Universal & Middle Earth

[UUOPLee]

So, it would appear Universal have tied up the rights to bring Middle Earth and it's characters to their parks.
Where would you want to see it and what type if rides/attractions/restaurants would you like to see?

[mratigan]

I bet it's replacing the "lost continent" at IOA
I wounder if they could build an attraction at USH........

[UUOPLee]

We had heard a rumour a while ago that it would be going in to Toon Lagoon and would go from Matt Hoffman stage as far as, but not including, Popeye.

[Pizzapants]

Oh man! I can't wait for Walking: The Ride!
But seriously. I love Lord of the Rings and all things middle earth, but I can't see how this can translate into theme park attractions. But I'm also not a visionary.

[KingEric]

I created a map where you can see the current possible layouts:

Potential LOTR Areas at Universal Orlando - Google Maps

Toon Lagoon... and San Francisco areas are tops... looking at reshaping the backstage areas of USF if it goes into San Francisco

CRAZY news... but again it is all BLUESKY right now.

[sir clinksalot]

Here's my issue with Universal getting Middle Earth. It's not that I don't think they could pull it off, of course they can.

It's the lack of room. Unlike HP where much of the story takes place in one place (Hogwarts), LOTR/Hobbit has so many locations that you could draw from that it really needs an entire park, not just a made-over section of an existing one.

And don't even get me started on USH which doesn't even have room for HP let alone HP and LOTR/Hobbit.

[JtnOrl]

Don't get excited just yet. As far as I can tell, MiceChat is the only website stating this as a done deal. Without any source to boot.

Are they working on it? Possibly. Is it close to happening? Not what I've heard.

[KingEric]

This isn't a done deal. And once it is signed we wouldn't seen an attraction START construction until 2017.

So still a bit far off. This is always the problem when you report something that is still BLUE SKY.

It could happen, it could not happen.

[mratigan]

[QUOTE=sir clinksalot;1056889449]It's the lack of room. Unlike HP where much of the story takes place in one place (Hogwarts), LOTR/Hobbit has so many locations that you could draw from that it really needs an entire park, not just a made-over section of an existing one. QUOTE]

this is like the ideas of a star wars land at disneyland
if they want to do it right ue all the space they have

[gurgi]

Even Disney was in talks to purchase the rights several years back, correct? I remember after they lost out on Harry Potter, they were showing interest in LOTR, but it went nowhere...and they instead ended up with Avatar.

So, Universal being in talks doesn't mean it's a done deal, for sure. It would be exciting though, if they did. I mean with two major fantasy franchises, they would have a lot to work with.

I do agree about the scope though...it's an epic series, so it would need to look that way in any park. It could not be a small thing. It's the same problem Disney will have with Avatar...the settings are all big, sprawling vistas. You have to recreate those in the parks or people will think it looks cheap. Any area would have to be at least as large and convincing as Carsland to be believable.

Certainly removing Toon Lagoon at IOA is an option, since really most of those licensed properties are not really hot properties. Popeye might be the most recognizable to kids today. I'm sure kids walking through that area are asking their parents who all of these characters are, like Marmaduke, Kathy, Rocky & Bullwinkle, etc.

[Wren]

Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings/Hobbit in one park?

Fantasy overload craziness

[stevek]

While I love their purchase of Potter (haven't seen it in person), not in love with LOTR if and when it goes into the parks. Could be beautifully themed but not sure it has the same family appeal that Potter or Star Wars has. That being said, still better than Avatar.

[princecharming]

I don't think it would go into toon lagoon, there is an area near toon lagoon that is there for expansion. Toon lagoon is very popular especially in the summer because they have the only water rides in the park.

[BugSam101]

If they do acquire the rights I don't think we will be seeing an attraction until the Harry Potter expansions and projects are done in the parks.....But that is only if they acquire the rights to the franchise.

[JtnOrl]

I don't think it would go into toon lagoon, there is an area near toon lagoon that is there for expansion. Toon lagoon is very popular especially in the summer because they have the only water rides in the park.

I'm hearing it would be a 3rd park. If it ever happens.