The "Ultimate" Castle Park

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

Discovery Bay​

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The last land in our park, Discovery Bay is found tucked between Tomorrowland and Adventureland- and appropriately so. Based on Tony Baxter's scrapped concept and the original concept for Dinoland U.S.A., this land is home to dinosaurs, mermaids, mythical creatures, and more. It's also the home of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, who's main headquarters resides here. Featuring a large snow-capped mountain and a large lagoon, there's lots of variety here. The architecture is very steampunk in nature, giving the land a unique feel compared to similar lands.

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Rides​

• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Dark Ride)
  • Inspired by Tokyo DisneySea's version, being a suspended dark ride with simulated water rather than real water. Captain Nemo and the Nautilus take guests into the depths to see sunken ruins, sea serpents, mermaids, and even a giant squid. Guests have searchlights they can control to light up the ride, also activating ride elements like Tokyo's Monsters Inc. ride.
• Island at the Top of the World (Thrill Ride)
  • A simulator attraction based on the film of the same name, Sir Anthony Ross invites guests to ride the Hyperion and go on a scenic tour of the Artic and Astragard, the island at the top of the world.
• Journey of the Little Mermaid (Dark Ride)
  • A more modern take on the Little Mermaid dark ride, this time complete with a scene of giant Ursula.
• Matterhorn Mountain: Legend of the Yeti (Thrill Ride)
  • A clone of Expedition Everest but themed to the Matterhorn, guests board S.E.A. trains to explore the Matterhorn Mountain and look for the mythical yeti, who S.E.A. has affectionately nicknamed "Harold." Has actual working yeti animatronics.
• Dinosaur: The Lost World (Dark Ride)
  • Based on the soon-to-be-extinct Animal Kingdom attraction, this time guests travel with S.E.A. to tour the underground world below Discovery Bay- a piece of the prehistoric past that has survived to modern day. A Carnotaurus soon begins to hunt the riders, and guests escape just in the nick of time!
• The Dig Site (Thrill Ride)
  • A smaller wooden coaster themed to a fossil dig site. Guests weave in and out of dinosaur fossils.

Attractions & Entertainment​

• S.E.A. Headquarters (Walk-Through)
  • The original home to the S.E.A., this grand fortress is a large interactive walk-through. Within the headquarters, guests can walk around freely and explore various interactive exhibits and experiences whether on their own or through an exploration game called the Leonardo Challenge. Rooms and exhibits in the attraction include a Foucault Pendulum, the Illusion Room, Explorers' Hall, the Navigation Center, an Alchemy Lab, the Chamber of Planets and the sailing ship Renaissance. Additionally, the Adventurer's Club and Club 33 are found here.
• Professor Marvel's Gallery of Illusion (Stage Show)
  • Inspired by the never-built Discovery Bay attraction, this rotating theater animatronic show features Professor Marvel, an eccentric man and collector of magic and illusions.
• The Dinosaurs of Discovery Bay (Street Performance)
  • Lucky the Dinosaur returns to Disney Parks after years of absence, and he's joined by some new friends- a baby pterodactyl (a puppet controlled by a cast member), and a triceratops (similar to the walkaround one found at Universal Studios Hollywood.).
• The Boneyard (Play Area)
  • A small play area for kids similar to the one in Animal Kingdom, featuring a sandbox where kids can dig for fossils, slides and tubes to crawl through, dinosaur skeletons to discover, and more.
• Walt Disney Railroad: Discovery Bay Scenes (Amusement Ride)
  • As the train makes its way through the land, you pass by several sights including the Nautilus' Lagoon, the S.E.A. Headquarters, and Dinosaur. As you leave the land, you enter into a tunnel into the Primeval World! This may also be the train passing through Dinosaur, depending on where that ends up going in the land.

