The Tragic Legacy of Beastly Kingdom Pt. 2
In the aftermath of the Euro Disneyland debacle, Walt Disney Imagineering experienced massive layoffs. Former Imagineers spread across the globe to find employment, improving hotels, resorts and yes, other theme & amusement parks around the world with a bit of pixie dust.
The competitor who benefitted the most from Disney’s cast-off Imagineers was arch-rival Universal Creative, the engineering and design arm of Universal Parks & Resorts. In the 1990s, Disney Parks and Resorts didn’t have much to fear from the studio which gave Walt his big break. Sure, Universal Studios Hollywood’s legendary tram tour may have kept Southern California tourists from spending an extra day or two at Disneyland, but, realistically, guests would only spend one day at each while visiting. In Central Florida, however, Disney was the un-contested juggernaut. Walt Disney World was home to three theme parks, two water parks, five resort hotels, and a campground by the time Universal Studios Florida, a single theme park with no on-site hotels opened on June 7, 1990. By the fifth anniversary of Universal’s Florida outpost, Sid Sheinberg, President of Universal parent company MCA, was ready to flip the script.
Sheinberg & Co. had a drastic plan to turn Universal Studios Florida into a multi-day vacation destination ready to compete with Walt Disney World before the park turned nine. And, they weren’t afraid to use Disney’s own Imagineers to do it. In 1995, ground broke on Universal’s second Florida theme park, Islands of Adventure. Universal Studios Escape, the new name for the resort encompassing Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, was unveiled on May 28, 1999, comprised of two theme parks, CityWalk — a shopping, dining, and entertainment district which served as the entryway to both parks and Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, a luxury resort masterfully themed to the beautiful Italian Riviera village of the same name.
Unfortunately, a bungled marketing campaign and confusing names (ie Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios Escape) left audiences confused as to what exactly Universal Studios Escape was, and the resort didn’t see the landfall returns expected for its first couple of years.
Despite the financial disappointment, Islands of Adventure debuted as a triumph in theme park design. The new park was a lived-in, fully immersive realm where legends came to life. The meticulous detail, love of story and delight present in every detail that Imagineers are known for were thoroughly weaved through every inch of Universal’s second gate, most notably in two areas: the park’s unique and iconic “main street,” Port of Entry and the intellectual-property-free Lost Continent.
Port of Entry is a beautiful, Mediterranean-esque launching point to all of the park’s mythical Islands. Its architecture evokes a real Sicilian or North African coastal town of the past infused with just the right amount of whimsy. Quirky advertisements hint at the adventures waiting in the Islands beyond (Rare Wares, Fantastic Finds, Mesozoic Marvels, Seussian Supplies, Notions & Potions), and residents of the Port can be heard overhead singing and chatting.
Guests with an eye for detail can see a prisoner has broken out of the Hoosegow, find a yellow submarine with a bickering crew or discover an esteemed club for navigators. Port of Entry is an attraction all on its own without hosting a single ride or show. Imagineers even brought over a Disney tradition — Main Street Windows, which honor WDI & UC veterans James Nagy and David Codiga.
The Lost Continent, as it was on opening day, was split into three sub-lands — The Lost City, home of Poseidon’s Temple and the magnificent restaurant of the gods, Mythos; Sinbad’s Bazaar, where the aroma of flavorful kebabs waft and The Mystic Fountain delights & surprises guests; and, finally, Merlinwood.
Merlinwood was an ancient British hamlet, in the shadow of a castle marked by fire. At the entrance to the castle, two massive stone dragons, coiled as if ready to strike, frame the passageway to Dueling Dragons, a pair of high-speed inverted rollercoasters. The queue wound inside the dark and crumbling castle, where charred skeletons clad in suits of armor lay and claws and fire left their mark upon the stone walls. Guests would ascend through the castle to the top of Merlin’s Tower where they had but one question left to ponder. “Choose thy fate. Past this point of no return, your own choice is freeze or burn.” Two tracks rose out of the tower, the flight of the Dragon of Fire or the flight of the Dragon of Ice. Here’s the kicker: these twin coasters actually dueled. The two trains would race directly at each other three times during the ride, missing each other by as little as eighteen inches, before breaking away in opposite directions. Beside the castle ruins, a forested area holds The Flight of the Unicorn, a family coaster on which children can ride on the backs of speedy Unicorns.
Dragons, Unicorns, Castle Ruins! Oh my…. although Beastly Kingdom didn’t come to life, its DNA, transported through disillusioned Imagineers cast out of the Magic Kingdom, was infused into Universal’s new park. While not all elements of the unbuilt land came to fruition (ie. A unicorn kiddie coaster instead of an epic, one-of-a-kind enchanted walkthrough maze), some of Beastly Kingdom’s DNA was even improved upon — at Disney, these designers wouldn’t dare dream of sending two roller coaster trains hurtling at each other before abruptly dodging a mere eighteen inches away.
Merlinwood, Islands of Adventure and, indeed, Universal Orlando Resort as a whole gained much from Michael Eisner’s mistake of axing the plans for Beastly Kingdom and laying off hundreds of Imagineers.
But, while Disney indirectly caused the construction of Merlinwood, the blame for its destruction can also be laid at the feet of Disney.
Check back for part three of The Tragic Legacy of Beastly Kingdom series.
Austin Vaughn is a Columnist for the Boardwalk Times
