The Creation Process of The Lost Island:
One of the questions we get asked most commonly is "How did you make this?", so here it is: the full process, from start to end, of the creation of The Lost Island.
1 - The Idea
Summer 2018
Of course, the first step in the creation process was coming up with the idea for it - we generated a list of potential coasters that Fantasy Islands was missing out on (it was a very different list back in 2018!), and looked through the potential areas in which we could build The Lost Island. We knew we would need a very large space, and so decided to use the area behind Rum Cove - there was virtually no limitation on space back there, and so we wouldn't be confined at all.
By this point we'd picked out the location and rides that we wanted - back then what we knew we wanted from the area was:
A relatively large scale dark ride
A launched drop tower
A spinning coaster
One wooden coaster
While all of the rides in the area changed a lot from that point to the final area, the most notable two changes are the removal of the spinning coaster (which would later be named Green), and the addition of a second wooden coaster.
At this point we started to come up with a concept for the theme - at this point, it was an ancient civilisation which had angered Kurzu, bringing his wrath upon them. In an attempt to please him, they performed a sacrifice ritual upon the riders (the ride).
2 - The First Prototype
Late 2018
We then went on to make the first prototype of the area, which allowed us to refine our ideas and see how the area would fit together. At that time, Basecamp did not exist - the area went straight into a heavily forested section with the rides in.
Daemonen (the drop tower) was located to the right almost immediately through the entrance - at this point in time, it did not feature the advanced ride cycle that it does now and was instead very similar to the old Firework Leap.
Explorer was much less of a calm, slow dark ride that it is now and featured short drops, headchopper effects and tight turns, although the theme of breaking into an ancient temple remained largely the same. It was also underneath the area as a whole, instead of featuring the warehouse and facade that it does now.
Green was located to the left of the entrance, where Daemon is now, and was a spinning coaster with no real theme - it was more there just to take up space in the area, and so was removed in the later planning stages for the area.
Kurzu was very different to how it is now - as well as the theme being changed considerably (as shown in Part 1), the ride was much longer (due to the lack of a second wooden coaster in the area) and featured a tilt track and short indoor section at the end of the ride.
3 - The First Teasers & Idea Changes
Early 2019
After building the area for the first time, we decided that some parts of it had to be changed considerably - all of the rides felt too short, and none of them stood out from what we had in the other areas. For this reason, we decided to get rid of Green and vastly expand Explorer to allow for a much more in-depth and enjoyable ride experience.
On top of this, we decided to add in Koltos, a second wooden coaster, in order to make them different to everything else in the park - we though that the racing aspect, especially with a random winner, would really appeal to people and make the ride more enjoyable.
Around this time, we also started the first teasers for the ride - our Rum Cove Revamp was nearing completion, and so we decided to hide some teasers in it - if you looked closely at the detailing on the rockwork in the interior of Skull Mountain, it used to be possible to see the words "The Lost Island".
4 - Area Planning
Late 2019
Towards the end of 2019, we started planning for the final area - we already knew that we wanted Kurzu and Koltos to be much more hidden and overgrown than they used to be, however we hadn't started on the planning process for the other rides in the area.
The backstory for Kurzu and Koltos was slowly developed - a battle between two ancient forces, where the riders would represent the force that they were fighting for, and so a winner would be randomly chosen during the ride cycle to allow for a visual representation of who succeeded in the battle.
Around this time, we finished up development on our new-gen dark ride (which had originally been shown in Mrs Claus' Factory Tour in Christmas Adventure), and so decided that this would be a suitable ride type to use for the final ride. We also decided to have it in a large warehouse, as this would allow for the area to feel much more built-up than it would with just trees everywhere.
Daemonen was next in the planning stage - the first thing we decided on was that the name needed to change, Daemonen was too long and didn't feel right for the ride. To solve this, we shortened it to just "Daemon". The ride cycle was also changed considerably to allow for a more interesting ride, featuring a small launched section at the start before a lifting portion of the ride.
5 - Marketing
Early 2020
In order to help the marketing campaign for the ride, we created the character of Dr. Roy Curtis, an archaeologist who stumbled across The Lost Island during excavation works. He can still be seen in the area, with Basecamp being the archaeology camp that was set up during his work discovering the area, and he is even in the Explorer preshow, helping to guide guests through the attraction!
We also created a full rune system for The Lost Island, allowing us to add hidden messages in teasers throughout the marketing campaign.
The full marketing campaign started in April of 2020, when Dr. Roy Curtis posted an image of the view from The Lost Island, with trenches dug in front of it as if for an archaeological dig. The marketing continued through to July, with scraps of paper being found with strange runes written on them.
Meanwhile on our YouTube channel, we started posting videos explaining the backstory to The Lost Island: "The Legend Begins", "What was once Lost", and "Let the battle commence". These helped to introduce guests to the area, including short clips from both Basecamp and the main section of the island.
At our Expo, in early July, we then revealed the area and all of the rides within it, providing a short description of the area. We also revealed a release date (July 1st) in order to allow for people to begin to get excited for what was coming!
6 - The Opening
Summer 2020
At last, the day came - on July the 26th we allowed the first guests (our moderator team) into the area to experience the attractions and give feedback on what they thought of the area. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, although there was still a lot to do to get the area ready for the first public guests on the 30th!
Eventually, on the 1st August, we opened the server to all guests! Thank you to everyone who has come to see the area and support the work that we do!
