Transcript
Speaker: You are listening to the Inverted Creative Podcast. I'm Allison. I'm Jen. I'm Brian. I'm Mikhail. And I'm Nate.
Speaker: Hey guys. Hey. You know what theme part you know what um architecture at theme parks should be called? What? Parkitecture.
Speaker: Dude, that I don't think anyone's ever come up with that before. That's genius. That's good, isn't it? hu So anyway.
Speaker: Oh, Anyway. Oh, I know. I totally thought about that. Not oh ah today's going to be an episode of throwing this to the new guys because Allison is very mentally checked out.
Speaker: On an episode that she suggested in the first place. Also, just let the record show, Allison loves architecture. I do, actually. She really does. truly do.
Speaker: To the point where she studied it in college. Yeah. yeah from And you have you have a building that's like your favorite in Pittsburgh. do have a favorite building, yeah. yeah It's really cool. It is a cool building.
Speaker: It is. And i got to we gotta go there at some point together. This is the episode that Allison chooses to check out. I'm sorry I had a bad mental health
Speaker: And I texted Nate earlier. I'm like, I feel really off today mentally. And like, this is a struggle. So perfect day to record a podcast. And that's why I have my two new co-hosts that love to talk but i a lot about.
Speaker: I am known to be a yapper. Like Mikhail mentioned, he's also known to be a yapper. At times. At times. So, so we should be well equipped for this. We have a lot of notes, honestly. We do have a lot of notes. But you know, there's one pinnacle of park architecture, or park-a-texture, if you will.
Speaker: It's so nice, they did it thrice, the Epcot ball. um And then they got rid of one, apparently, because Fantasialand decided they didn't want it anymore. Yeah, so now it's twice. so it's So nice they did it twice now. Yeah.
Speaker: but ah i was just trying I was just trying to look for what the name of the attraction was um inside the... um I don't know if it was the third. I don't i don't know if Phantasialand did it before Europa Park or vice versa. But Phantasialand's Epcot Ball. um i was something in There was something in there. But that is what they got rid of to replace with...
Speaker: ah an attraction I'm sure we'll get onto at some point in the episode oh yeah okay that makes sense I didn't know that either but i do know that Can Can Coaster is in one of them and then the other one has a Spaceship Earth so I do no ball there thank the you no ball yeah you catch that how long are we waiting make that joke I actually as I said it I was like oh that's really funny I didn't even plan that joke at all.
Speaker: for much Damn, I'm good. Yeah.
Speaker: Anyway, thank the Phoenicians, I guess. So the Phoenicians can get down to business. If you know that reference, leave a comment somehow.
Speaker: I am not one who knows that reference. It's okay. It's a very niche one. It's from like late high school, I think for me. So so like four years ago, eight years ago.
Speaker: Don't know why I corrected you on that, but I did.
Speaker: Not four. Five. I wish it was, you know, still only five. Don't I know it Yeah, it's okay.
Speaker: How long is... When did I graduate? Oh, I'm almost at my 20-year reunion. I was going to it's definitely above 15 for me, my goodness. I'm going to die now. I'm nearing 10. Shut up.
Speaker: am. i'm I'm nearing 10. I'm nearing 20. shut up i am i'm nearing ten ah i'm nearing twenty i'm I'm nearing 10 years since I graduated university. oh i' am i'm at ah I'm at four for that right now.
Speaker: Oh, I hate everything. I'm just going to go crumble into dust over here. ah Speaking of cool architecture. was going to say speaking of tumbling to dust. yeah Well, sure my my ah campus had a really cool chapel on campus called the the White Chapel at Rose-Hulman.
Speaker: Pretty cool. i just want to shout that out because I thought of architecture because we're talking about architecture. Ours is more park-related, but... but still Two of us are at least.
Speaker: Yeah, at least two of us. um Two and a half, maybe. Maybe.
Speaker: um I have actually loved architecture for most of my life. From like sixth grade until I started college, I was dead set on being an architecture major.
Speaker: I had every intention of going to Georgia Tech for architecture. That was my plan for many, many years. Went to a different school for architecture, but then I was doing like three all-nighters a week because if you don't know, architecture programs are often called architorture.
Speaker: And ah they mean that. And I was um so sleep deprived I was hallucinating in calculus. So... Yeah, Allison was trying to be my arch nemesis.
Speaker: I was going to say, so yeah so her childhood dream was to be someone Nate hates. Yeah, I mean, to be fair, I'm a mechanical engineer, so it's more the civil engineers that hate architects, but but I can still jump on that bandwagon.
Speaker: You can empathize. Yeah, I understand why they would not like that. See, now I like for my day job, I kind of work both sides of that, like doing the creative aspect, but then also the ah actually making that creative thing happen side of it.
Speaker: Being telling people, hey, that ain't going to work. You got to start working with like load bearing beams and then get back to me. I work with signage, okay? Okay. Which another episode we still need to do is park signage. But I need um i need to write a thesis for that one first. so That's understandable.
Speaker: Given my line of work. Yeah.
Speaker: But that said, I do love architecture. Even though I dropped out of that major by... a I think by October I decided I didn't want to be in architecture anymore. And I switched to an English major.
Speaker: i I wish I was mathematically inclined enough to do either architecture or and or some form of engineering. would It would make my um aspirations a lot easier to attain.
Speaker: I was mathematically inclined about 15 years ago. Not anymore. yeah All I obtained from calculus is the word differentiation and that it had like the little so S looking squiggle. You already got it wrong.
Speaker: What? That would be an integral. You're talking about a derivative. So you didn't get the word right. And then you got. know the word. I know the word differentiation.
Speaker: what i know the word differentiation That's about it. I don't remember anything about it anymore. I got a three on my AP calculus test and then didn't have to didn't technically have to take math in college. And then I still did as a GPA booster because I was a nerd.
Speaker: I was a big old nerd. GPA booster takes calculus. Yeah. And then I hallucinated through classes and still got 106 on the tests. So.
Speaker: Wow. I was really good at math. I also tested above calculus and I still took calculus. Because I intended to take physics because I was an architecture major.
Speaker: Well, I was, I had to take physics and calc, but I was told that I was be ready for calc two. And I was like, yeah, I don't believe you. So I took calc one and then like all of calc one and some of into calc two was all stuff I'd learned already. However, it's engineering school. So I still didn't do very well, but but I did pass everything. So yeah, I switched to an English major and very promptly never used calculus once again in my life.
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, i to be honest, a lot of there's a lot of software you can plug in that does the calculus for you, but you've got to learn it to know how to use it and know if it's correct.
Speaker: And now I'm in design and really don't use much more than algebra and geometry. Algebra sucks. um This is good conversation because we don't have any trip recaps to do. oh Yeah, i was going to say, I don't have a trip recap, Jorga.
Speaker: You already heard what I did last week. What did I do last weekend?
Speaker: I had my grandparents come visit and that was fun. that's right Didn't you go to Kentucky last weekend? You did. You went to Owensboro, Allison. Oh, that's right. I went to a convention. Yeah. That had nothing to do with roller coasters whatsoever. I actually took a roller coasters without Mike.
Speaker: i was I was about to say Kentucky Kingdom, but I realized there's more to Kentucky than Kentucky. Yeah. That's what they want you to think. That's what they want you to think. but There's more than corn in Indiana.
Speaker: There's more than a plus one in Owensboro. Even though apparently I went to the 7 Brew right next to Maui's and didn't even realize it. Well, you'd already been there in Ridgings. I did already have that cred. And...
Speaker: There is a swimming pool in Owensboro. I know because I swam there once. Maybe twice. A whole swimming pool? like Like a 50 meter pool that they split into two twenty five s Sure.
Speaker: Or in the summer they use it as a full 50 meter. Sure.
Speaker: Yeah. and I didn't go to Owensboro a whole lot, but been there before. Yeah, I went to sell books at a convention, and we really we didn't sell a huge amount of books, but we had a lot of fun, made some connections, and then I bought one entire thing from the convention, and it was because a bumper sticker made a Sky High reference, so I had to buy it. That works?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Allison, I've got a question. Oh, no. It's not that hard of a question. yeah Well, maybe it is. Do you have a favorite... um piece of architecture in any amusement park? It could be Disney, Universal, doesn't matter. Do you have something that sticks out to you as your favorite? oh we're We're just jumping into the episode now?
Speaker: I don't know. i just i just I just wanted to ask. I'm just talking about architecture. um
Speaker: One that I was really fascinated by was the Peach's Castle in Epic Universe. That's valid. um yeah It just looked really pretty, and it looked very true to Mario 64.
Speaker: Oh, yeah. it It does. It looks exactly like Mario 64.
Speaker: Which I played the remastered version on the Nintendo DS, but still looked exactly like it. yeah Now, if I skipped anything with that question, we can...
Speaker: back what do you mean i don't know you said i'm going right into the episode so oh no i just wasn't expecting that train sorry um so i i have had architecture on my list of potential episode ideas for a long time like since we started the podcast um and once we got the uh meet the new co-host episode i'm like well i have no more ideas right now so let's pick one from my list so i picked architecture um Not knowing I was going to have a not great day. and
Speaker: My brain is no worky today. But I can still talk about things. um I'm sure there will be a lot of overlap with like other creative things especially like ones that we've already done like station design and like park entrance yeah i like how you knew exactly what i was about to say even though i didn't have one in mind oh yeah um and then i put a note on here like we could also dip into on-site resorts and i have at least one on my list that i want to mention at some point today but i do want to do resorts as its own episode at some point oh yeah i mean talking about how i'm just in general
Speaker: Say that again, Michael? From an architectural standpoint? Resorts just in general? Just in general. Okay. So like talking about architecture, theming, immersion,
Speaker: um relationship to the park, proximity. e
Speaker: That will get added to the list. Yes, yes it will. If it's not already. Is it? i don't think it is. Oh, I can mark off architecture. Um...
Speaker: but yeah know ah I can't really say I've had a long-standing fascination with architecture. It's definitely something that has grown as I've gotten older and just developed an appreciation for um like visual communication and stuff in terms of Well, in in terms of in terms of with theme parks, how they can communicate a style and a mood and stuff.
Speaker: And then... developing a real affinity for for that area of really more so just thematic world building, I became more clued onto, you know, different architectural styles like throughout, well, throughout the world really. and in And in, um you know, the history of the history of um city building, the history of infrastructure and stuff. um i through Through there, I found out how interesting different regional architectural styles that relate back to different time periods you know throughout throughout Europe, throughout Asia, throughout the Americas as well, actually can pop up in different theme distractions in different parts as well.
Speaker: So it's kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy or just like a my awareness coming full circle a little bit. Do you have a favorite architectural style overall? Like not just theme parks? um I would say I have a couple at least. um I've really um developed fascination with Nouveau and Art Deco stylings just in how flowing how um how freeflowing
Speaker: and how
Speaker: really just free of form they can be um in terms of their application. You see a lot, you don't see, it especially with Art Nouveau, maybe a little lesser with Art Deco, but you don't see a lot of straight lines.
Speaker: Although like the the forms that their decorative characteristics can take often do stick to like um straight and rigid forms as ah like when it comes to you know how decorative and artsy you can make you know doors, window frames, um you know stair railings, things like that.
Speaker: Things that are otherwise very ordinary and mundane to look at. um they become really integral in just communicating a time period um i i what that well i'm sure we'll get to like different displays of architectural styles with different attractions and stuff but i considering that's the heading for one of your ah sections of notes indeed wow way to way to out me to the world like that thanks um but um yeah i i had written down right to happiness as well and just the um if did for anyone who for anyone who has been to pop salon belgium um or just like has like has a
Speaker: an awareness of what that station building and the maintenance building looks like. There's a lot of... And just that themed area by Ride Happiness as well. There's a lot of Art Nouveau inspiration in a lot of the architecture of the buildings and the thematic fixtures throughout that land.
Speaker: the thematic fixtures like throughout throughout that part throughout throughout that land which is really well done really connects um the style that they wanted to go for for that attraction with the naturalistic look that Flopsaland Belgium has and it works really well yeah I think Ride to Happiness is beautiful like the whole thing just entrance, walk up okay they got that stained glass it's really cool
Speaker: I actually had to look up like elements of Art Nouveau architecture characterized by asymmetrical facades, flowing whiplash curves and the use of modern industrial materials like iron glass and ceramics to create fluid living forms.
