December 26, 2025 • 24 mins
On this weeks episode of The Theme Park Podcast, the guys discuss the history of theme parks that were discussed and planned but never came to fruition.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
From the theme park Capital of the World, Orlando, Florida.
This is the Theme Park Podcast. Wait podcast? Is this
all radio? Why does everything gotta be so messy on
this station?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Anyway?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Here's your hosts Dickerman, Jimmy D and Scott Harris.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
There it is the Theme Park Podcast. Holidays Special Dickerman. Here,
there is Jimmy D.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Happy Holidays, Dickerman and Scott Harris.
Speaker 5 (00:29):
I've watched all of the Silent Night Deadly Nights.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
Did you guys get what you wanted for Christmas?
Speaker 5 (00:36):
I'm terrified to look at my bank account right now.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
So yes, yeah, we don't really do Christmas so much
in the Dickerman House anymore as the adults, because we
save it for trips later in the year.
Speaker 5 (00:46):
That's why I'm not looking at my bank account. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah, technically speaking, Scott is not here as we broadcast
this show.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
He is in a foreign country. Yeah exactly.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Let's see hologram of Scott Harris. But you know, we
get together for the holiday shows we get and recorded
so we can get off and travel and spend time
with our families.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
The full disclosure, We're banking a bunch of episodes because
I'm going to Japan.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Ruin the magic. It's the man. Don't pull back the veil,
all right.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
So this special edition of the show, we are taking
a look at theme parks that never happened.
Speaker 5 (01:27):
Yes, yeah, yeah, there's a lot of there's a lot
of things if you if you go on the interwebs, I.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Find that I find it fastening. I find both theme
parks that never happened fascinating as well as theme parks
that came and went.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
Yeah, before we were recording, we were all waxing nostalgic.
I was gonna say, I don't know fondly is the
right word, but just reminiscing about water Mania. I don't
know why it's always our go to know what it.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Is about that park. It was like just like a
bargain basement, wet and wild. It everybody remembers it.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
It was just like like I went there in probably
I want to say, like the early nineties, maybe the
late eighties, and it probably was the late eighties, and
it was the wild Wild West, like you they would
send you down the family tube slide in an individual too.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
It was like that place, what was it up in
Jersey or something? The crazy Theme Oh action, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Action Park Class Action Park.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Yeah that one. Yes, probably not like that, but it
wasn't to that extreme, but it was. It was pretty funky.
Speaker 5 (02:35):
I feel like it was everyone's first water park that
grew up in central.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Well, it goes between that and went wild for one
of those two.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Because my first water park experience was at in Fort
Lauderdale at six Flags Atlantis, Okay, And then we tried
to go back a second time and it was like
this time of year and it was closed.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
They were doing like a car auction and you, guys,
you're from New York. I me, He's from New York.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
So it gets there, like what Florida doesn't have just
sun and fun all year round.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
It was seventy degrees that was hot to us.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
Well, I remember one year you went to. It was
Volcano Bay in mid December.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Yeah, it was early December and like we had a
colt snap. But then it got hot like it always does,
and uh, it was empty. I got to ride everything
as many times as I could. My legs were tired
from climbing the stairs. I got to write stuff so fast. Yeah,
that is the only problem when a water parker's empty
is you have to climb the stairs so much faster.
Speaker 5 (03:34):
Yeah, but the beauty is that you can also just
relax your muscles in a lazy river.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
True, yes, yeah, Dickerman, that's not really a good like
measurement because you're out of breath tying your.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Shoes whatever, So what's your point?
Speaker 4 (03:49):
I would love to be able to breathe while I
tie my shoe. Just hold your breath, like when did
that start?
Speaker 5 (03:55):
Like?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Was that always the thing? Like that? How's it go
in your tire shoes?
Speaker 5 (04:01):
It's simple and easy, no problem.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I don't.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
Also, I don't. I don't bend over. I find like
the tallest thing, put my leg up on that.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
And then yes, I can do that with my left leg.
Right leg not so well, it doesn't behave you.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
Gotta get that, you gotta it's stretching is important?
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Is that the knee you blew out in jiu jitsu?
I blew out both knees. So it's more that hip though,
But that you used to be on my good hip.
That used to be my go go plota hip. But
now I think, don't work no more.
Speaker 5 (04:27):
You gotta get your pliability up. Twenty twenty six. You're
gonna be more limber.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
You can go to stretch lab.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
You're coming in to meet media the gym, okay.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
Or you can come to work out in me.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Oh no, no no. While I'd like to look in
the window at your gym, I'm not gonna try and
do what you do.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
You can't put a book from front of it. If
he's on a spin cycle.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
You can know plates, you can get the plots with me.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
I've heard plates is like kind of like yoga.
Speaker 6 (04:52):
It's yeah, it is. It's all girls, so right, No,
I do it. Well, I know it's you and all girls. No,
there is nice regular.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Guys, guys like he thinks that everybody in that pilates
class is just like shredded, doesn't.
Speaker 5 (05:15):
I'm not shredded, and I go there.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
I've never seen Scott Waite. I have shirt on, but
I'm pretty sure he's like zero body fat.
Speaker 6 (05:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:23):
Yeah, I have cut a lot of stuff out.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
The young girls I work with do pilates.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
Lottie's just fantastic. I highly recommend going.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
I've tried pilates and it wasn't bad, but I just
wasn't getting from it what I wanted, so I tried
other things.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Okay, all right, should.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
We get into our theme parks that never happened.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Pilotti's hour has ended.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
Yes, So first up, Walt Disney's river Front Square. So
this was gonna be in Florida, No, okay, Were's just
going to be Saint Louis, Missouri. Okay, this would have
been the second Disney park after Disneyland.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
What.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Yeah, I don't even I had never even heard of this.
Speaker 5 (06:06):
Nineteen sixty three.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
That was gonna be my next question.
