Orlando Thrill Park Revealed

10 days ago, Orlando Thrill Park's proposed rides have been revealed.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-orlando-thrill-park-20102411,0,7012370.story?track=rss

With 14 rides, including eight roller coasters, the proposed Orlando Thrill Park hopes to cater to enthusiasts underserved by Florida's theme parks.

Photo gallery: View the 14 proposed Orlando Thrill Park rides

Scheduled to open in summer 2013, the proposed amusement park would include rides from several manufacturers, including Intamin, Vekoma, Chance Morgan, Mack, S&S Power, U.S. ThrillRides and Mondial, according to Chuck Bell, spokesman for the Orlando Thrill Park.

Plans for the 77-acre park call for an assortment of towering thrill rides and every variety of roller coaster -- including hydraulic launched, inverted, flying, motorbike and 4th dimension coasters -- with room set aside for future development. View a photo gallery of the 14 rides proposed for Orlando Thrill Park.

Located on International Drive across the I-4 corridor from Universal Studios Florida, Orlando Thrill Park would be a 5-mile drive from SeaWorld Orlando and about 10 miles from Walt Disney World.

Developers hope to secure financing in the coming months and submit plans for city approval by summer 2011, Bell said. Neighbors have raised concerns about noise and traffic.

During a pair of interviews, Bell stressed that the preliminary plans were subject to change and that the detailed park layout and proposed ride mix would continue to evolve with the project.

Bell pointed to two parks as inspiration for Orlando Thrill Park: Cedar Point in Ohio and Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, which have been dueling for a decade over the title of "Roller Coaster Capital of the World."

But with half as many coasters as Cedar Point and Magic Mountain, OTP's ride inventory would likely look a lot like Knott's Berry Farm in California -- without the Wild West theme, Bell acknowledged. Indeed, eight of the 14 rides envisioned for Orlando Thrill Park can be found at Cedar Point, Magic Mountain and/or Knott's.

Orlando Thrill Park hopes to fill a void created by the absence of any Six Flags or Cedar Fair amusement parks in Florida. Indeed, the Orlando-area parks -- Disney, Universal, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens -- are dominated by theme rather than thrills.

"We're not trying to out-Disney Disney," Bell said. "We know we can't do that."

The hope, he said, would be to steal a day from tourists on weeklong vacations to Orlando and draw locals from throughout Florida. Bell anticipates Orlando Thrill Park could attract 2 million annual visitors out of the roughly 50 million (nearly 47 million last year, says the local tourist bureau) who come to the Orlando area every year. The project includes plans for a 3,300-space multi-story parking structure.

Florida certainly has its share of top-notch coasters: the SheiKra floorless dive machine at Busch Gardens Tampa, the Manta flying coaster at SeaWorld Orlando, the Incredible Hulk launched coaster at Universal's Islands of Adventure and Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

But only one central Florida park would compete with Orlando Thrill Park's eight proposed coasters: Busch Gardens Tampa, which also claims eight. SeaWorld has only four coasters. and Universal boasts only seven coasters between its two parks. And it’s the same for Disney, which counts a mere seven coasters among its four parks. (All counts are according to Roller Coaster Database)

Orlando Thrill Park would have no themed environments, no costumed characters, no dark rides and few if any shows, Bell said. Instead, it would be all about the biggest, tallest, fastest, longest, steepest and greatest thrills.

No price tag has been pinned to the new park, but by my estimate the ride inventory alone would top $100 million. Bell said he hopes OTP would serve as a proving ground for the latest and greatest from the amusement industry, showcasing one-of-a-kind, prototype, record-breaking, envelope-pushing, adrenaline-based extreme rides.

"To us they're just giant Tinkertoys," Bell said. "After a while, we'll just sell the old rides and add new prototypes."

