The Entire World Observed on a Daily Basis: The Disney Walkabout (Part 5 of 5)

This is a continuation of a series of blog entries about how I would fix Walt Disney World. My crazy plan, which I call the Disney Walkabout, demands the closing of one park for a year, so it can be tweaked upon, fixed, changed, and given a brand new makeover. The order goes as follows: Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and lastly, Magic Kingdom. With the park closed an entire year, it gives all the workers and Imaginneers all the time and space in the world to do some drastic changes that they could never do if there are guests involved. Enjoy, and feel free to make any suggestions or arguements.
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So the question is, why would we need for Disney to do such a crazy clean up of all their parks for materials? Well, for my theme park of course, duh. The honest truth is, there are a lot of unused things around the four parks, especially in Magic Kingdom at Epcot. And re-using all of this would definitely limit the costs. Now, if I was in charge, and I was allowed to build my own theme park, it would go something like this:

Part 5: Mushroom Kingdom

Warning: This is a long read about a long shot of a dream. Proceed with caution.

Entering the park you’ll see the train station from outside, exactly like in Magic Kingdom. The difference is, it’s Casey Jr. transporting guests from one region to another. I have to throw some Disney references here and there, come on now. Casey Jr. makes a total of three stops: the main entrance, the Forbidden Mountains, and the Lost Woods. We’ll get to those areas later. After passing by the train, you’ll see Kanto, the first land in our park. Kanto is a hustling, bustling, modern-day version of Main St., complete with taller buildings and a big city-like aura. The music is all upbeat and all the major themes of the Nintendo classics.

Kanto is split into three parts. If you head left inside Kanto, you’ll find Onett. Inside Onett, you’ll visit a variety of shops, and also a slew of houses belonging to different Nintendo heroes. Picture an expanded version of Mickey and Minnie’s house. In Onett, you’ll find a jazz bar and grill, and also find a restaurant that doubles as a live theater. If you head right, you’ll find the Pokemon Fair going on, full of games, snacks, and chances to win prizes. Walking a bit further the ambience changes to competitive, as you see the massive Pokemon Stadium in the background. Inside Pokemon Stadium, many tournaments are held amongst gamers that want to test the limits of their Pokemon team. This stadium is also used for live shows and other massive events.

The big event of the year in Pokemon Stadium is the famed Elite Cup. This takes place twice a year, for a weekend. This is where all the big winners across the country in annual Pokemon tournaments arrive to compete. Winning in the regional tournaments enables you and your family to stay at a Disney resort for free, while you have full access to the theme park for the length of the Elite Cup. The winner of this massive competition has your name engraved in the stadium forever, while you have your picture sitting alone in the champion’s corner until you are defeated. The winner returns back to Disney next year, the entire trip being free. It pays to be good at Pokemon with this theme park.

Inside Kanto you’ll find your guest relations, your massive merchandise shops, but you’ll also find a Disney first: a Fastpass Distribution Center. In this spot, you have the opportunity to nab Fastpasses for any of the locations that carry it. You can even buy Fastpass packages, which give you Fastpasses for you and your family to every single ride in the park. The catch is, the Fastpasses handed out here are for much later times in the day, as opposed to availability if you are to go to the attraction directly. In the Fastpass Distribution Center, you can make reservations for the mini-golf course in the park (I’ll explain later), and this is where you sign up to compete in the tournaments scattered in Mushroom Kingdom.

On the main pathway leading to the castle, you’ll find the ESPN Lounge, which is perfect for guests trying to catch up on their sports. The ESPN Lounge contains a sit-down restaurant, a bar, and many many televisions enabling you to see highlights and sports games happening. This is the must-visit spot whenever there is a major sporting even going on, including the World Cup, World Baseball Classic, World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup, NFL/MLB/NBA Playoffs, March Madness, Bowl Week, Grand Slam Tennis, and much more. It opens with the park, and closes with the park. On the offchance that the big sporting event stretches past closing time, then guests can remain in the Lounge until the event is over---with the championship games being the biggest examples.