Speaker 5 (06:09):
Walt met with the mayor of Saint Louis to discuss
plans for the construction of a new theme park in
the riverfront area, which was already undergoing major redevelopment for
the city's bi centennial.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Okay, yeah, so they have like the river. It's a
big thing in Saint Louis.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
Absolutely imagineers got involved drawing up plans and designs for
the park.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Okay, all right, fell through.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
Disney may have insulted August Bush junior publicly.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
Now who was August Bush Junior? Was he that Anheuser Busch?
Speaker 5 (06:43):
Oh? After Bush publicly called him crazy for thinking the
park would succeed without selling beer.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Oh wow, he proved him wrong in the end, and
the you know, we have these like memories or the
thoughts of Walt, like he was just this wonderful man,
but he was like he was like a wild card, right.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
I mean, there's a lot of documentaries. I mean, he
very much wanted to do things a lot his way.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Yeah, and I can't blame him because what the way
he was doing it was working.
Speaker 5 (07:14):
Absolutely. I mean the early days were very I mean
we've seen this in a lot of the documentaries that
they put out. A lot of the things. It was
very much we're riding a lot on borrowing money and
hoping for the best.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
Some attractions, Yeah, what was going to be there? The
Lewis and Clark Adventure ride based on their expedition. Okay,
New Orleans Square just like a space.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
Kind of New Orleans Square they have in Disneyland as well.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
Ck.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Yeah for us, what would be New Orleans Square for us?
Speaker 5 (07:45):
Kind of where the paddle Boat used to. Liberty Square.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
Yeah, Liberty Square is like there New Orleans.
Speaker 5 (07:50):
That area a Parates of the Caribbean ride with a
Blue Bayou restaurant, Okay, an opera house, an explorable pirate ship.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
Yeah, the Pirates of the caribbe in Disneyland is actually
in the New Orleans area.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Oh okay, that makes sense, not in Frontier Land.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
Dark rides for Peter Pan, Snow White and Pinocchio.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Wow, and this is all gonna happen. But yep, it
was the beef with Bush that causes this is a
couple of there's I mean, there's a litany of things
that kind of fell through. You think this whole interaction
is what caused them to go ahead and start getting
into theme parks of Bush gardens later down the.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Line, it could be possibly I'm gonna stick it to Disney.
We're gonna build a theme park, sell beer.
Speaker 5 (08:28):
But here's the thing, plans to don't move forward, dispute
over financing ownership of the park, and what did Well do? Hey,
what's Florida got going on?
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Let's go find some swamp land in Orlando where literally
nobody lives, and we're gonna just put our stamp there
and own it. And oh it worked out pretty well,
it very much did.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
I did play catch with a football with August Bush
the third Oh wow. And that was I don't know
a year or two before, was it? Mbev Yes, Yeah,
performed there Hostile Takeover.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Liked about the other week. You know, with the big companies,
collaboration doesn't make it better. It never makes it.
Speaker 5 (09:06):
Better, all right, Next up Disney.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
C Okay, so they have this in Japan.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
Jimmy has been there, I have, yes.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Scott has got Scott may be there as we speak.
Exactly could be? I want you to plan for this.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
I'm gonna. I'm gonna try my best to actually be.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
There when we can.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
Right now. Done from the future future Scott. Hig what's
going on? Guys? What do you guys want from the
from Tokyo Disney? See?
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Whatever you can fit in your bag?
Speaker 5 (09:30):
Done. I've had to buy seventeen bags for all the
souvenirs that I've bought. Yes, I'm gonna. I've rented a
cargo ship. Oh good, just get a whole for all
of my things in a tanker. This was an aquatic
themed amusement park in California in the early nineties.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Oh okay, And do you think this is similar to
what they have in Japan?
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Is like the description here to sound like what they do?
Speaker 5 (09:56):
Well, I'm gonna let Jimmy, uh we got mysterious island.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Well, I mean, I guess that could be the whole
Jewels Earned section.
Speaker 5 (10:04):
Heroes Harbor, which is symbad in Ulysses.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
Okay, they have synbad in I think at Disney World Tokyo.
He was not in at Disney.
Speaker 5 (10:17):
C Boardwalk in Fleets of Fantasy.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
No nothing. I mean that could be like the Peter
Pan They're kind of a little vague.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
I guess venture Reefs, which was included activities such as
shark diving.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Oh well, you could just shark dive at Disney.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Well they pulled that into Epicot the Living Seas, but.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
It's only for like the people, right It's only for
like the people that work there right now.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
You could pay to do that as an excursion.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
Oh yeah, but this would have been in Long Beach,
like along the water.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
Interesting, it does sound a lot like like it sounds
like Japan probably borrowed some of those ideas.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Yes, So was this just like kind of like dream
stuff or did they actually come close to actually making
this happen?
Speaker 5 (11:01):
A lot of it was dream stuff. There were many
factors that there was resistance from the community in Long
Beach along with environmentalists.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
How's that working out for you now? Long Beach?
Speaker 5 (11:11):
And I mean they have the pier. They've got, you know, beach,
great weather. Another thing was the reception at the time
was not very good that they just canceled it.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Okay, Well yeah, long beach is loss.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
It wasn't the only thing that was proposed, okay, because
there was another part that was proposed.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Westcott West like Ebcott but the West yes, okay.
Speaker 5 (11:40):
So this would have been an expansion in a way
of the Disneyland area.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
So what basically became California Adventure.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Right, So it would have been like they definitely would
have done a ball. They would have done the ball
I have. I don't know if they would have had
a room. Well maybe they'd have room for that.
Speaker 5 (11:57):
I mean, they would have had a replica of Spaceship Earth.
But people were worried that it would become kind of
an I.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Soore awesome what are they talking about?