Photo Gallery

So the rides are:

1. S&S 4D Coaster (I'm riding X2, an S&S 4D, this winter when I visit California)
2. Intamin Inverted Accelerator (while this isn't anywhere near how this will be, I'm riding the Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm this winter as well)
3. Intamin ZacSpin (2nd ZacSpin in America)
4. Vekoma/Chance Morgan Dive Pretzel (a prototype =D)
5. Vekoma Stingray (like the ZacSpin, it is unique to America)
6. Vekoma SLC (which I hear are pretty rough)
7. MACK LSM Launch (which is also unique to America... and it really excites me, because I LOVE Blue Fire)
8. Vekoma Motorbike
9. Chance Morgan Unicoaster
10. Intamin Mega Splash (I'm also riding this type of ride at Knott's; Perilous Plunge, if it's not too cold)
11. Mondial Revolution
12. S&S Power Drop Tower (I'm riding Supreme Scream... and 312 ft??? OMG! =O)
13. US Thrill Rides SkyQuest
14. Mondial Splash Over

Sounds like an AWESOME ride count! I gotta admit, if I had to choose what I'm looking forward to the most, it would be the inverted strata, MACK Launch, S&S 4D, and Dive Pretzel! =D

Park Updates #6

Orlando Thrill Park:

From Screamscape:

Central Florida News - (11/13/10) One of our readers who got a closer look at the plans for the Orlando Thrill Park identified a few more rides for us. One was an Intamin Mega-Splash, very much like Perilous Plunge at Knott’s Berry Farm, another was a Chance Revolution flat ride and the most exciting was a Vekoma Stingray coaster, an ultra compact Flyer design with a vertical lift hill. One of the slides also clearly shows off the classic layout of a Vekoma “SLC” Inverted coaster, like The Hangman at Wild Adventuers. (...)
(11/12/10) Some new artwork for the proposed Orlando Thrill Park was shown off to local residents this week, and you can find some pictures of it posted here. Included are some overhead layout drawings of the proposed coasters, but I’m not sure if you can gleem too much information from these. Perhaps the most reveling clues were some of the text shots that described one of the coasters as a ‘Motobike Launch Coaster / 55 ft height” and the monster 425 ft coaster is listed as “Inverted Accelerator Coaster / 425 ft height”. That note right there may give you shivers… as an Inverted version of Kingda Ka or Top Thrill Dragster could be a real treat. Anyone go to this meeting and snap some better shots of the map for themselves?

Okay, the time I hear that an inverted Intamin Strata is coming to Florida is when I start drooling over this... oh, how I hope this is true! =D

And here is the link to the artwork:

http://www.wftv.com/slideshow/news/25759223/detail.html

According to the artwork it seems to include the following (from quotes):

1. "Ride 1 Inverted Accelerator Coaster 425 ft height" (world's first Intamin Inverted Strata)
2. "Ride 5 Motorbike Launch Coaster 55 ft height" (Vekoma Motorbike)
3. "Ride 3 ZacSpin Coaster 82 ft height" (Intamin ZacSpin, 2nd in America)
4. "Ride 7 Stingray Flying Coaster 106 ft height" (Vekoma Stingray)
5. "Ride 8 Drop Tower 312 ft height" (*manufacturer guess unknown* Drop Tower)
6. "Ride ? Revolution 74 ft height" (Chance Revolution)
7. "Ride 4 Mega Splash 121 ft height" (Intamin Mega Splash)
8. Vekoma SLC

There are also some unknown rides, possibly some kind of hyper coaster made by B&M or Intamin (oh please let this be true!! =D) and another Intamin Blitz coaster (Maverick, Cheetah Hunt).

Sounds good to me! =D

Busch Gardens Tampa:

Track has yet to go up, but a plethora of footers have been poured in the first trench/first launch/second launch area, with the bridge (that goes over it) frame taking shape. There is also work going on inside the old Clydesdale Hamlet, which will become home to Cheetah Run. As for the construction in the middle, it seems that land clearing has expanded from the second trench to the third trench (which recently got metal frames). In the upper portion, footers have also been poured in the old wet portion of Rhino Rally. Also, according to BGTNation's latest update, it seems that vertical construction will start NEXT WEEK. I'm just wondering why vertical construction hasn't started now.

In any case, I'm VERY excited!

Gardaland:

More track has gone up for X Raptor, featuring a third inversion:

http://www.theparks.it/gardaland-p1/notizie/2010/11/ufficializzata-la-terza-inversione-per-x-raptor-n875/

It seems to be an inline twist. Sounds like this ride is going to be pretty intense.

Orlando Thrill Park???

From WFTV News:

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