Speaker: Yeah, that fits for a Ride to Happiness. Oh, yeah. And I had actually not really even heard of Art Nouveau before you mentioned it. so I'm learning. Nate's going to learn today. I'm going learn today.
Speaker: You're going to learn today. I mean, I've obviously seen this places, but I just didn't know what I was looking at. You just don't know like the names of the styles? kind of yeah but Well, and I know names of styles. like I have favorites. I just didn't. I hadn't heard of Art Nouveau specifically.
Speaker: So what's what's your favorite style then? I was trying to decide while Mikhail was talking about his, because I love like ah Baroque style architecture and I'm, I really have an obsession with like medieval stuff.
Speaker: Like i love castles and bricks or like the like block style bricks. um And any park that tries to like emulate that immediately, like,
Speaker: becomes a little bit better for me. um I know we'll start getting into parks later, but like, what's the drop tower at Fantasialand called again? Mystery yes mr Castle.
Speaker: Love how Mystery Castle looks. Sorry, sorry, sorry. mr Mystery Castle. Castle. um That Karnan looks really cool.
Speaker: um I don't know if I can pronounce this correctly, but we'll be talking about this park later. Vleegend Hollander? Oh, where's Jen? Oh, yeah. That whole, like, the queue building, the where the ride comes out, all of that is awesome.
Speaker: So, like... Vliegende de Hollander. Yeah. I don't know if those are all necessarily just ah medieval, but they're all castle-style things that are just really cool. And, like, the castle ruins that they try to do in the Turninog area at Emerald Park it is really cool.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. But yeah, I mean, i really love ah
Speaker: Baroque style as well. Like, just like out in the wild or whatever where we see... Full disclosure, we are probably going to get into we are probably going to get into a lot of Disney stuff in this episode. um from like Inevitably.
Speaker: But we're going to do our best to try and highlight different um ah displays of architectural styles and just like things that other parks do well like in.
Speaker: non-Disney slash Universal Parks as as well, because there's ah there's there's a lot to there's a lot to ah praise and a lot to comment on, like just in parks in general. Mikhail is already making this podcast sound a lot smarter.
Speaker: um I agree. Thanks, much thanks I'm sorry. With a quick Google search, I've learned that one of my favorite architectural buildings has some art nouveau to it.
Speaker: And I didn't even realize it's like Spanish Gothic and ah art nouveau. It's the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. That is on my bucket list. High on my bucket list to go to. They just finished it, by the way.
Speaker: It just got completed after like 200 plus years. Yeah.
Speaker: They've been building it for, if you don't know the lore of the Sagrada Familia, it's been being built. I mean, Anthony Gaudi died like a hundred years ago this year, and it was his life's work, and it took him, like, it's been under construction for a very long time. Is it this year? I think it's this year, because when they completed it, there were like a hundred years...
Speaker: to the year that Antony Gaudi passed, they finished it.
Speaker: That's wild. That's a little bit of architectural lore that I guess I know. Yeah. First first of all, congratulations on finding a way to seamlessly weave the Sagrada Familia into this conversation. He didn't take a reason why that was his goal.
Speaker: Which is why I applauded. Yeah. um but But yeah, no, um I... have been inside the Sagrada Familia. can't wait. It is gorgeous.
Speaker: I love that building. um And it has, it's like, it's been storied for obviously, you know, decades upon decades of just like how it's,
Speaker: you know been in the process of being finished for so long i actually kind of liked the idea of it never being finished i did like that and always perpetually unfinished i did i did really want to see it before it was finished but then it just popped up on my feed the other day it was like oh they finished it i was like oh well well i still really want to see it like that doesn't change my desire to see it but yeah the whole it being under construction has been the thing um Apparently, he died on June 10th, 1926. So there's a non-zero chance they finished it 100 years to the day he died. Because I don't remember what day they finished it.
Speaker: Eight days ago? Yeah. that's what That's about when I saw in my feed.
Speaker: What day did they finish? How do you spell that? So gross. I got it. Sagrada Familia.
Speaker: I don't know. It's 144 years in built since it started being built. The final piece and cross of the Tower of Jesus Christ were installed in February 26th. Oh, okay. So I saw it later than I thought. But still 100 years since he passed.
Speaker: Yeah, this is secondary elements, sculptures, and the monumental glory facade will continue to be built with final completion expected around 2030 to 2030. Okay, so like the main structure is finished, but not it's not fully done. yeah Okay, so I still got time to see some construction around it. Structural completion on February 20th.
Speaker: okay so There we go. What's funny is when you go um when you go and see it like and you stand like nearby and stand in front of it and stuff, you can see sections um like you can see the sections of the building that look way older than the parts that they've oh wow proved upon improved upon and added. you can like And I kind of like that as well. like I like that they didn't
Speaker: what I mean, like not that I know this to be intentional or not, but like you can you can see I like that you can see the the sections that are newer than the original them the original like spires, the original bridges, the original towers, stuff like that.
Speaker: um Definitely, it's almost like looking at a timeline of its construction, in a sense. yeah Yeah, that that is really cool.
Speaker: Juxtaposition of old versus new. right yeah Yeah, that's a great... Not hiding the past. excellent
Speaker: But yeah, no... um ah Yeah, Art Nouveau as a style is i feel I feel like... um i mean this this sets are ah like in terms of its consistency, date back to like ah like late 19th, early 20th century and stuff. So it's not as old as some other styles, yeah some of the styles that you know date back to like the 13th, 14th century, even even like the 9th or 10th century and stuff. But um it i feel i feel like it does inform a lot of them a lot of the more modern styles that we see just in buildings in general. I feel i feel like um there's ah there's a lot of like style fusions that take place. um some some evident in theme parks as well that use um that use like like just the architectural behavior in found in art nouveau as well yeah so it's very and it's a very influential in a lot of ways i'll probably notice it more now that you've mentioned it and that brought my attention to it yeah yeah
Speaker: So I know like my favorite style of architecture, i can't honestly think of like any immediate examples at theme parks. I love gothic architecture. Yeah, that's fairly... I was thinking about offer gothic ahthic architecture yeah earlier as well.
Speaker: Because I know I have an obsession with um the Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh, which I think Nate mentioned already when we started of the episode. um And that's definitely gothic architecture.
Speaker: I think it's, what did Google say? Late gothic revival architecture infused with elements of Art Deco and modern skyscraper engineering. um But I am absolutely obsessed with that building.
Speaker: I could go just sit there and stare all day.
Speaker: And I almost cried the first time I got to go in it because I was so excited because I'd been looking at that building for 20 years. Yeah, that's awesome though. Getting a chance to actually go inside. Yeah.
Speaker: mean, I don't think that's um a style that's often used at theme parks or I can't think of any offhand. I'm sure there's European parks that. Have some gothic elements, but can't think of any of them.
Speaker: Exactly. Yeah, exactly. um I'm thinking about... um You had mentioned it off-recording, but... um Alton Manor? Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Like, not the not the um the new Dark Ride, the actual manor in the movie. yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: like has elements of really kind of like both of what you guys were were talking about um like gothic architecture in some of the spires and then na when you mentioned like mid medieval uh um and sort of castle work, stone work. Well, stone work used in castles and and and stuff. there's um There's definitely a lot to be found in Alton Manor, which is such a unique...
Speaker: establishment to find in a park and really really because like the like i mean like the manor was there before the rest before any of the rest of the park was yeah like that's what Alton Towers is built around right I mean in that case you're fusing like an actual establishment that then had a park built around it right yeah like something that pre-existed like the whole park I wish we had more time to explore that when we were there Yeah. It was very much a day of get all the creds. That day was a little bit rushed because of how big that park is. Right. But it was still really cool to walk by and see them.
Speaker: And for the fact that it's open for like 20 minutes a Yeah. Closing at what? did They close at six. It's something. Yeah. Oh, you got it on a good day then. Oh my goodness.
Speaker: Closes at 4 p.m. a lot of days. 4 p.m. That is too early. You hear me, Alton Towers? That's too early. If Alton Towers listens to the Inverted Creative Podcast, they'll have more questions and answers for you. Well, all I'm going to say is if they do happen to hear this, that's too early.
Speaker: i mean, keep it at least at least till 6, and even that is too early in my opinion. Yeah, I think on our honeymoon, like almost everything closed at 6, except for Gronoland.
Speaker: Yeah, because Gronoland's like a city-integrated nighttime-style kind of park. That's insane. so Yes, it is there. um and so The Swedish insane. Oh, yeah.
Speaker: So, i mean... Gronelund is different. Oh, Tivoli Gardens claims to close at midnight, but doesn't actually close at midnight.
Speaker: I was ranting about this before we even started the podcast, and I happened to get the perfect segue into my complaints about Tivoli Gardens. Except the good thing about Tivoli Gardens is that it fits really well into architecture. Because if you don't know about it, it is quite literally in downtown Copenhagen. And the outside walls of Tivoli Gardens match the surrounding architecture perfectly. um They just close all their rides like two hours before ah the alleged park close at midnight.
Speaker: And they don't post that anywhere and don't tell you. And will yell at you if you try to ride Ristrapanen after they close it. So anyway, Toffoli Gardens is beautiful. Yeah, it's beautiful.
Speaker: They've got arches at each corner, I believe, that you can enter the park from four sides because it's on a city block. And um then inside they actually have a pretty large and lit up pagoda, which is very cool. And I got to see it at nighttime.
Speaker: um And so it's a very beautiful park that... On the inside, it's an amusement park, or well, a theme park, really, um with lots of lights and lots of beautiful but beautiful buildings. But the main thing that has to do with the architecture of it is just how well it blends in with the rest of Copenhagen surrounding it.
Speaker: And it's it is really fascinating if you can get past the fact that they spited me out of a Breakman roller coaster.
Speaker: um But at least it was pretty. It was very pretty. I will give it that for sure. It was very pretty. And I was excited to go there until I left. but so Until I was forced to leave. Yeah.
Speaker: Two hours early. I mean, yeah i did i I still left before midnight. But i I could have technically stayed in there. They were physically open. They just didn't have their rides open.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: so um ah i i mentioned i mentioned art nouveau um before but i wouldn't really say i have like one singular favorite architectural style just in general like i mentioned art deco as well which which um i think is a little bit more on the post-world war two side of things because it's been used in a lot of um and i might i might be a little bit off base with this but like i i seem to remember it being used in a lot of sort of like post-world war ii propaganda kind of posters and stuff but um it
Speaker: kind of brings um ah a more like technical imagery sort of um feel to what Art Nouveau accomplishes um I just i just um associate it with a lot more straight lines and as well as the um more so like free-flowing imagery as well but um Art Deco is definitely one of them brutalist architecture i was waiting to see if someone mentioned that well oh really yeah brutalist if you look in the show notes nate it is mentioned oh i had architecture pulled up on my screen okay brutalist yeah yeah my bad i had the wrong screen pulled up the audacity
Speaker: ah but um yeah no brutal brutalist architecture is is another is another one um that i um i just i just appreciate because i grew up in the 90s where a lot of the a lot of the a lot of the buildings like in my city of leeds and then a lot of buildings that saw on like tv and stuff used a lot of brutalist architecture um so it's it's kind of got like a a bit of a nostalgic sort of feel to it for me at least and um there's something there's something to the intimidation factor of like what of that brutalist architecture can can bring to the appearance of a building i think
Speaker: We saw um a very little taste of it in Poland when we went to the Krakow Eye. And the you brought up the intimidation factor. i Yeah, I can see that. Like, honestly, walking up to it, it was kind of, I don't know, um it was a bit daunting. It was like, well, this is kind of kind of in your face, kind of wild. And it's just like, you know, hard corners, you know concrete buildings, a very gray looking area.
Speaker: yeah Style, typically. Very ominous feeling. Ominous, for sure. Yeah. and um But it was really cool to see like in person like a legit, probably Soviet-era ah brutalist structure, a few of them.
Speaker: We walked right under one that was quite brutalist. Aren't you talking about the one that like we had to go... Like we parked behind it and then we walked under it. That that's the building I think of first of like all of what we saw. Yeah.
