ORLANDO, Fla. -- The City of Orlando is considering plans from a group which would bring a new amusement park to the city.
The Baker Leisure Group, which specializes in building theme parks, is helping a group of investors with the project to build “The Orlando Thrill Park.” The park would sit on 70 acres of land located along International Drive and would feature several roller coasters.
The plan is still in very early stages and it will be weeks before a proposed plan reaches Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and city commissioners. The group would buy land currently up for sale in a wooded area near Festival Bay Mall and the Prime Outlets (see map), and fill it with tall roller coasters and other attractions.
“I think it would be a great idea. It would be something for the community to be involved in,” said Jeroline Adkinson, president of the Tangelo Park Homeowners Association.
Representatives with the Baker Leisure Group, who is working with a group of investors, will meet with the Tangelo Park community on Thursday to discuss the plans. The group has previously worked with Disney, Universal, and SeaWorld developers.
WFTV learned the developers of the Orlando Thrill Park are interested in building roller coasters so tall they would require approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
On Monday, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said the plan sounds exciting but he does not know much about the proposal yet.
“We’re always excited for new opportunities, especially since we’ve had some challenging economic times. Anything that’s out there that can bring jobs, we’re happy about,” said Mayor Dyer.
Developers also plan to conduct a noise study in the area.
From Screamscape:
(10/14/10) The latest information about the Orlando Thrill Park claims that the site may feature 15 rides, with coasters that will feature interlocking loops and top-hats, but the biggest ride is said to stand 425 feet tall. I’ve also been sent a few graphics (see below) showing off the parks layout, the heights listed for specific ride areas, and photos showing off the kinds of rides they want to add. Included are rides like Top Thrill Dragster (filling the 425 ft category), an S&S 4th Dimension coaster, a pair of 312 ft tall S&S Towers, an Intamin ZacSpin coaster drawing and some unknown coaster designs.
(10/13/10) A new mini amusement park / attraction is apparently being discussed for a 70 acre forested plot of land on I-Drive, just south of the Festival Bay mall. According to the local news, the current name is “The Orlando Thrill Park” and they expect to fill it with big coasters and other thrill rides. How big will the rides be? With 70 acres to play with, they certainly have room for just about anything, and according to the article, they have also mentioned that some rides will be big enough that the FAA will have to give approval, which generally means anything 200 ft or taller. With the Baker Leisure Group involved here, I’ve got to wonder if they’re planning on buying up some of the rides from the former Hard Rock Park and moving them down to Orlando.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Festival+Bay+Mall,+Orlando,+FL&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=49.624204,114.169922&ie=UTF8&hq=Festival+Bay+Mall+at+International+Drive&hnear=Festival+Bay+Mall+at+International+Drive,+Orlando,+Orang
And here is the mall next to where the park will be built. If you scroll south, you see a heavily wooded area. That is where the park is supposedly going up.
And more news from WESH.com:
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A new amusement park may be coming to the heart of Orlando.
The park hopes to bring rides so big, they may require the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plan led to a packed meeting Thursday night for the residents who could have the park in their back yards.
The residents of Tangelo Park raised concerns about noise and traffic that could come with the theme park. That could make for a tough sell for developers of the Orlando Thrill Park.
The majority of the residents who showed up for the community meeting weren't thrilled about a theme park full of roller coasters.
"We are going to be blocked in and blocked out," resident Clara Adams said.
Adams lives on Vanguard Street, which borders the 78-acre overgrown property that Baker Leisure Group would like to transform into a thrill-seeker's dream.
Roller coasters more than 400 feet tall would dwarf another attraction, Fun Spot, which is only one block away.
"We want to see this whole street and this whole community grow. We believe all boats rise," Fun Spot spokesman Mark Brisson said.
More competition may complement Fun Spot, but Tangelo Park residents said the area can't handle it.
Adams said the slideshow and presentation at the meeting proved her point.
"It made me more against it because they are not doing anything for the roads," Adams said.
But developers said all entrances and exits would be off International Drive, and tall walls around the property would cut down on the noise.
"We have to address it, but we are just in the planning stages right now. That's why we are here," developer Doug Rutledge said.
"We will mitigate the noise factor," Baker Leisure Group spokesman Steve Baker said. "I don't think that's going to be a problem."
Developers said it will take two years to build the park, which its developers said will employ more than 1,000 people.
But they have a long way to go. This was the first of several community meetings, and there will be a couple of public hearings, as well.
Meanwhile, the developers will conduct noise and traffic studies.
http://www.wesh.com/money/25399525/detail.html
I sure hope this park will be built, and it will include the coasters Screamscape mentioned, ESPECIALLY the Top Thrill Dragster-style ride! If so, I will most likely be visiting the park once it opens!! =D
And whoa, TWO YEARS??? If so, I'd imagine construction will begin in like a month or two.
I am PRAYING this will happen. A 425 ft. Intamin strata, an S&S 4D coaster (BTW, this winter, I'm riding X2, a 4D coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain), a 312 ft. drop tower, an Intamin ZacSpin (which, funny that, is SFMM's Project 18: Green Lantern, the first ZacSpin in America), and some other unknown coaster (it almost looks like a B&M version of a vertical lift coaster)??? I'm already drooling...
So guess after Cheetah Hunt... there's going to be even more Intamins coming to Florida in the near future... =D
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