A new The Lord of the Rings theme park has been announced and it isn’t perhaps where you would expect it. The announcement was made at the international tourism fair FITUR in Madrid, Spain. The announcement was made by Francisco Salado, the mayor of Rincon de la Victoria, Spain. The theme park will be called La Comarca or in english, The Shire.
“The Shire will become one of the major tourism attractions of our town. The material will have a very low environmental impact, to create an integrated image in nature,” said Salado.
“It will be a place in which family leisure, sports and nature will go hand-in-hand in a unique space of great beauty set in a time of fairy tales and the magic of the elves. Without a doubt, Rincon de la Victoria will have a top-rated tourist attraction, which will also add to the variety of attractions of Malaga.”
The park will be divided into areas. Currently the areas announced include an entrance area called Parque Urbano. This area will be for those who don’t want to have to walk too far. A second area called Zona de Aventura will be the home of attractions inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. It will also have some climbing walls, hobbit homes, swings and slides for guests to experience life as a hobbit. There will be a lake in the center of the park and it is being said that water will be the main feature in The Shire.
Currently the project has a budget of €1.7 million and will include some “augmented reality” effects that will allow visitors to interact with their surroundings. Two local hotels have also pledged to create themed rooms for guests visiting The Shire.
So what do you think?
Clearly this is no Disneyland… or Universal… or Knott’s. However, it is an idea and a dream that one can only assume has gotten the approval of the Tolkien estate. I think these ideas are a good start and feel a little small in scale… especially when you consider how grand in scale most of the Middle Earth stories are. I assume that when it opens it really will be as quaint as the Shire itself would have been in Middle Earth. I personally would love to see a bigger company like Disney or Universal pick up the theme park rights to The Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth and bring Tolkien’s stories to life in an immersive atmosphere just as Disney has done with so many classics and now Universal is doing with the Harry Potter world.
What do you think about The Shire theme park? Would you want to visit it? Do you think it is a good idea? What would you do instead? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Make it a GREAT day!
- Mr. DAPs
