Every ancient tale has truth at its heart

But after years and years of retelling, the shape of those Spoken Stories changes...

The truth lies beneath those fantastic garments.

🏮

Team Luna Presents

FOLKLORE FOREST

a three-piece expansion plan for the Lost Continent at Islands of Adventure

Welcome to a land where forgotten creatures from our old stories come to life... where folklore thrives in its warm sanctuary. A land where the trees glow at night, sparkled by the collective magic of hundreds of stories from all around the world drawn to the world. Welcome to Folklore Forest!

NEW PARKWIDE LORE

This land will contextualize the story of Islands of Adventure and give it the same depth that Universal has offered for Epic Universe. In a move to unify the lands and finally give it the "literature" connotation that fans have been begging for, a new world- the Islands of Adventure is created, one where three “factions” exist in harmony:

The Keepers

As the literary equivalent of a librarian, these are the “zookeepers” of the Islands of Adventure, the protectors of the lands who maintain their stories. In the park, the Keepers exist as the cast members who help make the park as beautiful as it is.

The Storytellers

As the literary equivalent of an author, these are the theme park designers and the writers who have made the stories, or “islands” of adventure come true. In the park, the Storytellers exist as costumed characters all over who help make stories happen.

The Adventurers

As the literary equivalent of the reader, these are the visitors and the citizens who explore the unknown islands of literature. In the park, the Adventurers are YOU, the visitors, who explore these distant lands to seek pleasure and the spirit of adventure.

So why is the new lore of the park important?

Folklore Forest's theme has two sides to it:

From an average visitor's view, the theme itself is a repaint of the Lost Continent's mythology and legends theme- but it goes in a new direction. Foklore Forest now focuses moreso on Oral Folklore--stories passed down by word of mouth rather than being written down on paper.

The biggest distinction with the original Lost Continent's mythology theme is that mythology itself is simply the collective storytelling of stories that were once believed to exist- for example, Poseidon was regarded to be a real and tangible God when his stories came about.

Oral Folklore in this case is all about the everlasting childhood stories that are passed down- not the religious text of the past, but the stories that thrive from it. They are told by oraters, parents, etc. to their children and a wider audience.

But the SECOND layer is what makes this land truly unique. Universal wanted to differentiate themselves from your average "Fantasyland" land. Folklore Forest thrives on the new rules set by the park.

You see, stories are passed down when they can be written by hand, solidified into shape by writers. Actively, all the other lands in this park are the work of "Storytellers"- the writers of the books who make lands like Harry Potter come to life. However, folklore stories are often eternal and passed down orally rather than written.

And thus, not only is this the "heart" of the park, the "library" of the kingdom, this land is the home for Keepers- the people in this Islands of Adventure world who flourish and spread stories. Stories- that are close to being forgotten. The Keepers protect and ensure that these stories are still being heard. That the creatures of folklore from all around the world have a place to thrive.

A Sanctuary!

The Folklore Forest isn't just a land themed to folklore; it's a sanctuary where mysterious cryptids thrive, a place where their stories can be heard once more.

LAYOUT

With the layout of Islands of Adventure, any full on retheme of the Lost Continent is going to place an immense chokepoint and guest flow nightmare for operations. In order to maintain as smooth of a guest experience as possible construction will happen in phases with certain areas being tackled quicker than others in order to mitigate impact on operations.

goodbye poseidon's fury!

Phase 1

During Phase One construction walls will go up surrounding the Poseidon's Fury area leaving just the main walkway and an entrance of Treasures of Poseidon available. The entire Sinbad Village section of Lost Continent will be walled off - including Fire Eaters. The guest pedestrian bridge to Velocicoaster remains open, but during this initial phase the Wizarding World will be a dead end for six months (January to June) with stanchions set up allowing for an entrance and exit queue to be set up on the sole permanent entrance on the Hogwarts bridge. An additional temporary entrance for the area will be set up utilizing the Forbidden Journey Emergency Exit gates into Jurassic to relieve pressure off of the bridge. Health Services will be relocated to Toon Lagoon. While Fire Eaters is closed a mobile only to-go option for Mythos will be open outside in the restaurant's outdoor waiting area.

Phase 2

Construction walls remain in the Lost Continent , but the overpass separating the subareas has been removed allowing for guests to freely walk through out the whole park again relieving the bottleneck right before the July 4th holiday rush - much like the Fantasyland overhaul is Disneyland guests will be walking through construction walls to get around. In addition, Fire Eaters would have reopened with a new color scheme further tying it into the remaining structures of Lost Continent. Following the end of July's peak crowds Mythos will close as it receives a BOH expansion and more construction walls go up in Lost Continent only leaving Fire Eaters, Treasures of Poseidon and temporary restrooms set up on the walkway towards the Velocicoaster bridge. A new BOH road entrance and exit for the park will be available cutting across the former Poseidon's Fury outdoor area. With all of this prep work in place major construction will commence for the land's transformation.

Phase 3 & 4

Nearly a year after its close, Mythos will reopen now with an expanded BOH kitchen to support the future needs of the land alongside with its waterfront walkways now expanded offering ample viewing room for any lagoon show or event space such as in-park weddings and corporate terrace dinners.

The Lost Continent name is dropped as Folklore Forest officially debuts with the opening of three unique and distinct subareas of the Port of Poseidon, the Whisperng Woods, and Yokai Village.