Speaker: I think were definitely some others, but that one definitely. There were definitely others. Yeah.
Speaker: I think there's, um, Not that I've heard anyone mention this about this attraction, but I kind of do think there's a um a good example of brutalist architecture you ah used in quite a high profile attraction.
Speaker: um Like when you think about it, the Lost Coaster? that station that station building has a lot of brutalist characteristics to it. Like when you look past the the entrance sign and, um you know, what all you associate with just like how Velocicoaster looks and feels visually. The station this asian building, you know, it's a lot of, um ah what's what's the word?
Speaker: It's a lot of ah like just,
Speaker: stained stone faces um like on the outside uh let alone like when you get into um like past the raptor paddocks and stuff yeah into the lock the locker area those exposed like stone walls with not very much on them at all yeah it just becomes even more so when you get up into the into the pre-show room and then into the into the loading platform as well like there's a lot of that kind of um
Speaker: ominous experiment like expert like scientific experimental kind of feel yeah you have like the heavy duty ah concrete kind of like precast or poured concrete um right all the hard corners and you know paint for Not the purpose to make it look pretty, but the purpose to make it substantial and hold up over time.
Speaker: And then, yeah, in the case of Velocicoaster, for the theming to make it look ominous and and daunting. Testing facility, essentially. Yeah. yeah I think some of the Velocicoaster queue, kind of like where the statues are, kind of going through that.
Speaker: um The front, some of it feels a little bit contemporary, like postmodern, but I can see where you're coming from with the brutalist to from all the paddock and out front and the lines.
Speaker: Right. um And well, the paddock makes a lot of sense because they're trying to fortify it to not let out real live raptors. Yeah. so Real live raptors. Put a coaster in the paddock. What could go wrong?
Speaker: They're quicker than you realize, Claire. They're quicker than she realizes. realizes. know what this architecture needs? More teeth. More teeth. Incredible problem solvers.
Speaker: Um...
Speaker: But yeah. I also had classical down on down on here as well. Um... You think back to like um ancient Greek and Roman times, like the architectural styles used on the on the um buildings of importance in those times.
Speaker: Alison, I know you've recently just seen the Pantheon in person. Yes. That was my 500th coaster. Oh, you mean the actual one. Yeah, we had a great rain ride on Pantheon because it's pouring. We did not go in the Pantheon. We just saw the outside of it.
Speaker: Yeah. i've i i've the Same. i've I've seen it in person. I've not been inside. But um yeah, like that that that kind of architecture, um especially when you're able especially when you're able to like stage the um architectural um the the the ancient the ancient like ruined um ruins of those buildings. um i I just find really interesting as a symbolic piece to be able to tell the story of those civilizations from from back in those centuries. this This just makes me so disappointed to think about the coaster Pantheon after going to Rome and seeing the architecture there. Yeah, because Pantheon has like an entrance sign and that's about all the architecture it has. They could have done so much, especially through the forum.
Speaker: in There's so much grassland out there they could have built a around where the coaster goes. but Escape from Pompeii has better theming. Yeah, I was going to Escape from Pompeii is actually pretty cool.
Speaker: Roman Rapids has their theming. Rapids behind Pantheon. The power of the the five Roman gods does nothing for theming. Not to go back to Islands of Adventure, but I'm going back to Islands of Adventure. We're going to go back there a lot. We're going to go to Poseidon's Fury, rest and peace in And that whole Lost Continent area oh it's was very Greek and Roman Ruin-esque.
Speaker: was very greek and roman ruin esque Well, Poseidon is a Greek god, so there you go. But that area, despite it being quite aged and not really popular area at the end of its life, was really cool to see and walk through. And, you know, I actually really love Poseidon's Fury. I got to do it in 2006 and then again in 2015. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, that's right. um And I don't know if... Maybe I did it in 2019. But it was just a walkthrough attraction, but it was so well done, I think.
Speaker: It was a product of its time, but... I never did. That whole area was very cool. Yeah, I liked it a lot. i did the walkthrough 2022, I think it was.
Speaker: I think it was something it closed the year after. Yeah. um Yeah, i ah yeah i did I did it the one time. It was really it was really quite fun.
Speaker: Yeah, you could see some of the screens were getting outdated from like late 90s, but like it was still a cool, very cool attraction. e Yeah. Worth noting in that same area is a Mythos or I guess whatever. It's it's being rethemed, isn't it?
Speaker: I'm not sure about that. I don't know what's going As far as I've heard, it's supposed to be being rethemed and turned into a quick service er restaurant. And they're planning to turn ah the Thunder Falls restaurant in Jurassic Park into the park's um like proper sit-down restaurant. okay okay so so there's going to so there's still going to be like a proper hopefully good sit-down restaurant in the park is just going to be in Jurassic Park as opposed to Yeah, because I know Mikhail, me and you did Mythos years ago and it was gorgeous inside, absolutely loved it but the food was just not
Speaker: great from what i remember we were very let down i i had some kind of some kind of pasta dish i can't remember which one it was but i i really liked mine i'm not gonna lie whatever i got i was disappointed i don't remember why but this was like four years ago but yeah anyway we're moving with those very pretty yeah but
Speaker: I don't think I ever went inside Mythos. I think you could eat outside. Is that correct? I believe so. I think I did that a couple times.
Speaker: I actually looking through some of my footage from 2015 of Poseidon's Fury and Mythos to see if I ate there, but I don't think I actually went inside of it. Okay.
Speaker: Unfortunate, but that's okay.
Speaker: So to um ring off a few of... We we can we can go into like favorite displays of... Or like notable displays of architectural styles in parks. yeah um um I had... we can We can get the elephant out of the room. I had Fly at Phantasialand written down. That area is so good.
Speaker: For, yeah, just the, the um,
Speaker: not that I could be completely forgetting and and a any any other instances, but probably the best execution of steampunk carpet architecture in a park.
Speaker: I would have to agree with that. I can't think of a better one. Like when we talk about, because because um i ah so like i i i do ah I am going to branch off and talk about like Jules Verne architecture as well, which which kind of steampunk is kind of inspired by.
Speaker: Like Jules Verne architecture you can see in a couple of different Disney parks, but like steampunk specifically, I yeah i don't i don't really think you can do better than then than fly ah and well ah Rookberg at Phantasialand. That area is... like every Everything that everything that steampunk um brings to like one's awareness, I think, is just done, not only done in and included in Rookberg, but done really well.
Speaker: it's so it's so tasteful without it without it just being like hey steampunk in your face like like there's a there's a there's a story interweaved in throughout all of the different um all the different buildings the different fixtures the air balloons on the on the on the um the area walls um it's all within the story of aaron aaronautica um that it's telling like throughout that throughout that land and um
Speaker: it really feels like, it doesn't feel like a theme park land. It really feels like you're in a city. Like one criticism that I've heard about Rookburg is that it doesn't have a focal point, so to speak.
Speaker: But you go ahead and tell me what city you've been to that has a singular focal point. not like To be fair, Fly is the focal point. Yeah. But it's kinda not though, because it's all it's all it's everywhere. like it's right It's not like one specific thing. There's not a frame that it's in. on You yeah yeah' just walk in and it's all around you.
Speaker: it's ever it's It's everywhere. yeah Like... I mean, like, the city of Paris has the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. They're not one singular... yeah You know, they're not singular focal points of the city. Like, you can stand you and in so many different places in the city of Paris and not see either of them.
Speaker: Because you like you're just in the city. And I think Ruckberg does that really well of making you feel like you're just implanted... it Well, just, like, implanted and immersed into a world that is just...
Speaker: everywhere around you and happening everywhere around you yeah um you can kind of say flight is the focal point just because it's the one attraction in in the area but again yeah like i mean i don't want to repeat myself but like in a way i guess like that all over the place the train is the focal point because i can stand there and just watch everywhere that train goes trying to figure out where it goes through the episode or through the episode through through the land oh my gosh We will get back to you on updates on if I was on the train. Yeah. yeah
Speaker: It's just a mess track, but it's, but beyond the mess of track, it's a whole area. If you take out fly, it's still like incredibly immersive and all around you.
Speaker: Obviously fly is the centerpiece and the reason they did all of it, but it's still phenomenally done. And, likeyle You said you feel like you're in a city in that area.
Speaker: Most of Fantasialand feels like that to me. Oh, 1000%. Like, Klugheim also feels very similar, just instead of you know your steampunk design, it's a lot more of the... What would you call it? Medieval, I would say, probably. Like Viking, almost. Like Viking, kind of. yeah Somewhere in between. Yeah, around those two.
Speaker: um You've got the... Chiapas, which is supposed to be like... it Mexico. mexico yeah that's I was thinking in Mexico. or then, obviously, the the African area of of Black Mamba has the the buildings that look like they're straight out of like Morocco.
Speaker: and just i could go on and on about Fantasia Land and how well it does. Rookburg, I think, does it the best with the immersion. But that whole park is just...
Speaker: full of just beautiful architecture everywhere. I also think of, I don't even remember the name of it but the tower that Winges is in, in that kid's area.
Speaker: Yeah. There's a whole, there's a part. I don't remember what it's called. i know what you're talking about. Woosetown? Something like that. It's like the only, pound re that's home only area of Fantasialand I think that breaks immersion is when you see a giant Crazy Bats VR sign. I wouldn't know. I haven't been on it.
Speaker: You haven't walked by that part to see it says Crazy Bats VR. i vaguely remember it, but I wasn't paying too much attention. oh yeah, I do remember that time. Yeah. I've been scrolling through my phone to see, like, the Fantasialand pictures, so I didn't just have that saved somewhere, but.
Speaker: And then even like even aside from all those, you've got the the main square of Berlin at the front of the park as well. Oh, yeah. It's just gorgeous.
Speaker: And those buildings... That makes you feel like you're in a city too. Easily. Yeah. And then everything is ruined by the front entrance. yeah Yeah, I didn't even go in that entrance. yeah I've been there one time and I went in a side entrance by a Mystery Castle. Yeah, I've been there twice. Once was Mystery Castle entrance and trenton once was Thurmatamba entrance.
Speaker: So I've not actually we've gone through it. We've talked about that entrance before on i'm sure like on on another episode. yeah Probably the Fantasialand episode or the Park Entrance episode.
Speaker: I know Mikhail was on the Fantasialand episode. Yeah, ah yeah. that if If I didn't mention there, which I probably did, but sure i feel and i and i um i actually i actually really like that the entrances as unassuming as it is to make it it almost it almost gives the it almost gives the park a sort of speakeasy adjacent feel that you just walk in second can kind of you just you just walk through like you know what could be any you know any any mundane doorway or entrance and then you're greeted by one of the one of the most immersive theme parks on planet earth yeah
Speaker: this makes me think and i'm gonna go back to universal because we're gonna keep going back to universal um the king's cross entrance for diagon alley where you go through that train station orre not train station but you know that talking about through the wall yeah or whatever because in harry potter lord diagon alley is hidden through a brick wall um but then you just go through that and then you're in Diagon. That feels like Rookberg, actually. They kind of feel somewhat similar. Indeed.
Speaker: Yeah. um Yeah, no, I love the way they built that wall that you're talking about, because they built... um you know two entranceve you've got the split entrance where you walk in normally, then they've got a wall in front of you, so you have to go around it, and then they have that split entrance in the back too, so you have to you feel like you're going through a wall.
Speaker: Even though you're just walking around, it does feel like that, and I think that was genius. ah Obviously, with the they did at the Epic um going into ah ministry, the flu powder,
Speaker: It's also another cool way to enter via yeah Harry Potter style, but oh that' ah ah that wall is just cool. Yeah. The ministry ride ministry writers is a whole nother level of talking about architecture.
Speaker: That's very true. i can't believe I didn't think about that one. None of broke that one down. Yeah. Holy cow. i have trouble identifying which art architectural styles specifically that um that hole in the Ministry uses, but it's just jaw-dropping. I was... Alison, you weren't with me the first time I wrote it, were you? um i with
Speaker: I was with ah Jen and Laurel and um Nick Chandler and a few and a few others. um Jen can attest to it. When I am...
Speaker: what when when i am when i am Like like in in moments like that when where I am seeing a seeing an and an an immersive attraction, ah ah a themed land, a roller coaster that's really blown me away.
