October 17, 2024Oct 17 1 hour ago, wolfpaw said: Holy... this is insane! The layout, the tightly detailed areas, the structures, the attractions, the themeing.. it's all so insane - how has your game not broken yet!? LOL! That's why we had to break this project up into multiple benches! Thanks for the kind comments, much appreciated!
October 24, 2024Oct 24 Now we'll continue to explore the Dungeons, Catacombs...and Points West under the Wicked Witches Castle in the Haunted Forest... Down this gloomy passageway with the sound of dripping water and fluttering bat wings surrounds you... A bank of creaking elevators stands ready to convey the weak-willed to the surface, for beyond lies the Dungeon Divas Dungeon cells stand ready for trouble-makers and hooligans...just our sort of people! We've arrived at our destination...a meeting room for members of the Witches Coven and assorted aspiring witches from throughout the Land of Oz... Inspirational posters and advertisements line the walls... A lovely hostess awaits to show you to your seat... The off-tune musical extravaganza is about to begin! Oh, that cursed brat always manages to muddle up everything! Curses! There's even balcony seating for the large numbers of interested victims...er...visitors we attract! And the view from upstairs ain't bad at all! Why, you can even see the hourglass with the minutes Dorothy has to live trickling away! How fun! But our time...like Dorothy's...runs short, so we'll transport ourselves back the main gate of the Castle and continue on down the Yellow Brick Road...there's more yet to see in the Haunted Forest and it's environs...
October 24, 2024Oct 24 The idea for the Dungeon Divas show came from a sketch for a possible show called "The Dungeon of Forbidden Magic" at the Goddard version of The Wonderful World of Oz Park...my version is loosely based on it.
October 24, 2024Oct 24 Thanks JB! I forgot to mention that the dungeon IS actually tunneled underneath the hill that the castle sits on, and there's another passageway that ramps up to the surface inside the castle. The screens don't show all the animations, bats flying and rats scrambling - there's even red blinking eyes behind the grate on the back wall using Fisherman's gif on a billboard. Peeps will enter the seating area as there is a hidden queue line that snakes through it to a Hoax ride hiding behind the stage... Next up we'll stroll through some more of the Haunted Forest on our way to visit The Nome King's Lair...an hidden city inside of a mountain with a number of attractions, and then explore Winkie Town - ruled by the Wicked Witch of the West herself...
October 26, 2024Oct 26 Incredible. That looks like a lot, a lot of work. I certainly remember the times when the original plans for the park were discussed in the theme park forums. So good to see this coming to life after all! Great job, guys.
October 31, 2024Oct 31 Happy Halloween! And what would be more appropriate for such a macabre day than a stroll through The Haunted Forest ! For those with a low tolerance, there is also a short-cut that will take you directly to the Emerald City... You never know who might be spying on you as you walk along... The mists roll in and you can hear low growls and even a howl in the distance...at least I think it's in the distance...perhaps it's time to walk a little faster? There's yet another shortcut to the EC...how thoughtful of them to add signage directing us there! However, we'll bravely journey on down the Yellow Brick Road... The track for the Emerald Flyer monorail passes overhead... There's a fork in the road that leads to the Falls Overlook on the left...we certainly don't want to overlook that! The YBR will continue on to Winkie Town and The Nome King's Lair... Abandoned mines dot this area...but those who now live here know better than to try to enter the underground realms... Well, "Falls Overlook" turned out to be an appropriate name anyways... A creepy old house next to the falls... Just past that is the back escape (er...entrance...) from to the Nome King's Lair... I don't think we'll go further, while I can appreciate a nice backdoor entrance like anyone, I sometimes prefer the front door myself... So we'll backtrack to the Yellow Brick Road again...looks like a nice picnic area across the river... Restrooms and a landing for the water transport is just ahead... The landing is plain but certainly serves it purpose... A Fortune Teller's cottage tells us we're still in the domain of the Wicked Witch of the West... However let there be no doubt that THIS part of the Haunted Forest (or at least what's under it...) is the domain of the infamous Nome King (even