By Dan Bennett
Staff Writer
A place where a lower Manhattan street runs into Pearl Harbor,and where icebergs lurk in a balmy climate, wouldn’t seem to bereal at all.
Welcome to Hollywood, or better still, Hollywood in Mexico,where a fantasy world of movie sets and interactive learningbeckons those seeking a true south-of-the-border escape.
Foxploration, which opened last month at Fox Studios Baja inRosarito, Mexico, is where the blockbuster film “Titanic” was shotfive years ago. The theme park is different from such entities asUniversal Studios. It’s smaller, quieter and less of acash-drainer, preferring exhibits to rides, small doses of recentHollywood history over the shrieks of adrenaline-rushedcustomers.
A 30-minute drive from the border, Foxploration seeks to mirrorthe quiet and friendly beach-city community of Rosarito, offeringan easy day of sightseeing in a low-key atmosphere. The park isnext to the working film studio built for “Titanic,” a studio thatnow routinely hosts other film productions, including this summer’s"Pearl Harbor.”
Run by general manager Charlie Arneson -- a former marinescientist and underwater film expert who was called in by “Titanic"director James Cameron, and then never left -- the theme parkevolved from the obvious interest tourists had in the location.
“We were first going to shoot ‘Titanic’ in Poland,” Arnesonsaid. “But we wanted a location where we could shoot the entiremovie, not only the water sequences. We narrowed it down to fourlocations, then decided to build an infrastructure in Rosarito.Originally, these sets and what became a small studio were onlytemporary. We realized not long into shooting that we had somethinghere, and that even after ‘Titanic,’ we should invest a littlemore.”
The making of “Titanic” became Hollywood legend, with costsspiraling upward and forecasts of financial disaster that nevercame true. Since then the site has been useful, serving as alocation for movies with water scenes, including “Deep Blue Sea,""In Dreams” and “Tomorrow Never Dies.”
A small museum, featuring “Titanic” sets and props, was set upearly, attracting a handful of visitors daily.
“In the back of our heads, Foxploration was always there as avery loose idea,” Arneson said. “If people who lived around herewere interested in ‘Titanic,’ couldn’t we expand on the museum andmaybe draw tourists from the U.S.?”
The idea ultimately translated to the first-ever theme park puttogether through a working relationship between a U.S. company andlocal and national offices of the Mexican government.
After a soft opening in April, without signs or advertising tolure customers, Foxploration is now becoming slightly moreaggressive in its marketing efforts, though still determined tostay low-key.
What visitors will find upon entering Foxploration is first amovie set, a replica of Canal Street in New York City. Behind thebuilding facades are interactive exhibits, where film fans canlearn how special effects work, how scenes in “Titanic” and otherfilms were accomplished, how make-up is applied and how costumesare designed, each eager to reveal the magic secrets ofmoviemaking.
A few yards away is the Titanic Expo, where customers can visitthe real sets used in the film, and examine the extremely detailedprops, such as the silverware, where each item was engraved withthe official emblem of the White Star Line, owner of the originalTitanic.
“James Cameron wanted everything exactly as it was on the realTitanic,” said Rolando Navarro, operations manager at Foxploration."Even the china was authentic, and Cameron had it go down with theship, just like it did in real life.”
Navarro is a Rosarito local who played several roles as an extrain “Titanic,” and whose enthusiasm earned him upward mobility atFox Studios Baja. Navarro still remembers the days of filming.
“It was so funny to see all the frozen people walking around,"said Navarro, who proudly boasts that the main extra he played inthe film survived, “though many of my other charactersdrowned.”
Guests are not allowed to visit the two gigantic indoor watertanks that housed the ship portraying the Titanic, but they canpeer at the outdoor harbor that held the ship in some scenes.Guided tours of the water tanks may eventually be implemented whenthe tanks are not in use.
Outside the expo are ship props from “Pearl Harbor,” and nearbyis a full-sized, state-of-the-art movie theater and a playroom forchildren, including hundreds of soft Styrofoam balls shootingthrough the air. A costume-and-props room from other Fox films suchas “Monkeybone,” “Anna and the King” and “Dude, Where’s My Car"draws visitors. At the end of Canal Street is a food court, withSubway, Domino’s and Starbucks, and a gift shop.
Foxploration is small, but will remain a work in progress as newideas develop.
“We want to keep it about moviemaking, and not have peoplecompare it to Universal or Disneyland,” Arneson said. “The parkemployees will give it a personal touch.”
Arneson says 98 percent of the employees will be local residentsfrom Rosarito and surrounding areas. A gallery in the theater lobbywill feature the works of Mexican artists.
“The success of the studio and park depends on an integration ofideas between American and Mexican creative and business talents,"Arneson said.
“We’re hoping to offer something different, something that willattract people to come south of the border, spend some time inRosarito and enjoy the park.”
Foxploration is open 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursdays throughMondays. Admission is $12 for adults, $9 for seniors and childrenages 3-11, free for children under 3. Take Interstate 5 south tothe border, then follow the signs to the Rosarito-Ensenada ScenicRoad. Drive 6 miles to the tollbooth at Playas de Tijuana. Continue15 miles to the last Rosarito exit, the LaPaloma/Popotla/Calafia/Las Rocas exit. Continue south on the freeroad 3 miles to Foxploration. Call (866) FOX-BAJA or visitwww.foxploration.com.
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