Monday, May 17, 2010

Typhoon Lagoon: A tropical paradise, post-storm




Many of you probably hear "Orlando water park" and instantly think of Disney's famous (and famously well-themed) water parks. Pictured here is Typhoon Lagoon, which opened in 1989. At the time, it joined the smaller-scale River Country water park to give Disney a second park. Later, Blizzard Beach would open and River Country would shut down.

Typhoon Lagoon is as much theme park as it is water park. Far from being bare slides accessed by winding staircases, it hides virtually all of its slides from external view. It looks more like a lush mountaintop than anything else, which is entirely by design.

The overarching theme, which we'll see time and time again, is that of a tropical island resort that has recently endured a typhoon (a synonym for hurricane), which has caused all manner of mischief. Buildings lean sideways, debris is strewn about, and even boats have been hurled to land high and dry -- including the highly visible centerpiece of the park, the shrimp boat Miss Tilly stuck atop Mount Mayday.

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