Speaker 5 (12:07):
But it would have had future World in World Showcase
m hm. A couple of London, New York would have
been the American pavilion, okay, all right, Africa, Asia, Paris
with an Eiffel Tower, Tokyo, China, and Toronto would be
the Canada Get Toronto.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
What's our What's is just Canada.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
This is Canada generally.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Yeah, Asia would have had ride the Dragon, a steel
roller coaster, okay, love it. Africa would have had a
whitewater raft ride.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
You pull that off, well, like like they.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
Actually have it.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
They have a Yeah, they used all these ideas that
like the one where you get wet. Yeah, I didn't
think about that one.
Speaker 5 (12:50):
It's a grizzly peak. I believe it is what it's
called at a californ Adventure.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
Oh, I thought you were talking about the Cali River
rapids in uh.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
I mean it's those are those are the exact same
kind of rides?
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (13:03):
Yeah, but yeah, it did not go through no factor.
It would have cost three billion dollars.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Oh three in the nineties, yes, three billion.
Speaker 5 (13:15):
They didn't own as much as the land back then.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Gosh, that's all you got.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
You remember when they bought the land here. They got
it cheap and they have so much of it.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
They bought it in pieces. They were really smart.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
They bought it in under different companies.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Yeah, so they made all these companies. It was really
sneaky how they did it and bald these little.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
Chunks of land and then they smart though it's it
was very smart.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
How they did it, and nobody figured out that they
were coming in and buying this and raised the price
of the land. Absolutely, That's how we chased Hollywood out
of Florida by have been raising the prices. Now Georgia
gets everything.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
Have we discussed the three countries that never came to Epcott?
Speaker 5 (13:50):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
We will be okay, Okay, only because you brought up Westcott.
I was like, this is a good buh.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
You know we will be still to come elsewhere. Disney's
America Haymarket, Virginia, Virginia.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Yes, I think I remember hearing about this when I
was a kid.
Speaker 5 (14:10):
It would have had nine distinctly themed areas.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Okay, so we're.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
Talking, you know, a park kind of you know, we
talked about Liberty Square that time period.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Okay, I mean that fits in Virginia. I mean like
a glove because they were probably planning on catching that
DC tourism.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
So they had Crossroads, USA eighteen hundred to eighteen fifty,
pre Civil War era village, Okay, which also would have
had a large amphitheater, an attraction centric around the muppets.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Oh Okay.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
Native America sixteen hundred to eighteen ten, a recreation of
a Native American village.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Interesting.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
Also would have had a Whitewater rapids ride Okay, President's Square,
Hall of Presidents, Civil War Fort.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
We had basically that at which we just lost r
I P.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
Yeah, Enterprise, which would have been the you know, kind
of industrial revolution. Okay, we the people, and a replica
of Ellis Island, Oh people coming in. Yeah, family Farm, Claire.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Get him out of here back on the boat.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Family Farm, which I would which I would have to
imagine is very much a riff on living with the land. Okay, Yeah,
everyone's favorite ride at Epcot. It is a great ride,
State Fair, live show about baseball and Coney Island themed
rides that sounds fun, Wooden roller coaster, Ferris.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Wheel yea, all, I'm Americana.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Yeah. And then Victory Field, which guests would have experienced
what American soldiers faced and the defense of freedom during
the World Wars.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
That doesn't sound like any fun at all.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
Might have used virtual technology, virtual reality technology.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Okay, I'm sure that would have been great in the nineties.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
But there might have been There was talk of a
the world's first dueling inverted roller coaster, which would have
been called dog Fighter. Okay, plants were drawn up, it
was abandoned due to the cost of the attraction. Ride.
Guests would have been flying through the air in German
and American biplane themed trains and would have featured several
(16:25):
near misses.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
I'm gonna jump on this time.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
Remember amer this is early nineties. Things were very different.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
Ba gosh, this just sounds insane.
Speaker 5 (16:38):
It does completely.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
It sounds like a joke.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
And then Red Dragon, Blue Dragon, or you could do
USA or the Nazis.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
But then Disney later in the nineties put forth a
different idea, Disney's American Celebration, which would have had the
land the State Fair work, but it would have had
streets of America with different cuisines from different cities.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Oh, that sounds familiar.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
Chicago style pizza, Los Angeles, Hispanic and fast food, New
Orleans Cajun, New York City, Jewish and Deli food, Saint
Louis barbecue, ribs, San Francisco Chinese food.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yeah, all of that sounds delicious.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
Yeah, now I'm hungry, and you know, just and then
it just didn't end up happening.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Yeah, it's interesting, you know how that doesn't happen because
you're talking about Virginia.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Virginia is probably a difficult state to.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
Work with a Florida very much against it from the start.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Yeah, I have no doubt about that. Virginia is a
tough one to do business.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
And my sister moved from Virginia because she got tired
of paying taxes in a car she already bought.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Oh my gosh, the taxes in Virginia are insane.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
All right, let's go elsewhere. Let's go to the United
Arab Emirates. Oh, Universal Studios Dubai Land.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Is this They were supposed to have a SeaWorld. Did
that ever happen? Nope?
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Okay, actually were starting to build I don't even know
if they finished.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
It or whatever. The craziest idea for it.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
Yeah, they were building an island that was in the
shape of an Orca. Yes, it's right, Yeah, and they
got really far on it.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
It's dream big, guys, dream big.
Speaker 5 (18:13):
So this would have This was a project broke round
two thousand and eight.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Oh geez, that's a long time ago.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
Stalled a short time later, and then in October of
twenty sixteen canceled.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Oh so eight years later they said, okay, we're not going.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
To do Joyton venture costing eight billion durams, which is
two point two billion US.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Okay, all right, I'm sure they had some of that
UAE oil money involved. Absolutely, they have unlimited amounts of
money over there.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
So would have had Hollywood obviously makes sense. Mels Diner
would have been there. Also talk of a planet Hollywood
was thought to be on the planning of the opening
their largest restaurant in the area.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (18:58):
Remember Heyday actually early two thousands. What was like what
was playing Hollywood back then? I don't know, Like Arnold
and that's what I mean. It was pre the Guy
Fieri version that exists now.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Like originally it was like sliced alone Arnold and all
those guys.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
New York would have had a Blues Brothers outdoor show
in a Hooray for Bollywood indoor show.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
There was also going to be a trackless dark ride
shooter themed to Men in Black and a theme to Ghostbusters,
and a Men in Black roller coaster okay, also a
clone of the Incredible Hulk coaster.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Oh, I have no idea what like tourism is like
in in that part of the world, Like do they
get like how they done now? They do I'm wondering,
like in two thousand and eight, you know, was that
you know, were they getting enough bodies there to do
something like this?
