Theme Park Allusions (Series Wide)

[Crescendo64]

Hi everyone!

 

In lieu of the very recent interview between MixnMojo and Ron Gilbert, it has been revealed that the Secret of Monkey Island is, and always has been, that the entire Monkey Island series is Guybrush playing around in a theme park. One of the things Ron specifically points to for this idea having always been the Secret is the Grog machine at Stan's. So then I started wondering what other signs there might be in at least MI1 and MI2? It gets tricky after that, since Ron and Dave were no longer on Curse, Escape, or Tales, but I'm sure there are still some things!

 

Here's a short list of some things I've thought of so far:

 

Secret of Monkey Island

1. The "Troll" is actually just a theme park worker (who looks strikingly like George Lucas) in a costume (This one blew my mind very recently)

2. The aforementioned Grog machine

3. The Machine that Captain Smirk trains Guybrush with is likely an attraction

 

LeChuck's Revenge

1. Obviously, the entirety of the "Underground tunnels"

2. The infamous E Ticket (the ideal Ultimate Treasure for a Them Park enthusiast)

3.  The coffin to the Voodoo Lady's hut is also likely an attraction

 

Curse of Monkey Island

1. The whole ending, though not intentional with Return's ending, fits right in with the whole Theme Park thing

 

Anyways, what things have you all noticed?

[Remi]

Secret:

1. T-shirt  scavenger hunts
2. Swordfighting actors asking Guybrush to "play along."
3. Meathook's tourist shop.

It's 6:30 in the morning and that's about as much as I can think of.

[BaronGrackle]

An old article for reference! https://scummbar.com/resources/articles/index.php?newssniffer=readarticle&article=2

[Gins]

^I think this thread is quite related.

[JacquesSparkyTail]

The ferrymans boat in tale’s afterlife has a distinct mechanical sound when in motion. It’s almost as if it’s a pirates of the caribbean style dark ride.

[Jake]

  On 10/11/2022 at 5:26 PM, JacquesSparkyTail said:

The ferrymans boat in tale’s afterlife has a distinct mechanical sound when in motion. It’s almost as if it’s a pirates of the caribbean style dark ride.

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[Geisterfaust]

Secret:

- The rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle and the zip wire definitely feels like something that could be an attraction/ride.

- The fact that the pirate leaders have a detailed list of modern ingredients for the grog and mentions them almost as if contractually obligated to do it.

- Now when I think about it, even the Fettucini brothers circus does make more sense in the theme park context...

 

[Gins]

As mentioned in the other thread, I believe the often quite wild voodoo substitutions could be hints too.

 

A child makes up something ridiculous just to advance the imagined story.

[Wally B.]

Replaying Secret of Monkey Island right now and noticed that when the storekeeper is speaking to Carla she says "Someone could follow you. I don't want to become another one of Melee Island's tourist attractions" 🤔

[BaronGrackle]

  On 10/20/2022 at 5:51 PM, Wally B. said:

Replaying Secret of Monkey Island right now and noticed that when the storekeeper is speaking to Carla she says "Someone could follow you. I don't want to become another one of Melee Island's tourist attractions" 🤔

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It's easier to see Mêlée Island as a town, possibly one with some old tourist traps.

A Chamber of Commerce, a PTA (Parent Teacher Association), stores, a jail, a church, a nearby forest kids can get lost in. Even MI6 adds some playground equipment by Carla's house.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Now let's list the number of times Guybrush says he's in a video game... 🤔

[Gins]

  On 10/21/2022 at 10:32 PM, ThunderPeel2001 said:

Now let's list the number of times Guybrush says he's in a video game... 🤔

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Sounds like a good thread title, to keep these separated 😁

[Colorfinger]

Much as I hated it at the time, Star buccaneers seems like a perfect example of the incursion of outside businesses into Guybrush’s favorite park…

[Gins]

  On 10/23/2022 at 3:19 AM, Colorfinger said:

Much as I hated it at the time, Star buccaneers seems like a perfect example of the incursion of outside businesses into Guybrush’s favorite park…

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Like a McDonald's in the middle of Disney World.

