What would you think of a real-life Final Fantasy-themed theme park?

[Interlude65]

I'm saying this because I think the idea would be AWESOME for many FF fans, especially since they could meet their favorite characters from the series in real-life, and could play various side games based on some of the entries' mini-games...and other neat stuff like that!

Also, I heard that several years ago (likely a decade or so), Disney actually talked with Squeenix about maybe having a Final Fantasy-themed section at one of the parks in Walt Disney World as a result of their partnership on the Kingdom Hearts games, yet the idea never came into fruition, sadly.

What do you think? Do YOU think a Final Fantasy-themed theme park would be cool? Share your thoughts below.

 

[Miko]

Ah yes, I've thought of this from time to time. I think it would be really cool but I can see us being really hyped up for one and then find out the place sucks and it not actually meet up to expectations.

My perfect themed Final Fantasy Theme Park could include:

Money will get you tokens that are actually Gil/GP or both. You also get drinking Kupons for adults with so much Gil/GP purchased.

Lots of FF Characters walking around the park, most notably the Disney Final Fantasy Princesses.

The merry-go-rounds would all be Chocobos of various colors (and maybe an airship or a Regalia thrown into the mix)

Gold Saucer themed rides. Maybe some bumper-carts with carts to look like airships & different cars from the different FF's like the Buggy from 7 & a SeeD Personal Carrier Vehicle from 8.

Cait Sith &/or Black Mages fortune telling booth.

Lots of themed foods, compliments to the Ignis brand of course. FF mascot ice creams, like a Moogle or Chocobo head. Moomba Bites, Cactuars on a stick, fried Carbuncle ears, Yan floss (cotton candy) etc., etc.
Also themed drinks in the form of potions, elixirs, ethers, etc.

Cafes or other eateries in themes of FF, like a 7th Heaven Bar.

Plushies. Lots and lots of plushies.

Tunnel of Love (Extra to go with your ideal character date )

Different games of course. Using darts that look like weapons to pop Pom-pom balloons. Chocobo (duck) pond games. Materia Skee Ball. Barret's shooting games, as well as other gun-wielding characters with their own gun booths. Aerith's dunking booth...

Also the baby chocobo (chicken?) petting zoo where the tots can feed the babis.

Arcade cabinets with traditional mini games of course. Can't forget Mog's House.

Themed Hotels/Rooms, like the Luca Blitz Ball room, the Cosmo Canyon room, Kalm, Tifa's room, the Insomnia suite, the Alexandrian Castle Hotel, blah blah.

And much more!

 

[Dionysos]

Yes!

This has been one of my dreams for ages!

When I was a kid and wandering around Disney World my mind did wonder how cool it would be if Final Fantasy had something similar. The Disney + Square Enix partnership with Kingdom Hearts made it seem like it could be possible one day.

I have far too many attraction ideas. I give my stamp of approval to all of DaggerTribal ’s suggestions above! Particularly the chicken/chocobo chick petting zoo. That’s a cheap but very effective idea.


To add to that, here are some of my own ideas.

Shows:
The FFVI opera would be an obvious one and should prove extremely popular.

Maybe they could also put on performance of FFIX's ‘I want to be your Canary’, FFVII's ‘Loveless’, the Gold Saucer play in FFVII, the Nautilus parade in FFXIII, and maybe FFXIV’s play/s by the Majestic Imperial Theater Company.

Fireworks displays like in FFVII, FFXIII or FFXIV. And any others I may have missed.


Dark rides:
Phantom Train. Simple enough. A ghost train in the form of the Phantom Train from FFVI. This could either be simplified with smaller carriages resembling the train rides often found in theme parks and ‘ghosts’ can appear on either side of the track. Or, the carriages could be accurate reconstructions of the carriages in the game, and the ‘ghosts’ appear and walk through the carriages to spook you. Maybe extra ghosts outside the windows as well.