Next to the ESPN Lounge is also a movie theater, for those that are tired or not into the Mushroom Kingdom scene quite yet. In Cranky Kong’s Movie Theater, there is a concession stand as well as a couple movie screens constantly playing classic Disney cartoons and movies. There is also a movie screen that showcases all the things you can do in the Mushroom Kingdom. Last but not least, whenever it’s the Super Bowl or the World Cup, all the movie screens switch to that sporting event, so more people can potentially see it without feeling too cramp. On the corner there is a quick-service place run by the Silph Company, and an ice cream shop. A little bit more walking and you’ll clearly see the castle.

The Mushroom Kingdom icon is Princess Peach’s castle. What else could possibly fit the icon of Nintendo better? Before reaching the castle, you pass by Toad Town, where you’ll find more small houses with characters and eateries. Mario and Luigi’s house can be found here, and this is where you can meet them and take pictures with them. The Mushroom Kingdom actually opens an hour earlier than the rest of the park, and every morning all the Nintendo princesses gather to celebrate the opening of the park. Inside the Mushroom Kingdom castle is a salon for the little girls, a slow ride showcasing an adventure with the Mario Bros., and a 5-star Italian restaurant that’s also a meet-and-greet with the princesses. Just like in the Magic Kingdom, there is a suite to stay at upstairs, but this is reserved for those that win in the gaming tournaments throughout the park—and for special vacation club members.

Mushroom Kingdom is a park that is a hybrid of Magic Kingdom and Epcot, with the massive Main St.-like entrance, and the rest of the park resembling a massive circle like the World Showcase. If we were to take a left, you’ll see the massive building known as the Gaming Pavilion. In this building, you’ll get to play games from every single generation of video games, from the NES days to the days of today, to the games of the future. In here you’ll also get treated to an area dedicated to the history of Nintendo and the complex procedure in making a Nintendo game. This is where all the big gaming tournaments occur, with the Super Smash Brothers Fighting Tournament being the main one. One section of this building is dedicated strictly to musical games, so if you don’t want to dance, avoid this area at all costs! Finally, there is a quick-service place with a heavy amount of wi-fi in the air, for those that need to catch up on their e-mail, Facebook, Twitter.

Right next to the massive Gaming Pavilion building is a smaller building dedicated to a ride. A Pilotwings ride, which essentially makes it a Nintendo version of Soarin’. In this ride, you’ll fly through different Nintendo universes in the same style as Soarin, except it’s longer and a bit more thrilling and random. Also closeby is Bowser’s Fortress, another character dining spot, except you’ll find nothing but villains and Mexican/Tex-Mex cuisine. If your kid is more of a baddie rather than a hero, this is their perfect spot. All the sinister Nintendo music plays here.

Continuing in the Mushroom Kingdom “Showcase” you’ll see the first of two sections of the park dedicated to thrill rides. The Forbidden Mountains contains three thrill rides, character interaction with Wario and Waluigi, a couple of eateries, a train stop, and a large playground for the younger tots. The Forbidden Mountains also connects to Animal Island, the land in the center of the park, but I’ll save my description of that place for later in this huge article.

Let’s start with the main thrill ride: Wario’s Hideout. In this roller coaster, you will be thrown in and out of a tall mountain, as it contains loops inside the mountain, and for the climax your vehicle is driven on a massive drop and thrown underneath the entire mountain through a spooky cave. The plot is that Wario has devised transportation to where he can hide his secret stash of money, but he isn’t the best at building things, leading to some crazy results. This will be the second most intense ride in the park, as it goes over 60 miles an hour and contains a couple of loops and one very steep drop. At the end of the ride, there is a Turtle Talk-like attraction, in which you can ask questions to Wario and Waluigi, as they discuss their future plans on making more money and wreaking more havoc.

The next thrill ride will be Moleville Mountain, and the ride will be designed similar to the cart ride in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. The plot here is that Mario is trying to find some stranded Moleville kids. The carts themselves will be designed just like the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, except with seat belts. That way the ride can be seen from multiple perspectives, depending on your seat. The ride is about the speed of Big Thunder, with a few crazy lifts, curves and drops, with the main one taking you out of the mountain.