Speaker: I get really quiet. Like that's kind of just like, like when I, when I'm, when, when, a when an an attraction like this leaves you speechless, like I, I'm quite literally speechless. Yeah. That tracks for knowing you.
Speaker: I go, I go, I go very quiet. I kind of get, not like well yeah i mean truthfully like yeah like really within myself um and mean jen can attest to it i was i was silent for for a lot for a lot of time um apparently the style of the Ministry of Magic has Victorian and Brutalist designs with art deco and classical elements mixed in.
Speaker: So it's kind of okay yeah that sounds mixed bag, but it makes sense. those yeah But the Victorian era makes a lot of sense because isn't that when that's when Fantastic Beasts is set in. Is that correct?
Speaker: I think I haven't seen those movies to be fair. It's been a long time and I didn't pay attention when I did watch them. So I think, I think I'm right on that. People can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that makes a lot of sense for when the ministry would have been built.
Speaker: Yeah, I am by no means by by no means whatsoever, like, any way academically, you know, connected to just architecture in general. So definitely anyone listening, feel free to correct me on anything that I might be saying, because I could be i could be very off base with with the details of things.
Speaker: But, um... Yeah, no. um ah Yeah, Ruckberg definitely is one to champion. just um whether or like I guess whether whether or not you feel more inclined to go towards Ruckberg or Klugheim in terms of which one you feel more of an affinity to or which one you feel more immersed by, i guess it I guess it to some degree comes down to personal preference.
Speaker: But i do I do think that um Ruckberg has the most distinctive style, I will say. Yeah. look a ro on there there is There is one thing going on there.
Speaker: And everything, like ever all of it like feeds into that one... style of visual communication going on with going on with going on with the buildings not even not even to mention charles lindbergh yeah the hotel hack um yeah whereas like in in cloak in cloakheim you can see you can see You can see the world they built, but there's ah but there's a few different um architectural elements like at play there.
Speaker: Similarly to um ah Deep in Africa, it's a lot more naturalistic. and I guess they they um the buildings speak to... Waterfalls. Right, yeah. yeah um rock ah Waterfalls, a lot of rock work, a lot of stone work in there. um that the The buildings do speak to... a i guess a little bit more of a stereotypical style um of the the one or maybe a few different african countries um yeah i think i think rookburg is the is the one that really speaks to one specific visual idea and executes well fleshes the hell out of it but first and foremost and then really executes on the details i think there
Speaker: I think I agree that Rookberg does do it better. The reason I like Klugheim more is I'm a sucker for Viking slash medieval architecture. I just love both of those. That's not even to say that Rookberg does it quote-unquote better than Klugheim.
Speaker: i just i just I think it's a bit more distinct. but like you but I can't fault anybody for like you know preferring Klugheim to Rookberg or vice versa. like They're both... just masterpieces impeccable yeah um but yeah no i was i was gonna mention uh jewels verne because i and when i was looking at um different styles earlier today just to prep a little bit um i had looked into uh
Speaker: just like like the ah the the time period of of jules verne and like them and like their most famous work and stuff and i had been i had been thinking about um i had been thinking about uh mysterious island at tokyo disney sea where journey to the center of the earth and 2000 and 20 000 leagues yeah yeah yeah under the sea i'm halfway through that book currently i've been halfway through that book for a year say like at least a couple of years or maybe two i stopped halfway i've made it ten thousand i i've not read that so you made it to 10 000 yeah i really want to finish it but there's just so much talk about fish and phosphorescence i'm like oh my gosh
Speaker: Oh my goodness. Oh, that's funny. But don't they have a model of the Nautilus in mysterious island area? Yes, I think they do. That's like when I eventually visit there, I'm going to like be the biggest nerd of all time.
Speaker: Are you not already? I am already, but like I will nerd out about during the center of the earth and 20,000 leagues under the sea. I already nerded out about, i know they already changed the theming on the one at Disneyland Paris, hyperspace mountain, but seeing like Baltimore gun club from to the moon and back on there.
Speaker: oh that was so cool. indeed and that's that's why that's that that is why that hyperspace mountain overlay is an absolute travesty and needs to be done with yesterday yeah um i'm not gonna get into that rant this evening it's another rant for another day no um god that that yeah the baltimore gun club with seeing seeing a chart of an x-wing like 10 minutes later it doesn't anyway anyway i'm not going to anyway um yes but um that um
Speaker: yeah i'll i'll just I'll just say that's Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris. And um the building behind it, I can't remember the name of the building behind it, but um there's a lot of Jules Verne-inspired architecture.
Speaker: utilized in in those in those two Disney attractions, which I think, like, this is why I make the make the ah like distinction between like the steampunk application of Rookberg and then Jules and then like jules Verne, um spit light like, they are kind of Mm-hmm.
Speaker: architectural style because they are they are kind of different m They are different. Yeah. To speak on brutalist architectural tendencies here and there, I feel like because of how industrial and how cold... steampunk as an idea can be I do think it incorporates some brutalist sort of imagery in it as well with all the pipes the gears the pressure gauges things like that whereas Jules Verne style architecture from the fictional century and stuff
Speaker: from the um just like fictional nineteenth century and stuff actually that has a has a bit more has a bit more curvature to it um kind of kind of takes from a bit more artsy style like something like art nouveau um it takes it takes a bit more from that and you can see that in a lot of the um uses in like some of some of the framework some of the railing work in mysterious islands some of the canopies i think i think think there's um either a kind of either a large canopy on the entrance to the area or like the entrance to one of the attractions maybe 20 000 leagues where um you look at and you look at it and it's like this wouldn't really fit in steampunk it's almost too
Speaker: too, um, irregular ah to fit in, um, what you would typically think a steampunk sort of like visual to look like. And,
Speaker: I like that. as as i As I think more about um theme park architecture, i am finding myself um being more drawn to styles that almost dive into sub-genres of like more, I guess, quote-unquote, mainstream architectural styles can be.
Speaker: and i And I think... um i think I think them being able to key into that for for those attractions really makes them feel unique at the Disney parks. um And really like one of one applications.
Speaker: also i feel like ah I feel like I'm rambling at this point. but Well, I mean, I was going to mention with that them having the Nautilus there, um the Nautilus is a very more Art Nouveau, Art Deco, lean well, not Art Deco, maybe more Art Nouveau. leaning um design. I mean, obviously it's it's a submarine. It's like a boat, but it's it's like it got this gold outer shell to it. It has the curvature of the fins on the top to help it propel through the water and and be ah you know so steered from inside. But it's also intended to look like a
Speaker: very large mechanical narwhal based on the book um they they spend a lot of time at the beginning of the book i mean spoilers for a 200 year old book or however old it is um uh approaching 200 year old book uh it um they are unsure of what this anomaly is in the water. They see this bright light and it's swimming around irregularly.
Speaker: And, you know, submarines are not really a common thing at that point. So there you think, Oh, it might be some giant narwhal is what they keep describing it it as. And yeah so the fact that it's imitating nature, but it also has this mechanical shiny glow and look to it uh,
Speaker: ah is what kind of leans into that more art style of, uh, not necessarily architecture cause it is a submarine, but it, it builds into where at Tokyo Disney see where they have that mixture of, um, you know, brutalist and then art nouveau styles.
Speaker: Um, also that is like really high on my bucket list. DisneySea is because of that area specifically. mete Like, I can't wait to see all of it.
Speaker: ah i I will get to that park one day before I know. Yeah, me too. Knowing me, I'll say I'll get there at some point and then it'll be like way sooner than I think because that's usually how things happen. Yeah, honestly though.
Speaker: Yeah. um I'll be like, yeah, I'll get to Fantasialand someday on my very first Europe trip. I go to Fantasialand second. So... That was already three years ago.
Speaker: Or you'll get to Poland eventually. this here takes no convincing whatsoever to go. Yeah, exactly. I got to be open to all trips at any time. I got to like... ah Oh, you know what? You mentioned Poland. So now I'm talking about Zadra and I'm thinking about that whole dragon area.
Speaker: That is really well-themed. The best well-themed area of that park. But um that really does embrace the the Viking, the medieval style architecture in that area. That whole area is pretty immersive, especially for the kind of park that Energylandia much more of an amusement park.
Speaker: It does a very good job of that, too. I must. That is good to mention since we were just there. Yeah. Yeah. I will say the um that i do I do like that area, and I'll mention Aqualantis in this as well, because it applies to that area. I do i do like what they did, to a lesser degree Aqualantis, but... um i do I do like that the the job that um that they did with those areas in that park. If they existed in a Universal park or Phantasialand or Europa park or Efteling, a park that we usually associate with top-of-the-line themed areas...
Speaker: theming or themed areas It probably would fall a little bit flat for me just because there are certain areas that you can see throughout those two lands where you can you can see where they save money.
Speaker: a Like the, like for the the the vast majority, like the windows are, the windows are not windows. They are painted on. um A lot of the fixtures are flat and not like, like they're not 3D in like, in like the walls and in some, in certain, just certain, certain like roofs, so certain like roofs.
Speaker: ah the The stonework is an actual stonework. You could like, you can see what they tried to like give the visual of, yeah but it was done on a lesser budget. They tried to emulate it more than actually recreate it.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. In a way. Which, like, I i like what i like what the end product became yeah for that for that part. Because it is still it still kind of works. But, um yeah, you can you can see you can you can see where, I guess, the budget ended.
Speaker: Which, honestly, I don't know what kind of budget Energylandia has now. that I mean, obviously... government for a while was putting in money to like build and put rides in, but I don't know what kind of budget they had for theming purposes. So honestly, to get that kind of effort out of them at their level is pretty impressive. I know they have the most coasters in the world, but they're not on the level of, uh, Fantasialand, Efteling, Disney, Universal, Europa park, you know, they're not on, they're just not on that level in terms of architecture and theming.
Speaker: unlike i don't think I don't think they're trying to be compared to those. and No, they're just doing a great job in their own light. Yeah. yeah For sure. I'm glad we got to mention Energylandia because dr yeah um I hadn't had that in mind even though it was just there. I was going to say we're an hour and ten minutes in and you only just mentioned Efteling.
Speaker: Well, i'm I'm ready to talk about it. I'm ready to talk about that part. I did mention, was it Vliegend Hollander? Whatever they're on that. The, like... Vliegend would 100% correct your pronunciation on it if she listened to the episode.
Speaker: Yeah, I don't know how to say it. I will admit that. But it's the... It's the coaster, the water coaster, dark ride kind of thing. What's that?
Speaker: The Flying Dutchman is what it... It is the Flying Dutchman. That's what it translates to. So maybe you should just call it that. Um... That entire ride from the wall the area surrounding it, the ah building that it's withheld in,
Speaker: um when you're riding it, like obviously the theming is going to be best on the ride, but... Dude, if you're i was I got to be in the front row of that, and it doesn't really get you that wet, so I wasn't all that angry when I was done with it because usually I don't like getting wet. But um front row of that, you're in an incredibly dark area. I don't want to spoil too much, but there's like this lantern on the front, and you've justre it's full immersion into your
Speaker: you know, kind of like just a pirate going through these um villages. And i obviously didn't understand any of the the Dutch on it, but... um just the visuals of that ride with how they, built the stone work and the woodwork and just made everything tied together so well and make you feel like you're in such a different world.
Speaker: That ride itself has is probably of all of the, the themed rides in Efteling is probably my favorite. Um, Now, the entrance i mean the entrance to Efteling is its own thing as well.
Speaker: It obviously has a whole story to it um inside in the stained glass. And it's, oh, I don't want to get the stat wrong on how tall it is. Is like 150 feet tall?
Speaker: Thatched roof. It's like the the largest. um It has been talked about on this podcast before. In the. um When you guys did the. Yeah. Entrance episode. But.
Speaker: um It's just. It just can't go without mentioning. um I'm looking up how tall it is right now. Yeah.
Speaker: I believe it is the tallest um thatched roof building in the world. It is 141 feet tall, according to Google.
Speaker: And it's massive and expansive. And it just, as soon as you walk under it, you're you're like, okay, this is...
Speaker: This is legit. We're in you know, we're in Efteling, which we talked about how big Alton Towers was earlier. Efteling probably, i don't know for sure, but it probably gives it a run for its money. I still think Alton's probably bigger, but Efteling is massive. It still feels bigger.