Speaker 5 (19:49):
Not really? Yeah, yeah, there was.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
A financial crisis in that part of the world in
that time.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (19:54):
Oh really everywhere two thousand and eight nine, there two
everywhere with the oil everywhere. They also would have had
Aft Jurassic Park, Rapids Adventure, water World, a King Kong
dueling roller coaster, oh, another dueler which would have been
a clone of Dueling Dragons okay, rip, we stand a legend.
And then also a Revenge of the Mummy indoor roller coaster.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Yeah, which lives on at Universal Orlando.
Speaker 5 (20:19):
Yes it does, all right, last one up, okay, Universal Studios,
South Korea.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Okay, all right, I'm in for this. They don't have
I don't know of any theme parks in South Korea.
I mean they might have something, but I do, yes,
oh they do.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (20:36):
This was scheduled to open in twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Oh man, man, anything planned for twenty twenty six started.
Speaker 5 (20:45):
Plans started around twenty fifteen.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
Okay, and then god, we thought twenty twenty was gonna
be so awesome, just didn't fell apart didn't happen.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
I mean, we thought we were gonna lose Epic Universe
during that whole.
Speaker 5 (20:59):
Time it paused. Remember if Paul I thought.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
They weren't going to come back. It was it was
rough man, what a time to be alive. Not really,
it sucked.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
It was an interesting experience time.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Kenny Rogers definitely had it right with the whole known
when to fold them no one.
Speaker 5 (21:14):
Yeah, yeah, this was announced or mentioned during a press
conference in two thousand and seven. It would have been
suggested to be larger than both Universal Hollywood and Universal Japan.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Wow. Interesting, but it didn't happen.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
Because that happened, you think it was strictly because of
twenty twenty or their other factors that play into it.
Speaker 5 (21:35):
The companies involved kind of just dissolved. They were looking
for other investors to get involved and just didn't really
work out.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
So they do have the theme park in South Korea
though of some sort potentially, yes, like if they would
have built this, Okay, let's just say they built this.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
It was a real big theme park.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
You don't think those guys in the north look over
the fence and be like, man, they are really doing
it so much better over there.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
What's going on on our side?
Speaker 5 (22:02):
I don't know. Yeah, that's that is that. That is
a I will admit that is a that is a
blind spot for me. They have they have two large
popular theme parks, ever Land in Lotty World.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Okay, so they do have to. Man, that's got to
stink for those Northerners.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Just it's got to hurt guys out there riding roller
coasters and they have no idea.
Speaker 5 (22:22):
No comment I am. I am not getting involved in
that at all.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
We're not getting involved in the War of the Koreans.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
I am not a good guy in the bad guy.
I am not getting involved with saying anything about any of.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
That's because he's in Japan right now. He doesn't want
him coming for him.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
I'm looking at amusement parks South Korea, Lotty World, Caribbean Bay,
ever Land, Lego Land Korea Resorts.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
We're doing good over there.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
They've got a lot of They've got a lot of stuff.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Yeah, a lot of fun things happening there.
Speaker 4 (22:49):
Lego is a brand.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Oh yes, yes, Lego is a global phenomenon. You ever
step on a Lego doesn't feel good? I've never have
doesn't feel good? Really it's not great.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
Yeah, it's not. It's not a fun all right. I
know what we're doing next.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Lego like walk, well like hot coals.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
We're going to do that for Scott. Why you eat? Uh?
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Something weird?
Speaker 4 (23:14):
Well, I well, not something weird for us for adults,
but something weird for you.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
Oh see, I was thinking, we have like a couple
pictures of butter beer and he has to walk across
the legos to get it.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
That's fine too, from gotta keep him cold though, gotta
have all right, I think we're going to do a
fear Fact. I have that Margarita machine. I do all right,
let's put the butter beer in there.
Speaker 5 (23:38):
Yeah, okay, I could, we could? We can pull this off.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Fear Factor Lego Walk. Why did we never do that? Radio?
Speaker 3 (23:43):
That would have been a great contest for prizes? A
Lego hot cold Walk.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
Are you guys gonna watch the new Fear Factor?
Speaker 2 (23:50):
There's a new one. Yeah, who's toasting Johnny Knoxville? I
do that. I don't know if it's not Rogan, I'm
not sure.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
Knock you say Knoxville, I'm like, okay, all right, Knoxville
is not a bad idea.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
The thing is like, like, when I think about that,
it's like, is he gonna do each thing as a demonstration.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
There's a real good chance he Mike.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
All right, Scott, Well, if people want to find us
on social media, maybe catch a few of your japan pictures.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Where can they go?
Speaker 5 (24:16):
You follow us on Twitter at theme Park Show, Facebook, Instagram,
and TikTok at theme Park Podcast. You watch at theme
Park YouTube dot com.
Speaker 4 (24:21):
Is Real Spain and uh Equator Africa. Ah okay, the
three the three lands that never happened at Apcot.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Or there you go? All right?
Speaker 3 (24:30):
The show traditionally comes to you live from the Laurencampbellreiltor
dot com, t boga Zebo Studios for jimmyd. For Scott Harris,
I am Dickerman. Until next week, we will see you
out at the parks.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
This has been the Theme Park Podcast. Follow the show
on Facebook and Instagram at the theme Park Podcast. To
catch up on previous episodes, check out the themeparkpodcast dot com,
the iHeartRadio app, or Apple Podcasts
From the theme park Capital of the World, Orlando, Florida.
