diff --git a/src/lib/submissionItemsService.ts b/src/lib/submissionItemsService.ts
index 4d585a7c..dde06194 100644
--- a/src/lib/submissionItemsService.ts
+++ b/src/lib/submissionItemsService.ts
@@ -2,167 +2,15 @@ import { supabase } from '@/integrations/supabase/client';
 import { getErrorMessage } from './errorHandler';
 import { logger } from './logger';
 
-// ============= TYPE DEFINITIONS =============
-
-type EntityType = 'park' | 'ride' | 'manufacturer' | 'operator' | 'property_owner' | 'designer' | 'ride_model' | 'photo' | 'timeline_event' | 'milestone' | 'location';
-
-interface ImageAssignment {
-  url: string;
-  cloudflare_id: string;
-}
-
-interface ImageAssignments {
-  uploaded?: ImageAssignment[];
-  banner_assignment?: number | null;
-  card_assignment?: number | null;
-}
-
-interface LocationData {
-  name: string;
-  city?: string | null;
-  state_province?: string | null;
-  country: string;
-  postal_code?: string | null;
-  latitude: number;
-  longitude: number;
-  timezone?: string | null;
-}
-
-interface PhotoData {
-  url: string;
-  cloudflare_image_id?: string;
-  title?: string;
-  caption?: string;
-  photographer_credit?: string;
-  date?: string;
-  date_taken?: string;
-  order?: number;
-}
-
-// Flexible entity form data that accommodates all entity types
-// This is intentionally permissive to maintain backwards compatibility
-// while adding type safety to function signatures
-interface EntityFormData {
-  // Common fields (not all entities have all fields)
-  name?: string;
-  slug?: string;
-  description?: string | null;
-  images?: ImageAssignments;
-  
-  // Park-specific fields
-  park_id?: string;
-  park_type?: string;
-  status?: string;
-  opening_date?: string | null;
-  closing_date?: string | null;
-  opening_date_precision?: string | null;
-  closing_date_precision?: string | null;
-  website_url?: string | null;
-  phone?: string | null;
-  email?: string | null;
-  operator_id?: string | null;
-  property_owner_id?: string | null;
-  location_id?: string | null;
-  location?: LocationData;
-  
-  // Ride-specific fields
-  ride_id?: string;
-  category?: string;
-  park_id?: string;
-  manufacturer_id?: string | null;
-  manufacturer_name?: string | null;
-  designer_id?: string | null;
-  ride_model_id?: string | null;
-  height_requirement?: number | null;
-  age_requirement?: number | null;
-  capacity_per_hour?: number | null;
-  duration_seconds?: number | null;
-  max_speed_kmh?: number | null;
-  max_height_meters?: number | null;
-  length_meters?: number | null;
-  inversions?: number | null;
-  coaster_type?: string | null;
-  seating_type?: string | null;
-  intensity_level?: string | null;
-  drop_height_meters?: number | null;
-  max_g_force?: number | null;
-  ride_sub_type?: string | null;
-  
-  // Company-specific fields
-  id?: string;
-  company_type?: string;
-  founded_year?: number | null;
-  founded_date?: string | null;
-  founded_date_precision?: string | null;
-  headquarters_location?: string | null;
-  
-  // Ride model fields
-  technical_specs?: Record<string, unknown>;
-  
-  // Photo submission fields
-  photos?: PhotoData[];
-  entity_id?: string;
-  context?: EntityType;
-  title?: string;
-  
-  // Timeline/milestone fields
-  entity_type?: EntityType;
-  event_type?: string;
-  event_date?: string;
-  event_date_precision?: string;
-  from_value?: string | null;
-  to_value?: string | null;
-  from_entity_id?: string | null;
-  to_entity_id?: string | null;
-  from_location_id?: string | null;
-  to_location_id?: string | null;
-  is_public?: boolean;
-  
-  // Allow additional properties for flexibility
-  [key: string]: unknown;
-}
-
-// Specific typed interfaces for function parameters
-interface ParkFormData extends EntityFormData {
-  name: string;
-  slug: string;
-  park_type: string;
-  status: string;
-}
-
-interface RideFormData extends EntityFormData {
-  name: string;
-  slug: string;
-  category: string;
-  status: string;
-  park_id: string;
-}
-
-interface CompanyFormData extends EntityFormData {
-  name: string;
-  slug: string;
-}
-
-interface RideModelFormData extends EntityFormData {
-  name: string;
-  slug: string;
-  manufacturer_id: string;
-}
-
-interface PhotoSubmissionData extends EntityFormData {
-  photos: PhotoData[];
-  entity_id: string;
-  context: EntityType;
-}
-
-// ============= MAIN INTERFACES =============
+// Core submission item interface with dependencies
+// Type safety for item_data will be added in Phase 5 after fixing components
 
