The new Islands of Adventure. Park Overhaul Project.

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

I'm not much of a Universal fan. In the past, I've really just gone for the Harry Potter stuff, but when I went to Universal Orlando the second time in 2021, I had high hopes. Since we had spent more time in Universal Studios Florida, we were hoping to see more of Universal's Islands of Adventure. This was mainly to ride Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, but there was also more we were going to see. I had to admit that I was a little disappointed. The place was poorly laid out, a lot of the rides were kind of lame, and it just felt like a hodgepodge of several random themes, not the movie-based approach that Universal has built.

Tell you one thing though, I feel like Universal's going too big with their Epic Universe project. I say, instead of building a new park, they redo this problematic one. Marvel Super Hero Island and Toon Lagoon can't exist for too long because of ownership problems. King Kong is out of place. The Lost Continent and Seuss Island are depressingly underwhelming. I say, we make this the "Epic Universe" and give it more love and respect. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm revamping the park with new franchises, new ideas, and hopefully, a much better product.

So here are the areas of this revised IOA park:
​

• Port of Entry​
• Nintendo World​
• Dreamworks Kingdoms​
• Isla Nublar​
• Hogsmeade​
• Ghibli Island​
• Illumination Land​

We shall go over these is later posts.

 

[PrinceCharming617]

The great thing about Nintendo is it can be at every park like Harry Potter. It probably has a bigger fanbase then the boy wizard.

 

[Disney Dad 3000]

Interested to see what you do here! Have to say, I think IOA is fantastic and Studios is the problematic side, but everyone's tastes are different. I can see some room for improvement though in some areas of IOA, so will be following along.

 

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

We shall begin with Port of Entry.

Now, not much changes around the area, except for a few things. The cast members are in character to give a sense of immersion. Also, there are street merchants from every land, selling their wares and telling people about their islands. The biggest difference is at the end of the port is a pier, where guests can take a boat ride to the other side of the park. The boat travels to Isla Nublar, heading by a dock right near Velocicoaster. Also in the area is a statue of Heron, the God of Adventure, who holds the Universal globe in his left hand while holding a mighty scepter in his right hand. Heron is depicted as a buff, bearded man in a Greek toga and sandals. Broken chains lay at his feet, symbolizing freedom to explore these new lands.​

 

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

First things first, we have Nintendo World, which takes up once was Marvel Super Hero Island and the Toon Lagoon Theater.

This area has two sections: Smash City and the Mushroom Kingdom. Smash City takes inspiration from the Super Smash Bros. fighting game, but it is used to transition several video game characters more easily. Notable changed include Cafe 4 becoming Kirby Cafe, Captain America Diner becoming Animal Crossing Diner, Marvel Alterniverse Store becoming Super Smash Store, and Kingpin's Arcade becoming Wario's Arcade. Additionally, there would be cutouts of Nintendo characters around the area, similar to those of Marvel characters in MSHI. There are also several interactive screens where guests can capture Pokemon, play games, and defeat enemies, just like a video game.

The biggest change to the area are the attractions. The Incredible Hulk Coaster would be remade into Sonic the Hedgehog Coaster. Same track, but its color scheme and theme are based on Sonic. Storm Force Acceleration becomes Pikachu Whirl, where it receives a Pokemon theme. Doctor Doom's Fearfall becomes Falcon Flight, where it is themed to F-Zero character Captain Falcon. Finally, the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man becomes Legend of Zelda: Search for the Lost Sword, where guests ride in areal carriages above Hyrule on a quest to find the sword before it falls into the hands of Calamity Ganon.

Taking up the former Toon Lagoon theater as well as some expanded place is the Mushroom Kingdom, which is a smaller version than the Super Nintendo World in Japan. This area has a restaurant, Peach's Castle Banquet Hall, which is on the right. In the former theater area is a shop, 1-Up Store, as well as two interactive attraction. Mario Kart Mushroom Madness is a similar ride to that in Japan, but without the Bowser theme. It still has the same premise where guests are racing for Team Mario, and it uses the same ride systems. The second ride in the area is Mario Party: the Ride, where guests go around in a Toy Story Mania-style way, completing a series of mini games where they throw shells, bomb-ombs, eggs, and more to win. This area is less immersive than that in Japan, but it helps transition to the Scandinavian village in Dreamworks Kingdoms.​

 

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

Let us now go into the Kingdoms of Dreamworks, where the films of Dreamworks Animation are brought to life. This area replaced Toon Lagoon and Skull Island.

There are three areas in this park. The first area is a How to Train Your Dragon-themed area, recreating the Isle of Berk. The shops and restaurants of Comic Book Lane are redesigned to look like viking homes, and a statue of Hiccup and Toothless replaces that of Popeye in the town square. Located nearby is a big mountain, recreating the one seen in the movie where the Great Hall is. This is in the place of Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. In this mountain is How to Train Your Dragon: Flight of Fantasy, a flight simulator where guests join Hiccup and the Dragon Riders on a flight over Berk, but run into a few bumps along the way and encounter many dragons. This ride is set between the events of the first and second films. In a way, it is similar to Avatar Flight of Passage, but a little less intense.

