World's Tallest Coaster Slated For Florida

[SFGadv123]

Anyone else hear about this?

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/world-tallest-roller-coaster-slated-florida-article-1.1525708

 

It will be somewhere in Florida, and will stand 520ft tall. It is going to open in 2016. So it looks like Kingda Ka won't keep the title in a few years.

[GAcoaster]

Love the illustration with Kings Dominion in the background!

 

Yeah, everyone down here is abuzz with this news. It's so funny how any kind of theme park news is actually covered as part of the local news casts down here. They've had reports from IAAPA all week long and then when all the local park/coaster news sites started talking about the Poler Coaster coming to Florida the newscasts all picked up on it and interviewed the manufacturer. The word is they will be announcing who is building it and where within the next few weeks and the buyer has made a down payment.

 

Before anyone gets too excited about it or too worried about Ka losing the record, I won't believe it's getting built until it does get built. Just like many of the giant wheels that have been proposed and not materialized. The supposed $100 million price tag means that it would have to have a BIG investor behind it if it really is happening or if it's a smaller company I could easily see the deal falling through and years of legal wrangling over a half built tower.

[FlumeOp1974]

Im thinking Universal, lets say on the spot accross the lagoon in front of CityWalk between the two parks....just a thought....

[RC98]

That would be really interesting, but I have a feeling that if this is going to be in the Orlando area, that it would more likely be in the downtown Orlando area around where I-Drive, Fun Spot America, and various other attractions are.

 

If it does go to Universal, they would have to make it easily accessible to guests not staying at the resort since so many people would want to ride it.

[SFGadv123]

http://www.wesh.com/themeparks/other/polercoaster-to-be-built-in-orange-county-sources-say/26254622?utm_campaign=wesh&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it

 

It will be built in Orange County, sources say.

[RC98]

That would be really interesting, but I have a feeling that if this is going to be in the Orlando area, that it would more likely be in the downtown Orlando area around where I-Drive, Fun Spot America, and various other attractions are.

Wow, I was right! It's going near I-Drive and the Orlando Eye! Sorry I couldn't resist

[SFGadv123]

Here is some more info about it: http://mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/on-the-town/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2014/6/5/international_drive_.html

[29yrswithaGApass]

This looks like it would be a really cool ride!

 

[GAcoaster]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'll believe it when it actually gets built. If it does it should be fun, but I'm suspicious of the financing not being in place for the construction.

[Coasterharrison'98]

I dunno it looks legit this time.

 

Also considering they've also got a custom design this time around that looks more interesting than the generic look of the original design.

 

It's like a euro fighter and an El Loco had a baby!

[RC98]

I agree it seems legit. My grandparents saw about it from all the way up here in NJ so it has gained quite a bit of attention.

 

PS that video looks amazing! Just imagine riding through that inversion over 500 feet in the air!

[KK456]

This thing is absolutely psychotic. Imagine that outward banked turn at 500+ feet! Like GAcoaster said though, there is still a chance that financing troubles may appear so maybe Kingda Ka will keep the record! Even if we don't though, it's still impressive that we have held the record for around a decade.

[GAcoaster]

The design is legit, but the problem is that it's being built by a developer who doesn't have the finances to build it with his own resources. He will be relying on investors which if he can get them it will happen, if not it won't.

 

It's just like when they built Great Adventure. If they could have lined up the finances to build it all out like they planned it would have been competition for Disney, but the money just never came through. There have been MANY projects like this where they are just too ambitious and without the proper backing they don't come to fruition. Look at the mall up at the Meadowlands...how many years has it sat unfinished now?

 

Sometimes these things are just big dreams with no real business plan behind them. I predict that IF this ever does get built it will be plagued with financial problems and either close or go through a series of owners who try to rebrand and change it to make money. Right now here in Orlando there is just this weird building boom going on with the Orlando Eye, this thing and a huge mega mall/hotel all planned for the same area of I-Drive. While they all have potential to succeed, it's more likely they will not because as it is there is too much competition in the area.

[jdc12192]

Here is an updated rendering

 

 

 

Also as of today

 

Skyplex Orlando- APPROVED!

 

 

 

The Orange County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a rezoning request for the proposed Skyplex Orlando development on International Drive.

The decision was made after more than 40 people spoke Tuesday during a nearly three-hour public hearing.

The $500 million project, which would be built at the intersection of International Drive and Sand Lake Road, needed final county approval before moving forward in planning and construction.

Discussion began about 3 p.m. in front of a crowd large enough to make use of an overflow room at the county administrative center.

Skyplex plans call for a 350-room hotel, 333,000 square feet of entertainment space, more than 95,000 square feet of general retail and nearly 40,000 square feet of restaurant space.

Its presentation detailed six parts of the proposal: Project description; planning and transportation; light; height, noise and stormwater; visual impact; and economics.

Would-be neighbors Universal have been fighting against the development since earlier this year, citing concerns about a planned roller coaster called the Skyscraper.

The Federal Aviation Authority ruled in July that the 501-foot roller coaster, which would be the tallest in the world, did not pose a threat to aviation traffic. The FAAapproved the tower's height up to 700 feet.

Plans for that tower include a thrill-drop ride built inside the framework of the roller coaster, an observation deck and a rotating restaurant, said Joshua Wallack, developer of Skyplex.

Wallack has not confirmed the final height of the tower, which would also have a spire on top.

The proposed development has been under fire for months as Universal officials have lobbied against it for months. John McReynolds, Universal's head of external affairs, has said the structure would be too tall and would not fit into the neighborhood in which it's to be built.

Melanie Becker, Universal's director of governmental affairs, has said the theme park isn't against the development as a whole, but simply opposes the height of the roller coaster.

"We get it; we just think it's too high," she said at a community meeting last month. "Be the tallest in Orlando. Nothing's the tallest for very long ... So own being the tallest here in Orlando."

"Go 300 (feet), go 350 (feet)," said Becker. "And let's just keep the skyline of I-Drive the right way."

Wallack has said Universal opposes the project because they view it as competition.

In October, the Orange County Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-3 against recommending the Skyplex parcel for rezoning. That board acts in an advisory capacity for county commissioners.

Source