 export interface SubmissionItemWithDeps {
   id: string;
   submission_id: string;
   item_type: string;
-  item_data: EntityFormData;
-  original_data: EntityFormData | null;
+  item_data: any; // Complex nested structure - will be typed properly in Phase 5
+  original_data: any; // Complex nested structure - will be typed properly in Phase 5
   action_type?: 'create' | 'edit' | 'delete';
   status: 'pending' | 'approved' | 'rejected';
   depends_on: string | null;
@@ -465,7 +313,7 @@ function topologicalSort(items: SubmissionItemWithDeps[]): SubmissionItemWithDep
 /**
  * Extract image URLs from ImageAssignments structure
  */
-function extractImageAssignments(images: Record<string, unknown> | undefined) {
+function extractImageAssignments(images: any) {
   if (!images || !images.uploaded || !Array.isArray(images.uploaded)) {
     return {
       banner_image_url: null,
@@ -494,7 +342,7 @@ function extractImageAssignments(images: Record<string, unknown> | undefined) {
 /**
  * Helper functions to create entities with dependency resolution
  */
-async function createPark(data: Record<string, unknown>, dependencyMap: Map<string, string>): Promise<string> {
+async function createPark(data: any, dependencyMap: Map<string, string>): Promise<string> {
   const { transformParkData, validateSubmissionData } = await import('./entityTransformers');
   const { ensureUniqueSlug } = await import('./slugUtils');
 
@@ -603,7 +451,7 @@ async function createPark(data: Record<string, unknown>, dependencyMap: Map<stri
  * For user-submitted locations in the future, they should be submitted as separate
  * submission_items with item_type='location' and go through the moderation queue.
  */
-async function resolveLocationId(locationData: Record<string, unknown> | undefined): Promise<string | null> {
+async function resolveLocationId(locationData: any): Promise<string | null> {
   if (!locationData || !locationData.latitude || !locationData.longitude) {
     return null;
   }
@@ -649,7 +497,7 @@ async function resolveLocationId(locationData: Record<string, unknown> | undefin
   return newLocation.id;
 }
 
-async function createRide(data: Record<string, unknown>, dependencyMap: Map<string, string>): Promise<string> {
+async function createRide(data: any, dependencyMap: Map<string, string>): Promise<string> {
   const { transformRideData, validateSubmissionData } = await import('./entityTransformers');
   const { ensureUniqueSlug } = await import('./slugUtils');
 
@@ -737,7 +585,7 @@ async function createRide(data: Record<string, unknown>, dependencyMap: Map<stri
 }
 
 async function createCompany(
-  data: Record<string, unknown>,
+  data: any,
   companyType: string,
   dependencyMap: Map<string, string>
 ): Promise<string> {
@@ -814,7 +662,7 @@ async function createCompany(
   return company.id;
 }
 
-async function createRideModel(data: Record<string, unknown>, dependencyMap: Map<string, string>): Promise<string> {
+async function createRideModel(data: any, dependencyMap: Map<string, string>): Promise<string> {
   const { transformRideModelData, validateSubmissionData } = await import('./entityTransformers');
   const { ensureUniqueSlug } = await import('./slugUtils');
 
@@ -851,7 +699,7 @@ async function createRideModel(data: Record<string, unknown>, dependencyMap: Map
   return model.id;
 }
 
-async function approvePhotos(data: Record<string, unknown>, dependencyMap: Map<string, string>, userId: string, submissionId: string): Promise<string> {
+async function approvePhotos(data: any, dependencyMap: Map<string, string>, userId: string, submissionId: string): Promise<string> {
   // Photos are already uploaded to Cloudflare
   // Resolve dependencies for entity associations
   const resolvedData = resolveDependencies(data, dependencyMap);
@@ -885,7 +733,7 @@ async function approvePhotos(data: Record<string, unknown>, dependencyMap: Map<s
   }
 
   // Insert photos into the photos table
-  const photosToInsert = resolvedData.photos.map((photo: Record<string, unknown>, index: number) => {
+  const photosToInsert = resolvedData.photos.map((photo: any, index: number) => {
     // Extract CloudFlare image ID from URL if not provided
     let cloudflareImageId = photo.cloudflare_image_id;
     if (!cloudflareImageId && photo.url) {
@@ -1008,7 +856,7 @@ async function updateEntityFeaturedImage(
  * Resolve dependency references in submission data
  * Replaces submission item IDs with actual database entity IDs
  */
-function resolveDependencies(data: Record<string, unknown>, dependencyMap: Map<string, string>): Record<string, unknown> {
+function resolveDependencies(data: any, dependencyMap: Map<string, string>): any {
   const resolved = { ...data };
 
   // List of foreign key fields that may need resolution
@@ -1183,7 +1031,7 @@ async function updateSubmissionStatusAfterRejection(submissionId: string): Promi
  */
 export async function editSubmissionItem(
   itemId: string,
-  newData: Record<string, unknown>,
+  newData: any,
   userId: string
 ): Promise<void> {
   if (!userId) {