Orlando Attractions Area News & Developments

[billy]

Maybe that's the great wheel park

[cwetteland]

Maybe that's the great wheel park

No, but it is supposed to have some super duper roller coasters and the like. Roller coasters that require FAA approval to build.

[prahaboheme]

We should have a separate thread for all the theme park proposals that have come and gone over the years.

My personal favorite: WinterWonderlando

Here is an interesting website of forgotten theme park proposals: Lost Parks

[bic]

Developers Eye North I-Drive for Amusement Park

[bic]

I think it'd be fantastic to have a serious thrill ride park at this location. Being near the junction of I-4 and the Turnpike with attractions reaching heights of 425-feet, it would instantly become a new icon of Orlando. I just have my doubts that it'll actually come to fruition, given that it will directly abut a residential neighborhood and the nature of the park pretty much guarantees non-stop screaming.

Highlighted in blue is the proposed site:

[prahaboheme]

My only concern is that 70 acres at this location provides no opportunity for growth, unless they started to take over existing properties like Festival Bay. In the same breathe I like a proposal that builds within the existing city limits and doesn't sprawl outward. The proposed North/South light rail would pass right by this location.

[tennis32801]

Developers Eye North I-Drive for Amusement Park

That rendering with mountain background sure looks like typical Orlando topography.

[spenser1058]

That rendering with mountain background sure looks like typical Orlando topography.

I think that's Mount Dora

Edited October 13, 2010 by spenser1058

[DeepEyez]

Would it even fit on that proposed plot of land and aren't we tired of new theme parks coming to town? Isn't the Big Three enough for this town?

[prahaboheme]

^Orlando's version of Miami World Center. A real estate ploy.

Edited October 13, 2010 by prahaboheme

[DeepEyez]

^Orlando's version of Miami World Center. A real estate ploy.

Haven't they already started construction on Miami World Center? It looked quite impressive the last time I saw the specs on the project.

[prahaboheme]

I think it folded.

[prahaboheme]

Busch Gardens expansion plans:

"Cheetah Hunt, which will be paired with an animal encounter called Cheetah Run, will be Busch Gardens' first launch coaster, immediately propelling riders from 0 to 60 mph. Three separate launch points will be spread throughout the 4,429-foot track, which will include a 130-foot drop and will pass across a faux Serengeti plain and through a manmade canyon. The layout will also include a mid-ride parabola that will give riders the sensation of weightlessness for three seconds."

Discovery Cove expansion plans:

"Grand Reef, meanwhile, will combine a white-sand beach, palm-lined island and underwater grottos filled with moray eels, reef sharks and scores of other tropical fish. Activities will range from snorkeling with eagle rays to crossing a rope bridge over a shark-filled lagoon.

But the most significant addition will be an underwater walking tour that has been dubbed "SeaVenture," in which guests will be able to don dive helmets and walk submerged paths. The experience will include views of venomous lion fish and sharks through panoramic windows."

Full Article Here

[DeepEyez]

I think it folded.

But you know what, something like that....an Orlando World Center....would be awesome in downtown Orlando. Especially in that area that around Magnolia, not too far from where the +One Building was suppose to be.

[prahaboheme]

I agree, in fact, when I was in Berlin this month I visited the Sony Center complex in Potzdamer Platz and thought, wow what a great idea for Orlando. I had to assume that the Miami World Center developers took some of their inspirational from Sony Center.

Here are some of my pics (there was a German movie premiere, hence the crowds):

Sony Center's main feature is a central large canopy covering an open-air courtyard with restaurants, some retail, and a cinema. Surrounding this is high end hotels and some financial company headquarters. Sony Center is at the heart of the new Berlin, a section of the former East almost entirely destroyed by WWII, and what was left was decimated by the DDR. In 1990 Reunification, Potsdamer Platz become the symbol of (post)modern Berlin.

