This project began with the idea to create a boutique scale resort fully themed to just one immersive story and to do it with a theme that could support an expansive adventure and many locations and stories. Among the many topics that could lead to a viable resort, one that stuck with me was the world of piracy.
This is a hypothetical boutique resort that puts guests into the world of pirates during their heyday. It wasn’t designed with any specific location in mind, but could be located somewhere in the Caribbean near a vacation hotspot as a destination themed resort. The site plan below shows the full resort that hugs a hypothetical coastline and bay.
It includes a theme park with 4 lands, a retail, dining, and entertainment town on the bay, 4 hotels of different scales and themes, a parking and transit area, and a park services area. One part of the concept is to embrace varied levels of optional immersion, ranging from day guests that just want to experience a day of attractions, to overnight guests that stay in themed hotels, to roleplay experience guests that live a multi-day resort-wide story. Now, lets take a trip through the resort, area by area and land by land, starting at the entrance to the site and then on to the excitement and adventures of the main park and hotels.
SITE ENTRANCE AND PARKING
The site entrance road leads directly to a 2500 space parking lot, split in half with a walking path in between, leading to the main entrance. A transit area includes a large bus hub, ride-share loop, and valet loop.
All arriving guests walk towards an arched passageway under a crumbling stone wall bridge, which acts as the visual separation from the outside transit world and the interior themed world of the resort. The Spanish colonial entry building is straight ahead, and moves guests through a large breezeway passage through security and past guest services. Guests emerge onto the main plaza green of Port Royal Town.
PORT ROYAL TOWN
The public retail and entertainment component of the site is themed as the bayfront square of a Spanish Caribbean town. It wraps around 2 sides of a bay, bordered by the hotel on the backside and the park on the opposite side. The streets are filled with inviting retail and dining spaces, all with views out to the beach and the docks. The 4-6 story themed hotel acts as a backdrop to the town and appears to be a collection of different buildings, all with a great view over town.
The ornate governor’s mansion hotel sits on a hill on the other side of town. The massive fort is located across the bay, protecting the town and acting as the entrance and the visual draw to the main theme park. The town comes to life with musicians and characters throughout the day, acting mostly as a entertainment and relaxation area for most guests, but the start of a story for those who want to explore.
PORT HOTEL
This is the moderate level hotel of the resort and the largest at 400 rooms, and continues the Spanish colonial style of the town. The lobby is a large pitched roof hall that is a level above the town square and looks over it, with stairs spilling down to it. This hotel uses self parking in the large adjacent deck and amenities include a pool, a top floor lounge, and direct access to the restaurants on the ground level. All hotels benefit from expanded park hours and experiences.
GOVERNOR’S HOTEL
The smaller mansion hotel is a more exclusive experience at 60 rooms total and is a more luxury experience. Themed as the most high profile residence of the town, the hotel sits on a hill above the rest of the resort, with most rooms overlooking the bay. Guests drop off at the private drive circle and then cars are valet parked at the main hotel deck. Amenities include a fine dining restaurant in the glass atrium lobby, spa services, and exclusive line access to the park.
FORT HOTEL
The third hotel is in the actual fort inside the park and holds 100 rooms. All rooms are themed as navy officer lodging spaces and are on the top 2 levels so they can look out over the bay, the town, or the garrison. The hotel also has its own private drop off loop and uses valet parking, taking guests into the large events hall lobby. Elevated passageways lead over to the main fort where the top levels are exclusive to the hotel while lower levels are in the park. This is a more story focused hotel and allows guests to get more involved in the exploration of the fort. Amenities include direct park access, a mess hall dining room, and special views of the nightly battle show on the bay, where the fort itself is attacked.
A PIRATE’S LIFE HOTEL
The last hotel is the ultimate interactive experience and lets guests live a 2 night pirate adventure. It is also based in the fort, and is limited to 40 rooms. This is a roleplay and highly active experience. More on this after describing the park.
