Orlando Attractions Area News & Developments

[spenser1058]

The Starflyer saga and a nod to one of our more successful local developers, Chuck Whittall:

http://bit.ly/2H7gIat

From the Sentinel

Edited May 31, 2018 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

For all the sturm und drang regarding the supposed corrupting effects of gambling on our "family" tourism market (ignoring that our white elephant OCCC really isn't marketed to families at all), limited casino gambling with slots and poker are less than 60 miles from Disney property just east of Tampa at the Seminole Tribe's Hard Rock resort.

The Seminoles are now announcing a $700 million expansion of the facility. That, combined with the remaining  para-mutuel facilities and the fact we had 72 million visitors last year despite the evil gamblers less than an hour away, makes one wonder how long our fig leaf of "purity" can endure. Stay tuned...

Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa plans massive $700M expansion
http://bit.ly/2IY0ztx

From the Sentinel

[AndyPok1]

Also not to mention that Orange City got their card room and the world didn't collapse on itself.

Oh what'd I'd give for something even half as good as Jacksonville has with BestBet, so I don't have to drive 90 minutes each way on the weekends.

EDIT: Just read the article, pretty sure this has been in works for a while, they just announced what the expansion will contain.  It's been in the works for over a year.

Edited June 1, 2018 by AndyPok1

[spenser1058]

Photos of Guardians of the Galaxy underway in Epcot's Future World. The article reports the enclosed coaster's show building will top out at 130', which will rival Spaceship Earth. It's unclear just how visible The Mouse wants it to be.

http://blogmickey.com/2018/06/photos-latest-look-at-guardians-of-the-galaxy-construction-in-epcot/

From blogmickey

[spenser1058]

Universal is going all in to keep their guests on property with rates as low as the mid-70's per night at the Surfside Inn now underway. The catch? It requires a 7-night stay. WDW hasn't seen rates like that in a while (for that matter, that's an amazing rate for anything above Motel 6 status.)

Get your lightsabers and wizarding wands ready. This is going to be an epic battle.

https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201806/6148/

From Theme Park Insider

Edited June 13, 2018 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

The latest on Pointe Orlando from Scott J - it appears to be a clean sweep down there.

https://www.scottjosephorlando.com/news/4365-rumors-pointe-to-new-tenants-on-i-drive

[spenser1058]

The industry that wasn't to be: Orlando's short run as "Hollywood East"

http://bit.ly/2HNnORM

From the Sentinel

[orlandouprise]

and now Georgia has managed to do what we could not...why?

[aent]

9 minutes ago, orlandouprise said:

and now Georgia has managed to do what we could not...why?

Because Georgia is throwing money at them. Their tax credits exceed the taxes collected on the movie productions, and they allow the studios to sell the tax credits to others in the state so they can get the value out of the state without spending the required amount in the state. I believe at this point we're looking at near $400 million a year to an industry that spent about $900 million as expenses, probably a significant portion to out of state actors. I'm not sure how smart of an idea that is.... you throw money like that at any industry, you'll get people here... but thats another low-wage industry for the locals, except its real easy to move out of town if they ever stop the subsidies. 

[orlandouprise]

Agreed, but nobody can deny it has had a trickle down effect on the city of Atlanta.  It has elevated Atlanta and made it hip and cool to live there where as before Atlanta was an afterthought...

That brings people, corporations and wealth...

[jrs2]

2 hours ago, orlandouprise said:

Agreed, but nobody can deny it has had a trickle down effect on the city of Atlanta.  It has elevated Atlanta and made it hip and cool to live there where as before Atlanta was an afterthought...

That brings people, corporations and wealth...

True, but Atlanta was already hip and cool way back in the '80's before any film industry was there or the Housewives show.

So, GA throws $$$ at them, kinda like HQ2...so one has to balance the benefit with the investment (tax-wise).

Orlando already has notoriety.  But, companies like Disney and Universal moved some of their production facilities either back to CA or NY (Nick) like 20 years ago.  Had they not done that, those facilities could've been a springboard for some new production work to come here.

[spenser1058]

Atlanta's first big splash in TV/film came about in the 80's because Coke (headquartered in Midtown) bought Columbia Pictures (now SONY.) Remember all the great shots of Atlanta on Matlock and Designing Women (when visiting your grandparents, right?) Those didn't happen by accident.

At the same time WDW and USF were building sound stages, several cities and states decided to get in on the act. Georgia has gone all in, as Aent mentioned. Toronto also (production of Spenser: For Hire moved north, which was odd, because Boston was as important to that series as Miami was to Vice) and Wilmington, NC (hello, Dawson's Creek.) As Aent mentioned, there's a lot of risk (here today, gone tomorrow) and the rewards are fleeting. For a place like Wilmington, though, their 15 minutes of fame was fun.

Atlanta has never really needed to spend the money. Because it's THE capital of today's South, all the wannabe hipsters from the surrounding states have long gravitated there (it's where I went to come out and was my first PRIDE parade.)

Orlando's theme parks are such that we'll never lack for people knowing we're here, but I suspect we'll always play second fiddle to South Florida for the cool factor. Given that I love to visit Miami but would never want to live there, I'm OK with that (and I long ago chose Orlando's accessible downtown over Atlanta, but that's just me and others can decide differently.)

Why? Long ago, I read an article in the Atlanta city magazine where the author noted he had started out in Midtown, then as he grew older moved to Virginia-Highland, then Morningside, Decatur and ended up outside the Perimeter.