This is the Theme Park Podcast. Wait podcast? Is this
all radio? Why does everything gotta be so messy on
this station?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Anyway?
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Here's your hosts Dickerman, Jimmy D and Scott Harris.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
There it is the Theme Park Podcast. Holidays Special Dickerman. Here,
there is Jimmy D.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Happy Holidays, Dickerman and Scott Harris.
Speaker 5 (00:29):
I've watched all of the Silent Night Deadly Nights.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
Did you guys get what you wanted for Christmas?
Speaker 5 (00:36):
I'm terrified to look at my bank account right now.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
So yes, yeah, we don't really do Christmas so much
in the Dickerman House anymore as the adults, because we
save it for trips later in the year.
Speaker 5 (00:46):
That's why I'm not looking at my bank account. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah, technically speaking, Scott is not here as we broadcast
this show.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
He is in a foreign country. Yeah exactly.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Let's see hologram of Scott Harris. But you know, we
get together for the holiday shows we get and recorded
so we can get off and travel and spend time
with our families.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
The full disclosure, We're banking a bunch of episodes because
I'm going to Japan.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Ruin the magic. It's the man. Don't pull back the veil,
all right.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
So this special edition of the show, we are taking
a look at theme parks that never happened.
Speaker 5 (01:27):
Yes, yeah, yeah, there's a lot of there's a lot
of things if you if you go on the interwebs, I.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Find that I find it fastening. I find both theme
parks that never happened fascinating as well as theme parks
that came and went.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
Yeah, before we were recording, we were all waxing nostalgic.
I was gonna say, I don't know fondly is the
right word, but just reminiscing about water Mania. I don't
know why it's always our go to know what it.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Is about that park. It was like just like a
bargain basement, wet and wild. It everybody remembers it.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
It was just like like I went there in probably
I want to say, like the early nineties, maybe the
late eighties, and it probably was the late eighties, and
it was the wild Wild West, like you they would
send you down the family tube slide in an individual too.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
It was like that place, what was it up in
Jersey or something? The crazy Theme Oh action, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Action Park Class Action Park.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Yeah that one. Yes, probably not like that, but it
wasn't to that extreme, but it was. It was pretty funky.
Speaker 5 (02:35):
I feel like it was everyone's first water park that
grew up in central.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Well, it goes between that and went wild for one
of those two.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Because my first water park experience was at in Fort
Lauderdale at six Flags Atlantis, Okay, And then we tried
to go back a second time and it was like
this time of year and it was closed.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
They were doing like a car auction and you, guys,
you're from New York. I me, He's from New York.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
So it gets there, like what Florida doesn't have just
sun and fun all year round.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
It was seventy degrees that was hot to us.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
Well, I remember one year you went to. It was
Volcano Bay in mid December.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Yeah, it was early December and like we had a
colt snap. But then it got hot like it always does,
and uh, it was empty. I got to ride everything
as many times as I could. My legs were tired
from climbing the stairs. I got to write stuff so fast. Yeah,
that is the only problem when a water parker's empty
is you have to climb the stairs so much faster.
Speaker 5 (03:34):
Yeah, but the beauty is that you can also just
relax your muscles in a lazy river.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
True, yes, yeah, Dickerman, that's not really a good like
measurement because you're out of breath tying your.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Shoes whatever, So what's your point?
Speaker 4 (03:49):
I would love to be able to breathe while I
tie my shoe. Just hold your breath, like when did
that start?
Speaker 5 (03:55):
Like?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Was that always the thing? Like that? How's it go
in your tire shoes?
Speaker 5 (04:01):
It's simple and easy, no problem.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I don't.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
Also, I don't. I don't bend over. I find like
the tallest thing, put my leg up on that.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
And then yes, I can do that with my left leg.
Right leg not so well, it doesn't behave you.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
Gotta get that, you gotta it's stretching is important?
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Is that the knee you blew out in jiu jitsu?
I blew out both knees. So it's more that hip though,
But that you used to be on my good hip.
That used to be my go go plota hip. But
now I think, don't work no more.
Speaker 5 (04:27):
You gotta get your pliability up. Twenty twenty six. You're
gonna be more limber.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
You can go to stretch lab.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
You're coming in to meet media the gym, okay.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
Or you can come to work out in me.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Oh no, no no. While I'd like to look in
the window at your gym, I'm not gonna try and
do what you do.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
You can't put a book from front of it. If
he's on a spin cycle.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
You can know plates, you can get the plots with me.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
I've heard plates is like kind of like yoga.
Speaker 6 (04:52):
It's yeah, it is. It's all girls, so right, No,
I do it. Well, I know it's you and all girls. No,
there is nice regular.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Guys, guys like he thinks that everybody in that pilates
class is just like shredded, doesn't.
Speaker 5 (05:15):
I'm not shredded, and I go there.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
I've never seen Scott Waite. I have shirt on, but
I'm pretty sure he's like zero body fat.
Speaker 6 (05:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:23):
Yeah, I have cut a lot of stuff out.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
The young girls I work with do pilates.
Speaker 5 (05:28):
Lottie's just fantastic. I highly recommend going.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
I've tried pilates and it wasn't bad, but I just
wasn't getting from it what I wanted, so I tried
other things.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Okay, all right, should.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
We get into our theme parks that never happened.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Pilotti's hour has ended.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
Yes, So first up, Walt Disney's river Front Square. So
this was gonna be in Florida, No, okay, Were's just
going to be Saint Louis, Missouri. Okay, this would have
been the second Disney park after Disneyland.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
What.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Yeah, I don't even I had never even heard of this.
Speaker 5 (06:06):
Nineteen sixty three.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
That was gonna be my next question.