Dining​

• The Adventurer's Club (Full Service)
  • Found in the S.E.A. Headquarters. A small recreation of the Downtown Disney classic, this restaurant is home to artifacts, photographs, and treasures from all over. Guests can meet all sorts of wild and wacky characters here, portrayed by cast members, animatronics, and even puppets. Serves beverages and tapas plates.
• The Nautilus (Full Service)
  • Next to the 20,000 Leagues attraction, guests can go down into the Nautilus docked outside to dine below the water. Serves seafood.
• The T-Rex Cafe (Quick Service)
  • A small eating outpost serving common foods like burgers, hot dogs, and dinosaur chicken nuggets.
• Club 33 (Full Service)
  • The exclusive dining club, found through a secret entrance in the S.E.A. Headquarters. Serves fine dining and alcoholic beverages.

Shops​

• Port Discovery Curios and Curiosities
  • The main gift shop of the land, home to all sorts of merchandise related to the various attractions that call this land home.
• Dino-Store
  • Connected to the T-Rex Cafe, this store is home to tons of dinosaur merchandise.

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[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

With that last post, all the in-depth land breakdowns have been typed up! Now we're on to the community refining phase. Let's polish this lump of coal into a diamond!

 

[Chaos Cat]

• Journey of the Little Mermaid (Dark Ride)
  • A more modern take on the Little Mermaid dark ride, this time complete with a scene of giant Ursula.

I'm... having a hard time seeing this fitting in here. Like, I think Little Mermaid could work here, depending on how you play it, but it's very, very easy for it to go into "Why is this not in Fantsyland" territory.

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

I'm... having a hard time seeing this fitting in here. Like, I think Little Mermaid could work here, depending on how you play it, but it's very, very easy for it to go into "Why is this not in Fantsyland" territory.

My idea was that the outside would be more themed to mermaid ruins and seaside cliffs, and with it being near the Nautilus, there’s a mythological ocean connection. Discovery Bay in my park is essentially a mythical creature + dinosaur land, but I can see TLM still sticking out. Fantasyland was getting packed and there weren’t any areas that fit it so I just moved it across the way, haha

 

[Chaos Cat]

My idea was that the outside would be more themed to mermaid ruins and seaside cliffs, and with it being near the Nautilus, there’s a mythological ocean connection. Discovery Bay in my park is essentially a mythical creature + dinosaur land, but I can see TLM still sticking out. Fantasyland was getting packed and there weren’t any areas that fit it so I just moved it across the way, haha

Honestly, part of me kind of wants to suggest maybe retooling the ride into something like a prequel to movie about Ariel collecting human stuff to give the ride a bit more of a "explorer"-vibe. But that would also mean getting rid of the giant Ursula, and like... I want that so bad at this point.

What you have here is pretty good too, though. Still a bit of an odd fit for me, but I see the logic behind it, plus you are doing your best to make it work, so I'm good with this for now.

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

Honestly, part of me kind of wants to suggest maybe retooling the ride into something like a prequel to movie about Ariel collecting human stuff to give the ride a bit more of a "explorer"-vibe. But that would also mean getting rid of the giant Ursula, and like... I want that so bad at this point.

What you have here is pretty good too, though. Still a bit of an odd fit for me, but I see the logic behind it, plus you are doing your best to make it work, so I'm good with this for now.

I suppose I could use the MK framing device of the ride being Scuttle just telling you the story rather than you experiencing it?

 

[Lord Fozzinator]

Just for curiosity, if you did build critter country and New Orleans square what would you build for it.

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

Just for curiosity, if you did build critter country and New Orleans square what would you build for it.

I actually had Critter Country in the earliest stages, which had Splash, Pooh, CBJ, and a Bambi dark ride. Then the second version was just Pooh & CBJ as Bear Country (Pooh was themed with a library facade), with Splash moved to New Orleans as Tiana’s, before finally going full CBJ for Bear Country and moving Pooh to Fantasyland. Realistically, I doubt a land that’s purely CBJ could stay popular- though the log flume and car ride may help with that. If this were a more realistic park, Pooh would go back in Bear Country and I’d probably scrap the bar for space, moving the alcohol to the Hungry Bear.

