Orlando Attractions Area News & Developments

[JFW657]

Orange County wants to turn I-Drive into our own version of Times Square or Fremont Street in Las Vegas, over the next several years, by adding all kinds of animated lighting effects etc...

 

[spenser1058]

10 hours ago, JFW657 said:

Orange County wants to turn I-Drive into our own version of Times Square or Fremont Street in Las Vegas, over the next several years, by adding all kinds of animated lighting effects etc...

 

I have to laugh about this. The OC section  of I-Drive was specifically designed to be tasteful and not as honky-tonk as the north end or 192. Now, here we go full circle.

[JFW657]

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

I have to laugh about this. The OC section  of I-Drive was specifically designed to be tasteful and not as honky-tonk as the north end or 192. Now, here we go full circle.

I have to laugh at the notion of I-Drive being tasteful.

It is the very epitome of a tacky tourist strip and AFAIC, the gaudier and glitzier, the better.

There is a lot to be said for having a "Glitter Gulch" in our city, as long as it's far enough away from downtown so that the two don't get confused with one another, and yet close enough so that it's clear they are part of the same metro.

My fear is that the lighting we get, will appear as though an attempt was made to keep it too tasteful.

I want flickering, flashing neon in every imaginable color advertising consumer products, not some artsy-shmartsy fish swimming back & forth or butterflies or flowers or any of that kind of precious flop.

I want a giant flashing neon Coca Cola sign, and signs advertising bourbon and cigarettes like Times Square.

And girls!!! Possibly a neon version of the Jantzen girl in Daytona. 

Maybe a giant neon pizza that looks like it's disappearing one slice at a time then starts over again.

Bring it on!!! 

[spenser1058]

16 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

I have to laugh at the notion of I-Drive being tasteful.

It is the very epitome of a tacky tourist strip and AFAIC, the gaudier and glitzier, the better.

There is a lot to be said for having a "Glitter Gulch" in our city, as long as it's far enough away from downtown so that the two don't get confused with one another, and yet close enough so that it's clear they are part of the same metro.

My fear is that the lighting we get, will appear as though an attempt was made to keep it too tasteful.

I want flickering, flashing neon in every imaginable color advertising consumer products, not some artsy-shmartsy fish swimming back & forth or butterflies or flowers or any of that kind of precious flop.

I want a giant flashing neon Coca Cola sign, and signs advertising bourbon and cigarettes like Times Square.

And girls!!! Possibly a neon version of the Jantzen girl in Daytona. 

Maybe a giant neon pizza that looks like it's disappearing one slice at a time then starts over again.

Bring it on!!! 

Yep, if you remember in the early ‘80’s, which were the days of Mercado, small sign ordinances, heavily landscaped medians, etc., they were shooting for the aesthetic of Disney’s Hotel Plaza Blvd.

In those days, the Orlando Wheel would likely not have flown and if it did, the lighting would have had to been much more subdued.

Part of the problem from those design standards was that it was auto-centric and things were too spread out to walk.

At that point the convention center still hadn’t expanded and it was assumed convention-goers would just rent a car.

Edited April 18, 2019 by spenser1058

[aent]

4 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

I have to laugh about this. The OC section  of I-Drive was specifically designed to be tasteful and not as honky-tonk as the north end or 192. Now, here we go full circle.

Ultimately its all about how its done. There is no doubt tacky ways to install lighting, and tasteful ones. It'd be hard to call the lighting displays within, say, Disney, Universal, or Sea World tacky in my eyes (including their temporary/event ones) Also, is the county going to be installing lighting on or in front of the businesses, or are they simply revising the code to allow them to do it?

Edited April 18, 2019 by aent

[spenser1058]

I’m certainly not one to protest as a huge fan of classic neon. The move from cool ‘50’s red and white McDonald’s stores to the snooze-inducing mansard roof restaurants of the ‘70’s was by no means an improvement imho. As you point out, it’s all about how they go about it.

[aent]

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

I’m certainly not one to protest as a huge fan of classic neon. The move from cool ‘50’s red and white McDonald’s stores to the snooze-inducing mansard roof restaurants of the ‘70’s was by no means an improvement imho. As you point out, it’s all about how they go about it.