Speaker: Yeah But that just That might That might just be Because Um Efteling's Park layout Makes more sense to me In my head Which is I can actually say Now that I've actually been Someone last year um It It It just makes More sense to me In my head Whereas Alton Towers' is Layout is like You You either You You go One way here And you're at Nemezon And have to turn back On yourself and go Like to the rest of the park Apparently it's not close Yeah
Speaker: um so Hold on a second. eling and The entire resort, okay. In Alton Towers' favor, um it it says... It's giving me weird ranges, but um it says that Alton Towers is 500 to 900 acres, but that's probably including the whole resort and everything.
Speaker: And then it says Efteling, including the entire resort, is 990, but the park is 180. Which is a lot. Don't get me wrong. That's a lot of acres. But um it looks like Alden Towers definitely takes the cake on that. Indeed.
Speaker: Either way, they're both very large parks. and have you been so Have you been to Efteling recently? I haven't been for three years.
Speaker: Because i'm I'm just thinking, when did that new hotel open up there? I think that was last year. Was it last year? Okay. Because I remember really liking at least the front-facing side of the hotel.
Speaker: Yeah, i heard that it wasn't...
Speaker: Because i because i know I know Jen got on here and said it didn't look that very well done. maybe she didn't. I don't know. don't want to put words in her mouth or anything. But I thought she said she didn't really like how the hotel looked. And I remember thinking...
Speaker: I actually quite liked it. I don't know. um but Let me see. i think it had to do with like the visuals of like the proximity to the entrance and just it wasn't cohesive.
Speaker: it Yeah, I saw where it was going to be and if it, you know... I don't know. if i did I did find it kind of weird. as like it's It's like as you walk into the park, it's just off to the left, randomly. Right.
Speaker: It is kind of weird to have it right there, I think. Yeah. Because I knew where it was going. I just didn't obviously see much of any of it. Right. Um...
Speaker: Another architectural element of Efteling that I want to mention is just the entrance to vocal rock. The one with the giant bird out front. hey Yeah. Now, there's not necessarily an architectural style to that, but the artistry behind that is just so crazy. It's a giant bird. I don't even know what kind of bird it is.
Speaker: But... Oh my gosh. They just put that on the facade as the entrance and made that the focal point of the ride. And that's only just next level.
Speaker: um We were talking steampunk and that Baron falls Baron 1898 falls right. Yeah. Right into the steampunk. Yeah. as a show They had, they had b and, m do a whole different kind of support system underneath so they can make it look like your typical, um I won't necessarily say steampunk. It is actually kind of,
Speaker: art deco a little bit maybe yeah like art deco industrialist industrial of yeah they use those ah structured steel beams underneath it um with the lattices like like raw iron yeah beams yeah yeah and uh obviously the the large wheel up top because it seemed to a mine a haunted mine and ah So like that wheel and you've got the gold accents around it and it is very art artist.
Speaker: Yeah. Artsy. Yeah. um While pulling together, you know, in immaculate looking architecture underneath. Yeah. And then you just on top is just B&M track, like a, like a roller coaster. Like it's, it's, it's very impressive to me that how it looks. Yeah.
Speaker: i just i love i love um just I just love the color scheme like overall used for basically the entire park. Everything fits with each other. that um those like Those burnt oranges, those bronzes the um with the with the different shades of ah green used to get... light They just like work together in all their different all the different styles and all the different shades used together across like all all their attractions. I think the Intamin floating island there has like all yeah the same kind of the same kind of color scheme to it. The hotel does, to be fair. um it like It has like a naturalistic
Speaker: feel to it yeah there you go um but also works in all of its different applications whether um architecturally speaking whether it whether it be like something that's more that points to more industrial sort of application in in terms of baron or you know a much more natural feel to it like um like dance macabre has um or like symbolica the the show building for symbolica i was just going to mention that i'm trying to figure out what exact style symbolica is in it looks yeah it's got the domes on top it looks almost like i don't know if it's eastern european turkish that kind of
Speaker: I was thinking something close to something pulling from like Islamic. Yeah, or or Islamic. Yeah. um But it's a very it's a very cool... i don't know. The very cool style doesn't really add a lot to the conversation, but like I'm just very fascinated with Symbolica and how it looks.
Speaker: This is all adding to conversation, to be fair. did you ah Did you ride ah Villa Volta, the Vakama Madhouse, when you were there?
Speaker: It wasn't open. Okay. and Unfortunately. Because the front of that literally looks like... like a manor, like ah you're walking into somebody's mansion, garden kind of oh well approach. and It's very... i mean, it literally doesn't look like a ride.
Speaker: that That's a Vekoma manhouse. Yeah, no, it doesn't. That's why. Yeah, I wish I could show the picture on the podcast, but um it it literally looks like you're walking up to what I would probably call...
Speaker: Victoria era inspired structure and you go in the side of it. So you're not even going in the front door just to keep that immersion. You go in the side and then in the inside, there's a guy that talks for like five hours in Dutch about what you're going to ride. And I don't understand any of it.
Speaker: yeah That's why it felt like he had talked forever. Yeah. yeah And you just, you feel like you're visiting a house. I mean, it's like a historical, like you feel like you're walking into like this, this has had significance in the past and it's all just theming for an amusement park because they did so well with emulating that architecture style.
Speaker: Like I said, I believe it's Victorian something.
Speaker: So becoming so much more educated about architectural styles just in this episode. I am i'm doing like research as we talk.
Speaker: um So just to carry things on a bit, um I also had um the the um England section at Busch Gardens Williamsburg um listed as well um for its use of...
Speaker: 15th to 16th ish century Tudor style buildings well Tudor style architecture on the buildings that's really the only the area like English area I've seen in a park that that like sort of displays like you know a time period of England in that kind of way or just displays that particular time period of England. It's the only one that I can really think of that's really rooted in that time period in terms of its architecture and the buildings in there and everything. I know there's an England section in World Showcase at Epcot, but I honestly can't really picture how that one looks. I've not really seen it that intensively. Now that you say that, I'm not remembering much about it either.
Speaker: um But i've i've always i've always really liked um i've always really I've always really liked that being the the first area that you walk through when you walk into Busch Gardens Williamsburg to juxtapose that against um the Morocco area that you walk into Busch Gardens Tampa, which is...
Speaker: honestly much less like convincing yeah i kind of feel like um the the the at bush gardens williamsburg they did a much better job of it in in my opinion of really like transporting you into the idea that yeah we're going to be taking you around different european countries and actually to some degree like making making you feel like like you are there. I think the styles around those lands, of ah Bush Gardens, Williamsburg, are a much a much more stereotypical intentionally than they are like actual like pulling from the reality of those countries. But i think that i think I think they execute that really well in the sense that it lends itself to... guess...
Speaker: ah ah i guess on a surface level, a bit more interest, a bit more ah bit more visual interest and stuff. um And in that same park, actually, speaking of, um I also had Alpengeist Station written by me as ah for the um For the Swiss chalet um style that it uses for not only the station building, but also the the um the the the other buildings around the Alpengeist Plaza.
Speaker: I always really enjoyed really enjoyed like just being in that area and... yeah uh two tattis's station i can't really speak to the architectural style but it's cool as hell and i really like it um just like that that use of that use of stonework and um almost as though the uh the station is buried underneath not that i not that i know like the story of two tattis within like the asterix comics or anything yeah um
Speaker: it like yeah the way it's almost like a cave like yeah wait that's what I was gonna mention was from their comics I don't i don't know the backstory either but I feel like that's if I had known the like Asterix comics really well I would have been a lot more like impressed by how what they probably pulled out of it like pulled out of the actual comics to put it in there same um actually learned about those comics and In general, just briefly before going there, because I had a ah friend who, um her family was from France, and she told me like all about it. She remembers it from like growing up and everything, and I was like, oh, that's actually really cool. Then I put two and two together that that was Park Asterix, and then ended up going there right after a few months, eight months down the road, I think, from that.
Speaker: Nice. That's really cool. Yeah. um the last The last couple I'll mention is Seuss Landing at Islands of Adventure. I've just always really enjoyed the fact that they don't use, like, there are there are no straight lines used ah for, like, any of the buildings, any of the walls, any of the, um you know, like, roofs or anything, like, throughout the entire area. It's all curves. Yeah.
Speaker: Literally all coves. It's kind of fascinating to look through that area knowing that fact. Because then you try to find yeah straight lines and you don't Yeah yeah yeah um And it it like it it lends itself to the cartoon feel Like brilliantly Very well and And you know Obviously to keep kids interest While just playing around in that area And stuff um And the last one I'll mention is um A part that Honestly and i mean like
Speaker: is is is funny It's funny, this is one of the most visited parks on planet Earth and yet it rarely gets mentioned on our side of the world. um It being in China, so it's understandable. But um Chimelong Ocean Kingdom is a park that I... is It's high on my bucket list. I have no clue whatsoever when I'll go to China. But um but Chimelong Ocean Kingdom is a park that I definitely have highly on my bucket list. And one of the reasons is because of how really like how just like thematically like high quality is it's it it is um both chimelong ocean kingdom and chimelong spaceship but i'll talk about the entrance to chimelong ocean kingdom um it uses um the the the the
Speaker: the the imagery of coral reef and coral reef walls um like in its entrance like kind of underneath basically a massive i think it's a stingray it's uh it looks like it's a devil ray yeah i'm looking it up for the first time i knew about this park but i'd never seen pictures yeah yeah it's incredible right yeah there is um yeah but like you like ah it is it it i don't know if it speaks to like you know a particular uh architectural style more so more so just like um pulling on the visual imagery of um well just aquatic visual visual imagery um Like the walls are, you know, like the type the type of the type of ah rock formations you'll see in ocean, like under underwater in oceans. There's loads of coral reef, like all over all over the walls and everything. there's ah I'm actually kind of surprised there's waterfalls coming out of them or anything. But um that kind that kind of imagery, just the way that the way they executed that entrance is just...
Speaker: so so good i i need i need there there are a lot of things that i need to see in this part like with my own two eyes and just like this kind of love level of attention to detail is is one of them um i could speak on chime long spaceship as well but um that's a whole different kind of area um but yeah chime long ocean can like for for um in part because of its um arc like its attention to detail thematically and its architecture whether it speaks to a specific style or not is just like it's it's top tier like it's completely top tier um
Speaker: And yeah, i did I did want to mention the Mediterranean entrance to Port Aventura as well. those Those buildings, they have such a really great Mediterranean style to them when you walk into the park and when you when you walk around um Furious Baco and that and that front an area. It's gorgeous. If you've if you've been to any been to Spain or any Mediterranean countries, like you'll be able to pick that style like out just like that.
Speaker: It's great.
Speaker: That is a region I have not been to yet. Yeah. Wait, Mediterranean? Well, like the just Spain, essentially. Oh, Spain. Okay. I thought you meant Mediterranean. i was like, you just went to Italy. it was like You know what? Italy's right. yeah Spain makes sense. I have not been there yet either.
Speaker: But I really want to go, you know, the Cigarra Familia and everything. Yeah, I know. Brought it up twice. was going to say, like, that would have been like talking about Porto Ventura would have been a good time to bring it up if if you hadn't already. If I hadn't already. I can't get that long. I get that far into a discussion of architecture not bring it As you guys saw. It's like me in the Cathedral of Warning.
Speaker: Which also came up very early. Yes, it did. Like immediately for you.
Speaker: I'm going to roast one real quick before we go into anything else. um Kings Island's interest entrance entrance sucks. yep Oh, it's so ugly. clean That is the architectural style of gross. Petition to make that official architectural style. Gross. Yeah, I can make that a whole... yeah Just ew.
Speaker: do on Gross. Yeah, i don't I don't know what it is. I mean, it's obviously like whatever the most recent, I don't i guess, modern architecture. It's just it's they could very barren. It's flat, shingles, roof. It's not impressive.
