Sunday, October 16, 2011

LOST Tour: The Orchid Station

Aside from Kualoa Ranch, Paradise Park seems to have the highest concentration of LOST locations. Our tour of this area began with a highlight of our trip, a visit to the Orchid station.

Much like Ben, Locke and Hurley, our first glimpse of the Orchid was partially obscured.

Drawing closer, we marveled at the distressed columns and walls jutting out from the forest foliage.

What a thrill to actually step into the Orchid! This is where Ben surrendered to Keamy; where Locke searched in vain for anthuriums; where Jack and Locke had their final on-Island confrontation! (Not to mention the time travelling bunnies!)

Although much of the set is still present, the plant holders are now mostly empty.
Below photo courtesy @kiwilostie

These set photos taken from LOST magazine issue #18 show what it was like during shooting of There's No Place Like Home.

"There's no such thing as miracles"

"You know, Jack. You know that you're here for a reason. You know it. And if you leave this place, that knowledge is gonna eat you alive from the inside out...until you decide to come back."

We lingered inside for quite some time, trying to explore every corner and absorb every echo of what had gone before.

Keamy, how can you not be happy -- you're in the f'ing Orchid, man!

Some of the props within the Orchid seem to have been moved around a bit, but as the two photos below show (the first taken during our tour and the second from LOST magazine) many of them are still present and in their original condition.
The "stone" staircase appeared in several key scenes. It and several other parts of the set are made from fibreglass; we had to tread carefully lest we fell through.

@kiwilostie was pleased as punch that, unlike Locke, he had no problems finding the elevator door.
Below photo courtesy @kiwilostie

The door was one of the set pieces that seems to have been moved following the There's No Place Like Home shoot.
Below photo courtesy @kiwilostie

As this behind-the-scenes shot from LOST magazine shows, the door was originally hooked up to a mechanism to provide vertical motion.

This view through the Orchid elevator door was Locke's last of Jack until they met up for a final time three years later.

A few view of the awesome Orchid walls from our 2011 tour...
... from There's No Place Like Home ...
... and from LOST magazine.

One unfortunate fact became clear ... those LOST sets that have been left up in the outdoors aren't going to last for long without a little TLC. One of the Orchid walls has fallen and several other sections are in varying states of disrepair.

Reluctantly we made our way out of the Orchid. Fortunately Pleasant Park had a few additional LOST treasures in store for us just around the bend.

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