Lost Continent (location)

The temple of Poseidon

The **Lost Continent** is titular setting of the land of the same name in Universal's Islands of Adventure.

## Description

The Lost Continent is a land-mass which had an ancient, (seemingly Mediterranean influenced) society on it which worshiped figures of Hellenic Greek mythology. Various ancient ruins from this society are located across the Lost Continent. The waters near the Lost Continent appear to be located nearby the lost city of Atlantis.

### Features

* **Grotto**:
* **The Pearl Factory**:

#### The Lost City

The Lost City is a ruined city of Ancient Greek origin and/or influence.

* **Fire Eater’s Grill**:
* **Mythical Griffin Statue**:
* **Mythos Restaurant**: The Mythos Restaurant is carved from a large stone feature in the Lost Continent, with various sculptures of Greek mythological figures such as Zeus, Atlas and Narcissus.
	+ **Troll Bridge**: Outside of the Mythos Restaurant is a bridge over the waters of the grotto. Underneath of this bridge is a troll which can frequently be heard bellowing.
* **Temple of Poseidon**:
* **Treasures of Poseidon**:

#### The Merlinwood

*Main article*: *Merlinwood (location)*

The Merlinwood was a realm protected by the sorcerer Merlyn, which appeared to resemble Medieval Western-Europe. It is unclear if this domain is canonically part of the Lost Continent or not.

#### Sindbad’s Bazaar

Also known as the Arabian Marketplace, this is a Middle Eastern influenced bazaar in the Lost Continent.

* **All Hallows Eve Boutique**: A halloween themed shop. It is sometimes portrayed as a studio for the film production company *Monster Gram Pictures*.
* **Doc Sugrue's Desert Kebab House**:
* **Stage**:
* **Heraldry**:
* **Mystic Fountain**:
* **Mythical Metals**:
* **Shop of Wonders**:
* **Star Souls - Psychic Reading**:

## History

### Background

#### War with Zeus

**Note**: *This section follows the story of the original 1999 iteration of Poseidon's Fury.*

#### Escape the Lost City

**Note**: *This section follows the story of the original 1999 iteration of Poseidon's Fury.*

At some point, a group of travellers entered the Temple of Poseidon where they were deemed "Quite lost" by Zeus disguised as the mortal "Keeper". This keeper believed that the stones within the temple could potentially open up a portal to the lost kingdom of Atlantis. Here, a water vortex portal was created connecting the temple to Poseidon's lair in Atlantis. Poseidon plotted to turn these travellers into a new army which he would use to fight Zeus, only for the Keeper to reveal himself as Zeus.

A fight transpired between the two brothers which ended in Zeus blasting energy which destroyed much of Atlantis.

#### Global Discovery Group

In 1998/1998, one thousand years after Lord Darkenon and Poseidon's battle, Professor Elias Baxter and his organization the *Global Discovery Group* excavated the Temple of Poseidon. At some point, Professor Baxter ordered everyone out of the Temple of Poseidon due to it being too dangerous. Taylor did not hear this and took a tour-group into the temple, looking-for and awaiting the professor's presence. When contacting Baxter over the radio, Taylor heard the professor demanding they leave before getting attacked.

After this, Taylor and the tour-group were contacted by the voice of Lord Darkenon who opened a secret passageway deeper into the temple. Darkenon then sealed off the treasure chamber which they entered and made sure that they would never leave unless they found Poseidon's Trident for him. When looking to pry open the sealed doors, Taylor accidentally found Poseidon's trident. The temple's goddess then appeared to assist Taylor, and created a water-vortex for them to safely travel deeper into the temple into the *Chamber of Poseidon*.

Within the Chamber of Poseidon, Taylor awakened Poseidon from his statue form causing a battle between Poseidon and Lord Darkenon. At the end of this battle, Poseidon impaled Lord Darkenon's gut with his trident which seemingly destroyed the lord. As the surrounding ruins crumbled, Poseidon granted the mortals safe passage back to their world.

### Development history

The Lost Continent was a location original to Universal's Islands of Adventure. When it first opened, the land had an area known as the "Merlinwood", inspired by Medieval myths and Arthurian legends.

## Appearances

### Lost Continent

The Lost Continent is eponymous setting of this land.

## Trivia

* It is possible that the 2002 Halloween Horror Nights area *Island of Evil Souls* may have been set in the Lost Continent. This area had the Caretaker's monstrous disciple Knightmare seize control of that area of the park. This also featured the Mystic Fountain being turned into the "Fountain of Evil" which made dark jokes and cursed guests.
	+ It is also possible that the 2023 "Dr. Oddfellow's Collection of Horror" shop overlay of *All Hallows Eve Boutique* themed to Doctor Rich Oddfellow and his circus was set in the Lost Continent.
* The foot of the Poseidon statue may be a reference to Percy Shelley's 1818 poem *Ozymandias*.
* In the *All Hallow’s Eve Boutique*, Imhotep holds a tray of coffee cups. One is labelled "B. Fraser" in reference to the story of *Revenge of the Mummy*.
* In 2021, a copy of *the Handbook for the Recently Deceased* from *Beetlejuice* (1988) could be found in the *All Hallows Eve Boutique*.

## References

1. ↑ https://blog.discoveruniversal.com/dining/a-deep-dive-into-mythos-restaurant-at-universal-islands-of-adventure/
2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JMysjMM29M
3. ↑ https://wdwnt.com/2021/08/photos-video-all-hallows-eve-boutique-opens-at-universals-islands-of-adventure/
4. ↑ https://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20170504/32739/lost-legends-lost-continent?page=4