To me, it was all just a feeling until I realized the sideburns thing. That really confirmed it for me. 

Now, that's interesting. I actually hope so, because as you mentioned it will give Aonuma the freedom to do whatever he wants.

But also, part of the world actually fits with Ocarina of time worldmap:

Hyrule Castle/Town at the north
Death Mountain at the northeast
Forest at the east
Lake at the south (believing the mist is coming from a waterfall/lake)
At west there's a canyon like entrance, just like Gerudo Valley in Ocarina.

I think a further factor would be the mood of the creators. Many Zeldas are made independently and then stuck into the timeline where they best fit; but Skyward Sword was developed as a prequel in every facet. That restricts the game to building toward a known ending. I would imagine the Zelda team is itching for some unrestricted creativity. That would make them want to work with the end of a timeline.

That's actually a really keen observation. Very accurate.

Yup. Or Link could be facing south from the North Palace of Zelda 2, with Death Mountain in the far south west as seen in that game. Of course this would be one and the same as your suggestion as the Hyrule of most Zeldas is the little block with Lake Hylia south of Death Mountain in the Zelda 2 map.

I like your observations, and they make sense, but I disagree (and hope I am right)

Agreements:

It will definitely come at the end of a timeline. After making a big deal about 25 years of Zelda and wrapping everything up with an official timeline and origin story in Skyward Sword, and then going back to tradition with A Link Between Worlds, looking forward is the next logical step. Also, you're right that after Skyward Sword being an origin story from the beginning, Link Between Worlds being a Link to the Past love letter and Wind Waker HD being a remake, something new is also a logical expectation.

Rebuttals:

I dont buy the whole "the map looks different now" thing because I dont think they are really rigid on the maps being similar (outside Twilight Princess of course, which was pretty much Ocarina of Time 2, I hear), only that the landmarks are similar. I knew Minish Cap came before the other games because the places were unfamiliar to the rest of the series, but not because of the layout, for example.

Link to the Past, Oracle of Seasons/Ages and Link's Awakening have the same link, and so do Zelda 1 and Zelda 2, So there's only 3 Link's in that timeline. Seeing that the 3 Links in the Child Timeline are Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess and Four Swords Adventures, I dont think breaking tradition with how he looks in a timeline is much of an issue.

The VERY LAST game in the zelda series was in the downfall timeline, AND it has the most games in it by far, even if it still has the same number of Links. The other timelines are in DESPERATE need of new content, I think. Especially the adult timeline, which could use a non-toon Link.

Finally, the absolute best place to rethink Zelda conventions would obviously be after Spirit Tracks. All new Hyrule, no Ganon, no Vaati, no Dark Link, nothing familiar in the slightest, outside of Link, Zelda and whatever races and people immigrated with Link and Tetra. They can do anything they want there. In the Downfall Timeline, all the bad guys still have a MAJOR hard-on for reviving Ganon anyways.

BOLD.

it really does not matter when it is -_-

Yeah, it does.

of course it does