Originally published on 1 Sept. 2018 on the old World Watchers blog.
Often, I have stated my deep desire
to design a theme park with my tastes in mind. Pirates, patriots, pioneers,
pilots, and other legends are of my immediate interest as well as the concept
of history-based theming and how it interacts with geography-based theming.
Ultimately, it boils down to my perennial desire to have lived through various
eras and to have visited a multitude of places in said eras. Of course, I will
acknowledge that I will never time travel back to 1967 and be able to ride the
Pirates of the Caribbean on its opening day, attend the Monterey Pop and Rock
Festival of that summer, and enjoy the theatrical run of my favourite film,
"the Graduate". However, I could time travel back to 1967 by evoking
the spirit with architecture, music, and clothing befitting to that era as well
as act as though I lived thirty years before I came along. The use of these
environments can be voyeuristic in nature or completely participatory, but the
purpose of these themed environments is to evoke feelings, memories, and
thoughts. These environments are often staples of tourist destinations such as
historical museums, theme parks, and other venues.
SUGGESTIONS FOR THEMED ENVIRONMENTS
Of course, these can be changed and
thus become suited to one's own need or desire.
---Mid-century City: This is a
mixed-urban/suburban/rural environment designed to the time-frame of 1950 to
1970. This allows for a Mad Men-style "LARP" or a safe haven for
swingers and "retro chic role players", but this environment also
allows for an urban, bohemian existence. Rules regarding segregation are based
on whether the city is set in the Deep South or elsewhere and thus this breeds
the enclave effect of the environment.
---Frontier Town: This is an Old
West town with mountains, buttes, deserts, and other landscaping. Usually a
mining camp, a Chinatown, railroad tracks with depot, red light district,
saloons, mines, jails, and other staples of frontier life can be found in this
environment. Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, and Goldfield Ghost Town have been
successful at this motif.
---Exotic Outpost: This is an exotic
environment with jungles, a river, and an abundance of tropical plants and
animals. The time-frame would be mainly the 1930's and 1940's where explorers
like Indiana Jones would set up camp, romp around ancient ruins, and interact
with the indigenous population. Africa, Latin America, the South Seas, and Asia
are the sites of these exotic outposts. Marketplaces, bars, and other
establishments are common for this environment. Adventureland at Disneyland and
Walt Disney World as well as the Animal Kingdom park at Disney World with its
Harambe Village area are perfect examples of this environment.
---Enchanted Kingdom: This is a
medieval-era environment set in Europe. Castles can be designed in any style
suitable to the location and time period of the kingdom. This includes outlands
for the peasantry as well as the main village with its variety of artisans,
farmers, and other workers. The theme is mostly based on fairy tales and the
Fantasyland areas of the Disney parks as well as the ancient cities in France,
England, Spain, Italy, Holland, Germany, and Eastern European.
---Astropolis: This is a futuristic,
space-themed environment. Usually, the motif of the area can be
retro-futuristic in that it represents a vision of the future as it was
depicted in the past. For example, space travel, atoms, and other technology
from the 1950's-1970's time-frame could fit a retro-futuristic environment.
However, the emphasis of this environment is based on the future and the
emergence of new technology.
---Aquapolis: This is a nautical
environment set at any time one desires, preferably a retro-futuristic
recreation of the 20th century. This is underwater and it's based on the
scientific fiction of Jules Verne, the high-tech espionage of the James Bond
series, and even the legend of the underwater city of Atlantis. This is a wet
environment.
---Mythopolis: This is an
environment where the Parthenon of Greco-Roman mythology dwells. Anachronisms
are to be avoided, but the landscape of this environment can accompany the
canon of mythology with various possible settings.
---Surf City: This is an environment
suited to the culture and climate of the 1960's with dune buggies, beach
parties, and other icons of that era. This is an environment where group
activity is highly encouraged. This is a Southern California-Hawaiian beach
themed environment set to the time-frame of 1957-1970. This is similar to
Mid-Century City, but it's a surfer's paradise where you could hear the Beach
Boys on the radio while enjoying the leisurely lifestyle of 1960's California.
---Route 66: Based on the obviously
real stretch of road that sent travelers west from Chicago to Los Angeles, this
environments is based on one of the countless roadside towns. This is perfect
for car buffs, history role players, and other restless souls. This environment
is a town set in the 1950's-1970's. Expect to see vagrants and other travelers.
In fact, the architecture is based on the California novelty style as well as
what one would expect out of a road film.
---Holy Land BC-AD: This is the
Biblical environment set in the Middle East around the time of Jesus.
---Warfield: This environment is a
recreation of a military installation and air base set in the 1940's. Jazz and
swing bands are heard on both the radio and in the auditorium where dances are
held with the local women who also work in factories. The dress code is strict,
the cars and planes are both WWII-era, and the currency is basically the ration
books distributed to civilians and soldiers alike.
---The Boardwalk: This is a Roaring
Twenties environment with a boardwalk, a few docks, and the city itself.
Alcohol will only be sold in speakeasies where jazz bands play. This is a cross
between Paris, Berlin, Harlem, and other hotbeds of the 1920's. Basically the
theme is Great Gatsby.
Other Environments: In the future, I
will include further suggestions that I feel are suitable for this list.
However, the suggestions I have listed are on my personal favourite list and
are unique. Enjoy.
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