Speaker: um Even when they put the Halloween facade on top of it, or in front of it, I guess, it's not great. And then when they take that same Halloween facade and put Christmas lights on it and act like it's a Christmas house,
Speaker: It's even worse. So, uh, King's Island, love you overall, but man, you gotta make that entrance look better. Kings Island and Contagio Land are very similar in that regard where they do some things very, very well, but an entrance is not one of them. Once you get in the entrance, that's where everything shines. I would say for both of those parks. Yeah. yeah Um, I don't know if Fantasia Land's entrance is as egregious or if it's just unassuming, but Yeah, it's definitely more so an assuming. Yeah, I would say King's Island is egregiously ugly.
Speaker: or No offense, King's Island. We love you. but um And then I had my notes just to mention it's not necessarily architecture itself, but it's um displaying...
Speaker: um architecture around the world inside a park. It's just any of the Legoland parks that have, you know, those, um, they call them, don't know if they call mini cities or mini lands, I think is what they're called.
Speaker: Um, but, um, from the ones I've been to, you know, like California, ah Florida and the one in Windsor, um, they all kind of have their own regions too. Like they have,
Speaker: they have different landmarks in each one. Obviously the one in California has got like the golden gate bridge. And I think it still has your Eiffel tower, your statue of Liberty, like you're very big things throughout the world. But I think it's cool that Legoland does that. It has, it has the mini lands to show off different architectures via Lego inside a park.
Speaker: So I just wanted to mention that before we got any further. yeah Because that is a very cool way to show off architecture without actually having the said architecture. I love those mini cities. They're probably my favorite thing to to spend time looking at in any LEGO Lumpart.
Speaker: And i I love Lego architecture itself, the like sets you can buy. I have a collection of those. um Other than the Burj Khalifa, which I got as a gift, um I have a rule where I can only get one if I've been there. I've got the Eiffel Tower, a Sears Tower in Chicago. will not call it the Willis Tower.
Speaker: The New York skyline, the Chicago skyline, um the White House, the Capitol building, the Lincoln Memorial. I'm trying remember I have any more. Oh, I have the Statue of Liberty. i have not bought the London one yet. I keep seeing it at like Target and I'm like, I should buy that. I've been there. and then i like I've literally been to all of the ones and in London, I think.
Speaker: like We saw the London Eye. We were right next to that. We saw the Elizabeth Tower. We saw... i don't know if Westminster Abbey's on the Lego set or not. We saw that. I can buy the Trophy Fountain set now.
Speaker: I really want that one, but I got to go there first. Do it. Well, um yeah. I obviously want the Sagrada Familia one that's going to come out. and It's apparently going to cost like $400. $800. I don't know. $800, something like that? Very expensive. easy But ah if I go to the Sagrada Familia, i will spend probably as much as I did on flights to get there on the Lego set.
Speaker: and That's not a good thing. No, it's not a good thing, but I would do it. And I got to get to the Burj Khalifa because I have a Lego Burj Khalifa and I've not been there and that's not okay.
Speaker: Oh, and then if I get to Australia, I got to get the Sydney Opera House one. know if That one's really cool. But got to get to Australia first. I have rules. Rules are rules. Rules are rules.
Speaker: have have morals and policies. It's kind of like Mike and his Nano Coaster collection. He has to have ridden it or cannot possibly ride it because it's defunct now before he gets a nano coaster. I can't do nano coasters.
Speaker: I have two. i just know. i just.
Speaker: It's not like they're hard to put. the I don't know. I'm just not a fan of how they work. I've got one. built it's back there you guys probably can't see it but it's el toro it's the first one i ever got and the way i learned that i don't like nano coasters it's like me and having the coaster cutouts yeah i have one coaster cutout don't enjoy those much either um but the one i got was um the mass mocha bravo coaster uh the one that was an art piece itself
Speaker: um I was like, I have to get this. I know I don't like coaster cutouts, but I have to get this. um Because it's you know it's gone. so My mom bought me a Fury Nano Coaster, and it's still in the box, in the original box.
Speaker: I feel bad she bought it for me, but it's also like I don't like Nano Coasters. It can just get bent so easily, and I don't know. Parkscapes are worse for what it's worth.
Speaker: Really? Because they fall out. They don't like actually stay in there. Unless you glue them in. That's annoying. Anyway, sorry enough that didn't mean to get on that rant. but It's allowed. um I will very quickly go through my little list of notes before we get into we have some extensive listener comments that we got.
Speaker: e like Oh, we didn't mention Voltron, and I really want to talk about the Wardenclyffe Towers. Okay, one. The first one on my list is Kluikheim. We've already discussed that. Second one on my list is Voltron Station.
Speaker: The station is awesome. That main building looks like you pulled they pulled it straight out Croatia. Yeah. But the Wardenclyffe Towers, man, that's... the electrical engineer part of me coming out and being really, really nerdy about, it's just, that was a real structure and, that Nikola Tesla built himself. Uh, he didn't build it himself, but you know, they tried to transfer power between the Wardenclyffe towers and
Speaker: building those into Voltron to make that part of the theming of where they were successful and they were able to transport physical matter via electric electronic signals and power through the air. So they have the Wardenclyffe Tower on the main launch the beginning and then the Wardenclyffe Tower all the way at the other side where you do the turntable.
Speaker: That is just so cool. I could go on why I love Europa Park forever. And yes, obviously Voltron's my number one because the ride is good. but like Oh, that's even better.
Speaker: like It makes it so much better. Sorry, I want to talk about the Wardenclyffe towers. We've already done three episodes on Europa. Let's do another. Yeah. we'll do it Only Wardenclyffe towers this time. I'll go into the extensive history of Nikola Tesla and the Wardenclyffe towers.
Speaker: We'll do a coaster-focused episode eventually on Voltron. okay im i'm trying to get a um ah picture of like can desktops being slow but um I'm trying to get a picture of... picture of... Well, or just pictures of the station building up on here. just to um Because like I think that it pulls like Renaissance architecture influence from it. I just wanted to get a visual of it. But... Yeah, ah I see some renaissance um sort of influence in in the architecture, which I really like, which which reminds me of... um
Speaker: another another kind of like architectural style that I that I do I do really i do really wish that more parks played around with um because that style is just beautiful and it's so character filled and everything um and that further reminds me ah of like uh so don't how to transition to this but um the
Speaker: ah landex but the like The land expansion that Gronoland is supposed to be going through with in the next sometime in the next few years, I think. um a lot of a lot of the style of that area, both theming and just like architecture on the buildings, is supposed to be fashioned around the Stockholm exhibition of 1897.
Speaker: Oh, wow. Which kind of plays with a lot of run ah ah kind of like similar influences as well. And I think you kind of see similar sort of tendencies parts Liseberg as well.
Speaker: just like tendencies in certain parts of lisaberg as well Now, Alison, you've been to Leesburg. I haven't. i don't know if you can speak to much of that, particularly around the Lunapark area where that Vekoma Junior Boomerang is. i'm just I'm just speaking to what I've seen like on videos and stuff um and just noticing an architectural style or just like similarities between that kind of line of thought that i just put together kind of haphazardly. I'll be honest, I did not pay much attention to the ah architectural styles when I was there.
Speaker: yeah my main my main thought was just man how did they get this coaster up here yeah yeah those kind of those kind of um uh like pathway awnings and stuff. It's a lot of white arches and a lot of landscaping um with a lot of, like, green and gold accent around it. Right, yeah. Which, um and in pictured in Gronolan's concept art that they released of this land expansion, which is supposed to be, like, for a new Vekoma launch coaster and stuff, ah there's... there's ah there's
Speaker: a lot of similar shaping in like the the fences in the in the waterfall fixtures um uses a lot of um like pattern shrubbery um to kind of just show off that style as well that like 19th century kind of style which kind of in turn relates to um So I like some some some renaissance patterning as well.
Speaker: Sorry. that's that's ah Voltron Station kind of just sent me down that kind of mental metal rabbit hole little This episode was a very good fit for you, Mikhail.
Speaker: Evidently. You have many thoughts. my My thoughts are a lot um more scattered in terms of my notes. Yeah.
Speaker: Still at Europa, I put a Kronisar on my list and just. I don't even know like what style that building is very like. i guess it's meant to be Viking style, but it feels kind of like New England style a little bit on the outside.
Speaker: Maybe that's just me. i mean Yeah. look oh Like the little like waterfront area that it has. It feels very good New Englandy. where so ah ah my mind goes to Scandinavian based on the the name and spelling of Kronasar Kronasar yeah which don't even know if I'm spelling that right or pronouncing that right but Yeah, it like my my brain goes to just like scan Scandinavian building style. um
Speaker: ah Very pretty. yeah It reminds me, even even though Mechalodon is literally themed to like New England. um Hi, Brian. I see a lot of um similar similarities there. and i see I see why you brought up New England. um like those Those styles are kind of similar.
Speaker: Yeah, I think it might just be the waterfront area kind of makes me think of that. but No, but like you um, yeah like i I see that similar kind of style to like, sort of like, like the narrow, the narrow buildings, all kind of like terrorists together. Um, there's a lot of that in, there's a lot of that in Western Germany from what I've seen.
Speaker: Um, like definitely in, um, and definitely I've seen that in, i saw that in Brussels last year as well in Belgium.
Speaker: So it's definitely ah a kind of ah building style that spans, like at the very least, different Western European countries. thanks Yeah.
Speaker: Just to mention real quick, I stayed Santa Isabel, which is Spanish, but had a lot of you know Spanish Catholicism structure in it and that kind of vibe as well. I think just all of the Europa resorts are themed to one style of architecture or another based on the country they're from right that's very cool we will definitely talk about more of those i mean obviously we already did a episode kind of based on the resorts and are but i'm sure we'll bring them up whenever we do a resorts episode um
Speaker: Trying to quickly you get through my list because we're already an hour 45 in. I will give him the only architecture I can think of in like a Cedar Fair Park that stands out to me is a Grand Pavilion at Cedar Point.
Speaker: Yeah. yeah Besides like steampunk.
Speaker: um Almost like half-hearted of steampunk. Right. um But Grand Pavilion has always very much stuck out to me um since it was built. Very pretty right on the water.
Speaker: e And just the blue is a very nice blue. Not yeah was that it has anything to do with architectural styles, but it's just pretty. Very much into it. um Thinking back to kind of brutalist design, um I think of the Helix Q. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. yeah It's a lot of lot of maze, lot of metal, lot of. Yeah. Open space, just random Q line going every direction that you can think of.
Speaker: Mm hmm. um but I still don't know my way around that. but not A lot of shiny steel. Not that I've seen it in person, but like I've seen videos. It kind of makes me think like I would feel like I was like underneath a highway bypass.
Speaker: Yeah, I can see that. It does feel like that, yeah. yeah
Speaker: Yeah, those are kind of the main ones worth hitting on my list. The rest are like less architecture and more general theming, I guess. e
Speaker: I think we could probably get to our ah some of our guest responses.
Speaker: I guess listener responses. There we go um Yeah, i had put on socials and all that. It said, what are your favorite buildings you've seen at theme parks that are truly beautiful, useful, and simply add to the experience?
Speaker: What are some buildings where you can see they tried, but it just doesn't work out in your opinion? i was going to say, we didn't read and really get to like... bad execution so much. Apart from... i just threw out Kings Island. That was in my notes. It's
Speaker: and's so funny. That's like the only bad one we can think of. I'm sure there's more. but Seeing where they tried and where it didn't really work out. um I'm excited to see what people say.
Speaker: We're just such positive focused podcast. It's hard to think of The standout negatives. Yeah. We'd rather highlight the good ones.
Speaker: But still, worth I think it's still worth kind of pointing out the ones that don't execute things as well as... Krampus.
Speaker: Krampus is the best example I could think of. That that mock water coaster at... Is it Neglo Land? At Neglo Land, yeah. That had... the coolest looking concept art. It turned out to be a little mound with a flat, yeah flat little like crampus face on it So that's the best one I could think of. That's a poor execution on a cool idea.
Speaker: a Anyway, you're doing better than me thinking of things. That's just the only one that popped in my mind. There's our one bit of a constructive criticism.
Speaker: for parks regarding architecture. Grant, the ride is still pretty cool, but... Yeah, I'm sure. It just didn't look as cool after... Well... and Okay, we'll just go go for the first one if we're gonna stay on that. um Chris Leonard via Patreon um said that for a building that didn't work out, and we'll get to the rest of his question as well, although it contains a lot of the things that we've already talked about. and He says...