PIRATE ISLANDS PARK
Now, we turn to the actual park. The formal park is divided into 4 main lands, each different settings and realms of piracy to discover. This is an highly themed experiential park, so the park is the star, but there are plenty of rides as well.
FORT ROYAL AND GARRISON
The first land is the fort and the surrounding garrison at the entrance of the park. This is the active Spanish Navy fort that protects the town and is home to the best pirate hunting ships and crews of the Spanish fleet.
The main fort building is multipurpose, holding the 2 hotels previously mentioned plus 2 attractions and a dining location. It is actually a big show building with a multilevel park area and hotel on top, hidden as a huge rock covered stone building. Through the main gate, guests are on level 2 of the fort and can go left or straight to the bayside garrison, or right to take stairs up to the main activities yard of the fort on level 3, where there publicly explorable areas. Level 3 also includes a counter service restaurant and a walk through Maritime Gallery museum exploring the history of the navy and piracy in the Caribbean. Levels 4 and up are the private hotels with more explorable spaces and great views of the bay.
The garrison areas outside the fort are where the enlisted live, work, and train. These buildings are more aged than those out in the village, and a large cliffside borders the far side of the land. The boardwalk is to the right, where two full sized ships are moored on the docks. One, The Commodore, is an explorable attraction that shows life aboard a ship.
There are 3 more attractions in the land. First, down by the docks, Adventures of the Caribbean is the classic pirates boat ride. Guest boats float along the cliffs on the bay and into the caves before emerging back out to the village under attack by pirates. The large boat ride takes place on level 1 of the fort building and takes large boats through caves, the town and fort under attack, and finally right between two ships in battle before a peaceful return to the garrison.
Second, in the middle of the garrison is The Training Gallery which is a shooting dark ride, combining digital and practical effects as guests perfect their aim in a series of pirate inspired training scenes, such as a mock up of a ships deck.
Last, the signature attraction of the park is The Royal Navy Experience, a massive sailing simulator, inspired by the ILM volume system. Guests board a full scale sailing ship in dock, which then pulls away and into a 270 degree volume. This is a huge, and possible unrealistically complicated attraction idea. There are 2 theaters, and each ship holds 100+ guests at a time for a 30 minute sailing adventure, culminating in a pirate attack on the ship. Guests enter the dock building on the bay, with the ship they appear to be boarding just behind it.
The queue leads through passageways into a huge showbuilding behind the rockwork cliffs. Guests board and are seated on the lower level for departure, as the giant ship vehicle on a slight motion base slides out from the dock set and into the show space, screens on all sides and water below.
Once sailing, guests can go to the top deck for the true experience, but soon, a small second pirate ship ambushes, with a live captain character aboard. The second ship slides out from a hidden dock. The pirates demand a surrender to keep them from boarding and taking the ship, but the Navy ship fights back instead, firing cannons and causing visible damage to the other ship. After a brief battle, the Navy ship gains speed and outruns the pirate ship. The Navy crew celebrates with the guests and then returns to the port to unload, actually sliding backwards into the dock.
The fort and garrison land includes various retail locations, mostly themed to Navy merch and Spanish items, plus confiscated pirate memorabilia. There is a large mess hall counter service location as well as various snack stalls. The land also includes characters and entertainment to interact with, such as Spanish navy officers, nervous new recruits, and citizens of the port town.
OCEAN FLOOR
The next land is an entirely indoor land that acts as a geographic transition as guests navigate the park. Guests walk through the world of the ocean floor, surrounded by shipwrecks, coral, and the spirits of pirates lost to the depths. From the fort, the land is accessed through two tunnels in the rocky cliffs surrounding the garrison. The tunnels are meant to lead to docks on the other side of the island, but flooding meant these lead only directly to the world of the sea below. The tunnels have a gentle slope down to bring guests 1 floor below the main park level so that the passageway can go underneath the service rounds that surround the large single building land.