Speaker 5 (06:09):
Walt met with the mayor of Saint Louis to discuss
plans for the construction of a new theme park in
the riverfront area, which was already undergoing major redevelopment for
the city's bi centennial.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Okay, yeah, so they have like the river. It's a
big thing in Saint Louis.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
Absolutely imagineers got involved drawing up plans and designs for
the park.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Okay, all right, fell through.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
Disney may have insulted August Bush junior publicly.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
Now who was August Bush Junior? Was he that Anheuser Busch?
Speaker 5 (06:43):
Oh? After Bush publicly called him crazy for thinking the
park would succeed without selling beer.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Oh wow, he proved him wrong in the end, and
the you know, we have these like memories or the
thoughts of Walt, like he was just this wonderful man,
but he was like he was like a wild card, right.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
I mean, there's a lot of documentaries. I mean, he
very much wanted to do things a lot his way.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Yeah, and I can't blame him because what the way
he was doing it was working.
Speaker 5 (07:14):
Absolutely. I mean the early days were very I mean
we've seen this in a lot of the documentaries that
they put out. A lot of the things. It was
very much we're riding a lot on borrowing money and
hoping for the best.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
Some attractions, Yeah, what was going to be there? The
Lewis and Clark Adventure ride based on their expedition. Okay,
New Orleans Square just like a space.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
Kind of New Orleans Square they have in Disneyland as well.
Speaker 5 (07:41):
Ck.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Yeah for us, what would be New Orleans Square for us?
Speaker 5 (07:45):
Kind of where the paddle Boat used to. Liberty Square.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
Yeah, Liberty Square is like there New Orleans.
Speaker 5 (07:50):
That area a Parates of the Caribbean ride with a
Blue Bayou restaurant, Okay, an opera house, an explorable pirate ship.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
Yeah, the Pirates of the caribbe in Disneyland is actually
in the New Orleans area.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Oh okay, that makes sense, not in Frontier Land.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
Dark rides for Peter Pan, Snow White and Pinocchio.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Wow, and this is all gonna happen. But yep, it
was the beef with Bush that causes this is a
couple of there's I mean, there's a litany of things
that kind of fell through. You think this whole interaction
is what caused them to go ahead and start getting
into theme parks of Bush gardens later down the.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Line, it could be possibly I'm gonna stick it to Disney.
We're gonna build a theme park, sell beer.
Speaker 5 (08:28):
But here's the thing, plans to don't move forward, dispute
over financing ownership of the park, and what did Well do? Hey,
what's Florida got going on?
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Let's go find some swamp land in Orlando where literally
nobody lives, and we're gonna just put our stamp there
and own it. And oh it worked out pretty well,
it very much did.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
I did play catch with a football with August Bush
the third Oh wow. And that was I don't know
a year or two before, was it? Mbev Yes, Yeah,
performed there Hostile Takeover.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Liked about the other week. You know, with the big companies,
collaboration doesn't make it better. It never makes it.
Speaker 5 (09:06):
Better, all right, Next up Disney.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
C Okay, so they have this in Japan.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
Jimmy has been there, I have, yes.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Scott has got Scott may be there as we speak.
Exactly could be? I want you to plan for this.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
I'm gonna. I'm gonna try my best to actually be.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
There when we can.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
Right now. Done from the future future Scott. Hig what's
going on? Guys? What do you guys want from the
from Tokyo Disney? See?
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Whatever you can fit in your bag?
Speaker 5 (09:30):
Done. I've had to buy seventeen bags for all the
souvenirs that I've bought. Yes, I'm gonna. I've rented a
cargo ship. Oh good, just get a whole for all
of my things in a tanker. This was an aquatic
themed amusement park in California in the early nineties.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Oh okay, And do you think this is similar to
what they have in Japan?
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Is like the description here to sound like what they do?
Speaker 5 (09:56):
Well, I'm gonna let Jimmy, uh we got mysterious island.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Well, I mean, I guess that could be the whole
Jewels Earned section.
Speaker 5 (10:04):
Heroes Harbor, which is symbad in Ulysses.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
Okay, they have synbad in I think at Disney World Tokyo.
He was not in at Disney.
Speaker 5 (10:17):
C Boardwalk in Fleets of Fantasy.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
No nothing. I mean that could be like the Peter
Pan They're kind of a little vague.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
I guess venture Reefs, which was included activities such as
shark diving.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Oh well, you could just shark dive at Disney.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Well they pulled that into Epicot the Living Seas, but.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
It's only for like the people, right It's only for
like the people that work there right now.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
You could pay to do that as an excursion.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
Oh yeah, but this would have been in Long Beach,
like along the water.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
Interesting, it does sound a lot like like it sounds
like Japan probably borrowed some of those ideas.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Yes, So was this just like kind of like dream
stuff or did they actually come close to actually making
this happen?
Speaker 5 (11:01):
A lot of it was dream stuff. There were many
factors that there was resistance from the community in Long
Beach along with environmentalists.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
How's that working out for you now? Long Beach?
Speaker 5 (11:11):
And I mean they have the pier. They've got, you know, beach,
great weather. Another thing was the reception at the time
was not very good that they just canceled it.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Okay, Well yeah, long beach is loss.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
It wasn't the only thing that was proposed, okay, because
there was another part that was proposed.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Westcott West like Ebcott but the West yes, okay.
Speaker 5 (11:40):
So this would have been an expansion in a way
of the Disneyland area.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
So what basically became California Adventure.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Right, So it would have been like they definitely would
have done a ball. They would have done the ball
I have. I don't know if they would have had
a room. Well maybe they'd have room for that.
Speaker 5 (11:57):
I mean, they would have had a replica of Spaceship Earth.
But people were worried that it would become kind of
an I.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Soore awesome what are they talking about?
Speaker 5 (12:07):
But it would have had future World in World Showcase
m hm. A couple of London, New York would have
been the American pavilion, okay, all right, Africa, Asia, Paris
with an Eiffel Tower, Tokyo, China, and Toronto would be
the Canada Get Toronto.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
What's our What's is just Canada.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
This is Canada generally.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Yeah, Asia would have had ride the Dragon, a steel
roller coaster, okay, love it. Africa would have had a
whitewater raft ride.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
You pull that off, well, like like they.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
Actually have it.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
They have a Yeah, they used all these ideas that
like the one where you get wet. Yeah, I didn't
think about that one.
