The Power of Story
We found ourselves at Universal Orlando over the holiday. They have the original Universal Studios theme park based around the concept of being behind the scenes at the studios, a theater (Blue Man Group was awesome!), and the CityWalk with clubs, movies, food, and nightlife, but by far my favorite was the Islands of Adventure theme park.
They have the usual roller coasters, gift shops, games, food, etc, but the whole theme is designed around 5 "islands": Marvel Super Hero Island, The Lost Continent, Seuss Landing, Jurassic Park, and Toon Lagoon.
Each has Universal movie tie-ins, of course, but what really strikes me is that most of these began first as books (or stories from the oral tradition that have been preserved and passed on as books).
Seuss Landing is the books of Dr. Seuss brought to life. I was amazed that what began as one man's mission to create fun books to help children learn to read has become an entire world.
Marvel Super Hero Island is just that, a faux city all based on Marvel comics.
The Lost Continent is mythology, whether Greek, Arabian, or medieval.
Everybody loves dinosaurs, but I believe the term "Jurassic Park" was originally a book title.
And Toon Lagoon is about half old cartoons and half old comic strips and Sunday Funnies.
The newest addition to the park is going the be The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2010.
It's supposed to be about the movies, but it seems to me the whole park is about bringing books to life and transporting you into the worlds of their stories.
We arrived at the gate first thing on a cold (for Orlando) Thanksgiving morning and rushed to the most popular rides to beat the lines. They were great (especially Spider-Man), but I was almost disappointed there weren't lines because the "story" of each one is told while you wait and you're gradually drawn into the action as you wind your way deeper into each building. We experienced the rides, but missed the stories; they were just generic roller coasters and the like instead of full-blown experiences.
Still, as a nerd raised on these types of books--and despite the consumerism of it all--just being there was a fairly magical experience.
posted by Degolar @ 12:23 PM
1 Comments:
A bit more about Spider-Man. First, read this review.
The 3-D effect is truly amazing. I was trying to be all tough-guy analytical about the ride and still found myself flinching at least one time, instinctively turning my head and raising my arm to protect myself from a punch I knew wasn't real. The actual flames are actually quite hot and coordinate with the footage. When Spidey fights someone watery, you get spritzed with water. Your cart twists and turns and shakes and thumps in response to all of the visual and auditory cues and it's amazingly real and my descriptions can't do it justice.
But the best testimony: my wife had ridden it once before on a previous trip. As we got buckled in at the start of our ride, she had a moment of real panic. Our shared shoulder bar was very loose on her because of my larger frame, and as we pulled away she said something like, "Oh my god, I'm going to fall out! At the end you fall off of a skyscraper and dangle in his web for a few moments almost upside down, and I think I'll fall out!"
From the review: The final sequence, a 400-foot "sensory drop" off the top of a skyscraper, is so utterly convincing, it will completely take your breath away.
In reality, however, the motion-base vehicles never leave the ground and never move more than a few miles per hour. It's all an illusion.
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