The tunnels open up into a valley of coral and decaying ships deep in the dark ocean. This is where all sunk pirate ships end up, one way or another. Projections, lighting, and hidden aquarium tanks extend the view and create the illusion of being underwater. The land holds 5 attractions. They include the Ship Graveyard aquarium, where tanks hide among the wreckage, and two flat rides made of seaweed and pirate ship pieces, called the Jolly Rodger, a chain swing, and the Sunken Ship, a carousel.
The first of the two big attractions here is Journey to the Wreckage, a modified flight of passage system where guests dive through the wonder and terrors of the ocean, encountering amazing creatures and an undead pirate crew that we must escape from.
The other big attraction is Revenge of the Depth, a kuka dark ride where we are put right in the middle of a battle between the ghostly spirits of Davy Jones’ crew and a recently sunk ship, full of new souls to enlist.
The land also includes a counter service location set in a coral cave and retail that is mostly made up of sunken treasures. A cave on the far side of the land leads back up to dry land.
ISLA TORTUGA
The cave system emerges to an inlet on a completely new island, an island this time controlled by the pirates, not the Navy. This is the lost island of Tortuga, and the port town that shares is name is just around the corner. The ramshackle village is a place where all pirates pass through at some point and is the opposite stylistically to the clean port town. A town square is surrounded by a collection of distressed buildings.
The land contains 4 attractions. On the docks is another explorable pirate ship, The Revenge, and right next to it is Cutters Ship Repair Co, a stunt show staged in the biggest shipyard of the island. On launch day of a new pirate ship, a rival ships crew attempts to hijack the completed ship while still in drydock, leading to an action filled show of sword fighting and more, culminating with the new ship being accidently destroyed by cannon fire.
In the main part of the village, the next attraction is set in the pirate guild hall. The Pirates Challenge is a trackless boat dark ride as guests join a band of pirates in a trek across the Caribbean with plenty of adventures along the way.
The last attraction is on the edge of the village, set in a cave just past the cabin of a local pirate mystic. Lore of the Pirates is an effects show where guests are told about the legendary stories of the sea, bringing the kraken, Blackbeard, and others to life right in front of guests.
The rest of the village of Tortuga is filled with retail and dining, including one table service restaurant with a large patio that overlooks the ocean beyond, and a second restaurant with views into the boat attraction.
VALLE DE LOS MITOS
Across the island from the Port town is the location of the final land, sitting just on the other side of the inlet guests emerge from. This is a mythic valley of pirate lore, said to be home to the fountain of youth and maybe more. This is the least urban land, mostly made of jungle and the cliffs that border the valley. At the edge of the bay is a recently abandoned grand mansion, once home to the pirate king who ruled the island, but has now disappeared.
The valley was known for its magical water, which pirates have fought over for centuries. The current captain controlling the valley has started selling the water, bringing in great riches which were used to build a mansion and a full smuggling and bootlegging operation. Along with the riches though, mysterious disasters have begun to happen, including flooded storage caves, landslides, and finally the disappearance of the captain. The land includes 5 attractions which explore the lore of the island and its missing captain.
The first is in The Mansion itself, where an escape room style experience is located. Guests explore the rooms for clues about the captains disappearance. Because of the low capacity, this attraction is exclusive to hotel guests.
The next, Cavernas MÃsticas, is a indoor EMV water coaster. Guests board boats to explore the flooded caves of the island but discover a mystical force instead, sending them through rapids, magical glowing caverns, and a dark and fiery fall down a waterfall.
Another water ride is next, a raft ride called Valley River Trek. Using rafts meant to transport goods along the river across the island, guests travel through the depths of the jungle before taking a detour into the dark caves, followed by a steep drop and splashdown.
Bootleggers Run is the main coaster of the park, themed as a cross island train. The multi launch coaster hugs the terrain and weaves through the jungle and by waterfalls along the long track.
Last is Overflow Springs, a family splash flat ride built out of the water barrel filling equipment. Guests in round barrel boats travel along a 4 loop path, using water guns to shoot at targets on the land and at other guests on the other boats and passing rafts.
