Weird juxtapositions of attractions just feel funny, and kill the illusion of inhabiting a different place or time. Walt Disney famously bought thousands of acres of land in Central Florida so that there'd be none of the visual imposition of surrounding developing on his Walt Disney World theme park that visitors were seeing at the original Disneyland in California. But blocking the outside world only creates a blank template upon which park designers can work. To make the most of a theme park, designers should work to create effective transitions between the attractions they create within.
Let's consider some of the parks that do this well, as well as examples where transitions don't quite work. With its recent Springfield development, Universal Studios Florida has created a better thematic transition along the east side of its central lagoon, one that helps elevate the park from a collection of faux studio sets to a collection of truly immersive themed environments.
Let's start next door to Springfield, in the park's KidZone. While the KidZone includes ET, Animal Actors and Barney, much of the land features animated characters, which makes the KidZone a nice companion to the newly expanded cartoon-driven, Simpsons-themed Springfield area next door. The Springfield expansion eliminated the International Film Festival, the last remnant of the thematically weak International Expo land that offered all the romance of an office park.
While Springfield features the animated characters from the Simpsons, those characters appeal more to adults than to kids, ensuring that Springfield feels distinct from the KidZone, even as common focus on animation makes the two lands feel compatible. And that is what park designers should be working toward when placing attractions and lands next to one another. They should feel different enough to represent distinct experiences, but compatible enough to feel right when placed next to each other.
With the addition of the Kang 'n Kodos spinner, Springfield now offers a better transition to the aliens of the Men in Black pavilion on the other side of the Simpsons' land, by facing it with The Simpsons' most well-known Sci-Fi element. Unfortunately, that's where the smooth transitions stop, as the Fear Factor theater just kills any hope for thematic cohesion between Men in Black and the new London Embankment of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley.
But what possibly could tie those franchises together? Let's think about that. You've got a big-city bureaucratic agency, with an other-worldly twist, in the Men in Black headquarters on one side, and the London waterfront on the other. But let's remember that the Harry Potter series has a big-city bureaucratic agency with an other-worldly twist of its own. What if Universal extended the London waterfront into the current Fear Factor theater space and made it the home of the Ministry of Magic? Wouldn't the Ministry of Magic and the Men in Black headquarters satisfy our requirement of two attractions that are different enough to represent distinct experiences, but compatible enough to feel right when placed next to each other?
With a Ministry of Magic expansion in place, Universal Studios Florida would have a smooth thematic transition across more than half the park, from KidZone to Springfield to Men in Black to Harry Potter. I suppose that the urban-set Disaster sort of fits with the urban-themed London Embankment, but the smooth transition breaks down there, as the New York area next to the San Francisco-themed Disaster is redundant to the New York-set Men in Black on the opposite side of the lagoon. Even as Universal Studios Florida improves its thematic transitions, the park still has work to do with that.
But while we're dreaming of new Harry Potter projects that might improve thematic transitions within their parks, let's consider Islands of Adventure. Instead of the remnants of the Lost Continent bridging the original Wizarding World and Seuss Island, wouldn't a Forbidden Forest in that space make a better transition, with the magical beasts of the Forbidden Forest complementing the fanciful "beasts" of Dr. Seuss? Just something to dream about....
Let's not leave Disney out of this discussion. Disney's biggest missed opportunity in thematic placement might be Epcot's World Showcase. The construction of the Swan and Dolphin hotels many years ago intruded upon the visuals on that half of the park, but World Showcase never offered a sensible transition from pavilion to pavilion.
Over on the west side, the progression starts well enough, going from Canada to former colonial overlord, the United Kingdom, to the UK's nearest neighbor on the European continent, France. Having the former French colony of Morocco next door works well, too, but things start to fall apart as we jump halfway across the world to Japan before completing our journey around the globe in America. Even more unfortunately, we're only halfway around World Showcase.
From there, we return to Europe for Italy and Germany, before proceeding through an Africa-themed outdoor merchandise stand that Disney put up after years of embarrassing signs promising new national pavilions that never arrived. After that, it's a bounce around the world from China, to Norway, to Mexico.
Disney can do better. And has, over at Walt Disney World's oldest park, the Magic Kingdom. Let's think about the lands we find there.
Main Street provides a nostalgic entry to the park that's becoming more self-referential in its nostalgia with each passing generation. (Who alive still remembers the turn of the 20th century?) Let's take it from there, clockwise around the lands of the park. We start in the South Pacific with Adventureland, with nods to Asia and Africa in the Jungle Cruise before thematically crossing the Atlantic and turning into the northern hemisphere as we approach Caribbean Plaza.
From there, we head into the Deep South of Splash Mountain before approaching the Mississippi and the Rivers of America. If we follow the rivers one way (up the Missouri?) we head out to the Rocky Mountains of Big Thunder. If we go the other way (up the Mississippi and Ohio?) we pass through the old frontier before heading back northeast to New England and Liberty Square.
From there, we head back across the north Atlantic, this time, to the Europe of Fantasyland. The seamless geographic transition falls apart a bit with the Circus section, but what if Disney were to rip out the Circus in favor of building Frozen's Arendelle? That franchise would fit perfectly on "Europe"'s northern edge in Fantasyland. (Of course, Disney would never get rid of Dumbo, so that would open the question of where to place it.)
Our thematic trip around the world ends now in Tomorrowland, when the Magic Kingdom's transition ceases being one of geography and instead becomes one of time. But a reskin of Tomorrowland to give it the suggestion of a high-tech Japanese vibe would complete the geographic transition around the park perfectly.
