Why a giant elevator? Well it figures in to the design of the attached main hall. It will be a massive, ,three-story structure comprised of a dining area on the second floor and a balcony on the third floor, overlooking said dining area. Not content to have just two stories for dining, the second floor will be able to transform itself into a balcony overlooking the first floor for maximum dining occupancy. The attached elevator will be used for entertainment. He could use the first floor for a dressing area for performers, having them rise to the second floor via the elevator to surprise guests. When the dining hall is opened up for all three floors, the elevator room could house the main dining table, allowing the host to visit any of the three levels as he entertains guests.

Underground passageways also figure big into Garriott's plan. The house will eventually consist of three separate buildings, connected via a network of underground passages. Then the swimming pool will also have passages you can swim through to come up in any area of the house. The manor's air-conditioning system runs underground as well, and Garriott had it built with 3-and-a-half-foot cement ducts, so the entire thing is crawlable.

Many other surprises will lie in wait for visitors to Britainnia Manor MK 3 when it is finished. Guests rooms will have swiveling walls to allow beds to move from room to room in the middle of the night. Secret doors will contain elaborate lock mechanisms that require you to reach into a hole to fiddle with the lock, with a pneumatic clamp snatching your arm until the lock is properly open. He's dug a 100 foot pit on the property to make a tunnel that leads to the river bordering the property.

Garriott is an 8-year old with no parents and a ton of cash to throw around, and I think it is just fantastic. He creates these places some would call silly and others would call magical, purely out the passion for adventure that drives him. When we get our own Kotaku castle built, we are totally going to war with him.

Close by in the Fuji Television studios, Square Enix is holding the Dragon Quest Odaiba Expo 2007 featuring more game cabinets, a Dragon Quest figurine collection and something called an iMode corner (you can read more about iMode here) From now until September second you can check out the castle and the Expo if you happen to be in the area and get a free Slime cell phone accessory for your time. Nothing like that sweet, sweet swag.

Dragon Quest castle erected in Odaiba Japan News Review
(Thanks, Marcus)

It may not be much, but Lionhead Studios just posted this picture up on their Fable 2 forums with three points for gamers to "speculate" about:

This is a castle
"Own all the world's property"
Located in a city

Hmmmm, I see no mention of trees. What could this mean? The Msoft press release that pointed me to this post starts by asking me to imagine myself as the main character in a Fable where I own this castle. So that part is explained, but the rest seems very nebulous. Brian Crecente

A little something [Fable 2 Forums]