Theme Park Fantasy: Disneyland Mumbai

A couple of weeks back, I gave hullabaloo to S.W. Wilson, known professionally as Randy Savage (pro wrestling insider comment: what did you do to the boss's daughter all those years ago?), whose site IdealBuildout presents Wilson's take on creating 'ideal' theme parks, especially new versions of Disney theme parks.

Big deal. Can't anyone do that? Yes, sure, but Wilson does it with maps, gorgeous, intricately designed maps, that bring his ideas as close to life as they're ever likely to get without a big investment by Disney.

Today, Wilson shares his vision of a bulked-up Disneyland Paris that includes such tempting thrills as a coaster through Meso-American ruins and a future-themed land that takes its cues not from Pixar but rather the visionary science fiction of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.

It's fascinating stuff, especially when Wilson designs theme parks where no theme park has gone before, such as Mumbai in India and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (they rhyme, don't they?).

I especially like how Wilson brought Urban Planning 101 to Hollywood Studios, a park that I've always found difficult to navigate. Wilson uses the classic hub-spoke-rim layout to connect distinctly themed lands such as Golden Age Hollywood, LucasFilm, and seven others.

This is not a click 'n run site. When you open one of Wilson's maps, then enlarge it to fill (and overflow) your screen, you'll be hooked and it'll be hard not to imagine yourself walking through these never-built, never-crowded theme parks that never close because they'll never open.

IdealBuildout has gotten hullabaloo here before, most recently in the August 23 edition for Alternate Universe Disneyland: With a Map.