Yup, fully agree. And speaking of McDonalds architecture I deeply miss the old McDonalds on I-Drive. Maybe its nostalgia, but the fry building was so unique, and the current one is so... not, its just a supersized version of every other store they build these days.

[JFW657]

Thanks to the corporate mindset of pandering to current tastes, everything that's old but original and unique seems to end up getting replaced by something shiny and new, but bland, boring and run of the mill.

[spenser1058]

We just posted photos of the TTC redo over at MK and now Epcot’s major refurbishment of the entrance area has also begun:

http://blogmickey.com/2019/04/photos-massive-epcot-entrance-overhaul-project-begins/

From Blog Mickey

Between everything torn up at WDW and on I4, it feels like everything in Central Florida is a construction zone. 2021, get here quickly, please!

[spenser1058]

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, The replacement at DHS for The Great Movie Ride, has been delayed until 2020. It had been scheduled to open this fall.

The challenge for DHS is going to be capacity issues with the opening of SW:GE. The new Mickey and Minnie attraction was supposed to assist with that. Without it, things are going to be quite cozy for a park which has relatively few attractions right now.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-cfb-disney-ride-delayed-20190419-story.html

From the Sentinel 

[spenser1058]

What’s left of River Country is officially no more as demolition wraps up along the shores of Bay Lake at WDW.

Next up - another new resort coming in 2022.

https://wdwnt.com/2019/04/photos-former-river-country-location-demolished-ahead-of-reflections-a-disney-lakeside-lodge/

From WDW News Today

[spenser1058]

Good news from DHS - the Mickey standing atop the globe at Crossroads of the World is spinning again!

It has been stationary for some time now and looks better than ever!

Now about the Yeti at DAK...

https://wdwnt.com/2019/04/photos-video-crossroads-of-the-world-mickey-returns-globe-spinning-once-again-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/

From WDW News Today

[spenser1058]

Will Sea Worldput itself up for sale later this year? Theme Park University believes it might:

https://themeparkuniversity.com/theme-parks-101/is-seaworld-preparing-for-a-sale/

[JFW657]

6 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Will Sea Worldput itself up for sale later this year? Theme Park University believes it might:

https://themeparkuniversity.com/theme-parks-101/is-seaworld-preparing-for-a-sale/

Could be something fishy going on there. 

[spenser1058]

1 minute ago, JFW657 said:

Could be something fishy going on there. 

Whoever buys it just needs to make sure they keep the BEER this time.

[aent]

38 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

Whoever buys it just needs to make sure they keep the BEER this time.

Realistically it seems like the most important thing is that it is a media company -- Say, AT&T deciding they want to compete with Comcast and Disney would mean a lot of money thrown into the park. They also are a pretty acquisition happy company and seem like the best fit to me.

Unfortunately if they aren't interested, it just doesn't seem like there would be too much other interest that I think would be good for the park. Ownership by another equity group like Blackstone will put SeaWorld in its grave -- they aren't going to be willing to throw the money at SeaWorld it needs to succeed. I don't think the other pre-existing park operators have what it takes to compete with Universal/Disney.

[HankStrong]

11 hours ago, aent said:

Ownership by another equity group like Blackstone will put SeaWorld in its grave -- they aren't going to be willing to throw the money at SeaWorld it needs to succeed. I don't think the other pre-existing park operators have what it takes to compete with Universal/Disney.

I've wondered if a company like Cedar Fair would ever dip their toe into a real theme park market.  They have great amusement parks and I've been to close to 10 of them, but they aren't UO/WDW grade theme parks. 

[codypet]

I grew up in the shadow of Dorney Park.  They did a lot with that park since they bought it in 1992.

[spenser1058]

21 minutes ago, HankStrong said:

I've wondered if a company like Cedar Fair would ever dip their toe into a real theme park market.  They have great amusement parks and I've been to close to 10 of them, but they aren't UO/WDW grade theme parks. 

I believe Cedar Fair owns Knott’s Berry Farm now, which is just up the road from Disneyland, so there’s a precedent.

Their parks are generally well-regarded for second tier (they run circles around Six Flags), so that would be a great solution. Actually being in the theme park business really helps.