if the Wicked Witch if the East's old billboard still advertises that this land is for sale...). Here's that picnic area we spotted earlier...just missing any picnic tables for some reason... A side path leads to Mombi's Potions... Even disposed witches who were former rulers of Oz need a side-gig to help cover expenses in their retirement! Figures there would be spooky mists if there's a witch around... And there's the old bat herself...ready and willing to sign autographs for a few Oz Green Pennies each in between cooking up batches of Frog Juice...yum! After a bucket of Cauldron Corn washed down with that Frog Juice, we're ready to explore the Nome King's Lair...we're at the main gate...dare we enter? Like the whims of certain other wanna-be rulers, the Nome King's statue out front is grossly exaggerated...he's actually only 4´2"...in heels... The Nome King is a huge fan of conspiracy theories...the latest one being that Chicken Eggs are deadly to Nomes...thus no hens allowed on the premises! Whimsies, Growlywogs and Phanfasm's may enter only through the back door, but only if they didn't pack an egg-salad sandwich in their lunchbox. Who doesn't love a good cliffhanger? Or loath a bad one? In either case, we'll leave you hanging while we head on in... Hope we'll see you inside... Edited October 31, 2024Oct 31 by Wabigbear
October 31, 2024Oct 31 I love how the Haunted Forest has a definite personality. But try as you might (with creepy old houses, mist, and such), it still looks beautiful! And I like how the YBR is falling into decay here and there with rough patches. There are no picnic tables because Almira Gulch the Wicked Witch of the West doesn't want any trespassers on her property... unless she has 'plans' for them. Great screenshots, Wagi. Thanks.
November 1, 2024Nov 1 This Falls Overlook is looking gorgeous! Loving the plants next to the path there. But that frog juice... anyway, looking forward to find out what's behind that gate in the last picture :) Or do I really? 😬
November 1, 2024Nov 1 It isn't fair how good you people are, it's time to stop 🤣 Seriously though, everything looks phenomenal as always - this is one of my favorite PlanCo projects! there's this illusion of the reality, but it's not really really real, like it's beside and inside and inside and beside, but never on top.. nevermind, just kidding but not really
November 4, 2024Nov 4 Thanks for the kind words...very much appreciated! So, despite our reservations, we'll travel past the gate and enter down into the realm of the Nome King... At the end of the passageway we turn a corner... It's the throne of the Nome King himself...surrounded by his riches... (In the books the name of the Nome King changed from Roquat the Red to Ruggedo - thus why the name on the signs is altered. Here we also see hte King refered to as 'the Gnome KIng'. Baum used the spelling "Nome" while authors Thompson and Neill who continued the OZ books after Baum spelled it as "Gnome". And now you know...) Here we also find fine vendors for Gruel... Mead and everyone's favorite - Grubs n' Stuff... But don't pig-out on those Grubs, because here's a ride that will bring them right back up again...Crusher. You can see more of the Nome King's Lair in the background. Step quietly and don't wake the dragon! Next up is Excavator... An underground coaster named "Quox - The Dragon"...always trying to make off with some of the Nome King's treasures... Next we'll enter the Crystal Cavern... More goodies to partake of! Fungus Funnels...Worm Stew...or Oldy Moldy Mole Pie...all washed down with Root Beer made from actual roots! Thankfully there's a restroom nearby... There's the tunnel for the Secret Route to the Emerald City (Shhhhh...). Dust from the Dusty Desert constantly blows in, keeping the housekeeping staff busy... At the center of the Crystal Cavern sits Forge... Just on the other side, past the giant grubs, is the path that leads to the exit from the Nome King's Lair...thankfully we survived...this time anyways. So we'll return to the crossroads of the Yellow Brick Road and next time explore Winkie Town...ruled over by the Wicked Witch of the West herself... Curses!!!
November 4, 2024Nov 4 4 hours ago, Wowman said: love the background display panel usage. Thanks Wowman! They were kind of problematic...I used the lit billboards and the images were too bright and washed out, switched to the non-lit ones...too dark. Darkened the images, they still looked too bright on the lit billboards, over and over tried different things, finally got tired of tweaking them and left them as they are. Still kind of bright in my opinion, but better than they originally were by far!