Finally, we have our wet ride, which is Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. This ride is like the raft ride in Animal Kingdom, but much longer, much faster, and with more drops. The ride lifts you slowly all the way to the top of the mountain, which will run at around 150 feet. Then at the top, after going through a cave, you’ll be sent downhill through many turns, drops, and moments of getting wet. So like I said, the best raft ride you’ll ever experience, that’s my goal. And as topping, you’ll hear excellent Donkey Kong Country music while going downhill on that raft.

Moving further, we’ll hit the northernmost part of the park. Directly across from Animal Island and Mushroom Kingdom Castle is Luigi’s Mansion, the haunted part of the park. Luigi’s Mansion is an attraction itself, which is a haunted maze that you walk around in. The nifty part of this attraction is that the later the day, the more scares contained. Luigi’s Mansion will be its scariest and creepiest in the last hour of the park’s opening, as it contains the most surprises. This definitely isn’t for the little kids, as buildings move, statues move, creepy crawlies run all over the place, and the haunted merry-go-round is just sinister by itself.

Next to Luigi’s Mansion is a haunted eatery, which also contains a gift shop. Behind both buildings is a miniature golf course, which requires reservations in the front of the park. This course is 18 rounds, and is themed to Luigi’s Mansion. To the right of Luigi’s Mansion is the playground themed after Nightmare before Christmas. In this playground, you can also meet a bunch of the characters from the popular movie. Around here you can also find creepy magicians and jugglers. Moving right of Luigi’s Mansion and you’ll find the section.

The best part of this park is easily the Comet Observatory. The largest section of the park (after Kanto of course), it is also clearly the most thrilling. The Comet Observatory is a copy of the hub world in Super Mario Galaxy, which “teleports” you to different galaxies. This massive section itself is split into four: the main observatory, Planet Zebes, Port Town, and Corneria. When you enter the Observatory, you can whether “teleport” there or ride a Tomorrowland Transit Authority-like attraction that takes you on a tour of the Milky Way galaxy before taking you on a tour around the Comet Observatory and all its attractions. The Comet Observatory area will consist of the melodic music from the Super Mario Galaxy games.

The closest ride after exiting the Milky Way Galaxy attraction is Kirby’s Air Ride. This ride is a brighter, lighter version of Space Mountain, as it’s about you warping from one star through space into the next star. Along the way you travel through space and then end the ride by riding on a star through the terrain of the new star. Also located next to the Milky Way exit is a playground themed after Kirby and the most prestigious restaurant in the park, the Black Hole. Inside the Black Hole, you’ll be treated to fine dining while a starry sky overlooks you. Moving over to Port Town, you’ll find a stage for musical performances, another eatery, and an F-Zero attraction. The F-Zero attraction has you take control of a vehicle as you take on 29 other guests in one of six potential courses. The ride is more like a massive video game, as you sit on a vehicle and you control the speed and movements of the ride as you try to win. Picture Mission Space but without the intense spinning, and a larger screen---and nobody joining you.

If we move to Corneria, this is where you will find the signature and best ride in the Mushroom Kingdom. Star Fox Aerial Assault is a massive outdoor, fast, furious, and intense roller coaster that contains loops, corkscrews, twists, spins, extremely tall drops, and constant swerves to avoid obstacles. This ride has you playing a rookie pilot as you engage in an epic aerial battle against Andross’ forces. In one part, your plane gets shot and you spiral towards the ground, and then enter through a thick forest, where your vehicle constantly swerves around trees to avoid further damage. It will be the tallest and fastest ride in all of Walt Disney World, as it reaches speeds of 70 miles an hour and is over 300 feet tall at one point. To avoid conflicting with the Mushroom Kingdom castle’s image, the ride is mostly far away from the rest of the park.

