The Walking Dead Theme Park: Zombie Fun from Dusk ’til Dawn

So it seems like part of the new formula of successful franchises is that once you get several movies going, the logical next step is a theme park! Obviously, the most successful recent endeavor has been Harry Potter World as a part of Universal in Florida.

From all reports, it does an excellent job of capturing the feel of several key parts of the Harry Potter story. And proof that the idea of a theme park for other franchises is taking place. In an obvious move, Disney is turning part of its parks over to Star Wars. And rumors are once they retain the rights again, they will be at work on a Marvel Universe area as well.

Even the Hunger Games is slated to have a theme park coming. (Two concerns I have: how they are going to make park workers dress in the Capitol area and if there is going to be any food besides Peeta’s bakery.)

[divider]The Walking Dead Theme Park[/divider]

But today, we turn to the most unlikely of theme parks: The Walking Dead! How do you make that franchise into a successful theme park? Here are some ideas for The Walking Dead Theme Park:

1. Waiting for rides. Part of any theme park experience is how they handle you waiting on rides. Parks have even gotten clever by hiding long parts of lines under buildings so that they sneak up on you. And if you are going to have to wait, how do you do it on the Walking Dead? This year we have excellent inspiration: you hide under a dumpster. Like Glen, you can hide and wait and wait and wait until your group is called! It is an introvert’s dream if you aren’t claustrophobic!

2. Food. So, obviously, you need food at any park. So, what options does the Walking Dead universe inspire? Here are a couple:

   The Prison Garden. It is where all your vegan friends go with their daily vegetable supply!
   Terminus. Delicious barbeque of unknown origins. Cooked slow and low so it really has all that unusual flavor.
   The Pantry. Carol’s delicious cookies that you only get if you do what she says. Think of the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld, except with baked goods.

3. Rides. The roller coasters are an essential part of any park. And every great escape from the Walking Dead gives you ideas. You can all ride on the bus on the run from Alexandria. Maybe a tractor theme ride away from the farm. One ride can be set up so that one person drives Darryl’s motorcycle while one person rides in the sidecar.

4. The crowds. The worst part of any theme park is the crowds. The Walking Dead lends itself to a fantastic idea: the zombie hordes. On an irregular schedule, park workers dressed up as zombies swarm the park. If you get tagged, you have to go set out for the period of an hour. Sure, it is a huge disadvantage to large, slow men like myself, but it is real. Let’s face it, I wouldn’t survive the zombie hordes. And neither should I have much success at the park.

5. Weapons training. Forget trying to dart balloons for prizes. (And without a doubt the largest prize should be a giant severed head of your favorite Walking Dead character.) No, you get to shoot at moving zombie targets. Sure, you’d need more space but the challenge would be worth it. Which leads to…

6. The Michonne katana hour. Let’s face it: there is no safe way to hand katanas to crowds of people and not expect bloodshed. But what you can do is turn it into a show where super-skilled park workers chop up various things in a storyline about saving people from their death.

7. The Beth Sing-a-long Hour. So, this is harsh but…what else is Beth going to do now? Give her a guitar and make her the center of an entertaining hour of songs that happen every few hours. And you can vary the location from the different parts of the park: The Road, The Prison, Terminus, The Church, Alexandria, and The Farm.

8. Other dead cast members can show up at various points of the day. Let Noah sign autographs and make bad jokes about how the Walking Dead has a revolving door in terms of cast members. Let Herschel spin tales of folksy wisdom ala Praire Home Companion. Tyrese can throw a football and look horrified at Carol. Once they die on the show, it shouldn’t mean the end of their cashing checks off the Walking Dead success.

9. Closing time. And at the end of the day, a nice lady can walk you out into the fields where they park cars and tell you to look at the flowers.

So, am I alone in saying I would visit this park? Do you have any other ideas to add to what I am sure will be megasuccess for The Walking Dead Theme Park?