I love travelling and exploring new places. My travel bucket list is a mile long, and includes abandoned amusement parks, haunted houses, and the natural wonders of the world. I doubt I will see half of those places, but one can dream. I have driven across Canada twice though and seen so much of my big, beautiful country; I’ve been to every province, driven across the Confederation Bridge that connects PEI to Nova Scotia, zip lined across Eagle Canyon in Ontario, and seen the Tidal Bore in New Brunswick. There is still a lot to explore here at home, but there are so many other places I would love to go, some that would delight my inner nerd, like the places on this list.
Evermore Park, Pleasant Grove, Utah
Open year round, Evermore is an interactive fantasy adventure that will transport you back through time. Inspired by medieval Europe, the team that created the park travelled to 5 different countries and gathered antique items to give it an authentic feel. The staff don their own costumes and encourage guests to join in with the whole family for murder mysteries, pirate versus knight battles, and unique shows; there is something for everyone here. You can even stay overnight for a Supernatural Sleepover with ghost stories, ghost hunting, mediums, and other activities.
Middle Earth, New Zealand
So it might not be a single location to visit, but the country of New Zealand is the closest place to Middle Earth that I can get to, and boy do I want to go there. Hobbiton was built in Matamata and much of it still remains for fans to see, including the Green Dragon where you can grab a pint of beer that is specially brewed for the Shire, or for a non-alcoholic ginger beer. Tour packages are offered that include an evening banquet or second breakfast. The sets for the other locations were all taken down after shooting, but the landscape is so picturesque and still worth seeing. From Edoras at Mount Sunday to the Paths of the Dead in Putangirua Pinnacles Scenic Reserve or Rivendell in Wellington’s Kaitoke Regional Park.
Movie magic in the real world. A dream destination for any LOTR fan.
Japan
I am a big anime fan, and Japan is the birthplace of anime, so Tokyo is high on my list. Tokyo has an Anime District where you can shop for all things Otaku, an arcade, and themed cafes. And while in Tokyo you can check out the Ghibli or Suginami Animation museums, real life locations from animes like Azabu neighbourhood from Sailor Moon or Asakusa neighbourhood from Demon Slayer. And there is endless shopping from the Sanrio stores to Pokemon Center. There is the Ghibli Amusement Park in the Aichi Commemorative Park and an Attack on Titan Museum in Hita City—the birthplace of the creator Hajime Isayama. For Bungo Stray Dogs fans, you can go to Yokohama and walk the streets where the anime takes place. Needless to say, it’s a nerdy heaven.
images courtesy of Ronny Siegel, Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons UpdateNerd, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Vulcan, Alberta
As a Star Trek fan, I’m disappointed in myself. I lived in Alberta for over 20 years and less than 2 hours away from the town of Vulcan, the Star Trek Capital of Canada, and I never went there. In 1995 the town decided to embrace their sci-fi connection to Star Trek, and in 1998 the tourism centre, that looks like a spacecraft, opened to welcome in the fandom; there is a museum and gift shop inside the centre. Every year at the end of July they host Vulcon, An all Star Trek convention with actors, writers, and producers that have worked on Star Trek as guests, there is a cosplay contest and a t-shirt contest you can enter, and recently they added a design your own shirt contest. One day I will make it down there, but until then… Live long and prosper.
Verbum Amoris 