Florida is a big state with many iconic locations and landmarks. This makes it a rife target for a developer such as Rockstar Games, as it loves to poke at American culture in its successful Grand Theft Auto series. And because of that, many were hoping the developer would have its own version of Walt Disney World Resort in Grand Theft Auto 6, as it is a Florida staple. However, Rockstar has confirmed GTA 6 won’t include that popular Sunshine State destination.
Game Informer was able to get this information out of senior vice president of environment art Paul MacPherson in its cover story on the upcoming open-world game. When asked about the central part of Florida and the theme parks it holds, MacPherson indirectly confirmed theme parks like Disney World, Universal Studios, and SeaWorld won’t be in the game, but tried to reassure players they will still be getting an experience that’s representative of Florida.
“We have to constantly evaluate the diversity of landscapes, towns, structures, landmarks, vistas, plant species, rock formations and everything else before we work with design and narrative to distill a list down that best works with and serves the game’s needs,” said MacPherson. “So, while we may not have those exact locations, everything we have is geared to getting that full Florida experience!”
Some of this fervor stems from a 2023 map of the state of Leonida that was reportedly cobbled together from leaked materials. The northern part of the Frankenstein’s monster of a map includes a place called Fairyland, which some assumed was a Disney World parody. This was all conjecture based off a fan-made map, but it did likely help put the idea out there that a theme park in the game was a real possibility.
Regardless, many on the game’s subreddit have brought it up more than a few times over the years. Even Florida-born Jay Klaitz, the actor behind Grand Theft Auto 5‘s tech wiz character Lester Crest, ruminated on the idea in an interview from April. He said it would be “interesting” if the team would go down that route and could even call it “Psycho Park or whatever.”
That said, it seems as though Rockstar will be parodying Disney in some form. Players have spotted logos for what appears to be “Fred’s Pictures,” a film production company seen in Grand Theft Auto 5 that’s an obvious Disney spoof. A Minnie Mouse-like character can be seen in the extended gameplay reveal, demonstrating how Fred’s Pictures may play a bigger role in GTA 6. It does at least appear there will be an alligator-themed park in the game, though.
Are you disappointed by the news Grand Theft Auto 6 won’t have a theme park? Or will you be too busy shooting hoops and the police? Tell us in the comment below.
