Orlando Attractions Area News & Developments

[aent]

7 hours ago, jrs2 said:

This new expansion is needed b/c of the disjointedness of the N/S Bldg's bifurcation (much like OIA) into two halves not connected from within. 

Technically the buildings are fully connected from within. I've been to conventions that use the entirety of the building, and you most definitely can just walk between the north and south halls from within. the issue is the concourses aren't connected. So if a convention hall closes at 4pm but they have meetings till 6pm that you want to attend, if you go to one meeting room in the north hall, then one to go to the next in the south hall, you have to walk outside and around the entire building.

I'm sure it poses a number of other issues as well:

- if a convention is separately ticketing the exhibit space and you are unable to cut through the center during normal hours

- a convention that needs more meeting room space then either side offers alone but does not need exhibit space from both sides

- needing ticketing/badges to be available on both sides separately

etc

One other thing I've been disappointed about is all of the newer skywalks no longer have the moving walkways on them, and the older ones all seemed to be turned off even during conventions that use both facilities. They were running buses between the buildings, which if they kept moving walkways on the entire path, probably wouldn't have been necessary. As it is, the skywalks seem to be barely used. Without them, the west hall seems to be barely walking distance to the north-south hall.

BTW For those who haven't seen the Vegas Sphere (under construction):

 

[jrs2]

18 hours ago, aent said:

Technically the buildings are fully connected from within.

One other thing I've been disappointed about is all of the newer skywalks no longer have the moving walkways on them, and the older ones all seemed to be turned off even during conventions that use both facilities. They were running buses between the buildings, which if they kept moving walkways on the entire path, probably wouldn't have been necessary. As it is, the skywalks seem to be barely used. Without them, the west hall seems to be barely walking distance to the north-south hall.

Well, the N/S Bldg is not intended to be connected from within the expo hall.  This year's Megacon allowed for patrons to cross from the N to the S from within the expo hall because the show extended from N to S and used meeting rooms on both ends.  The entrance to the show to buy passes was situated on the east side of the building from what appeared to be a freight entrance.  This is the area where they plan to add the 200k sqft.

 If shows are smaller, they restrict access.

As for skywalks, only the skywalk connecting the West and N/S buildings has them.  The ones to the hotels (Rosen Plaza & Centre, Hilton, and Hyatt) don't have them, never did, and were never designed for them.

[spenser1058]

We’ve heard from Universal and Disney will be announcing what it’s up to at D23 later in the month. Not to be outdone, Sea World has announced it will have news of its own next week. Stay tuned:

https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/attractions/2019/08/14/seaworld-orlando-teases--exciting--announcements

From News 13

As for myself, I’m waiting to hear from Gatorland.

[HankStrong]

On ‎8‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 3:34 PM, spenser1058 said:

As for myself, I’m waiting to hear from Gatorland.

Cleetus is retiring from the Gator Jump-A-Roo!  A second, full-throttle version of the zipline will be installed with no safety equipment.  Only the strong survive and the rest end up gator food, but anyone making it across and wrasslin' a gator that isn't taped gets a free shot on American Ninja Warrior Orlando.

All positives!

Edited August 19, 2019 by HankStrong

[spenser1058]

Oak Ridge, Tangelo Park and Williamsburg residents weigh in with the OC Commission on Universal’s upcoming Epic:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange-county/os-ne-epic-universe-epic-headache-20190820-of77czh64nb2hep5fnq7w2qekm-story.html

I was struck by just how much we’re starting to sound like Anaheim.

From the Sentinel 

 

[spenser1058]

Possible pricing leaked for Disney’s New Star Wars Resort (hold on to your wallet):

https://wdwnt.com/2019/08/pricing-revealed-for-immersive-multi-day-star-wars-galactic-journeys-hotel-experience-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/

From WDW News Today 

Edited August 21, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

The expanded MK pathway between Fantasyland and Liberty Square at WDW is coming right along:

https://wdwnt.com/2019/08/photos-more-concrete-poured-at-cinderella-castle-pathway-widening-project/

From WDW News Today 

What’s most wonderful is they are adding trees that are already well-developed. I sure wish in-town developers would do more of that.

Huge thumbs up from Super Arbor Man!

[jrs2]

5 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Possible pricing leaked for Disney’s New Star Wars Resort (hold on to your wallet):

https://wdwnt.com/2019/08/pricing-revealed-for-immersive-multi-day-star-wars-galactic-journeys-hotel-experience-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/

From WDW News Today 

this is pretty cool; it is meant to connect to SWGE at Hollywood Studios.  

[spenser1058]

4 minutes ago, jrs2 said:

this is pretty cool; it is meant to connect to SWGE at Hollywood Studios.  

Yes, they’ll have specially designed shuttles to SW:GE:

https://wdwnt.com/2019/08/concept-art-first-look-at-immersive-guest-transport-system-for-the-star-wars-hotel-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/

From WDW News Today 

Keep in mind this is WDWNT so take it with a grain of salt until it’s official from The Mouse (maybe at D23?).

[jrs2]

18 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Yes, they’ll have specially designed shuttles to SW:GE:

https://wdwnt.com/2019/08/concept-art-first-look-at-immersive-guest-transport-system-for-the-star-wars-hotel-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/

From WDW News Today 

Keep in mind this is WDWNT so take it with a grain of salt until it’s official from The Mouse (maybe at D23?).

oh...gotcha

[spenser1058]

More on paying for the Kirkman Road extension:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-universal-epic-universe-state-grant-20190822-wkzm4pbnnnayrg42zpgbrztayu-story.html

Fron the Sentinel 

[spenser1058]

An excellent in-depth look at what we’re getting for our $605 million in the latest expansion to OCCC from UP’er Ken Storey:

https://m.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2019/08/20/orange-county-convention-center-greenlights-fancy-new-605-million-expansion

From Orlando Weekly 

[spenser1058]

Brandon would be proud!