New Orleans was initially pretty much just shops, dining, and entertainment before Tiana’s, and then once I decided on Moonshine Mountain being this park’s Splash, Tiana’s was replaced with a PatF stage show. Eventually though I realized that it wasn’t much of a land that people would want to go to, since it’s IRL three major attractions were all elsewhere, so I scrapped it. I think it’s more fitting for the OG Disneyland to keep it as an exclusive.

 

[DisneyFan32]

View attachment 813937​

Discovery Bay​

---

The last land in our park, Discovery Bay is found tucked between Tomorrowland and Adventureland- and appropriately so. Based on Tony Baxter's scrapped concept and the original concept for Dinoland U.S.A., this land is home to dinosaurs, mermaids, mythical creatures, and more. It's also the home of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, who's main headquarters resides here. Featuring a large snow-capped mountain and a large lagoon, there's lots of variety here. The architecture is very steampunk in nature, giving the land a unique feel compared to similar lands.

---

Rides​

• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Dark Ride)
  • Inspired by Tokyo DisneySea's version, being a suspended dark ride with simulated water rather than real water. Captain Nemo and the Nautilus take guests into the depths to see sunken ruins, sea serpents, mermaids, and even a giant squid. Guests have searchlights they can control to light up the ride, also activating ride elements like Tokyo's Monsters Inc. ride.
• Island at the Top of the World (Thrill Ride)
  • A simulator attraction based on the film of the same name, Sir Anthony Ross invites guests to ride the Hyperion and go on a scenic tour of the Artic and Astragard, the island at the top of the world.
• Journey of the Little Mermaid (Dark Ride)
  • A more modern take on the Little Mermaid dark ride, this time complete with a scene of giant Ursula.
• Matterhorn Mountain: Legend of the Yeti (Thrill Ride)
  • A clone of Expedition Everest but themed to the Matterhorn, guests board S.E.A. trains to explore the Matterhorn Mountain and look for the mythical yeti, who S.E.A. has affectionately nicknamed "Harold." Has actual working yeti animatronics.
• Dinosaur: The Lost World (Dark Ride)
  • Based on the soon-to-be-extinct Animal Kingdom attraction, this time guests travel with S.E.A. to tour the underground world below Discovery Bay- a piece of the prehistoric past that has survived to modern day. A Carnotaurus soon begins to hunt the riders, and guests escape just in the nick of time!
• The Dig Site (Thrill Ride)
  • A smaller wooden coaster themed to a fossil dig site. Guests weave in and out of dinosaur fossils.

Attractions & Entertainment​

• S.E.A. Headquarters (Walk-Through)
  • The original home to the S.E.A., this grand fortress is a large interactive walk-through. Within the headquarters, guests can walk around freely and explore various interactive exhibits and experiences whether on their own or through an exploration game called the Leonardo Challenge. Rooms and exhibits in the attraction include a Foucault Pendulum, the Illusion Room, Explorers' Hall, the Navigation Center, an Alchemy Lab, the Chamber of Planets and the sailing ship Renaissance. Additionally, the Adventurer's Club and Club 33 are found here.
• Professor Marvel's Gallery of Illusion (Stage Show)
  • Inspired by the never-built Discovery Bay attraction, this rotating theater animatronic show features Professor Marvel, an eccentric man and collector of magic and illusions.
• The Dinosaurs of Discovery Bay (Street Performance)
  • Lucky the Dinosaur returns to Disney Parks after years of absence, and he's joined by some new friends- a baby pterodactyl (a puppet controlled by a cast member), and a triceratops (similar to the walkaround one found at Universal Studios Hollywood.).
• The Boneyard (Play Area)
  • A small play area for kids similar to the one in Animal Kingdom, featuring a sandbox where kids can dig for fossils, slides and tubes to crawl through, dinosaur skeletons to discover, and more.