Speaker 5 (12:50):
It's a grizzly peak. I believe it is what it's
called at a californ Adventure.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
Oh, I thought you were talking about the Cali River
rapids in uh.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
I mean it's those are those are the exact same
kind of rides?
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (13:03):
Yeah, but yeah, it did not go through no factor.
It would have cost three billion dollars.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Oh three in the nineties, yes, three billion.
Speaker 5 (13:15):
They didn't own as much as the land back then.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Gosh, that's all you got.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
You remember when they bought the land here. They got
it cheap and they have so much of it.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
They bought it in pieces. They were really smart.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
They bought it in under different companies.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Yeah, so they made all these companies. It was really
sneaky how they did it and bald these little.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
Chunks of land and then they smart though it's it
was very smart.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
How they did it, and nobody figured out that they
were coming in and buying this and raised the price
of the land. Absolutely, That's how we chased Hollywood out
of Florida by have been raising the prices. Now Georgia
gets everything.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
Have we discussed the three countries that never came to Epcott?
Speaker 5 (13:50):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
We will be okay, Okay, only because you brought up Westcott.
I was like, this is a good buh.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
You know we will be still to come elsewhere. Disney's
America Haymarket, Virginia, Virginia.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Yes, I think I remember hearing about this when I
was a kid.
Speaker 5 (14:10):
It would have had nine distinctly themed areas.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Okay, so we're.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
Talking, you know, a park kind of you know, we
talked about Liberty Square that time period.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Okay, I mean that fits in Virginia. I mean like
a glove because they were probably planning on catching that
DC tourism.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
So they had Crossroads, USA eighteen hundred to eighteen fifty,
pre Civil War era village, Okay, which also would have
had a large amphitheater, an attraction centric around the muppets.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Oh Okay.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
Native America sixteen hundred to eighteen ten, a recreation of
a Native American village.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Interesting.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
Also would have had a Whitewater rapids ride Okay, President's Square,
Hall of Presidents, Civil War Fort.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
We had basically that at which we just lost r
I P.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
Yeah, Enterprise, which would have been the you know, kind
of industrial revolution. Okay, we the people, and a replica
of Ellis Island, Oh people coming in. Yeah, family Farm, Claire.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Get him out of here back on the boat.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Family Farm, which I would which I would have to
imagine is very much a riff on living with the land. Okay, Yeah,
everyone's favorite ride at Epcot. It is a great ride,
State Fair, live show about baseball and Coney Island themed
rides that sounds fun, Wooden roller coaster, Ferris.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Wheel yea, all, I'm Americana.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Yeah. And then Victory Field, which guests would have experienced
what American soldiers faced and the defense of freedom during
the World Wars.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
That doesn't sound like any fun at all.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
Might have used virtual technology, virtual reality technology.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Okay, I'm sure that would have been great in the nineties.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
But there might have been There was talk of a
the world's first dueling inverted roller coaster, which would have
been called dog Fighter. Okay, plants were drawn up, it
was abandoned due to the cost of the attraction. Ride.
Guests would have been flying through the air in German
and American biplane themed trains and would have featured several
(16:25):
near misses.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
I'm gonna jump on this time.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
Remember amer this is early nineties. Things were very different.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
Ba gosh, this just sounds insane.
Speaker 5 (16:38):
It does completely.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
It sounds like a joke.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
And then Red Dragon, Blue Dragon, or you could do
USA or the Nazis.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
But then Disney later in the nineties put forth a
different idea, Disney's American Celebration, which would have had the
land the State Fair work, but it would have had
streets of America with different cuisines from different cities.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Oh, that sounds familiar.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
Chicago style pizza, Los Angeles, Hispanic and fast food, New
Orleans Cajun, New York City, Jewish and Deli food, Saint
Louis barbecue, ribs, San Francisco Chinese food.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Yeah, all of that sounds delicious.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
Yeah, now I'm hungry, and you know, just and then
it just didn't end up happening.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Yeah, it's interesting, you know how that doesn't happen because
you're talking about Virginia.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Virginia is probably a difficult state to.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
Work with a Florida very much against it from the start.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Yeah, I have no doubt about that. Virginia is a
tough one to do business.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
And my sister moved from Virginia because she got tired
of paying taxes in a car she already bought.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Oh my gosh, the taxes in Virginia are insane.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
All right, let's go elsewhere. Let's go to the United
Arab Emirates. Oh, Universal Studios Dubai Land.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Is this They were supposed to have a SeaWorld. Did
that ever happen? Nope?
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Okay, actually were starting to build I don't even know
if they finished.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
It or whatever. The craziest idea for it.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
Yeah, they were building an island that was in the
shape of an Orca. Yes, it's right, Yeah, and they
got really far on it.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
It's dream big, guys, dream big.
Speaker 5 (18:13):
So this would have This was a project broke round
two thousand and eight.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Oh geez, that's a long time ago.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
Stalled a short time later, and then in October of
twenty sixteen canceled.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Oh so eight years later they said, okay, we're not going.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
To do Joyton venture costing eight billion durams, which is
two point two billion US.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Okay, all right, I'm sure they had some of that
UAE oil money involved. Absolutely, they have unlimited amounts of
money over there.