AT&T, which just sold its share of Hulu back to Disney/Comcast, is regarded as being a laggard thus far in content since its acquisition of Warner. I can only imagine how lost they’d be in theme parks. (I say that as someone who’s been with Ma Bell since the 70’s for phones - they never really have seemed to escape the mindset of a regulated phone company, especially given what we now know as AT&T really evolved from Southwestern Bell).

 

[prahaboheme]

Now that Knotts Berry Farm is the 10th busiest theme park in the US (ahead of Seaworld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa), it appears that Cedar Fair is finally making some major quality investments and expansion to the park. The Calico River Rapids ride set to open this summer is certainly themed to  Disney standard and the first major addition to Ghost Town (the original Frontierland) in over 20 years is forthcoming.

Knott’s seems to also be quite successful in increasing attendance for its Boysenberry festival and Knotts Scary Farm.

Knotts will always be in the shadow of its neighbor a few miles away — still has huge potential notwithstanding.

edit: interesting tidbit about the revamped rapids ride at Knotts — it is inspired by the legendary Imagineer Marc Davis.

More here: https://www.ocregister.com/2019/04/16/knotts-adds-ghost-town-backstory-to-calico-river-rapids-tying-water-ride-to-two-classic-attractions/

Edited April 22, 2019 by prahaboheme

[spenser1058]

Dolly could always go whole hog and invest with her partners in Sea World, given their success and favorable reviews for Dollywood.

Then, as in Steel Magnolias, she’d be a chain!

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/12ca5ea2-7256-47ce-8c84-737be04c067b

[aent]

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

AT&T, which just sold its share of Hulu back to Disney/Comcast, is regarded as being a laggard thus far in content since its acquisition of Warner. I can only imagine how lost they’d be in theme parks. (I say that as someone who’s been with Ma Bell since the 70’s for phones - they never really have seemed to escape the mindset of a regulated phone company, especially given what we now know as AT&T really evolved from Southwestern Bell).

 

I mean most people literally said the same thing about Comcast when they acquired Universal. The belief was Comcast just wanted more content and were going to sell off the theme park or severely neglect it since they had no experience running them. Instead, Universal clearly has had the fastest growth of anyone in the theme park market. I mean, back before Comcast acquired them, SeaWorld had higher attendance then Studios or IOA. Now both those parks easily double SeaWorld.

 I guess the old theme park rumor that disappeared for the Artegon site was WWE. Not sure if they'd be interested in SeaWorld or not. I'm still disappointed that deal didn't happen.

 

I'll also add I really hope that they don't dump the SeaWorld theme and name whoever acquires it. Its a good name and theme even if the anti-animal people at PETA tried to ruin it.

Edited April 22, 2019 by aent

[spenser1058]

7 hours ago, aent said:

I mean most people literally said the same thing about Comcast when they acquired Universal. The belief was Comcast just wanted more content and were going to sell off the theme park or severely neglect it since they had no experience running them. Instead, Universal clearly has had the fastest growth of anyone in the theme park market. I mean, back before Comcast acquired them, SeaWorld had higher attendance then Studios or IOA. Now both those parks easily double SeaWorld.

 I guess the old theme park rumor that disappeared for the Artegon site was WWE. Not sure if they'd be interested in SeaWorld or not. I'm still disappointed that deal didn't happen.

There were reasons Comcast worked and many of them were personal. They had just lost a Disney takeover bid. Moreover, Steve Burke had just been pushed out of the Mouse House and wanted to show up his former employers. 

It shows how Comcast’s management (in many ways “family” management) was highly motivated to take a run at Disney.

AT&T, conversely, is made up largely of garden variety Wall St. corporatists.  As we’ve seen many times before (including at Universal until it became personal), that almost never works in a creative entity like a theme park.

Edited April 22, 2019 by spenser1058

[dcluley98]

I don't know. 

Edited April 22, 2019 by dcluley98

[spenser1058]

Latest construction pics from Disney Gran Destino (wasn’t that a Ford once?) Tower:

https://wdwnt.com/2019/04/photos-coronado-springs-resort-construction-update-4-23-19-gran-destino-tower-villa-del-lago-etc/

From WDW News Today