Somebody please make it happen!
It’s no surprise that theme parks have rides and entire lands dedicated to all kinds of different IPs. At Islands of Adventure, we have Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, and King Kong. At Universal Studios, there are Men in Black, The Mummy, and The Fast & the Furious. Disney has... Disney. They have the Disney Princesses, Mickey Mouse, classic Disney movies like The Little Mermaid, and even a bunch of attractions that are not technically owned by Disney, like Alice in Wonderland.
The most recent example of a big name joining theme parks is Nintendo. Super Nintendo World is a huge success at Universal Hollywood, and we can only expect the same at Epic Universe in 2025. With more and more franchises appearing in theme parks, what are some that are still missing but we’d love to see?
Let’s explore some names that could fit theme parks like a glove.
The Lord of the Rings
Middle Earth was a huge deal in the early 00s. I remember watching all three Lord of the Rings movies in movie theaters and they were all amazing. Return of the King is probably the best movie I’ve ever watched in a movie theater, by the way. While a lot of teenagers in the 00s grew up with Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings was my jam.
I don’t think that Frodo, Gandalf & friends are too popular nowadays, but there is still a big fanbase that love Middle Earth and the world created by Tolkien. Even Amazon has been investing heavily in LOTR nowadays with the Rings of Power TV show.
There are countless ways that Lord of the Rings could be amazing in a theme park. How about an indoor roller coaster/dark ride similar to Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts as you make your way through the Mines of Moria? Or a huge steel roller coaster around Morder and Mount Doom, with the Eye of Sauron keeping track of your every movement? So many possibilities. C’mon, Universal, make it happen.
Fallout
Now here is a franchise that became extremely popular in 2024. Fallout actually dates back to 1997, known as an incredible RPG similar to Baldur’s Gate and a bit like Icewind Dale. The games were always fun and popular, even more so with Fallout 3 in 2006, but it was the TV Show from Amazon that made it a worldwide sensation. There are so many people talking about Fallout nowadays! Of course, it helped that the TV show was amazing, with great setpieces and amazing acting (I love you, Ghoul).
There's a lot that could work with Fallout and its post-apocalyptic universe. How about a shooting gallery where you travel around the wasteland, firing at animatronics of dangerous ghouls, Deathclaws, and all kinds of weird creatures? Or even a drop tower similar to Tower of Terror, where you explore an abandoned Vault before diving all the way to the bottom of the building and going back up again. A lot could work here, and the possibility for new merchandise is endless. I really want to buy a Pip-Boy!
Alien
It's easy to imagine a dark, scary ride based on the Alien franchise. Give me all the Xenomorphs, facehuggers, and androids you can; just make it scary and awesome! This could be a dark ride or motion simulator like The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, or even an indoor roller coaster like Revenge of the Mummy. There are still movies being made in the Alien universe, and new video games come out all the time, so why not a theme park attraction?
The main problem is that this ride would be mostly aimed at adults, as children would likely be very scared. This is a significant drawback when it comes to theme parks, but I can’t deny that it would be awesome to see a Ripley-animatronic holding a huge flamethrowing and burning down a bunch of Xenomorphs in her way. Oh yeah, this also reminds me that this could also work as a shooting gallery, maybe even with a final encounter against the Alien Queen? Game over, man, game over!
Squid Game
A hundred guests enter the queue. Only one comes at the exit and… actually, scratch that idea, I don’t think Universal or Disney would like that ride that much.
There are still so many ideas that could work! Stranger Things, Pokémon, Batman... if you close your eyes and think of a franchise, there's a good chance that a theme park ride based on it could work. Did you enjoy our ideas? We'd love to hear from you. Tell us, what do you think would be a great franchise for a theme park?