[prahaboheme]

Wizarding World is a slam dunk for Universal profits: Wizarding World of Harry Potter powers Universal Orlando to record results

[klstorey]

My only concern is that 70 acres at this location provides no opportunity for growth, unless they started to take over existing properties like Festival Bay. In the same breathe I like a proposal that builds within the existing city limits and doesn't sprawl outward. The proposed North/South light rail would pass right by this location.

The Baker Group are the ones behind the now failed Ron Jon Surf Park that was to go on the backside of Festival Bay. I find it odd that they would buy property directly beside a piece of property they tried to develop. I think this is either a move to shake Festival Bay back into opening up that backside of the mall property or, and in my opinion the more likely option, is that Baker is wanting to connect these two properties together. I have wondered since day one why Festival Bay didn't build a parking garage and connect more to I-Drive. With the road extension connecting this north I-Drive area to the area across from Universal I expect even more traffic than this area currently sees. A large parking garage that could be shared between the mall and this thrill park would look great against the turnpike and would open up more land for expansion on the thrill park. I wouldn't be surprised if they even include some of the surf pools they spent so much money researching before.

70 acres though is a decent size piece of property but only with an agreement with the mall could this park truly live up to its fullest potential. Could this be a move by Baker towards purchasing the problem plagued Festival Bay property?

Edited October 17, 2010 by klstorey

[DeepEyez]

Signs of life at Disney World's Pleasure Island

Two years after Walt Disney World turned out the lights at the nightclubs of Pleasure Island, there are signs of life for the near-forgotten entertainment district.

Disney this week filed a pair of permits signaling the start of new construction at Pleasure Island, a once-popular dining-and-dancing spot that has since become little more than a cut-through between the two retail ends of Downtown Disney. The permits suggest that at least two old Pleasure Island venues — BET Soundstage and Adventurers Club — will be razed completely.

Signs of life at Disney World's Pleasure Island

Edited October 19, 2010 by DeepEyez

[DeepEyez]

Orlando Thrill Park plans draw ire

In October, plans for a new theme park called Orlando Thrill Park surfaced showing the new attraction being built right off International Drive near Festival Bay Mall.

Initial details for the park are in a previous story here.

However, in a public meeting with nearby residents on Nov. 10, the park got both support and concerns from residents of the nearby Tangelo Park.

Read more: Orlando Thrill Park plans draw ire {sodEmoji.|} Orlando Business Journal

Edited November 11, 2010 by DeepEyez

[DeepEyez]

Will Orlando become home for WWE's Hall of Fame?

If you've always longed to see Andre the Giant's size-24 boots or Rowdy Roddy Piper's kilt up close, you may be in luck.

Local leaders are quietly preparing a bid to bring the WWE Hall of Fame to Orlando. If successful, it would bring a new tourist stop filled with decades of memorabilia from the professional wrestling powerhouse.

It's not clear where the hall would be built or where the money to do it would come from, and World Wrestling Entertainment isn't talking. But WWE has solicited proposals for the project from an unknown number of cities, and that solicitation provides a few clues.

WWE executives aren't necessarily looking for a location that has a significant connection to wrestling. Putting the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., limited the number of visitors because it's not near a big city or transportation hub, they pointed out. WWE wants a city that already draws a lot of domestic and international tourists.

WWE Hall of Fame, Orlando?

Edited November 12, 2010 by DeepEyez

[bulldogger]

Next thing you know, we'll have that and the Monster Truck Hall of Fame Museum featuring the original Bigfoot.

[shardoon]

i dont think anybody mentioned this before but it looks like dave and busters is coming to I-drive

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2010/06/28/story1.html

[DeepEyez]

i dont think anybody mentioned this before but it looks like dave and busters is coming to I-drive

http://www.bizjourna.../28/story1.html

They recently tore down the Race Rock where the new Dave & Buster's is going to be located. This is good news!!!

[bulldogger]

They recently tore down the Race Rock where the new Dave & Buster's is going to be located. This is good news!!!

I thought they were just going to take over the building. How big is this planned to be? (stories, sf, etc.)

[prahaboheme]

Peabody expansion aerial (sentinel):