Speaker: For a building that didn't work out, I'll actually go with the new Hershey Park entrance. While the new one is more efficient for security and tackling a larger number of guests per year, the old the old one added so much charm and nostalgia that the new one doesn't capture in its more bland facade.
Speaker: The old one down the hill after the small shops and cafes um really set the tone for it being an independent park in the countryside of of pennsylvania this new one is too modern slash corporate slash bland which i've i've heard that a lot um like as basically like the main criticism of of that of that new entrance um it's something that they had to do like as the park was expanding they had to they had to make the entrance bigger it they had they had to be more accommodating for you know a larger number of guests per day just so people weren't in like half an hour 45 minute lines to like just to get into the place and everything um but like it it's um
Speaker: it's kind of a case of how do you, and we, and we did mention this like off recording as well as like, how, how do you, how do you, how do you expand a park's entrance, um, to be able to be functionally more accommodating for a large amount, a larger amount of guests while also keeping that charm and whimsy and and nostalgia, um,
Speaker: ah in its like visual communication as you're as you're walking up to the park? how does it keep this How does it keep its cuteness? How does it keep its quirks to it while also being much bigger than than than it was?
Speaker: And the i've i've asked I've asked myself that a few times and just in in preparation for for this episode, I kind of, I found myself going back to Efteling.
Speaker: like but that That entrance kind of does exactly what I just... you know described. like is it's It's whimsical, it's folksy, it's charming, it's cute, but it's also massive. Yeah, it's very easy to get through there.
Speaker: Yeah. So that's ah that's a um that's an instance of having the right amount of large-scale functionality while also being very character-driven and everything. Yeah.
Speaker: There are probably more as well that we, I guess, don't really um like at acknowledge in this way. But that's the that's the one that came to mind.
Speaker: For what it's worth, I do i do agree with the with the criticisms of Hershey Park's entrance.
Speaker: Yeah, i suppose you know Hershey Park better than either of us do. Yeah. Yeah. um I actually haven't been back since they extended that that entrance oh and added an added candemonium and everything. like the last time i The last time I went to Hersheypark, for anyone who doesn't know, I used to work there um for a couple of summers back in the 2010s.
Speaker: i'm i haven't I haven't been back since since they did that. The last time I was there, it was still the German village at the at the start and everything. Yeah. um but yeah no just seeing seeing photos of it or just like i i definitely get it and to be honest i like what they did with the buildings you know with like the chocolatier and chocolate town and and every and everything but yeah i i i see that i see the criticism though
Speaker: And then just to get to the rest of his comment, um he also said, i feel like when architecture comes up you have to start with the gold standards of fanassy and and europa park that make it presentation the core element of their rides and experiences ah fly without its architecture would still be a great ride but would be way more boring without its near misses and guests and hotelsur interactionctions Voltron's architecture at the beginning and halfway points make it key parts of the right experience i separate just from from from just another thrill ride separate it from being just another thrill ride. um
Speaker: Architecture in the States has been improving with stuff like yeah Ministry of Magic, Epic Universe, and How to Train Your Dragon, also Epic Universe. little more forced perspective out of a Isle of Berk where they got that very small hut on top of the mountain, but it's supposed to from your perspective, look like a normal sized hut just very far away.
Speaker: think that worked out pretty well for them. i will also i think Yeah, I think they did. i think about Isle of Berk as well is once the like the one thing that I really love with what they did with, um well, maybe not one thing, but like with with all of the um arched roof buildings and all of them, as as well as making them look look as layered in...
Speaker: just sheer volume of them sometimes because it looks like they're almost like stacked on top of each other and like the assortment of them just just keeps going on and on and on it feels like it's never ending but i just i love how they made the didn the the um the knot wood beams that make up each of the buildings actually look like wood because they're not Because they're not wood.
Speaker: But to the untrained eye, they absolutely are are wooden are like structures and stuff. Yeah, they do a great job with that. Yeah. It's that level of... like I can only say from from what i've from what I've learned throughout you know actual applications in the in the attractions industry in this way, like it has to like that has to have been...
Speaker: handwork that yeah did that. like Some of it they can pour concrete in the shape of wood, but a lot of it has to be very detailed handwork. You're correct.
Speaker: Yeah. yeah and Incredibly well done. Similarly, I always think of a going through the key line from Ministry of Magic and just all the tiles that are in that queue and how those all had to be. Yeah. and like Yeah.
Speaker: He almost said it. almost said the thing. It's almost Swedish. Yeah.
Speaker: It's pretty ah crazy that they did that. Yeah. I still blame you for how much I say the word wild now. Wild, the yeah. Wild is the easy replacement for insane Groniland.
Speaker: Okay, now i just I need a park to create a coaster called wild. and Please no. Please no. no wilderness run is good enough we don't need a wild wild eagle that's fine we don't need anything that's just wild that's that's wicked no that's at lagoon
Speaker: what an icon that's at blackpool
Speaker: and You guys are missing a big one here. ah That's also a black hole.
Speaker: Anywho. it's Mikhail, would you want to read the next one for no reason in particular? Yeah, not at all, right?
Speaker: So our lovely Thrills on Film says, Corkscrew at Cedar Point has such a great Pizza Hut shaped station.
Speaker: I just wish it could be presented by Pizza Hut instead of M&M's. Agreed. You can always tell when they put another restaurant in a Pizza Hut building because they don't change It's still shaped like Pizza Hut. Maybe that's what happened with Corkscrew. It's actually in an old Pizza Hut.
Speaker: Maybe. It's like putting anything in an old Waffle House, you always know. Yeah. She also says um Magnum is the perfect space age station.
Speaker: Gemini is the perfect disco ball station. agree with that. I agree with that one. I love that. I love that disco ball station. um Those three Arrow buildings are my top three buildings at Cedar Point.
Speaker: This absolutely tracks for Laurel. Poor Iron Dragon. yeah I know. Iron Dragon's an arrow, but she didn't mention its building. Iron Dragon's been left off bad and bougie. Yeah.
Speaker: but I guess Cedar Creek Mine Red is also an arrow and didn't get mentioned, so that's okay. Yeah. that's all good those are the Those are the three arrows. Those are the three good arrows at the park. Well, wait, no, not Corkscrew. What am I talking about?
Speaker: Corkscrew's not good, I'm sorry. I i love Gemini and Magnum. I developed a bit of an appreciation for Corkscrew my last my last visit. I appreciate the airtime hell and that's about it.
Speaker: That's the part I hate the most. Do you want me to read the next one? Sure. This is from Ethan. He says, I'm a huge fan of the Tower of Terror buildings, especially the one at Disney's Hollywood Studios, because it's painted that color and styled like it is to blend in with the Morocco section at Epcot when looking across the World Showcase Lagoon.
Speaker: Yeah, there's some forced perspective. I was going to say, I'm really surprised that we haven't mentioned that yet. Yeah. um One building I'm not the biggest fan of, he says, is the Cosmic Rewind backstage building. Because even though it's painted bye-bye blue, from outside the park, it's a massive eyesore. I agree with that, too.
Speaker: Because it's like the exact opposite of what ah Hollywood Studios' Tower of Terror does. The exact opposite. um The sight lines.
Speaker: The sight lines. um But yeah, I mean, think we mentioned the Tower of Terror buildings. my person My personal favorite one is the classic. Like it is at Hollywood Studios. But I really love how the Paris one is.
Speaker: What is it like teal on the dome on top? And then the rest of the buildings like this off white. It's very pretty. There's one in California that's ugly now.
Speaker: Still a fun ride. The Guardians is not very pretty as a tariff here, I don't think. What's the one at a Disney Sea look like, Mikhail? I think you mentioned that before we started. Yeah, it's very different because it's based on a completely different story.
Speaker: um I can't really like describe it like off the top of my head, but it's a very, very different design. um Much more elaborate, I think.
Speaker: Much more... um Oh yeah, it's a lot more brick style with a lot of ah like stone work on it. yeah It's very different.
Speaker: That one's very pretty. That one might be the prettiest one. Yeah, I think so. My favorite still, Hollywood Studios. um what the the why What I love about um ah Hollywood Studios' this is um iteration of it is... how it's up on a berm so like you know the you know the main midway that goes like like towards it the actual the actual show like the actual show building is up on a berm and it's angled ah like away from from the pathway like it's angled to the left of the path like to face right left of the pathway and um it kind of just in my in my mind anyway um it it
Speaker: creates a bit of mystique and intrigue and just like mystery to it which then feeds into as you as you obviously go into the building everything but i just because of its positioning i just i attribute it to it always being viewed in the middle of a thunderstorm like with just lightning striking around it which then feeds it which then feeds into just like the visual the visualization of the story anyway right i just i like it's such a otherwise you know like inconsequential little detail that i actually feel like it feeds right into how you should feel theoretically like getting onto the road which i really like
Speaker: I agree with both things that Ethan brought up. Like they did not execute the hiding of the guardians building very well. No, they did not. but But, I do love the classic painting it to look like Morocco. So it blends in.
Speaker: That's like quintessential Disney world architectural lore. Yeah, exactly. That fact. Glad we got it in here. Thank you, Ethan. Yeah. But it is also cool to see it in person when you actually notice it.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: Just to go back to um Laurel mentioned in Magnum, Magnum Station. Of course Laurel mentions Magnum. but but um Yeah, no, just that that that building and Millennium Forces building. Like, it it screams 80s to me.
Speaker: And like, it's... I mean, even though, obviously, Millennium Forces built in 2000 and whatever, but... um But, like, he's talking about just, like, visual communication and, um like, the sounds you might hear. Like, I mean, like, I can't, I can't,
Speaker: um
Speaker: like, imagine those buildings without hearing at least, like, Millennium Forces theme song. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: yeah but Or like Magnum's Lift Hill. cool cool cool Soundtrack all its own. oh yeah. Indeed. but yeah there is there is there is something to be said about architect architecture um just recall it recalling back um just sounds like like the which like or just like music that you attribute to you know memories of memories of buildings and stuff
Speaker: very very good I will take the next one from a long, long, long, long. Lakeside and Rye Playland have awesome art deco features, but they aren't super well preserved.
Speaker: I've not been to either of those parks. um I've been to both. Rye Playland's front entrance was under construction when I was there, so I really see much of it. But yeah, it is deteriorating. And Lakeside might be one of the saddest parks I've ever seen because it could be so beautiful and it's very art deco. Like that whole park is very art deco, but you can just see how much it's deteriorated to the point where they tell you when you enter the park, not to take pictures or videos.
Speaker: I did not listen to that. Um, but like, that's wild that they say that. Um, but, um, it would be beautiful, especially if it got a full renovation, it would be incredible. And, uh,
Speaker: It would encapsulate the ah the history of that go in that park. But yeah, it is in a very sad state now. Yeah. Not Colorado, but the state of being.
Speaker: Depends on your ah feelings on Colorado. True. I don't really have any bad feelings about Colorado. Just like said. Kennywood has amazingly well-preserved classic features, but it doesn't carry throughout the whole park and architecture.
Speaker: Which, I can see that. I didn't even, like, think of Knoebels when came to architecture because there's so many just trees. Kennywood. Oh, Kennywood. I don't know why i thought of Knoebels. Kennywood, yeah, exactly.
Speaker: My brain, sorry. Wrong Pennsylvania Park, starting with a K. I'm tired. I'm sorry. Well, we've been going for over two hours, so. Yeah, to be fair, i don't know why my brain went to Knoebels. Kennywood. Yeah, that's, yeah.
Speaker: and that having Having not been to Knoebels... Kennywood? Wow. What? ah Sorry. I did it. I did it. I'm sorry. Listen, they both have classic wooden coasters. They're both in Pennsylvania. They both start with a K. That, yeah.
Speaker: Very different park, though. ah um Yeah, no, I can see i can see um the classic nods um throughout the... ah Well, throughout some areas of the park, particularly racers' entrants.
Speaker: Yeah. Which I've always liked the look of. um For it's, ah you know, that classic archway with the withther um the light up racer sign.
Speaker: I've always liked that. does that Does that kind of, um i guess, like architecture like moments of architecture not carry on throughout the rest of the park?
