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NEWS: Baker Leisure Group considers "Orlando Thrill Park"


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Is this what RCT geeks do when they grow up? Set up fantastical, but irrational (from a business sense) proposals that no one with the words "due" and "dilligence" in their vocabulary would throw a dime at?

 

That being said I'd totally go if they got it up, but I think that will be forever a hypothetical question.

 

Hard Rock Park.. Yea I agree RCT players anonymous.

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The rejection was actually a big surprise around here. The City Planning Board suggested it be aprroved and the majority of Tangelo Park home owners were in favor. The zoning board said it seemed like a good plan for a different location stating noise concerns. Tangelo park and their civic orginization are in favor of the project because of the jobs it would create. The original required noise study said there was no problem with noise in the neighborhood. I think the jobs would have been good for their home owners, far better than the bad that would have come from it. Seems to me like a few folks shut down what would have been good for their own community.

 

I would have liked to see them get a chance to try their buisness plan. I still think if they didn't run it like crap it would work here.

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I don't get how hydraulic launch and inverted coaster is supposed to work out. If you take a look at the TTD launchtrack you will notice that the supports and area underneath it look really dirty and disgusting.

Now imagine all that grease form the catchcar (to me it looked like there is way more than on a regular inverter chain lift) and the water used for cooling the (evil Intamin) cable dripping down on the passengers.

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You know, we're all sitting here saying "I told you so", but let's be honest: most of us were hoping they'd pull it off, so we could go and ride -- even if it was only open for months! And if some investors lost millions on it, who cares? We'd have gotten our credits!

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Well, the ride line up looked great (although I would rather see an Intamin prefab woody instead of a SLC but what ever), but like most of you were saying, this is Hard rock park waiting to happen! And the idea of mostly thrill rides wouldn't attract enough attention IMO. But it would have been cool to see some rides that are both new to the U.S.A and the world!

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I don't get how hydraulic launch and inverted coaster is supposed to work out. If you take a look at the TTD launchtrack you will notice that the supports and area underneath it look really dirty and disgusting.

Now imagine all that grease form the catchcar (to me it looked like there is way more than on a regular inverter chain lift) and the water used for cooling the (evil Intamin) cable dripping down on the passengers.

 

I actually somehow think it wasn't suppose to be an INVERTED maybe they worded it different or wrong could have meant "Inverting" as in launches like normal they goes upside down a la a TOPHAT like a giant Mr. Freeze with a twist? Correct me if I am wrong. A bit late in the game I KNOW. tHE MAP AND Concept art looked to show a regular TTD clone but Red.

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Maybe they could throw a 10,000 foot tall "London Eye-type" ferris wheel into the proposal. That seems to be the "in" thing these days.

 

Someone has already proposed a Wheel for Orlando and that never saw the light of day either! Some investors must be getting smart.

 

... which is weird because my neighbor is working on the project as we speak. I'll ask him if I can take pictures of the blueprints.

 

To keep this on topic. Most families come here for Disney and now Universal for WWoHP. Most of these families have children and would be satisfied enough with the thrills located at any of these parks. The only people Orlando Thrill Park would attract would be people like us.

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  • 2 weeks later...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-orlando-thrill-park-appeals-20110509,0,6160512.story

 

Orlando's rejection of a thrill-ride park proposed for the north end of International Drive is being appealed by the developers behind the project, with a City Council appearance set to occur in less than two weeks.

 

Although city staff recommended approving most of the developers' planning and zoning requests, the Municipal Planning Board voted unanimously last month against Orlando Thrill Park, citing concerns about the project's effect on a residential area next door. The project's backers want to erect as many as 15 roller coasters and other rides on 78 acres set between Festival Bay shopping mall and the Tangelo Park neighborhood.

 

A representative for I-Drive Investors LLC, one of two companies behind the thrill-ride park, said they are working with the city to determine how the appeal process will proceed, given that the project has requested multiple land-use and zoning changes that must be appealed through different channels.

 

"We're still of the opinion that it's an appropriate use of the property," said Neil Frazee, a consultant for I-Drive Investors LLC, the property owner.

 

Typically, the City Council would hear the appeal of a request to grant a property owner an amendment to the city's growth-management plan. If the growth-management plan is approved, the rejected zoning request would be appealed to a third-party hearing officer.

 

"Our attorneys are talking with the city attorney," Frazee said. "The next couple weeks are critical in terms of how do we address these issues, because they're so interconnected."

 

According to the city, the project is expected to come before council members on May 23. Frazee said that date could change, depending on how the city decides to juggle the project's multiple appeals.

 

Residents of Tangelo Park, the neighborhood closest to the proposed thrill park, are divided over the development. The board of the area's civic association has expressed unanimous support for the project, saying it will provide jobs and that the developers have enthusiastically sought residents' input. Other residents, however, have told the city they don't want the noise and traffic that might accompany the park.

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I'm not familiar with Orlando civic politics, but consider this. Staff recommended the neighborhood planning board approve the development. That's staff, the professionals, stating the development is in accordance with civic regulations. The planning board, local low-level appointees, made a political decision to vote it down. But the ultimate decision rests with the city council, where the politics may play out differently. A savvy developer will make an assessment of the likelihood for success prior bearing the costs of an appeal.

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  • 1 month later...

For your "not even remotely surprising news" today....

 

Plans for an thrill-ride park at the north end of Orlando's International Drive have been abandoned.

 

The developer, I-Drive Investors LLC, has dropped its bid to put a group of roller coasters and other rides on 78 acres between Festival Bay shopping mall and the Tangelo Park neighborhood, citing the cost and difficulty of pursuing an appeal.

 

The city's Municpal Planning Board rejected zoning changes for the project earlier this year, citing concerns about the effect noise from the attraction might have on the homes nearby.

 

The city has come to an agreement with the developer to conduct public hearings into land-use changes for developing the large, rectangular site. But both parties said Monday that a thrill-ride park would be expressly prohibited.

 

Neil Frazee, a representative of the land's owner, said his clients realized they "probably couldn't get it appreoved on that piece of property with the opposition" from some of the nearby residents.

 

Frazee said the developer is going to return to the drawing boad and doesn't have alternative plans for the property at this point.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-orlando-thrill-park-wirthdrawn-20110627,0,7174655.story

Edited by ernierocker
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I really wouldn't be surprised if this isn't the last we've heard of the project, at least in some form. All things considered, the investment in planning and development of the concept is enough to at least call for an attempt to find an alternate location (which they had mentioned after the initial rejection from the Municipal Board).

 

There is a good deal of land to be used (or repurposed) in the greater Kissimmee area...

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