Pirates Ahoy! An FFV ride. This is a Pirates of the Caribbean style dark ride. You are on a boat and sail past scenes from FFV. Particularly the earlier stages of the game with Faris’ pirate crew. Then it takes a dark turn as you encounter Karlabos and Syldra fights it, leading to impressive splash effects and lightning. Then a whirlpool threatens to pull you under. You end up travelling to the Ship Graveyard and encounter Siren and her beautiful, haunting song. Maybe the boat can then break free of this nightmare scenario as you journey past friendlier scenes such as Ghido in his underwater cave before finally finding the Pirate’s HQ and seeing the smiling spirit of Syldra before disembarking.



Rollercoasters:
Battle with Nidhogg. FFXIV reference. The ‘carriage’ can represent Estinien or a troop of dragoons as they battle with the fearsome dragon Nidhogg. Alternatively, it could be a Duelling Dragons style ride so it could be two dragons fighting each other. The latter would mean two entirely different ride experiences which interconnect, so you’d need to ride it twice to get the full experience.

Leviathan. You ride Leviathan, so expect to get wet. One of those rollercoasters which dips and dives into tunnels underneath the water with a lot of spray effects to make you feel as if you are actually riding the famed water serpent.

The runaway Corel train. From FFVII, you ride the Corel coal train as it speeds towards the town of North Corel. Thankfully the ride ends with the ‘good ending’ and the train doesn’t crash into the town.

The Regalia. From FFXV. You ride the car with the lads. There can be some sites to look at along the way. Halfway through the ride the ride vehicle transforms into the flying variant and you fly high (on a track). Then the chocobros yell at each other when the car tries to land and ultimately crashes and the park guests are engulfed in flames...


Other:
Don't Tease the Octopus! An FFVI ride a bit like the classic Dumbo ride in Disney parks. I can't recall the name of the style of ride, but one where passengers are in separate little carriages in a circle, each with a a separate arm to raise or lower them. Naturally, at the centre of this ride will be a giant Ultros and each carriage will be held by one of his tentacles as he lifts you up and throws you back down. Maybe the guests could be given a lever to work and it could be as if they are struggling with Ultros and trying to break free. Meanwhile Ultros can shout out his quotable lines.

Brotherly Love. A ride devoted to the Brothers GF from FFVIII. One of those rising and falling rides a bit like Tower of Terror, only this is open. You are on a platform which is lifted up by Brothers and thrown into the sky before you plummet back to the earth.

Mt. Ordeals. An FFIV themed attraction which is a bit like a house of mirrors. Maybe a walk through attraction where you have to walk up a mountain and there can be animatronics to look at (characters fighting some of the monsters on the mountain, etc). Then you enter the cave of mirrors (or whatever it is actually called), alone. Maybe there are actually several 'caves of mirrors' but staff let you into your own private chamber where you encounter yourself in the mirror. I'm not sure where else people could go with this attraction but it is the start of an idea!




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Apparently there is/was a Final Fantasy VII ride in Dubai. It's a start, I guess!

 

[Interlude65]

Ah yes, I've thought of this from time to time. I think it would be really cool but I can see us being really hyped up for one and then find out the place sucks and it not actually meet up to expectations.

My perfect themed Final Fantasy Theme Park could include:

Those are some very good ideas, Dagger! I also think that it could be where as far as drinks you buy are concerned, a "Potion" is really just blue Powerade, and a "Phoenix Down" is just fruit punch, and maybe a "Remedy" could just be green Gatorade or something like that...or maybe some other kind of energy drink for all of 'em!

 

[Mister Goober]

I want a restaurant within the place where all the female servers are dressed up like Rinoa Heartilly and their manager (which must be female) dressed up as Quistis. Their specialty should be hotdogs.

 

[Dionysos]

After playing the Remake, if any potential Final Fantasy theme park did not include the Honeybee Inn performance as a show then it would be missing out.

Probably if our theme park had a Downtown Disney sort of area to it as well with bars, restaurants and shops. In fact that whole area itself might as well be called Wall Market in our imaginary park.

Also from the Remake, the Epcot-style informational interactive video about the Ancients and Mako production at Shinra HQ was pretty cool, so lots of things like that would be very welcome at our park where I am concerned.

It doesn't always have to be thrill rides. We have to offer the full package.