Proposed land: DreamWorks Land
Admittedly, this isn’t the most inventive name for a theme park land. But outside of Universal’s more prominent properties—Harry Potter, Jurassic Park/World, The Simpsons, among others—they have yet to fully capitalize on a number of standalone and small-franchise films that have attracted sizable, if not cult followings over the last few decades. Currently, many of the characters from Shrek, Trolls, and Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, have been placed in ill-fitting meet-and-greet areas or left to roam the parks, an arrangement neither suitable for preserving the continuity of Universal’s immersive lands or meeting the needs of its guests.
With, perhaps, the exception of Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, it’s difficult to argue that any one of these franchises has enough crowd appeal and story material to fill an entire corner of Epic Universe, which makes some sort of catch-all land perfect for containing characters that would otherwise seem randomly-placed throughout the park. A dedicated DreamWorks land could allow Universal to situate Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey’s meet-and-greet and 4-D film in a fairytale swamp, or present the glitter-farting Guy Diamond in the obscenely musical Troll Village.
Given enough room for future expansion, Universal could continue to build out the land as the studio spawns additional one-off films and sequels, providing upcoming franchises and characters (and their accompanying meet-and-greet areas, live shows, and full-sized attractions) with a semi-permanent landing place or, at the very least, somewhere to call home during a short-lived promotional stint.
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