While I support the removal of what's left of Lost Continent, a land that has been chipped away at over the last decade+, if it does get replaced with another IP related addition something intangible, but meaningful, will be lost in the process.
Disney's great non-IP attractions work because they're akin to ride-through cultural osmosis. They take what is sometimes centuries worth of oral and media tradition and distill that into a digestible, cohesive experience that is both familiar and new at the same time. You needn't have read Treasure Island or watched Captain Blood to know the context for the tropes in Pirates of the Caribbean. They exist outside the park in our collective imagination. Disney took these and added new music and technology to bring them to life for a modern audience that was also nostalgic for an older generation.
Lost Continent took three of the most recognizable Western cultural fantasies of the 19th/20th centuries (Medieval, Arabian and Greek Mythological) and put them into one area, with the intent of replicating Disney's success with shows not based on any particular movies. Again, you don't need to know any specific details about Sindbad, Poseidon or tales of dragons to understand these experiences because they have existed for so long that their settings and characters are immediately recognizable to an American or European audience.
This is not to say that the execution of these specific attractions didn't leave room for improvement (a lot of improvement for Sinbad), but an attempt was made. In breaking out of the usual Universal mold of "ride the movies", they gave added resonance and meaning for a park that would otherwise be overly reliant on 2 or 3 big IPs.
Universal knows what works for them. They know "ride the movies" and are keen to leverage their IPs across all the parks they own. They view non-IP stuff as wasted potential for cross-promotion. Unfortunately, that's true of Disney now too, though it's a bit easier to swallow with UNI given their own history.
Still, I personally would welcome another Poseidon, flaws and all, over another Fast and Furious or other screen based dud.
Disney's great non-IP attractions work because they're akin to ride-through cultural osmosis. They take what is sometimes centuries worth of oral and media tradition and distill that into a digestible, cohesive experience that is both familiar and new at the same time. You needn't have read Treasure Island or watched Captain Blood to know the context for the tropes in Pirates of the Caribbean. They exist outside the park in our collective imagination. Disney took these and added new music and technology to bring them to life for a modern audience that was also nostalgic for an older generation.
Lost Continent took three of the most recognizable Western cultural fantasies of the 19th/20th centuries (Medieval, Arabian and Greek Mythological) and put them into one area, with the intent of replicating Disney's success with shows not based on any particular movies. Again, you don't need to know any specific details about Sindbad, Poseidon or tales of dragons to understand these experiences because they have existed for so long that their settings and characters are immediately recognizable to an American or European audience.
This is not to say that the execution of these specific attractions didn't leave room for improvement (a lot of improvement for Sinbad), but an attempt was made. In breaking out of the usual Universal mold of "ride the movies", they gave added resonance and meaning for a park that would otherwise be overly reliant on 2 or 3 big IPs.
Universal knows what works for them. They know "ride the movies" and are keen to leverage their IPs across all the parks they own. They view non-IP stuff as wasted potential for cross-promotion. Unfortunately, that's true of Disney now too, though it's a bit easier to swallow with UNI given their own history.
Still, I personally would welcome another Poseidon, flaws and all, over another Fast and Furious or other screen based dud.
