Retail
Written by @D Hulk & @Pufflefan
Retail locations in Adventure Atoll serve to tie the land together and further explore its backstory. With their high density of detail and real world inspirations, the Atoll’s shops add an immeasurable lived-in charm to complement the thrilling attractions nearby.
OTTOMAN BAZAAR
(Apparel, toys, collectibles and more)
Ottoman Bazaar is the land’s centerpiece shop, and one of the central features of Harika Sahir. The stranded merchants built this elaborate retail complex from local materials, resulting in a monumental coral stone foundation in the style of Zanzibar’s Stone Town. Classic Islamic Ottoman architecture defines the structure, with arched entries and vaulted domes formed from clay bricks and plastered in mud. Elaborate, ornate tile work of pearl and gemstones and lapis lazuli throughout lend opulence. Massive beechwood doors with wrought iron accents lead inside.
The sprawling interior borrows heavily from Istanbul’s famed Grand Bazaar, with a maze-like grid of vaulted halls dividing the space. Merchants have the Bazaar divided by product, with sections devoted to textiles or spices or brassworks. Of course that’s simply the thematic detailing on display; for guests these sub-shops separate apparel from toys from collectibles. Dangling brass lanterns light the Bazaar, with colors filtering through multihued gemstones. The cracked walls teem with woven oriental rugs.
Overhead and in display windows and atop centerpiece cases, more decorative details stand out. Take for example skeletons of the island’s bizarre creatures, or the stuffed dodo bird imported from Mauritius. Near the center, guests play with a large interactive hookah, producing noises and steam. Underneath a tower atrium, light shafts illuminate a giant gong. A massive diamond from the island’s mines rests near checkout.
Vegetable Lamb of Tartary
The Bazaar’s collectibles department features live artisans and glassblowers. A display window outside lets passing guests watch fine glasswares get made. Additional windows feature kinetic displays. Consider the display of enchanted Ottoman instruments (like the tanbur lute or the kanun zither) which seemingly play themselves. Another display features the Bazaar’s strangest sight of all, a Vegetable Lamb of Tartary (animatronic) - spoken of in Indian Ocean myths, this is a cotton plant which bears living sheep as fruit.
MERCHANT TRADERS
(Accessories & seasonal merchandise)
When the merchants were marooned on Adventure Atoll, their trade ship was split in two by the jagged rocks. That jagged ship now sits beached on the shores, resting askew on those same rocks. Meandering pathways lead inside, curving around wave-formed granite rocks like those on Seychelles. Ever the entrepreneur, the captain converted the waterlogged interior into the Merchant Traders shop.
Merchandise is arranged around a large baobab tree which has grown up and through the hull. Furniture and display cases are made from repurposed ship parts, from objects like the past and poles and liferafts. Treasure chests sit everywhere. Sea charts plot Indian Ocean spice routes, with warnings against entering a certain fog bank. Dried-out blowfish now serve as lanterns.
One cannot help but notice how the tides are slowly claiming this space. Starfish pile atop a golden scale. A coral reef grows around the dislodged bowsprite. Merchant Traders’ most noteworthy sight - something which will draw even non-shoppers into this store - are the animatronic Kraken tentacles which pulsate and crush the hull near checkout.
SAVAGE SALVAGE
(Novelties & Atlantis-themed items)
Savage Salvage, a post-ride shop for Siren Escape, peddles all manner of treasures dredged up from the ocean floor. The proprietor, Mr. Abdul Savage, operates his small, haphazard outdoors shop around a freshly-risen submersible. The sub is a homemade 19th-century design, made from wood, shaped like a wine barrel, and actively leaking seawater. Beside it are a diving bell and diving suit of a similar vintage. Over the craft’s tinny radio, Mr. Savage can be heard on an active dive.
The retail space is arranged like a “pop-up shop,” with crates and barrels under tarps displaying the merchandise. Several of the items on display are familiar from the ride, ranging from small artifacts all the way up to a massive chunk of a Lemurian building. Other salvaged relics cover a range of cultures - Greek, Persian, Indian. There are marble statues covered in barnacles, and a treasure chest which occasionally opens up to reveal a massive clam inside. Don’t try to grab the pearl!
Overall, Savage Salvage is a small space, but one bursting with personality befitting its owner and the nearby underseas adventure.
ROTORUA RETAIL
(Souvenirs, light-up items, Polynesian-themed novelties)
Adventure Atoll’s smallest retail cart is found in the quaint Maori village. The checkout cart and adjoining merchandise wagon are formed from a thatch-roofed longhouse. There are a few additional details in the surrounding area, including Liki Tiki totems, Polynesian idols carved into the base of palm trees, and simply a big stacked pyramid of coconuts.
Retailers drum up consumer interest quite literally, with a Maori war drum performance. Warriors perform a ceremonial haka dance upon a stage. Streetmosphere such as this can do a lot to make a place feel far more real and lived-in.