Heading over to Planet Zebes, you’ll find two more intense attractions. In Metroid: Larva Hunt, you and others will be sent on a mission to find Samus, which has lost contact with everyone several days ago. In this ride, you’ll encounter massive monsters, dark terrain, and close encounters with space pirates and immanent doom. Picture a longer, less bumpy and more intense version of the Dinosaur ride in Animal Kingdom. Right next door is a laser tag attraction known as Metroid: Bounty Hunter Showdown. Here you will be placed into a shootout against other guests as you search for artifacts in one of four arenas in one of multiple potential styles of play. The only laser tag you’ll find in Walt Disney World, and among the few in the entire city.

Moving further south (technically to the right of the Mushroom Kingdom castle if you were to visit the park in a counter-clockwise motion) you’ll find the Lost Woods. In the Lost Woods, the entire area consists of a massive forest maze that contains several caves, several hidden passageways, Kakariko, a treehouse to visit Mickey, a passageway to the next train station, and Lon Lon Ranch. For those guests that don’t want to attempt to figure out the massive maze, they have to ways of getting through quickly. The caves you find scattered in the maze are shortcuts to Kakariko. Also, cast members in the area will have special maps that can direct you through the maze.

The treehouse allows for more picture opportunities, this time with Mickey and Minnie. In the end of the maze you’ll find the master sword embedded on the ground. Lon Lon Ranch is essentially a small petting zoo, as you are allowed to feed some of the animals and ride horses. Kakariko consists of a few shops, an eatery, and plenty of picnic space for relaxing from the hectic day. Lost Woods is the most relaxing part of the park, a great way to recover from all the rides and insanity in the Comet Observatory.

The last section of the park I will shortly describe is Animal Island, modeled after the area in Animal Crossing. In here there are a couple of attractions as well as a few eateries. The main attraction here is Mario Kart, which is a longer and faster and cheerier version of the Tomorrowland Speedway in Magic Kingdom. At night, the track glows like the Rainbow Road courses in the Mario Kart games for a different experience. Right next door is Pokemon Snap, which is a Jungle Cruise in the Pokemon World. You’ll get to take pictures of several Pokemon as your vehicle goes through different types of terrain. The last minor attraction is the shipwreck, which is a playground for the younger kids as they can dig for treasure or mess around in an abandoned pirate ship.

To wrap it up, the total list of attractions in the Mushroom Kingdom (The more the stars, the more intense it is):
 Moleville Mountain (***)
 DK Jungle Beat (***)
 Lost Woods (*)
 Pokemon Snap (*)
 Mario Kart: Grand Prix (**)
 The Pipe Vault (*)
 Playground Star (*)
 Beachside Shipwreck (*)
 Zelda Temples (*)
 Lon Lon Ranch (*)
 Kirby Air Ride (***)
 Milky Way Express (*)
 Haunted Mini-golf (*)
 Pilotwings: Flying over Nintendo (**)
 Jungle Springs (*)
 PokeFair (*)
 Mickey’s Vacation Home (*)
 Nightmare Graveyard Before Christmas (*)
 Yoshi-Go-Round (*)
 Sinister Chatter with Wario and Waluigi (*)
 Wario’s Hideout (*****)
 Luigi’s Mansion (****)
 Star Fox: Aerial Assault (*****)
 Metroid: Larva Hunt (****)
 F-Zero: Grand Prix (****)
 Pokemon Stadium (****)
 Metroid: Bounty Hunter Showdown (****)

Bottom Line: While this is a pipe dream (pun intended), this would be my vision of a park based off of the world of Nintendo. The Mushroom Kingdom would be a Magic Kingdom-like park, but with the size of Epcot. It would contain the thrill rides that the teenagers and adults definitely want, but will also offer plenty for the little tykes and those who don’t do the rides. With video games, movie theaters, live theaters, and plenty of space to relax and explore, there’s much more to this park than just rides. And with that right balance, there’s no way anybody can leave this park disappointed. Money will definitely be an issue, considering nowadays Disney doesn’t like spending. But if we throw all this together by the time the park opens, it will be at least a decade before we need to add anything at all to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Then again, this is all (including the first four volumes) a pipe dream.