Speaker: I'm not sure. Not really. Like I think of, i mean, there's some like kind architectural elements over by like Phantom's Revenge, but very not that classical style.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Trying to think, but yeah, I can't really think of too much else. Like
Speaker: why am I fully blanking on the launch coaster? Oh, Skyrocket. There we go. to I don't know what the what the heck I was thinking it was called, but it was not that. I can't even think of like anything regarding that one in terms of architecture.
Speaker: Nothing else in that park really stands out outside of like Racer and kind of the entrance area. At least for me. The entrance is the most poignant.
Speaker: Yes. butre Very iconic. Yes. yeah
Speaker: ah Yeah, Knoebels is great. yeah Since I messed it up already. and sun so can you He said, ah no that i' been if there's a place that has all the classic vibes throughout and well-preserved, let me know where to find it. LOL.
Speaker: ah Those vibes being carried through into the architecture is a huge factor in what makes a park charming to me. has the same impact as an immersive theme to me, but I'm being transported into a more carefree time and place rather than into the world of an Ipeak.
Speaker: That said, immersive theming carried through into architecture can also be sick. That's a Fleming Island. But a tetromus for me. Like Kludheim is my jam and Rookberg is just okay for me.
Speaker: Fair enough.
Speaker: Let me just read that. It's the same intro. miss it. It's the same intro. Okay, ah right, yeah. So like a like ah like a stylization um or just like little nods like nods to architectural styles as opposed to a whole like all-encompassing immersive area. Yeah. um I can definitely see what it means, like carrying it throughout the park more adds a lot of charm.
Speaker: Yeah. And there's different there's definitely more appropriate times for both applications. Right. Like a whole immersive area just slapped in one corner of... don't know, like... I guess flamingoland would seem so out of place to me.
Speaker: hu Or like... let me Let me think of another one. I won't say least, but... Sure, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: or like i always think of um six flags over georgia and like the scream punk or whatever i don't know scream punk but like the one area where the only ride that has anything to do with it is the uh pandemonium oh yeah yeah yeah like a store and like one piece of theming and then that's it like what's the what's the point yeah
Speaker: yeah it's kind of random like that's terms of ah like i've i've I've thought i've thought that about like um amusement parks where you can see like a you can see a style carried out. I think of Liseberg when I think of this, actually.
Speaker: As gorgeous as Liseberg looks. um like You can see like a central style throughout most of the park. And then there's just a Vikings area in the corner. Like, like you've got Valkyria and Balder and Loki in that area. and then the re And then the rest of the park is, you know, this really just, like, gorgeous landscaping. the ah Sort of, like, the the the white arches. Like a city park. Yeah, yeah, it definitely it definitely has that feel to it. um
Speaker: I've always found that peculiar. But being a big Norse fan, I love Baldur and Loki and Valkyria. Yeah, yeah. But i understand what you mean by it. It's a tad out of place with the rest of it, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. Maybe it just makes more sense when you're actually there. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: What doesn't make sense is Rookberg just being okay, but... You said earlier to each their own. You said I could like Klugeheim more. Lom clearly likes Klugeheim more. yeah Me too, Lom. It's okay.
Speaker: Me three, Lom. It's okay.
Speaker: I can read the last one if you want. Go for it. From Solar Coaster. um I love Europa Park's ball and Arthur's building, which we did mention at the very beginning. Did we mention Arthur?
Speaker: We mentioned Europa Park's ball. We did not mention Arthur. Arthur's building is very cool. Yeah. It's like it's also seated kind of like to look like it's in the ground. Yeah. Because Arthur's about fairies and little little creatures. Yeah.
Speaker: So he like shrinks you down to that size yeah and then still Dre. That's not architectural, but okay. No. Yeah. um The Swiss area is stunning as well, which I definitely agree with that. It really is.
Speaker: um Then dark universe is beautiful and what they did with the perspective in Isle of Burke, which we did mention that briefly is so creative.
Speaker: The stardust station is also incredible. A lot of older parks are nice. Dorney and Kennywood are nice examples. You mean Knoebels? Some pretty coasters, architecture-wise, are steel curtain structure with the mess of art that it is.
Speaker: And while I have not ridden them, the top hats on Velocicoaster and Batman, the photos I have seen are breathtaking. I also love how the track runs with other track on Steel Vengeance and Panthirian structure and low to the ground snaps.
Speaker: And Flight, Red Force, Ka, and Top Thrill 2 have crazy structures. Also the stuff at, uh-oh, watching Dragon Valley is insane. Oh, oh my god. That's a grown one. Yeah. um Sorry for all my replies, but this is one of my favorite topics. Thank you for so much for doing it. Aw.
Speaker: Thank you for commenting. like I do the sticker thing or whatever on Instagram stories. And he did like 10 different sticker replies. I'm like, for future reference, you're more than welcome to DM us so you don't have to yeah break it into sticker length responses.
Speaker: But also, i did i did respond and say thank you so much for all of your support for us. um yeah He's always responding to all of our questions every week. definitely Which is really cool. That's dope.
Speaker: We'll have to say, i don't know. I'm not a big fan of steel curtain, how it looks i'm not kind of at all. it's It's kind of pretty over the water, but the structure itself is not. i also just don't like the Steelers or the Steelers colors. don't know.
Speaker: It also spied in me like three times before I finally wrote it. And when I did write it, it was raining so hard that it hurt my eyes. So like, I just not had a good experience of steel curtain. That's not about its architecture. I just, I don't know something about it versus like how max force is built.
Speaker: Max force is obviously the more reliable ride and it has an air launch. So I don't know what they did. it i think Steel Curtain would look a lot cooler in a park that's not Kennywood, if that makes sense. Like, Max Force looks cool where it is.
Speaker: It'd probably look cooler if it wasn't themed to the Steelers. It would be cooler if it wasn't themed to the Steelers, yes. But that's like, um if any coaster was, you know, themed to the Steelers, it'd be cooler if it wasn't.
Speaker: Or the Dallas Cowboys. There's not a coaster like that as of right now, but it would be cool if they don't do that ever. Or all honestly, any football team, any baseball team. I love baseball. yeah Just don't theme them to... i don't know. Don't theme them to sports.
Speaker: Or like do it subtly. suddenly yeah i can't even think of a good example. i Yeah, I don't know if there really is one. It's either the like the majority of coasters are not, then there's Steel Curtain. yeah Right.
Speaker: Yeah, i just I just, I think that um ah with with Steel Curtain, like like, I would like the look of its mess of supports more if there were any patterning to them whatsoever, but it just looks confused.
Speaker: yeah Like, there's, there's yeah it honestly, it looks oversupported for what the track is doing. looks like And yet it has structural issues apparently. Yeah.
Speaker: um But it's probably too rigid actually. I don't know for sure, but it could be too rigid. ah but like yeah no i just like you could do it more subtly i guess we're just like with a much less bold shade of yellow maybe and then yeah like give it give it a name that is um uh like steelers adjacent I guess Steel Curtain is kind of adjacent, but isn't that isn't that literally the... the i That was a name for one of their defensive lines, I believe, in the 90s or something. Right, yeah.
Speaker: Something like that. It was like the nickname. Yeah. Does Raging Bull count as a sports-themed Vig? No. Chicago Bulls.
Speaker: um Yeah, i just still no. I mean, you could you could make the argument. yeah you could make the argument. i would like Because of its colors, it's mostly just a... yeah yeah i don't think anyone thought of that when they associates of raging bull with the chicago that's actually a pretty good that's a pretty good poll because i can't think of another example like that right um let's wait for the king's island open who day the coaster Don't give him any ideas. don't give Don't give Mike any ideas. are yeah Oh, yeah.
Speaker: I did just have um sort of like a
Speaker: like a like just ah a thought process again while i was while i was looking through things and just looking at like um well thinking about the importance of architectural styles when it comes to um really really when it comes to like immersive themed lands and themed attractions and stuff um just architectural styles like i my eye how do i want to word this um they feel and but it they feel important to um like rooting a land or attraction in an idea like kind of root root in root in the land in the idea that in an idea that is supposed to that is associated with a world that we already know so like if you think of like
Speaker: the the like the the fantastical imagery that you might find in like a Disneyland in like a land at a Disney park um but it's but then it's also using architectural styles in the in the buildings that we can recognized from real world applications and stuff. I think that's, and ah honestly, I think that's important um to be able to associate a fantastical sort of escape from reality kind of immersive area with with a version of the world that we already know.
Speaker: Like playing with the idea creatively, playing creatively with the idea, i think it brings realism to fantasy in a way and like the existence for me at least um the existence of the land fits like it like it like it fits better like it hits home harder a bit like it it sort of resonates harder with me because of that being able to imagine myself like in a place that i could actually think is a real place but like it has all of these like larger than life elements to them
Speaker: um if it like if if if the if If the land looked entirely like nothing I'd ever recognized like ever before in my life, I don't think it would impact me as much emotionally because I can't relate to any of it.
Speaker: if you get what i mean um it's like it's the introduction of um yeah otherworldly like fantasy elements within like an architectural environment sort of like a framework that i'm familiar with in the real world that helps me like see myself existing in that environment which then allows me to believe that i'm being more immersed in that world that's being created mm-hmm if that makes sense. it feels like It feels like a much deeper like resonance with it.
Speaker: Especially in somewhere wellup yeah especially in somewhere like ah like Ministry of Magic, where you know i've i've I've heard people say, and I've seen comments of or just like, is is it's cool, it's really nice in everything, but it's just buildings.
Speaker: a Well, it's kind of because it's just buildings why I feel so root like so immersed in it. Like it's taking a world that is so familiar and being able to implement, you know, otherworldly things within the context of It it makes it in the context makes it realland Yeah, it makes it it makes it feel a bit more real.
Speaker: Grounded. Yeah. But still transporting you to another place. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. That was kind of just like a. train of thought i had earlier earlier today as to as to why like immersive lands really do like i mean bring the like bring passion out of me more so than almost anything else um i think you're a lot more knowledgeable about this topic than you ever expected you would be
Speaker: i think i think I think I always said this is really the first time I've been able to put put it into words.
Speaker: i but yeah i don't i don't know if I don't know if either of you like resonate with any of that or like agree with it. like so Oh yeah. Oh for sure. Yeah I do. relate but also so yeah but
Speaker: I've spent more time in the Ministry of Magic Paris than I have in actual France. I haven't, unfortunately. I'd rather spend more time administering Magic Paris. I agree. um Unrealistic expectations about Paris.
Speaker: So I believe that brings us to the end of the episode. Thanks, Jen. You're welcome. I have to text her and be like, I'm doing your job.
Speaker: well if you ever and anyny and Jenny, you alive, by the way. She's back to the United States, by the way. I saw her story. Yeah. She's back to Philly, even. Is she? A few minutes ago. She's somewhere on the highway. in In West Philadelphia, born and raised.
Speaker: Oh, man. On the playground is where she might have spent most of her days. Yeah.
Speaker: Well, yeah this has been a fun episode. Sorry. Oh, yeah. I put my elbow on my pen it made noises. um I do want to give a shout out to our Unhinged Patreon members.
Speaker: ah Nate was one of them very, very briefly. um He's not anymore. Well, i know I'm going to have access, so it's a little different. Yeah. But I thank you for your ah your one month of support on the Patreon. Thank you. But also a big thank you to Chris, Jeff, and Alexander for their support of us. um I definitely...
Speaker: posted a picture on patreon during in our recording so if i'm not talking on the recording i promise i'm still being productive usually sometimes i'm playing games i'll be honest but um wow this has been a two and a half hour episode what's up sometimes you're doing them both I can't be productive and play games at the same time, but I can talk and play games at the same time. I'll be honest.
Speaker: I'm good at multitasking. But thank you, everybody, for tuning in for two and a half hours of mostly Mikhail talking about architectural styles. but It was very good. Very informative. I learned a lot.
Speaker: I already know what the AKA for this episode art is going to be. and i Well, I learned about Art art Nouveau.
Speaker: Yeah, Art Nouveau. stranges I have a note written down ah for this episode, a.k.a. talking about various architectural styles makes this podcast sound a lot smarter than it actually is.
Speaker: yeah All right. Well, But until the next time, which I have no idea what the next episode is going to be. We'll figure it out. We will figure it out. But ah keep hashtag thinking inverted. And we'll see you next time.
Speaker: Bye. Bye.