There are reasons why visitors reach favorably, or unfavorably, to theme parks on a gut, subconscious level. The effective use of thematic transitions from land to land and attraction to attraction is one of the factors that drive that subconscious feeling of comfort within a park. Disney pretty much nailed that with the Magic Kingdom, which is one of the reasons why that park endures as the world's most popular.
What other theme parks do a great job of thematic transitions? Let's keep the conversation going in the comments.
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This grouping makes very good sense. First "The American Adventure" was always designed to be the centerpiece of world showcase.
The Imaginers accounted for this by grouping all the Axis powers together Japan, Italy and Germany. With America geographically dividing Japan from Italy. This also is a political division of America literally standing in-between Japan and Germany.
But seriously, once I would have said MK but that park is systematically destroyed the last past 10+ years and with the hub remodelling there is no end to the abuse.
The first place should be AK.
And yes, Magic Kingdom does a great job, and I sure would love to see a futuristic Japanese-style makeover to Tomorrowland. I avoid Tomorrowland almost entirely, save the Carousel of Progress, which for some reason, I really enjoy.
I think a London Themed Theater hosting the Theme Park version of Wicked could work?
One of my biggest issues in MK is the Speedway being heard in the Circus Portion of Fantasyland...if they are going to keep the Speedway can we go to hybrids and eliminate the sound aspect...or make everyone's dream come true and bring Journey to the Center of the Earth to replace the Speedway.
For Universal Studios Florida, you refer to the "faux" studio sets, but they're not "faux" at all. Contrary to popular belief, USF is a fully functional studio that still uses its backlot sets (which also house the park's attractions) for production. Admittedly, they don't use them as much as they used to (most production takes place in the sound stages), but they do still use those sets for production, unlike their neighbor up the interstate.
http://studio.florida.universalstudios.com
The original Disneyland does not have lands that "transition" thematically to the next land. They are silos with clear distinction. I recalled looking at the old maps of Disneyland. Each land was color coded to distinguish a land from its neighbor. It was soon clear that as Disneyland expanded and each attraction was at the heels of another land, transitions were put in place. This is not absolutely necessary for all lands.
You have a good idea to bring this up, but it falls apart with the EPCOT example. Each Country stands alone. There is no transition. There is enough space between Countries. People enter into the pathway that takes them to the next country. You don't enter a country from the midpoint, which was how the lands of the Magic Kingdom and other Disneylands are constructed.
James Bond
First, my favorite transition is between the hub at Disneyland and Adventureland. The bridge provides the change, but the highlight is how the ridge of the roof on a single building is themed to a Victorian-era building on one side, and an exotic tropical location on the other.
Second, agree that I don't see any problem in how Epcot's countries work. There doesn't need to be a belabored transition. It's simple enough that you go back to the waterfront and move from one to the next. Frankly, this worked better when all the countries didn't spill out with kiosks and clutter onto the waterfront; you used to need to go into them to experience and be immersed.
Third, love how Hard Rock Park used musical transitions. That's a great idea, and more places should use it.
Seriously?
Back to JP though, as much as I don't like it, the bridge is a necessary evil though to make the transition to HP. It pains me every time I visit to see folks trying to take a picture of themselves with the Hogwarts castle on such a narrow bridge that limits the flow of folks walking through to both islands. Robert mentioned making the other entrance like the Forbidden Forest, but maybe that would be a better thing to do for this one, although the forest would also include palm trees (hey, it's all magic!).
On the Studio side, going clockwise, you basically have the following transitions- New York - San Francisco - London - New York (World's Fair, MIB) - Springfield. Kind of weird, but at least the themeing for London will really stand out and provide a separation between San Fran and MIB. What they managed to do with Springfield is amazing. What I imagined was going to be a simple touch-up of an area, turned out to be a unique experience of its own, separate from the ride.
I can't foresee them getting rid of the Fear Factor stage. Where will all the drunks go to watch the mediocre Bill and Ted Show during HHN? The only way I could see the getting rid of it is if the spread HHN to both parks again and use the stage in Toon Lagoon for B&T.
I think one of the more under appreciated and under-used areas of the Studios park is the "California-Los Angeles" area. I saw a documentary about Sunset Strip a while back and was intrigued by all the historic cues that are built into this part of the park that are based on LA from the early part of the last century. With the exception of native Californians, I don't think most of the people walking through the park would notice these nods to the buildings and shops that made early LA.
On the World Showcase at Epcot - I'm okay with the way the countries are set up. I need to pace my drinking a margarita in Mexico before I get my Grey Goose orange slush in France. If they were right next to each other, bad things would happen. I understand the reasoning for placing the U.S. in the world showcase, but I've always slightly felt that as a country we were pandering to ourselves and giving ourselves a pat on the back with the inclusion of this area. I believe that if the Virgina park would have been built, this area at Epcot would not be necessary. Although it is fun to shout out, "the red coats are coming!" whenever passing by the American band playing outside at the showcase.
USF did a great job with it. I also agree the space between MIB and Potter London could use some work. Those are really the only two areas I have a slight problem with.
As far as the park that does the best transitions. Animal Kingdom is good, but that is almost too easy when the whole park is largely just various jungle and trees.
To me Disneyland is the best. Especially where adventureland, New Orleans Square and Frontierland meet. These lands meld together perfectly in my opinion. Even critter country with its bayou/American south roots works as an extension of both frontierland and New Orleans square.
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Is this a crucial opinion? No - just a pet peeve. :)