19 January 2011
Posted in
Themepark News
The proposed Orlando Thrill Park is set to hold the greatest thrill rides from some of the largest names in coaster designing 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 thrill rides and every variety of roller coaster including hydraulic launched, inverted, flying, motorbike and 4th dimension coasters.
Located on International Drive, Orlando Thrill Park would be a 5-mile drive from SeaWorld Orlando and about 10 miles from Walt Disney World. Developers hope to secure finance in the coming months and submit plans for city approval by summer 2011. 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." Cedar Point and Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, posed as inspiration for the new thrill park holding the title of "Roller Coaster Capital of the World." a number of times previously.
But with half as many coasters as Cedar Point and Magic Mountain, the new parks ride inventory would look a lot like Knott's Berry Farm in California. Indeed, eight of the 14 rides envisioned for Orlando Thrill Park can be found at Cedar Point, Magic Mountain and Knott's Berry Farm.
"We're not trying to out-Disney Disney," Bell said. "We know we can't do that. The hope 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.
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.
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.
Bell said he hopes Orlando Thrill Park 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."
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