I've never wanted to return to the suburbs since being doomed to grow up there and downtown Orlando is the perfect piece of urban amenities, walkability  and at the same time a great place to put roots down. Again, just my two cents and your experience may be different.

One other thing: budgeting for Florida's film business fell prey to politics. As Tallahassee became more conservative, there was less support for those wild-eyed liberals from Hollywood. It was Jacksonville all over again, who ran the nascent film industry out of town in the early 20th century because of filmdom's supposed "loose morals." 

[I am Reality]

The problem with the local studios is that they didn't begin organically.  They were an artificial extension of the theme parks.

There was never a serious effort to produce anything here, unless there was some commercial tie-in to the theme-parks. 

The whole effort was half-assed.  No one every articulated a reason why productions  should move here, other than cost.  Cost-savings do not translate to quality.

The cool factor also cannot be ignored.  The theme-parks are fun places to visit for a week with children.  They have little cache for well-paid studio professionals used to the LA lifestyle (enormous wealth, celebrity, beaches, much different politics, etc).

Edited June 14, 2018 by I am Reality

[jrs2]

ok, so the Universal Wet n Wild hotel, at least the tallest portions of the first two buildings or wings, is very visible from I-4.  Sorry, no photo for safety purposes...can't snap to my left and swerve in the construction lane shifting area simultaneously.  I'm not an Ambiturn (some psycho here will get that reference I'm sure).

[spenser1058]

Disney's new Riviera Resort is now visible from Epcot. It notes it will have a rooftop restaurant, something we don't see much of anymore.(Thank goodness the California Grill keeps going, although I still miss Top of the World *cue the Carpenters.*)

http://www.wdwmagic.com/amp/resorts/disney-riviera-resort/news/14jun2018-photos---disney-riviera-resort-viewed-from-inside-epcot.htm

From WDW Magic

Edited June 15, 2018 by spenser1058

[aent]

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Disney's new Riviera Resort is now visible from Epcot. It notes it will have a rooftop restaurant, something we don't see much of anymore.(Thank goodness the California Grill keeps going, although I still miss Top of the World *cue the Carpenters.*)

http://www.wdwmagic.com/amp/resorts/disney-riviera-resort/news/14jun2018-photos---disney-riviera-resort-viewed-from-inside-epcot.htm

From WDW Magic

I think, at least among the attractions area, that trend for rooftop restaurants/bars is back in, Mangos, the Mangos garage rooftop, Aventura, and Riviera Resort are all adding rooftop restaurants/bars. I think thats 4 in two years being added?

[spenser1058]

12 minutes ago, aent said:

I think, at least among the attractions area, that trend for rooftop restaurants/bars is back in, Mangos, the Mangos garage rooftop, Aventura, and Riviera Resort are all adding rooftop restaurants/bars. I think thats 4 in two years being added?

That's a good point. I was thinking back to Manuel's on the 28th and Arthur's 27 and some others that have gone away, but you're right, we're seeing more again. I suppose, like everything else, it's cyclical.

And, of course, the Citrus Club has been there through all of it. Now if we can just get back Top O' Citizens on North Orange.

[popsiclebrandon]

Which building was that in? Trying to figure out where the Citizens Bank building is/was.

[popsiclebrandon]

Oh was it the now/was First Green Bank building? Found this.

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00073793/00199/9x?search=citizens

[spenser1058]

10 minutes ago, popsiclebrandon said:

Which building was that in? Trying to figure out where the Citizens Bank building is/was.

It's currently the First Green Bank at Orange and Robinson. It started out as Citizens Bank in the 60's but has had so many names I can no longer keep up. And is about to get another one.

Edited June 15, 2018 by spenser1058

[jrs2]

6 hours ago, aent said:

I think, at least among the attractions area, that trend for rooftop restaurants/bars is back in, Mangos, the Mangos garage rooftop, Aventura, and Riviera Resort are all adding rooftop restaurants/bars. I think thats 4 in two years being added?

Add the  Aventura tower at Universal to that list.

[aent]

16 hours ago, jrs2 said:

Add the  Aventura tower at Universal to that list.

Its so good it needs to be in there twice? lol

[spenser1058]

Pics of the first Skyliner car arriving at WDW:

https://wdwnt.com/2018/06/breaking-first-disney-skyliner-gondola-car-arrives-at-walt-disney-world/

From WDW News Today

[jrs2]

On 6/16/2018 at 10:24 AM, aent said:

Its so good it needs to be in there twice? lol

Oops!

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

Pics of the first Skyliner car arriving at WDW:

https://wdwnt.com/2018/06/breaking-first-disney-skyliner-gondola-car-arrives-at-walt-disney-world/

From WDW News Today

Oh boy...Comcast is gonna have to dig a little deeper in it’s wallet!

[spenser1058]

5 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

Oops!

Oh boy...Comcast is gonna have to dig a little deeper in it’s wallet!

Unfortunately, Brian Roberts  may be about to leverage Comcast into oblivion because of his grudge match with Bob Iger. If Comcast somehow wins the FOX bid, it ties up their balance sheet more than Disney's (especially given the bucks rolling in lately from Bob's Blockbuster Machine) and it's going to be harder for them to lay out capex at their parks. 

For USF's sake, a Disney win on FOX is likely preferable.