Fifth Gate - Mythica Revisited

When imagining a fifth theme park, I typically use it as an occasion to address several problems that I see at WDW.

Problem 1: Overdevelopment of WDW & Orlando - Sprawl at the expense of greenspace.

    When you recall (or see photos/video of, particularly aerials) WDW and its immediate surroundings from the 1980s, un- or lightly-developed land stretched in every direction to the far horizon.  This insulating factor was an absolute key to making the place feel like a world apart.  For me, WDW began feeling overdeveloped when things like the sprawling Value Resorts, the Town of Celebration, Wide World of Sports, etc., came into being in the 1990s.   That was decades ago.  Since then, rampant, unchecked development inside and outside WDW has snowballed, most of it is very, very average American suburban sprawl.  Today, most elevated vistas are filled with development, near & far.  The famous Walt Disney quote about the "blessing of size" and a place "that can hold all the ideas & plans we can possibly imagine" is sadly no longer applicable.
    
    Because of this, most of the Fifth Gate park plans I've imagined and drawn for WDW replace an existing development, usually areas where unremarkable hotels stand.  In these wishful-thinking scenarios, I like to incorporate properties not technically part of WDW but touching on the bubble: e.g the Bonnet Creek hotels; the Waldorf and its neighbor; the Grand Cypress golf club; Celebration; or in this case, the Official WDW Hotel Plaza and Hyatt Regency north of Disney Springs.
    
 

Problem 2: Eyesore Hotel Buildings.
    
    Replacing a cacophony of 1970s hotel mid-rises with a forested greenbelt and the visual icons of a top tier theme park is a win-win.  Idealbuildout parks are designed to inspire awe from both within and without the park - no un-themed backsides of mountain ranges or giant showbuildings would be overly-conspicuous, even from outside the parks.  Beautiful & monumental 360-degree landmarks are the best kind of advertising billboards. 

 

Problem 3: All parks trending towards IP.  

    The parks are on a steady path from Theme Parks to IP Parks, where guests experience a random assortment of popular films in person and ride the movies, without overall rhyme or reason.  While not fully homogenized yet, they've been inching closer every year.  WDW was never better than when each of its parks felt like a completely unique experience.   In my opinion, the parks should take their original dedication statements to heart.  
    
    This fifth gate bucks the trend by eschewing IP.  The source material here is World Mythology that has already been adapted into countless films, but all the art direction and attraction/character design here would be originated for the park.  New slants.  That said, if one were inclined to have Disney IP, it is easy to imagine switching out attraction content throughout this park for its film-based interpretation. 

 

Problem 4: Less focus on Edutainment - a staple of classic parks.

    Going hand in hand with the above (no IP), a truly great theme park doesn't just entertain & divert, it illuminates and inspires.  I think this fifth gate can garner its own unique identity by taking a different approach to edutainment than EPCOT does (did), focusing on experiencing Worldwide Myths & Legends firsthand.  Via atmospheric rides & heart-pounding thrills, as well as walkthroughs and shows, the park's aim is to educate without the visitor even realizing it.  Passive infotainment.   This works via architecture (well-researched and executed recreations of historic buildings, though still romanticized and theatricized) and queue props, details & displays, pre-shows, pre-recorded spiels, etc.  Nothing should feel like an academic lecture, but for those who want to look deeper, the details and story elements should stand up to scrutiny.  Plenty of great attractions that most do not consider edutainment still contain aspects of history, culture and knowledge (thus providing illumination) in their execution and such would be the case here (things like Dinosaur, Tom Sawyer Island, Fortress Explorations, the new TDS Soarin' queue are a few examples).

ANGLIA

    The first land is based on myths & folklore from the British Isles and contains the most 'modern' areas of the park in terms of theme (19th century), as well as the new deluxe in-park hotel.  It has three sub-areas.  The entry area is a welcoming, charming English country town inspired by places like Chester, with its assorted old buildings, shopping, dining and services.  The central landmark wonder of this sub-area is a hill inspired by Stonehenge.  

 

   Crossing a bridge to the left is the grander, more urban section based on Victorian Oxford and Cambridge, with the sprawling gothic Royal Oxbridge Hotel sits with its countless spires and chimneys.  There is a large darkride here set in a lord's manor house and a SFX theatrical show set in a building inspired by the Radcliffe Camera.

    On the opposite side of Cheshire, visitors go back to England's medieval times & legends.  There is a Sherwood Forest explore zone and a major attraction marked by the tall towers of Camelot castle.  This is an elaborate indoor atmospheric boatride that explores the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

   There is viewing for the nightly lagoon spectacular where myths & legends from different cultures have an epic battle on the water via lasers, fireworks, projections, floats, submerged watercannons, etc.

 

 

HELIOS 

In a theme park based on world mythology, Ancient Greek mythology would get  a major presence.   

 

Rising above the center of the park, a rocky mount topped with a temple complex is inspired by the Acropolis.  Reached via an inclined path, it features walkthrough experiences and a dining venue with elevated lagoon views.   In the cavern below the Acropolis a monstrous AA hydra threatens boat passengers traversing the lagoon.

The famous Minotaur's Labyrinth may be experienced in this land via a maze and darkride where riders try to escape alive from the pursuing half-bull monster.  A sunken theater hosts live shows.  The land features a couple spinner B-tickets.   The E+-ticket here is a giant flume mountain, with numerous show scenes, animatronics and special FX bringing to life the pantheon of Olympian gods, demi-gods & heroes of classical mythology. 

TIANXI  

The park's Chinese myth-based land.  There is a grand imperial palace complex modeled on the ancient seats of the Chinese emperors.   A mountain-based spinning coaster, a major kuka-based attraction (see art below) and a junk version of Aquatopia round out the areas rides.   Walkthrough attractions supplement.

AEGYPTUS
This large, central land contains some of the park's most important landmarks or weenies.   The very tall Pharos or Lighthouse of Alexandria would serve as the park's castle.  It would feature explorable rooms across multiple levels, as would the Great Library complex nearby.  The Library has a dining element, as well.  All such "explore zones" in this park are not just static museum exhibits or playgrounds: they feature memorable elements, such as special fx/projections, triggered audio narration, secret doors and passageways and interactive features & puzzles, as you might find in Fortress Explorations or games such as Jewels of the Seven Seas or Uncharted. 

 

Naturally, a land themed to Egypt would get a monumental attraction housed in the Pyramids of Giza and based on the legends hidden in the depths of those wonders.  In this case, a darkride/coaster hybrid is the ride system.  The Sphinx also houses a major attraction, featuring scarab like vehicles and the Egyptian pantheon of gods.   The land features a dense, urban network of flat-roofed dwellings, shops and quick dining.  Streetmosphere also. 

VALHALLA
Passing under an archway, visitors transition from the dusty, clay-brick streets of Memphis to wood and thatch viking villages scattered among dark nordic forests.  The land brings Norse mythology to life so people can learn what inspired things like the popular MCU characters.   A central landmark World Tree is also a swing ride.  There is a terrain coaster through and around snowy, mountainous terrain, at a similar scale to Big Thunder.  A vertical drop dark ride rises in a far corner of the land.

 

 

EXPANSION
This drawing leaves some area for future lands.  My initial thoughts are for an Atlantean area to connect Helios and Aegyptus.   I think a Mayan or Aztec inspired mythology would work well in the far western forested area.

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