Dining​

• The Adventurer's Club (Full Service)
  • Found in the S.E.A. Headquarters. A small recreation of the Downtown Disney classic, this restaurant is home to artifacts, photographs, and treasures from all over. Guests can meet all sorts of wild and wacky characters here, portrayed by cast members, animatronics, and even puppets. Serves beverages and tapas plates.
• The Nautilus (Full Service)
  • Next to the 20,000 Leagues attraction, guests can go down into the Nautilus docked outside to dine below the water. Serves seafood.
• The T-Rex Cafe (Quick Service)
  • A small eating outpost serving common foods like burgers, hot dogs, and dinosaur chicken nuggets.
• Club 33 (Full Service)
  • The exclusive dining club, found through a secret entrance in the S.E.A. Headquarters. Serves fine dining and alcoholic beverages.

Shops​

• Port Discovery Curios and Curiosities
  • The main gift shop of the land, home to all sorts of merchandise related to the various attractions that call this land home.
• Dino-Store
  • Connected to the T-Rex Cafe, this store is home to tons of dinosaur merchandise.

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What about Hollywoodland? Attractions would be The Great Movie Ride, Toontown Transit, Baby Herman's Runaway Baby Buggy Ride, Superstar Television, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and MuppetVision 3D?

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

What about Hollywoodland? Attractions would be The Great Movie Ride, Toontown Transit, Baby Herman's Runaway Baby Buggy Ride, Superstar Television, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and MuppetVision 3D?

Hollywoodland was an early idea considered for the finalized version, but with 11 lands as it is (10 if you don't count Pirate Island) it's already pretty full. If there was a sister park, I'd definitely do a Hollywood Land. Other ideas I've mulled over was a Greek Mythology/general ancient mythology land (more gods and tales than creatures), a 1920s Black and White Cartoon land (which could honestly just be a sub-section of a Hollywood land), an Ocean land (which would've been Little Mermaid, 20,000 Leagues, Nemo, etc), and a mini World Showcase that was essentially one building for each country on a street.

Overall though, with ToonTown serving as the main cartoon area, another land with Roger Rabbit wouldn't be needed in this park. It'd definitely be much needed for a second park though!

 

[Half/CartoonHalf/Human]

[Unnamed Haunted Mansion Restaurant] (Full Service)

• On the side of the Mansion, guests will find a secret entrance leading to an old dining hall, seemingly long abandoned... but they'll soon find that the hall is full of many ghosts. Some are happy waiters and waitresses; some are interesting characters roaming the hall; some are even animatronics or projections. Sort of like a Haunted Mansion version of the Adventurer's Club- there's many ghosts you could meet here! Food-wise, it's more colonial-style fine dining.

How about you call that Master Gracey‘s Table?

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

How about you call that Master Gracey‘s Table?

I love it!

Whoa, I wouldn’t go that far!

Yeah I agree, personally he wasn't bothering me. Just seems like an excited fan hoping to see his favorite rides included. I am more than happy to get suggestions, I want this to be as "ultimate" as possible, so that means hearing from everyone!

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

Gonna do a Franchise Breakdown for all the lands, could help show what this park may be lacking! For this I mostly only counted film and movie IPs, with some of the major theme park franchises mentioned.

Bold = Ride
Non-bold = Attraction/Entertainment
Italics = Restaurant

Main Street

• Lady and the Tramp
• Various (Main Street Theatre rotates shows)

Fantasyland

• Snow White
• Pinocchio
• Dumbo
• Wind in the Willows
• Cinderella
• Alice in Wonderland
• Peter Pan
• Sleeping Beauty
• The Sword in the Stone
• Winnie the Pooh
• Robin Hood
• Beauty and the Beast
• Tangled
• Frozen

Tomorrowland

• Marvel
• The Muppets
• Star Wars
• Wreck-It-Ralph

Adventureland

• The Jungle Book
• The Jungle Cruise
• Indiana Jones
• Aladdin
• The Lion King
• Lilo & Stitch
• Moana

Frontierland

• Coco

Dark Fantasyland

• Mickey Mouse
• Snow White
• Fantasia
• Sleeping Beauty
• The Little Mermaid
• Beauty and the Beast
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• The Emperor’s New Groove