In the area once occupied by Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-rat Barges and Me Ship The Olive is an area themed to The Croods. There are themed shops and snack stands nearby, and the Olive is redone into the Betterman Tree House from the second film, which serves as an exploration attraction. The key attraction in this area is The Croods River Rush, basically a Croods retheme of Popeye. Guests become involved in the worlds first rafting trip, but things get out of hand quickly and it becomes a race to survive. Although guests can still get wet on this ride, it is not as all-soaking as Popeye's ride was.​

The last sub-area is themed to Madagascar. Here, Marty's restaurant serves as a dining experience. Camp Jurassic and Pteradon Flyers are removed to make room for the great tree, where King Julien's Coaster, a family coaster, is found. On the other side, replacing King Kond, is Madagascar: A Crate Adventure, which is a clone of the former Singapore attraction.​

 

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

Today, we learn what happens with the Jurassic Park area. To be honest, the area mostly stays the same, with a few minor changes. Camp Jurassic and Pteradon Flyers are removed for Dreamworks Kingdoms' expansion, the area is renamed Isla Nublar (since the area incorporates both Jurassic Park and Jurassic World), a sign bridging the larger JP area and the smaller JW area is put near the Discovery Center when it goes down to Velocicoaster, and near Velocicoaster is a boat dock where guests can take a boat to Port of Entry.

 

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

Hogsmeade doesn't change much either. There are only two difference. 1, Flight of the Hippogriff is replaced by a family ride where guests travel around in centaur-pulled chariots, similar to Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. 2, there is another attraction in Hogwarts, which is more family-friendly than the Forbidden Journey. Guests board enchanted carts for a tour of Hogwarts, visiting places such as the Great Hall, the Room of Requirement, a few Classrooms, the Library, and other places, but soon, things get out of hand. Peeves the Poltergeist (a character seen in the books but not the movies, thus making this his debut into the cinematic Wizarding World) wrecks havoc on the castle, sending out cornish pixies, nifflers, Weasley fireworks, mandrakes, and other chaotic things, and it's up to the Hogwarts staff to put a stop to it and get you out safely.​

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

centaur-pulled chariots, similar to Mater's Junkyard Jamboree

NOOOO JUST NO. DID YOU EVEN READ THE BOOK SERIES?

 

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

NOOOO JUST NO. DID YOU EVEN READ THE BOOK SERIES? View attachment 686265

Okay. Not my best idea, I admit, but I needed some other family ride to go there. This was the only thing I could think of. Sorry if I offended someone.

 

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

And I did read the book series.
I just wasn't thinking about the part where centaurs were dangerous beings.

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

Change it to giant nifflers and chariots (They ate some weird seeds or something and grew big). When the ride begins, a special effect will have shiny objects pop out of the ride ground, then the nifflers start moving and whipping around to chase them. #potterheadapproved

 

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

Change it to giant nifflers and chariots (They ate some weird seeds or something and grew big). When the ride begins, a special effect will have shiny objects pop out of the ride ground, then the nifflers start moving and whipping around to chase them. #potterheadapproved

Would hippogriffs be another alternative or are they also controversial when it comes to this?

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

Very controversial, unless the riders are in the hippogriff vehicle. Have 2-3 hippogriffs - You can have the ride model then be like this, (also use the original roller coaster trains I guess):

l

 

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

On second thought, let's just make it a play area where guests can learn more about magical creatures, similar to the Jurassic Park Discovery Center nearby. Therefore, no Potterheads get offended.

Being a potterhead myself, I was hoping for better. Looks like even wise Ravenclaw (my house) has its struggles.

 

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

Next stop on the tour is Ghibli Island, themed to the films of Studio Ghibli, which replaces the Lost Continent. The shops and restaurants of both the Arabian and Ancient Greek area are rethemed. The theater is replaced by a dark ride based off of Spirited Away while Poseidon's Fury is rethemed to Howl's Moving Castle. The area is redone in a Japanese way with old buildings and Asian fauna. Mythos, the best themed restaurant in the park, would keep its name, even though it would be rethemed to Japanese mythology.

This area could be a work in progress because I'm not an Anime fan and I don't know anything about Studio Ghibli.​

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

because I'm not an Anime fan and I don't know anything about Studio Ghibli.

Studio Ghibli is not just anime. It is artistic brilliance. You have to watch at least naussica and the valley of the winds, Mononoke, the castle stuff, and SPIRITED AWAAY. Go binge plsssss
P.S. I’m pretty sure Disney is the one working with ghibli.

 

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

Studio Ghibli is not just anime. It is artistic brilliance. You have to watch at least naussica and the valley of the winds, Mononoke, the castle stuff, and SPIRITED AWAAY. Go binge plsssss
P.S. I’m pretty sure Disney is the one working with ghibli.

That is yet to be confirmed by the Disney leadership. As of right now, it's a big fan theory, unless I can get legit proof of it.

 

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

Instead of the originally planned Illumination area, I've decided to make a different area based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoons. This consists of dark rides based on them as well as kiddie rides, including a spinner, a carousel, and a train ride. There would also be a Scooby-Doo mystery event during Halloween time. I feel like this would flow better in the park and have Illumination take up more of Universal Studios.​

 

[DisneyFan32]

Instead of the originally planned Illumination area, I've decided to make a different area based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoons. This consists of dark rides based on them as well as kiddie rides, including a spinner, a carousel, and a train ride. There would also be a Scooby-Doo mystery event during Halloween time. I feel like this would flow better in the park and have Illumination take up more of Universal Studios.​

You've should've added Looney Tunes and DC Comics IPs too if you added Hanna-Barbera IP.