Rumored Tolkien Theme Park: The Hobbitest Place On Earth

Look, New Zealand, you’re really far away from us and it’s really expensive to get to you. Odds are, most of us won’t ever be able to experience your beauty, never mind Hobbiton. So it’s with a great amount of glee we report a theme park may be in the works as a joint venture between Universal, Warner Bros., and the Tolkien estate. Get ready for Mr. Frodo’s Wild Ride! 

I’ll be honest, the idea of a Lord of the Rings/Hobbit theme park is equally exciting to me as the possibility of a Star Wars theme park which, come on, is totally going to happen now that Disney owns it. Am I the only one who wants a lazy ride down the river in a Treebeard replica? Ooh! Ooh! And barrel rides! And experience Saruman’s fall!

Ok, my imagination is getting away with me now. The news came from the the Orlando United forum where a regular (and reported reputable) user posted this message:

Universal asked Warner Bros. to approach the Tolkien family since the Tolkien’s trust WB with the success of the LOTR series. WB described how Universal was willing to work with JK Rowling and how the 2 of them (WB and JK) held Universal’s feet to the fire to uphold Rowling’s vision of the IP. And I believe that the Tolkien’s may have actually talked to JK Rowling. This was before Universal said a word to the Tolkien’s. So after WB stoked the fire, Universal entered the picture with an impressive plan.

You probably remember (and have maybe even visited?) Universal Orlando’s The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Islands of Adventure opening in 2010 to huge success. None of the parties involved have said anything official on the matter but I’m sure some favorable fan buzz couldn’t hurt.

What rides or attractions would you like to see? Susana told me she’s more interested in the food they’d have available. Specifically they’re dwarf restaurants. I, for one, want to ride on a fake elk and look awesome.

(via /Film)

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Jill Pantozzi

Jill Pantozzi is a pop-culture journalist and host who writes about all things nerdy and beyond! She’s Editor in Chief of the geek girl culture site The Mary Sue (Abrams Media Network), and hosts her own blog “Has Boobs, Reads Comics” (TheNerdyBird.com). She co-hosts the Crazy Sexy Geeks podcast along with superhero historian Alan Kistler, contributed to a book of essays titled “Chicks Read Comics,” (Mad Norwegian Press) and had her first comic book story in the IDW anthology, “Womanthology.” In 2012, she was featured on National Geographic’s "Comic Store Heroes," a documentary on the lives of comic book fans and the following year she was one of many Batman fans profiled in the documentary, "Legends of the Knight."

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