 

Also a foreign takeover by an Australian who has influence over the whole world at once, with Mêlée changing too and the Monkey Head maybe being a giant robot because of executive meddling.

 

Also explains why in Return there is like, NO trace of anything from Escape's changes (the shipyard, LUA bar, etc.) because they simply built back again after the original manager, or someone sharing their vision, returned.

[Colorfinger]

  On 10/23/2022 at 5:11 AM, Gins said:

Like a McDonald's in the middle of Disney World.

 

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… or even more directly:

 

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/starbucks-disney-world-guide/

[Redbeard_1973]

Come to think of it: Even the fireworks at the end of SOMI could be an allusion to the fireworks in an amusement park.

[Colorfinger]

  On 10/24/2022 at 3:26 PM, Redbeard_1973 said:

Come to think of it: Even the fireworks at the end of SOMI could be an allusion to the fireworks in an amusement park.

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oh my god you’re right. It’s the “end of the night” firework show at Disneyland.

[Gins]

I think this post from the Details thread is also quite relevant here, for completeness.

[BaronGrackle]

So hey... are there very many of these in RMI? Apart from the Prelude and the endgame's emerging from the alleyway...

 

- Literal playground equipment at the museum, where Carla's house was.

- The Mêlée cook's reaction when you get funding for an amusement park.

- The Chums seems like those interactive park games, where you find marked areas and/or interact with cast members for clues.

- Could the Queen of Brrr Muda be the same sort of game that we equate with "beat the swordmaster" in MI1? Have a lot of people worn that crown?

- Could the Terror Island key be a maze event?

- The Part 5 sequence beneath the Monkey Head could be a maze or escape room thing.

 

It feels like there's less of the subliminal "neighborhood or amusement park seeping in" than there was in the original games. But maybe that's because the main story is sandwiched between that Prelude and the Ending, so extra references would be too on the nose.

[Marius]

When entering the jail for the first time, Otis shout's "A visitor!". He always sounds to me like an actor in a theme park, welcoming guests.

[Gins]

  On 10/26/2022 at 7:47 AM, Marius said:

When entering the jail for the first time, Otis shout's "A visitor!". He always sounds to me like an actor in a theme park, welcoming guests.

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In Return he ends up an animatronic though.

 

But who knows how many tiny things the Secret team has planted originally that were forgotten over 30 years.

 

I have to mention once again how brilliantly Return's ending allows us to still speculate on these things and blame it on Guybrush's fuzzy memory as a stand-in for the writers'.

[Wally B.]

Just finished Monkey1, and it hit me the way the cannibals and Herman talked about the giant monkey head, like it was an old attraction that had either fallen from popularity or was just in disuse. The cannibals tells you that they don't enter into the monkey head anymore and one of Guybrush's response could be "did management shut you down?" or something along those lines, and they DO actually talk about the giant monkey head being a big tourist attraction before LeChuck started using it as his "secret" hideout. There are also the little souvenirs for tourists in front of the giant Monkey head, as always, and Herman tells you that he entered the head himself many years ago.

So I don't know if I'm reading too much into it, but I think it's a neat interpretation.

[trendyuser]

I'm a huge fan of theme parks, and it's always a blast discovering those clever allusions and references that the creators sneak into the rides and attractions. It adds an extra layer of fun to the whole experience. I'd love to hear more about your favorite allusions in theme parks! And if you're into thrills, you might want to check out some of the best thrill parks in the US. They're packed with adrenaline-pumping rides and fantastic experiences!

Edited November 6, 2023 by trendyuser

[Udvarnoky]

In an old article I tried to argue that CMI, EMI and TMI do a pretty conscientious job of keeping the theme park innuendos of the first two games perpetuated.