion, while less advanced movements like Dirk swinging his sword at Singe use regular AAs. The giant Singe at the end primarily uses forced perspective to make it look huge, since otherwise we'd have anothet broken mythological creature in the theme park.
While in the original draft, I wanted to use actual pyrotechnics in the ride, but I remembered how much a fire hazard that might be, so most of the flames are projection based like in Mickey's Runaway Railroad with Pete. If course, in case of an actual fire, there are always rails attatched to the tracks, and the elevators have fire service mode. Also, fog machines are used for Track 3, so the ride warns that anyone with a breathing problem shouldn't ride, and if someone has an asthma attack on the ride, the protocol is to stop the ride so that person can dismount the ride and get help if they need it.
Ride-Through
Once cart finally loads onto the right track, you start by descending down a dimly lit stone brick wall, and head up a chain lift.
In all versions, Dirk stands a couple feet away from the tracks and looks onto the challenges in front of them. However, different tracks lead to different traps. The first track will follow the challenge from the original and has a smaller lift and lower track compared to the others, which involves Dirk catching falling objects, in which said objects will bw hung from the ceiling via pulley, and as you head down the chain lift into the gold below, the objects will shift downwards before yanking up once the ride vehicle has passed by and a reset function activates. Meanwhile on the second track, the this time the area surrounding the path will be filled with Mudmen figures that animate to reach out to the riders, put to prevent injuries they've been placed down on a lower level. On this track, Dirk will swing his sword backwards before the cart dives down to give the illusion of an attack. On the third track, the coaster then races against a boat towards an axis with a chain attatched, which represents the Whirlpool room.
After all of this has been passed, the cart then takes another dip downwards, and surrounding the track are piles of gold, with a screen nearby showing Dirk sliding down Scrooge McDuck style, although he does bonk his head towards the end and he sways around for a bit before getting back on his feet and running around the corner. The ride then swivels, which leads to three different scenarios depending on the track you chose.
If you chose the first track, 'flames' (See: Mechanics) spurt out around the vehicle produced by Singe, and screens showing Dirk dodging the flames surround the room. in which the ride takes some small drops and swerves to the left multiple times before moving into a set with a sleeping singe inside, showing the true extent of the cave. If you chose the second track, this time it's multiple AA figures of Singe's tail thrashing around and AA figures of Dirk avoiding the thrashing, until you once again enter the set with the sleeping Singe. Meanwhile, on the third track, smoke is emitted around the area as Singe snores, while AA figures duck and are seen crawling throughout, before the vehicle then proceeds to board the next scene. The only track where the motion varies is on the second track where the ride swerves in multiple times to avoid being crushed before taking a left and once again entering the sleeping Singe scene.
The ride then proceeds to move around a couple of columns for a bit where an AA of Dirk hides behind the first one, as he seemingly peaks out to glance at the tied up Daphne, the ride then moves past several columns, where finally we see an AA of Dirk interact with Daphne, who was previously concealed using the other columns to block him out. She then says the iconic "Get the key, find the magic sword!" and then smoke then floods in the room as Singe awakens. We then move past a pillar that has a figure of Dirk hiding behind it. The vehicles then descend as an AA of Singe, using an effect similar to the Trex effect in the Jurassic Park Ride, pops out and lunges. The ride descends down further and swerves to the left, where another AA of Singe approaches, snarling. The ride vehicles then proceed to board another elevator.
The elevator then proceeds upward, and the screens show a skyline overview of parts of Singe's hoard, as Singe crawls on top of his large hoard to greet us, as it rises up, he roars and puffs smoke, as we disembark onto the hoard, and a large AA consisting of the upper torso, head, and claws lunges out as the ride vehicles head down a slope near a pillar, and as you head down, a large boom is heard (created from the speaker system). As the ride vehicle speeds by, a large fragment of the pillar you just passed can be seen, as we swerve to the right and pass by another pillar, and the effect repeats.
The ride the haults to an AA dirk pulling the sword out of one of the hoard piles, and then proceeds to speed off once Singe roars, and the ride vehicles then board the elevator once again, with the screens displaying Singe and Dirk fighting each other, and once the ride vehicles are released, the ride heads fowards for a bit before dipping down a slope into the last scene where all three tracks are in the same room. The area is the giant horde with the pillars placed all over, and in the center of it all is the AAs of Singe, Dirk, and Daphne, as Dirk impales Singe, killing him with a final shriek. The ride vehicles slow down, and the switch onto the track which leads directly back to the loading station.