Speaker 5 (18:46):
So would have had Hollywood obviously makes sense. Mels Diner
would have been there. Also talk of a planet Hollywood
was thought to be on the planning of the opening
their largest restaurant in the area.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (18:58):
Remember Heyday actually early two thousands. What was like what
was playing Hollywood back then? I don't know, Like Arnold
and that's what I mean. It was pre the Guy
Fieri version that exists now.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Like originally it was like sliced alone Arnold and all
those guys.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
New York would have had a Blues Brothers outdoor show
in a Hooray for Bollywood indoor show.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
There was also going to be a trackless dark ride
shooter themed to Men in Black and a theme to Ghostbusters,
and a Men in Black roller coaster okay, also a
clone of the Incredible Hulk coaster.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Oh, I have no idea what like tourism is like
in in that part of the world, Like do they
get like how they done now? They do I'm wondering,
like in two thousand and eight, you know, was that
you know, were they getting enough bodies there to do
something like this?
Speaker 5 (19:49):
Not really? Yeah, yeah, there was.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
A financial crisis in that part of the world in
that time.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (19:54):
Oh really everywhere two thousand and eight nine, there two
everywhere with the oil everywhere. They also would have had
Aft Jurassic Park, Rapids Adventure, water World, a King Kong
dueling roller coaster, oh, another dueler which would have been
a clone of Dueling Dragons okay, rip, we stand a legend.
And then also a Revenge of the Mummy indoor roller coaster.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Yeah, which lives on at Universal Orlando.
Speaker 5 (20:19):
Yes it does, all right, last one up, okay, Universal Studios,
South Korea.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Okay, all right, I'm in for this. They don't have
I don't know of any theme parks in South Korea.
I mean they might have something, but I do, yes,
oh they do.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (20:36):
This was scheduled to open in twenty twenty.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Oh man, man, anything planned for twenty twenty six started.
Speaker 5 (20:45):
Plans started around twenty fifteen.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
Okay, and then god, we thought twenty twenty was gonna
be so awesome, just didn't fell apart didn't happen.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
I mean, we thought we were gonna lose Epic Universe
during that whole.
Speaker 5 (20:59):
Time it paused. Remember if Paul I thought.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
They weren't going to come back. It was it was
rough man, what a time to be alive. Not really,
it sucked.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
It was an interesting experience time.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Kenny Rogers definitely had it right with the whole known
when to fold them no one.
Speaker 5 (21:14):
Yeah, yeah, this was announced or mentioned during a press
conference in two thousand and seven. It would have been
suggested to be larger than both Universal Hollywood and Universal Japan.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Wow. Interesting, but it didn't happen.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
Because that happened, you think it was strictly because of
twenty twenty or their other factors that play into it.
Speaker 5 (21:35):
The companies involved kind of just dissolved. They were looking
for other investors to get involved and just didn't really
work out.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
So they do have the theme park in South Korea
though of some sort potentially, yes, like if they would
have built this, Okay, let's just say they built this.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
It was a real big theme park.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
You don't think those guys in the north look over
the fence and be like, man, they are really doing
it so much better over there.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
What's going on on our side?
Speaker 5 (22:02):
I don't know. Yeah, that's that is that. That is
a I will admit that is a that is a
blind spot for me. They have they have two large
popular theme parks, ever Land in Lotty World.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Okay, so they do have to. Man, that's got to
stink for those Northerners.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Just it's got to hurt guys out there riding roller
coasters and they have no idea.
Speaker 5 (22:22):
No comment I am. I am not getting involved in
that at all.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
We're not getting involved in the War of the Koreans.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
I am not a good guy in the bad guy.
I am not getting involved with saying anything about any of.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
That's because he's in Japan right now. He doesn't want
him coming for him.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
I'm looking at amusement parks South Korea, Lotty World, Caribbean Bay,
ever Land, Lego Land Korea Resorts.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
We're doing good over there.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
They've got a lot of They've got a lot of stuff.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Yeah, a lot of fun things happening there.
Speaker 4 (22:49):
Lego is a brand.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Oh yes, yes, Lego is a global phenomenon. You ever
step on a Lego doesn't feel good? I've never have
doesn't feel good? Really it's not great.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
Yeah, it's not. It's not a fun all right. I
know what we're doing next.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Lego like walk, well like hot coals.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
We're going to do that for Scott. Why you eat? Uh?
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Something weird?
Speaker 4 (23:14):
Well, I well, not something weird for us for adults,
but something weird for you.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
Oh see, I was thinking, we have like a couple
pictures of butter beer and he has to walk across
the legos to get it.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
That's fine too, from gotta keep him cold though, gotta
have all right, I think we're going to do a
fear Fact. I have that Margarita machine. I do all right,
let's put the butter beer in there.
Speaker 5 (23:38):
Yeah, okay, I could, we could? We can pull this off.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Fear Factor Lego Walk. Why did we never do that? Radio?
Speaker 3 (23:43):
That would have been a great contest for prizes? A
Lego hot cold Walk.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
Are you guys gonna watch the new Fear Factor?
Speaker 2 (23:50):
There's a new one. Yeah, who's toasting Johnny Knoxville? I
do that. I don't know if it's not Rogan, I'm
not sure.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
Knock you say Knoxville, I'm like, okay, all right, Knoxville
is not a bad idea.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
The thing is like, like, when I think about that,
it's like, is he gonna do each thing as a demonstration.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
There's a real good chance he Mike.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
All right, Scott, Well, if people want to find us
on social media, maybe catch a few of your japan pictures.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Where can they go?
Speaker 5 (24:16):
You follow us on Twitter at theme Park Show, Facebook, Instagram,
and TikTok at theme Park Podcast. You watch at theme
Park YouTube dot com.
Speaker 4 (24:21):
Is Real Spain and uh Equator Africa. Ah okay, the
three the three lands that never happened at Apcot.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Or there you go? All right?
Speaker 3 (24:30):
The show traditionally comes to you live from the Laurencampbellreiltor
dot com, t boga Zebo Studios for jimmyd. For Scott Harris,
I am Dickerman. Until next week, we will see you
out at the parks.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
This has been the Theme Park Podcast. Follow the show
on Facebook and Instagram at the theme Park Podcast. To
catch up on previous episodes, check out the themeparkpodcast dot com,
the iHeartRadio app, or Apple Podcasts
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