November 4, 2024Nov 4 Another truly memorable area of the park! Every area has its own style of greatness. I like how the entrance tunnel to the Nome King's realm is bare and unadorned, giving us no clue what to expect. I love the names of your 'food' booths. I half expected to see the signs to be spelled without the "G", like: "Ruel", and "Rubs n' Stuff". Y'know, to match the "Nome"/"Gnome" theme. I also love how the booths have those crude, smoking chimneys as part of the structures. "Excavator" and "Forge" are perfect names for those flat rides! "Beware of Eggs!"? What's that about? Thanks for creating yet another fascinating world for us to see.
November 5, 2024Nov 5 Hello CityTrader, Wagi, Wowman, JB... probably a bunch more that I'm missing. Wagi just pointed me here and I see I have a lot of exploring to do. Always loved the OZ project so this is going to be fun! --JP
November 5, 2024Nov 5 11 minutes ago, JPTV said: Hello CityTrader, Wagi, Wowman, JB... probably a bunch more that I'm missing. Wagi just pointed me here and I see I have a lot of exploring to do. Always loved the OZ project so this is going to be fun! --JP About time you drug your carcass over here JP!
November 5, 2024Nov 5 13 hours ago, JB said: Another truly memorable area of the park! Every area has its own style of greatness. I like how the entrance tunnel to the Nome King's realm is bare and unadorned, giving us no clue what to expect. I love the names of your 'food' booths. I half expected to see the signs to be spelled without the "G", like: "Ruel", and "Rubs n' Stuff". Y'know, to match the "Nome"/"Gnome" theme. I also love how the booths have those crude, smoking chimneys as part of the structures. "Excavator" and "Forge" are perfect names for those flat rides! "Beware of Eggs!"? What's that about? Thanks for creating yet another fascinating world for us to see. The Gnome/Nome King heard a nasty conspiracy theory that chicken eggs were deadly to Gnome/Nomes, so he banned them and the chickens they walked in with from his underground lair. No one has been able to convince him that it wasn't true, because he heard it on FAUX News... Oh, what a great idea you had with the names of the vendor booths! I wish I had thought of that! As always, thanks so much for your kind words!
November 10, 2024Nov 10 As promised (or threatened...), next we'll visit Winkie Town...home of (surprise!) the Winkie's! The Wicked Witch of the West has long ruled over the poor souls in the Land of Winkies. All Winkie males between the ages of 18 and 48 are required to serve in the Winkie Guards at the WWW's Castle. Why only until aged 48? Because most don't make it to 47... The WWW's sister, the late Wicked Witch of the East, handled real estate duties all along the Yellow Brick Road, including in Winkie Town (all for a 'small' closing fee forwarded on to her sister...). Despite it's ties to the Wicked Witch, Winkie Town has managed to preserve it's somewhat wacky flavor... One exception of course is the Wicked Witch of the West Benevolent Society...unfortunately the Wicked Witch is all out of benevolence... "All Hail The Wicked Witch!" "Which ol' Witch? The Wicked Witch!" They like to pretend Winkie's have a choice in joining the Guards... The Mayor's Office. He...or she...runs Winkie Town in the Wicked Witches absence...unless they displease her. Which is a rather painful thing to do... They had 35 different Mayors last year alone. An abode for sale through the WWE Real Estate Company...I believe a former mayor lived here until recently...in fact it comes with all his belongings still in place... The Winkie Choir meets here..."Oh-ee-yah, eow-ah!" Practice makes perfect you know! Ugu's Shoes for all your footwear needs... You'll need need to trim any toenails with those shoes! Some scenic photos of the burg... The Old Mill... The waterfront... Over the bridge the Yellow Brick Road continues on... As we leave Winkie Town behind... An overview of Winkie Town...the Wicked Witch's Vacation Castle is on the right, the mountain under which is the Nome King's Lair is in the background... Little wider view...the towers of the WWW's Castle loom on the left...The dock for the boat ride is at center... And finally an overview of this section of the park... Marvel's World in Kansas at far upper left, Munchkinland at lower left, Haunted Forest with the Wicked Witches Castle at center, Nome King's Lair at upper right under the show building, and Winkie Town below that on the right... Where do we go next following the Yellow Brick Road? Will it be Yellow Brick Country - Home of the Cowardly Lion, Tin Woodsman or the Scarecrow? Ir perhaps the Northern Kingdom - home of not only Glinda, Good Witch of the North, but also that Jolly Old Elf himself (not likely as we haven't finished that bench yet...), or perhaps we'll journey to the Emerald City itself to see the Wizard? Are you green-tinted glasses ready? When we figure it out ourselves we'll let you know!
