Analysis: Theme park attractions with gloriously unhinged lore
Many theme park designers create fictional lore for their attractions, and sometimes the elaborate backstories are a bit unhinged.
The Lore Behind the Lore
What is the role of a backstory to a theme park attraction? Is it just as important than the ride itself, or just the cherry on top? Do guests need to understand the backstory to enjoy the attraction? Does it matter if they don’t?
These are all valid questions, the answers to which could be (and have been) the subject of books, podcasts, YouTube essays, and the like from our community’s inquisitive and illuminating pundits.
Truth be told, if we are to completely suspend our disbelief during a theme park day and perceive the attractions’ stories as reality, our visit is a nonstop barrage of things gone wrong and near-death experiences.
Kylo Ren threatens our life on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. We come face-to-face with a lethal T-Rex on Jurassic Park River Adventure. Inevitably, though, we, the guest, always save the day, despite the fact (as Drax points out in Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind) that we didn’t actually do anything.
Some attractions tell a nice little story. Others get a bit … extra. The following is a tribute to the lore of those theme park attractions: the bizarre, the wild, the truly and gloriously unhinged.
Thanos Will Destroy Xandar, the Planet of Cosmic Rewind
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot is hosted Nova Prime (Glenn Close), the leader of fictional planet Xandar. The attraction’s setup begins as “Wonders of Xandar,” an educational tour designed to inform guests about Xandar’s culture, nature, and technology.
Xandar is the planet where much of 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” film takes place. Though Cosmic Rewind is not canon to the MCU as the attraction’s timeline is set after the first “Guardians” film (full-grown Groot continuity error notwithstanding).
In 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War,” Thor says Thanos decimated Xandar to retrieve the Power Stone. This means the planet that the attraction so focally celebrates — home to 12 billion people, Nova Prime says — will not exist a few years after Cosmic Rewind takes place.
Walt Disney Inspires the Xandarians
Another quirk of Guardians of Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind? The ride takes place at Epcot. While most theme park attractions transport the guest to another world and don’t acknowledge the reality of their existence in a tourist destination, Cosmic Rewind turns that idea on its head. “Wonders of Xandar” is a pavilion at Epcot, a theme park the characters are aware of.
The idea here is that this pavilion essentially serves a similar function as those of World Showcase. It aims to educate guests about another culture, in this case the planet Xandar (until, of course, everything goes wrong).
When Imagineers first announced Cosmic Rewind, they supported the meta idea by saying Peter Quill visited Epcot as a child. In the MCU, Quill, aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt/Wyatt Oleff), lived on Earth as a boy in the ’80s before being abducted into space. In a Cosmic Rewind pre-show video, Quill says he’s excited to ride Horizons again, see the “energy dinosaurs,” and hear the song “Veggie Veggie, Fruit Fruit,” referencing long-defunct Epcot attractions.
Photo by Attractions Magazine
In the queue, guests see a clip of Walt Disney sharing his plans for Epcot Center as the Xandarians explain how they find Walt’s idea for Epcot inspiring.
This subversive take on the fantasy of theme parks implies more than it lets on. What does it say about the other attractions in Epcot? From this lens, is the story that unfolds within Cosmic Rewind the only “real” narrative in the park, and we are to interpret all other attractions as fabricated by Imagineers?
To a lesser degree, these same questions could be asked of Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast at Universal Studios Florida, which also acknowledges its setting as within a theme park. In the story, Universal is the gathering place for Villain-Con.
As you exit Cosmic Rewind, you may notice the stairwell is noticeably nondescript for an onstage Disney atmosphere. That’s because, within the story, you’re “backstage” at Epcot, as All Ears noticed. The mirror before emerging into Epcot proper supports this theory, as a mirror is positioned at all onstage thresholds before cast members walk into guests’ view. Do guests pick up on this? Probably not. Do most wonder why the stairwell is drab? Perhaps. Consider it a Chester & Hester conundrum of Imagineers being so detail-oriented that their efforts are mistaken for laziness.
Steven Spielberg Needs Our Help to Save E.T.
E.T. Adventure at Universal Studios Florida begins with a video introduction hosted by Steven Spielberg, director of 1982’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” At first, this doesn’t seem out of the ordinary. After all, this is a park that often shows visitors a peek backstage behind the making of classic movies.
We soon realize, though, that Spielberg is not speaking about E.T. as a fictional character in a movie he directed, but as a real alien.
“Steven, trouble!” E.T. remarks to his comrade.
As it turns out, E.T. needs Spielberg’s help to save his home planet, and naturally, the Oscar winner is subsequently turning to us to aid him in this important mission.
“There’s not a moment to lose,” Spielberg earnestly implores the crowd of sweaty families and crying children.
Did this version of Spielberg still direct a movie starring E.T. at all? If so, are we to believe he directed a real alien on set rather than a performer in a costume? These are questions the human mind cannot begin to comprehend, the most important queries of modern philosophy.
Notably, the story wasn’t always this way. When E.T. Adventure first opened in 1990, the guest was an “actor” hired by Spielberg to perform on set in a new “E.T.” movie. E.T. himself, however, was still a real alien in that scenario.
Dumbledore Invited Muggles to Hogwarts
As guests enjoy the various attractions within both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley neighborhoods of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the narrative repeatedly changes the role of the guest within the story. Across its three signature rides, we are a Hogwarts student, an adult wizard opening a bank account, and, perhaps most curiously of all, a Muggle visiting Hogwarts.
Onboard Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey — the ride inside Hogwarts Castle at multiple Universal parks worldwide — we, the riders, are Muggles (aka non-magic folk). According to Universal, “Dumbledore has welcomed Muggles to Hogwarts to attend a lecture on the history of the school given by the ever verbose and ghostly Professor Binns.”
The notion of Dumbledore openly hosting a Muggle Day is at odds with all characters’ intense commitment in the books and films to keep the wizarding community a secret at all costs. Harry and Ron are nearly expelled from Hogwarts because a handful of Muggles saw their flying car. Now Hogwarts is opening its doors to all Muggles? This is the level of unhinged lore that can make theme parks so fun.
Howard Stark Created the “Cars” Universe
Avengers Campus opened in 2021 at Disney California Adventure Park. Within the land’s official lore, Tony Stark created a thriving HQ for super heroes by repurposing land where his father, Howard Stark, once performed experiments on motor vehicles.
A map displayed inside Avengers Campus shows the lay of the fictional land: Stark Motors, Pym Labs … and a quarantined area positioned where Cars Land exists in real-life California Adventure (via Jim Shull on X). Did Howard Stark’s experiments go too far? Did he create sentient motor vehicles and quarantine the space, now known as Radiator Springs, for safety? 10/10, no notes, etc.
“Avatar” and Pixar’s “Up” Share a Universe
At Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park, guests can participate in the Wilderness Explorers program inspired by the 2009 Pixar film “Up.” As they visit the animal habitats throughout the park, guests can engage with cast members to learn more about the animals and receive stickers.
Not to be left out, Pandora – The World of Avatar features two Wilderness Explorers stations of its own. Since Pandora is, of course, not a real habitat, guests instead learn about Pandora’s ecology and how it compares to that of Earth.
Inevitably, though, this unsuspecting flourish connects the two cinematic universes of “Avatar” and “Up.” Russell made fast friends with Kevin the bird upon visiting Paradise Falls, though, so he’d probably hit it off nicely with the Na’vi if he ever visited Pandora.