Hilda's Holstery
Hilda, The viking wife of Ethereld and Daphne's mother, has opened a holstery of her own since the events of Dragon's Lair 2 so she could share her brewing with the citizens of the kingdom. The restaurant exterior takes the form of a large medieval estate building with the upper parts and towers of the building consisting of brown and white Tupor architecture and with the lower parts consisting of stone bricks. Inside the Holstery, the interior takes after a dimly lit medieval tavern. The restaurant mainly sells Scandanavian dishes and a variety of Craft Beer, and uses two different menus for dining and drinking respectively. Such menu items involve Pinnekjøtt, Swedish Meatballs, Beef Stroganoff, Pickles Herrings, and the likes, while the craft beer menu ranges from Brown Ale, Czech Pilsener, India Pale Ale, to Hefewizen, Lager, and Witbier.
Viking reenactments perform on a stage at this location, and an AA of Hilda tucked in a chair, sectioned off from the guests near the stage, will talk every now and then, commenting on the skits on the stage, lampshading parts of the established universe, or getting angry. All of this is added to make the restaurant stand out more as it is the only Table Service restaurant in the entire land.
DIRK & DAPHNE'S DESSERTS
After the events of the three established films, Dirk, Daphne, and their kids have settled down and opened a bakery together as a family business of sorts. The quick service dining area can be found almost immediately upon entering the area, with it being the second building on the left. The quick service area takes the form of a medieval style bakery, with a seating area outside. Many of the food that can be brought in store are displayed around in certain parts of the interior along with the glass case at the register. Inside the bakery, you can eavesdrop on the chatter of the family as they make their craft. The restaurant primarily sells cookies, breadboxes, and pastries along with hot drinks.
The Garden Of Eden
The Garden Of Eden is reutilized from the second game with it fitting into the setting due to the connections between Islam and Medieval Europe. The Garden Of Eden can be found right around next to Hilda's Holstery similarly to how most medieval estates had gardens near them.
A large variety of flora is grown throughout this area, with a large variety of multiple specimens from different areas of the world. The paths around the area have Islamic Medieval Art patterns across them. The stand that sells the food consists of limestone square rooms, with faded colored archways covering the entryway. The stand sells various islamic dishes like Turkish style eggs, Rice pudding with dates, and Syrian bread. Seating arrangements are placed around the area for those who wish to eat around there.
The Armory
An medieval armory that's present in the village area of the land, with a matching interior displaying historical displays of armor sets, weapons, defense strategies, and torture devices. Of course, the interior of this medieval based armory is medieval based. This was the Armory where Dirk and many other knights have gotten their armor tailored from over the years. The shop also doubles as a museum as I stated above, with it going through the history of the warfare during medieval times, and showing the overall gritty nature of it all.
The store itself primarily sells clothing items within the store, along with merchandise surrounding the games. It's possible to also commission a custom made sword or shield from here as well, although it's a very expensive option.
Please do note that the museum sections and the sales sections of the store are properly seperate. All items seen are rented out from other museums, and then the displays are rotated for other, newer items.
The Treasury
As you may be wondering, you may be questioning why the loading room where Singe's skeleton room is was so barren. The Treasury is the explanation, as after Singe and Mordroc were slain, the castle had it's gold stripped from it and it was invested into the Treasury after Singe had been killed, and now it has been finally opened so all may have access to it. The store itself mainly functions as souvenir shop, selling merchandise from the games, and merchandise about the park.
The interior of the shop primarily is white, with birch wood floors. For aesthetic purposes, the check outs of the store are designed after bank teller lines, but medieval styled. Replicas of paintings, pottery, and gemstones are placed around in displays around the area, with the items supposed to have came from Singe's hoard.
The Bard's Stage
The stage for this particular show, the only one in the entire land, is fairly simplistic with it being simply a wooden stage with banners attatched to the back and with, of course, curtains and a backdrop in the back. Mostly everything in the land so far has been mostly focused on the first and second game, so how about we finally give the third game a chance?
The show itself is mostly a comedic retelling of the plot of Dragon's Lair 3, using a narrator character known as the bard. The show allows the cast member performers to make up their own interpretations and improvise, but there's a default script incase they can't think of anything. The show primarily uses poor prop/set design to set up gags or just lampshades the original.