November 10, 2024Nov 10 Loving this area! It's so much fun to let my eyes wander around these photos and discover all kinds of things. And the shot from above in the last picture… it's all so complex, wow!
November 10, 2024Nov 10 Winkie Town is very much a 'fairy tale' town; although, a wee bit off-kilter. Like Trimo says, I love to study the images for all the small details. The "scenic photos" are especially nice!
November 23, 2024Nov 23 Yes...we're back! (No groaning...) Technically the next bench if we follow the route Dorothy took to see the Wizard, the Yellow Brick Country where she meets up with the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion would be next, Followed by a visit to the Northern Kingdom where Glinda the Good Witch resides. But since the Northern Kingdom isn't finished yet, and the Yellow Brick Country is done but the screenshots aren't done, we're going to skip right to the Emerald City itself...as it's finished. So just pretend a twister has us all discombobulated and out of order...my natural state by the way... We'll start off where the Yellow Brick Road passes by the Haunted Forest...don't worry - no Flying Monkeys have been spotted recently... The Main entrance to the Haunted Forest is to the right, we're looking back towards Munchkinland in the distance and Kansas beyond that... One of the docks for the boats ride Munchkin Tours - "Little Sights For Little People" is on the left. It circles the Emerald City and passes by Munchkinland, Yellow Brick Country, Northern Kingdom and Winkie Town... Lovely park lands surround us... The Yellow Brick Road curves past a secondary entrance to the Haunted Forest...the monorail stop is just down the path to the right... We come to a fork in the road...the right branch is the back path to Munchkinland, while the left path leads over the grand bridges leading to the Emerald City itself... We catch a glimpse of the Emerald City itself! In the parkland on the left there's a Swan Ride dedicaated to Queen Coo-ee-oh, who was the queen of the Skeezers when they fought their conflict with the Flatheads. She was a "Krumbic Witch" (which is seven times worse than an ordinary witch) and a capricious tyrant. She was later changed into a diamond-studded swan and allowed to swim away... More pavilions and monuments...in the distance the towers of the Castle of the Wicked Witch of the West rise into view... We're almost there! One more bridge and then the Grand Gate to the Emerald City itself! Oh Look! Dorothy and her friends are attempting to enter the Emerald City ...I hope they remembered to knock since that bell ain't workin'! Green Whiskers is on guard duty... Hmmm, I don't know if our chances of seeing the Wizard are good today...maybe tomorrow? Well, we'll see what happens then... As Citytrader always mumbles..."more to come!" Edited November 23, 2024Nov 23 by Wabigbear
November 23, 2024Nov 23 I'll mention that many of the structures in the Emerald City are from the Workshop. Some created for other wonderful parks themed to Oz, other I just recolored (a task and a half when everything is supposed to be green...), others I 'kitbashed' in whole or part to use to create something that worked better for us. But a sincere THANK YOU to all those who shared their work in the Workshop, you made building the Emerald City so much better (and easier!).
November 23, 2024Nov 23 "We come to a fork in the road". I found the knife and the spoon, but I'm still searching for the fork. Beautiful parkland, with the pavilions and landscaping! And I love the Art Deco bridge (probably from the workshop but that doesn't make it any less impressive.)
November 23, 2024Nov 23 Yes, a workshop find. It's gorgeous and I used it not only here but also inside the city as well. I took sections and moved them around but the overall look stuck with that rich art-deco look that I really loved.
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