Mickey’s ToonTown

• Mickey Mouse
• DuckTales

Sleepy Hollow

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
• The Muppets
• The Haunted Mansion
• Hocus Pocus

Bear Country

• The Country Bear Jamboree

Old Pirate Island

• Pirates of the Caribbean

Discovery Bay

• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
• Island at the Top of the World
• The Little Mermaid
• The Society of Explorers and Adventurers

 

[Miru]

Given you didn’t even take a tally of TV or video game IPs, those are lacking (unless they’re the focus of a second gate), and there is exactly one Pixar IP included. Nice to see a whopping 5 park original IP at least, one of them is one I’ve never heard of (Island at the Top Of the World)

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

Given you didn’t even take a tally of TV or video game IPs, those are lacking (unless they’re the focus of a second gate), and there is exactly one Pixar IP included. Nice to see a whopping 5 park original IP at least, one of them is one I’ve never heard of (Island at the Top Of the World)

Yeah, I was mainly sticking to what the parks would do- movies and parks originals. To my knowledge there’s only been a small handful of “permanent” TV attractions and most if not all are long gone now. Is DuckTales considered separate from Mickey & Friends? If so, there’s one TV IP.

For video games- has Disney ever had anything permanent in parks for video games? I don’t think that’s necessarily a concern for what’s meant to be a castle park.

And yeah, I’m definitely lacking Pixar. I initially had two Toy Story attractions and one Monsters Inc attraction in there but they ended up being cut. I suppose they could easily go in my second park that’s a companion to this one but I think this one does need a little more Pixar. Would it be weird to but something Brave related in Bear Country? Or maybe on the border of Bear Country and Fantasyland? Nemo could maybe go in Discovery Bay but that’s a bit of a stretch. Any suggestions for Pixar IP that fit the lands I currently have?

 

[Miru]

Soul could work on Main Street, as would Up. Brave would be nice in Fantasyland.

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

Soul could work on Main Street, as would Up. Brave would be nice in Fantasyland.

Love the idea of Soul and Up in Main Street! Maybe the Main Street Theater could be inspired by the one from Up? Though given the Theatre is meant to house a revolving door of IPs (mainly ones that might not be strong enough to have a permanent ride) maybe Up would be better as a restaurant. Maybe a balloon flat ride in Adventureland or Discovery Bay? Or something similar to the Wilderness Explorers game at Animal Kingdom?

Definitely going to work Brave into the Forest section of Fantasyland.

 

[Lord Fozzinator]

Oi chatbox, do you have any ideas for holidays offerings for Halloween and Christmas.

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

Oi chatbox, do you have any ideas for holidays offerings for Halloween and Christmas.

Good question, I totally forgot to mention that!

There’s a few holiday overlays planned:

• Country Bears - Vacation Hoedown during Summer, Christmas Special during Winter, Musical during Spring
• Haunted Mansion - A new Christmas version with no Nightmare Before Christmas characters since they have their own ride now
• Jungle Cruise - Jingle Cruise during Winter
• Space Mountain - Ghost Galaxy during Halloween
• Hocus Pocus show - the Hocus Pocus and Villains crossover during Halloween
• Island at the Top of the World - Christmas overlay, guests go to the North Pole instead of the Island

That’s all I have conceptualized for now, I’m not sure many other attractions could really fit an overlay. Maybe Christmas Carols on Main Street instead of the Dapper Dans around Christmas?

 

[Charlie The Chatbox Ghost]

Figured I would post this here despite being a WIP- yesterday I started trying to map out the park, seeing how logistical everything I planned on is! So far, I've managed to fit in everything for Main Street, Sleepy Hollow, Frontierland, Old Pirate Island, and Bear Country- with a few additions of unmarked buildings which are restrooms or shops (or in the case of OPI, the loading dock), and a cave in Bear Country that would connect to OPI, giving guests four ways to access the island- two by walking, two by taking a ride.

The other land's sizes are still WIP- I started by painting out general shapes and then refining as I go. They're all going to likely be bigger than they are now!