The buildings in the complex behind the mansion hold retail and there is a counter service dining location by the caves, including an interior dining space that looks out over the flooded ride path and the glowing caverns.
Now that we have finished walking through all the lands of the park, this last section brings us to night time at the resort and the immersive hotel that I mentioned at the start.
NIGHT AT THE RESORT
The day at the resort culminates with an exciting nighttime spectacular on the bay of the port town. A few hours after sundown, a pirate ship is spotted approaching town, leading to warning bells across the port. One of the Navy ships in dock at the port town sails out to drive the pirates away, but are outmatched by the larger pirate ship. A staged pirate attack on the fort then occurs, with plenty of pyro and effects creating an exciting show visible from all around the bay.
A PIRATE’S LIFE HOTEL
This hotel is the guests chance to step completely into the life of a pirate and fully explore the resort. It begins with an afternoon check in at the fort hotel, where guests are welcomed as VIP guests of the Spanish navy for a luxurious stay in the fort. These special guests get top level officer suites overlooking the bay. Afternoon activities include guided and free exploration of the fort, interactions with navy characters, sword fight lessons, games, and more, leading up to a grand welcome dinner.
Like the starcruiser, character interaction is key, and there are many characters, including the fort commander, various officers, the master swordsman, sailors, and a mysterious cook, who you may learn is a pirate sympathizer if you interact well enough.
The formal dinner on the rooftop hall of the fort begins well, but soon it is clear something is happening outside in the bay, the nightly pirate attack bay show. The fort goes to high alert as it is being bombarded, with guests being instructed to stay in place. Suddenly, pirates break in to the dining hall, led by their captain and the cook, who is revealed to be a pirate spy. They overtake the officers in the hall and declare control of the fort. The guests are given the option of the brig or joining the pirates crew.
Of course, all guests take the offer to join the pirates, so the dinner continues, now with the pirate captain leading the festivities. For the rest of the evening, guests interact with the pirate crew, and are sent to bed in the fort rooms, but told to pack for a trip tomorrow.
In the morning, guests find a note under the door with instructions on missions to complete in the park to prove loyalty to the pirate cause, such as delivering messages to characters, finding hidden treasures, or riding rides and looking for secret symbols and codes.
All guests then meet for a group lunch in Tortuga with the pirate crew before then having a VIP afternoon tour of the park under the guise of exploring the captains favorite ports and landmarks. The tour ends with Adventures of the Caribbean, but with a big twist. In the caves portion of the ride, the boat holding only your group turns off the path and into a different section of the attraction. The boats continue around a bend and discover a hidden grotto with 2 full size pirate ships in dock and a pirate camp on the shores of the cave.
This is the location for night 2, inside the ride. Guests are welcomed to the pirate camp and given rooms on the ships, where their luggage has already appeared. The afternoon and evening is filled with more interactive pirate activities and games, and then a grand dinner. Guests sleep In the ships, looking out over a projected ocean through the cavern openings. Breakfast is served on the ships and then guests are sent back to the main land by way of the attraction, arriving back in the garrison mid morning.
The experience concludes with free time in the park in the morning and then a casual lunch in Tortuga with the captain, where guests are declared part of the crew. Checkout occurs back in the fort, just in time for another 2 day experience to begin.
BACKSTAGE SERVICES
The very final component of the project is maybe the least exciting, but still a crucial component of the design: the backstage services areas of the park.
The majority of the backstage service areas are located at the top right of the site, behind the park. The main backstage gate leads to the centralized area for cast service, maintenance, and management. The central buildings of the complex include a large cast parking deck which connects to the cast center and to the office building that manages the operations of the resort. Warehouses and maintenance shops surround the core buildings.
Elsewhere in the resort are a few other main backstage operations areas, including a tunnel to the basement of the fort building for backstage access, another service area behind the hotel that has a second parking deck, and a large receiving building at the center of the park.