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-bz-theme-park-experiences-20190822-d23n4gfekzhulp62o6t4xzxp3u-story.html

From the Sentinel 

Edited August 23, 2019 by spenser1058

[jrs2]

21 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

An excellent in-depth look at what we’re getting for our $605 million in the latest expansion to OCCC from UP’er Ken Storey:

https://m.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2019/08/20/orange-county-convention-center-greenlights-fancy-new-605-million-expansion

From Orlando Weekly 

fantastic article.  it gets into Epic Uni a bit as to its design elements which make it unique- I believe our guy here posted about it as well, Klstorey, if I'm not mistaken.  It discusses how area private convention halls at neighboring hotels have grown instead the past 15 years, etc.

As far as the size of the building goes, stats are deceptive.  when you look at gross square footage, the OCCC combined has like 7M sq ft.  Some of these other centers only have the expo space and some breakout rooms.  I did calculations several years back.  OCCC may still be the largest CC out there.  I know McCormick's North building was just expo space; the original building is expo plus a theatre; the West has a combo of expo and rooms; and the newest part added some expo and a ton of mezzanine space.  New Orleans' CC is virtually all expo space.  How many levels does our West Bldg have?  Four?  The N/S has 2.

I think they need to ditch a lot of the cavernous green space around the OCCC and make more efficient use of space; get parts of the building out to the sidewalk- the N/S Bldg, that is.

[popsiclebrandon]

10 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Brandon would be proud!

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-bz-theme-park-experiences-20190822-d23n4gfekzhulp62o6t4xzxp3u-story.html

From the Sentinel 

“This is not a story about popsicles at a hotel,” he told a crowd of tourism professionals at Visit Orlando’s luncheon on Thursday. “It’s a parable about experiences and, in particular, the way we remember these experiences. In this world of engaged guests, how do we build more peaks?”

 

I don't know man, that sounds like a killer idea for every single hotel in Florida to try.

[spenser1058]

More on the new Star Wars “cruise ship” coming to DHS:

https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-immersive-star-wars-hotel-will-feel-like-a-cruise-s-1837497888/amp

From Gizmodo 

[aent]

6 hours ago, jrs2 said:

I think they need to ditch a lot of the cavernous green space around the OCCC and make more efficient use of space; get parts of the building out to the sidewalk- the N/S Bldg, that is.

Most of the new expansion is supposed to extend the building out close to Convention Way and eliminate most of the grass  on that side. I'm hoping between this and the Universal expansion the Hyatt decided to build another tower on their vacant parcel across the street from this expansion sometime soon.

Unfortunately I don't think its too likely they can expand the convention center out towards I-Drive. Maybe some outdoor exhibit space somehow?

Edited August 23, 2019 by aent

[jrs2]

14 hours ago, aent said:

Most of the new expansion is supposed to extend the building out close to Convention Way and eliminate most of the grass  on that side. I'm hoping between this and the Universal expansion the Hyatt decided to build another tower on their vacant parcel across the street from this expansion sometime soon.

Unfortunately I don't think its too likely they can expand the convention center out towards I-Drive. Maybe some outdoor exhibit space somehow?

Ah, so Hyatt owns some of that space on that side.  Didn't know that...it explains the care usually parked over there...probably theirs.

[aent]

11 hours ago, jrs2 said:

Ah, so Hyatt owns some of that space on that side.  Didn't know that...it explains the care usually parked over there...probably theirs.

Yup. As my memory recalls, Hyatt owned that land and previously planned to build a hotel on that plot, but then ended up buying the adjacent Peabody hotel instead, and renaming it.

[spenser1058]

Out with Future World and in with three new sections at Epcot plus a Mary Poppins attraction (finally official!) at the UK Pavilion (will there still be a UK by then?):

https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201908/6968/

Feom Theme Park Insider 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

There is a new upscale LaQuinta near my dwelling on International drive.

 

There is also a new hotel being built on Westwood Across from convention center facing 528. 

I'll try and get a photo. 

[jrs2]

13 hours ago, IAmFloridaBorn said:

There is a new upscale LaQuinta near my dwelling on International drive.

 

There is also a new hotel being built on Westwood Across from convention center facing 528. 

I'll try and get a photo. 

that's a Hilton Tru brand I believe...off of Westwood.

[spenser1058]

“10. hour lines are not a sign of success.” Take that, Universal! 

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/08/28/disney-says-lower-foot-traffic-at-galaxys-edges-was-intentional.html

From CNBC

[prahaboheme]

15 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

“10. hour lines are not a sign of success.” Take that, Universal! 

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/08/28/disney-says-lower-foot-traffic-at-galaxys-edges-was-intentional.html

From CNBC

Disney already publicly stated that SW:GE is performing under expectations in Anaheim.  

This is just fluff from Iger who is trying to save face from the absolute failure of the rollout of this land at Disneyland. Hopefully it goes better for it’s East Coast twin.

When Pandora rolled out, it had hours-long waits as well. That said, the extremely talented team at the helm of the success of Pandora at DAK delivered above expectations. 

Edited August 29, 2019 by prahaboheme

[prahaboheme]

As of this morning, the line to get into SW:GE wraps around the Chinese theater. Is this the virtual queue that Iger mentioned?