dragonskeep

Any chance that about half of the 20 million goes to the woodie. That doesn't seem like a lot of money to build that much stuff. DOes the 20 million include the water park?

In with the new. It's probably more of a cost issue than anything else. Running that thing and keeping it repaired has got to cost a fortune . I would be totally stunned if this had anything to do with Harry Potter, to me it makes no sense. Expanding Potter into the remaining Lost Continent area is a no brainer IMO. Universal got a new attraction before the previous Potter construction, this is probably the same thing.

Last time I was in Atlanta, Georgia Cyclone was new and awesome. One of the best wooden coasters I had ridden at the time, my cousin and I both loved it. I hope they get it worked out as it was a very good ride.

^ It does appear Van's is closing but it did do very well on the dead end of I-Drive.

^With the Festival Bay mall conversion I have heard the Vans park is staying, are you sure it's closing? I heard the Fun Spot folks went to a couple parks in CT, Indiana, Pa, Jersey, some square state and the Dells I'm sure there's some I forgot. It does seem like they really wanted to get a feel for the good rides that were out there. That's a good sign for sure but who knows what they could afford in their buiness plan. I don't know what they have decided but there was definitely an interest in Gravity Group's rides. Several other builder's rides they could have gotten on up there including GCI of course.

As far as the Ron Jon surf park goes, I really think it was technology related. They had a small mock up on site for a long time it just sucked. They simply couldn't get the waves to work as advertised. If they could have it would have done alright there, Vans does ok. If Fun Spot builds a good attraction and staffs it right I think they will have continued success in that location. Look at bass pro, it's busy all the time. That wooden coaster could be a big draw for them and I can't wait to see what they build.. The Fun Spot folks rode some great coasters last summer while researching for their own ride. Voyage and RF2 may have influenced their decision. I say that because the hybrid rumor strikes me as being plausible.

I ran across a list of future and current I-drive expansion, can't remember where, that said the Fun Spot coasters would be an old style wooden coaster with new wood steel hybrid technology and a inverted family coaster, probably one of those splashy things. When I saw the screen grab I knew what it reminded me of but couldn't place it, but that's it, a splashy inverted thing. I hope it's something else but thats what it looks like. I also saw another set of plans for the 10 acres which definitely had a major attraction pad big enough for Big Fun. If someone with a brain finds it maybe they could post it. These plans had no steel coaster represented so I'm inclined to say it is an older version of the site plan. Pretty sure the screengrab is mostly accurate but that's only a guess.

I went by and checked out the land for the new expansion, via Paratrooper. I wanted to see if there were any signs about the expansion but there wasn't. They do have a Sreaming Swing in the parking lot but that must be Skull Kingdom's. I guess they have plans to add it to the new area. Can anyone guess what the large circle is in the screenshot? The one sitting on the building.

I am guessing with the 2013 opening that we can't expect an announcement any time soon, which totally sucks. I am very curious about the woodie and what it will be. I couldn't see a scenario where Central Florida would get a wooden coaster until this. I didn't think Fun Spot would consider this kind of growth, so this is a very nice surprise. The video above does indicate an out and back but what I think is interesting is it looks to be a full sized coaster. Seems like a larger model is at least being considered. The Big Fun looks very cool too.

Admission to the water park will be interesting. I wonder if they will try out the 4 hour blocks like Cowabunga Bay. The beauty of Fun Spot is that non-riders don't have to pay so they will remain an affordable alternative. If they add some nice flats and the coasters are good I tyhink they will do really well. If there is a good re-rideable woodie I will be there twice a month at minimum. I hope they offer some type of pass.

Watched the video a few times. If that comes here I would be very happy, it seems to have all the right parts. There is a great spot at the end of the ride for an insane tunnel. Is there any reason other than cost not to add a tunnel to the ride. It just seems like an easy win. I am kind of hoping the steel coaster isn't a Boomerang even though I have never been on one. Many of the othe rides are new and innovative so I am hoping for the same from the steel coaster.

MF's didn't help Gwazi IMO, I hate it. I wish they would burn it to the ground. We have this POS and Jersey has El toro, booooooo. DBH proved that you can have good wooden rides in Florida. The Hurricane would be considered a very good coaster if it was in Orlando. Cool news about Fun Spot adding a couple coasters, Big fun coming to Orlando sounds about right. Probably a perfect idea for them. The steel coaster will be interesting.

I would be really surprised by a coaster of any kind but a typical dark ride would be lacking in the thrill department. Could still be anything I guess but a dark ride with some thrilling element would be my guess.

I heard that the land owner wanted to rezone 7 or 8 acres for office space and read several places that the project was dead. Who knows. I am glad to see they are still trying. I am buying the first season ticket if they ever break ground.

They really did do a nice job on Manta, pretty much perfect if you ask me. I hope someone can dig up some info on this ride system. They did make some pretty bold statements considering the family attractions already in Orlando. It's probably more likely that they don't consider those rides to be family rides. I mean Spidey and FJ cost a ton of money and Seaworld just isn't going to put 100 million plus in a ride. Robb's probably on target with the DK type ride. Could it be better than Haunted Mansion or Pirates, maybe, and that would still be pretty good. Very bold statement indeed.

^ Anyone have any salt?

^It's a runaway train just as it was supposed to be. It's great but some do think it's rough, I don't.

Magnum came from Dick Kinzel's belly, I love him.

^ Can I interest you in a story about a bridge. IT LIVES!!!! My dream of my very own Dragster is alive. My feeling on the project is that many people will eat a little crow, but I also enjoy poultry so we will see. Money was always going to be the hard part but it's a pretty good time frame I think. There is a reason why all the parks in the area are investing at record levels. I can't wait to hear more and hopefully not be dissappointed. On the first nice day here in Central Florida this year I actually said to a freind , too bad they aren't building OTP, days like today would have ruled for that.

^^ , and make them eat meat. ^ That was 3 questions so you are now out of questions, sorry. 1. The other places you mentioned won't get PETA in the news like Sea World will. 2. Closing places like SW will always be the mission of PETA. They claim to have been planning this for 18 months. Maybe that's true but it also doesn't hurt that Sea World has gotten some bad press lately. 3. Sea World probably doesn't raise many animals for release as much as rehabilitate. Thet do have working hatcheries for fish. I don't 100% know the answer but I would say zero other than fish. They have programs with other zoos and marine parks, I would bet they would move it to another park if not keeping it themselves.

I know we say that all publicity is good, but it isn't. It would be easy to ignore something so stupid but judges have let known child molesters off. All it takes is one whacked out judge and Seaworld has a very large problem. Ignoring stuff like this is why we have such a mess in the legal system. I think average Americans can't be reminded enough about folks like PETA.

Looking forward to seeing the alpine coaster. For having never been on one I really like those things. Looks like you guys had a cool start to the cruise. I bet the cupcaking was fun, probably the best idea ever. It's fun and you can eat it, win.

Great ride, bad fate. This was the best wooden coaster Florida ever had, bummer. I had a chance to get some great riding on DBH. I love marathoning coasters and the Hurricane was great for that. We are better off to have had it at all, the finances were gonna be tough where it was located.

^^Orlando is a gift to earth. ^ I have always been a freak for Porsche and a GT3-R would be stupid fun, but the R8 looks incredible too. That's the beauty of this idea, very re-rideable.

Sounds really cool. I am a sports car racing fan at heart. Honestly Disney's track isn't very well suited for road cars. Build a 3 mile road course and have a stable of exotic sports cars and we're talkin. A man can dream right? and bring in the old bat mobile Panoz.