Ride line-up revealed for proposed Orlando Thrill Park

December 2, 2010 at 12:53 PM · Woohoo sounds awesome to me!!!!!!!

December 2, 2010 at 3:07 PM · I think I found examples of these, sorry if I'm wrong:
Mondial Splash Over:
http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/111816

S&S Power Drop (damn things I swear I nearly had a heart attack at the top of this one):
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ReviewPhotos-g32122-d104416-r46372683-Knott_s_Berry_Farm-Buena_Park_California.html

Mondial Revolution:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cn7Lk3M7Vc

Intamin Mega Splash:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKNv7ZlpWvY&feature=fvw

Chance Morgan Unicoaster:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyYqJZCroeg&feature=player_embedded

Vekoma Motorbike roller coaster:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpjWObqZ3Cg

Mack Launch Coaster:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOXTupSag6M

Vekoma Suspended Launch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIlbD8Zn1XA

Vekoma Flying Stingray:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaDizVi8yH0

Prototype for the dive pretzel coaster:
http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-orlando-thrill-park-20102411-p,3,4414978.photo

Intamin ZacSpin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjhBgaiBx7E

Inverted Intamin Launch Coaster, I think like Volcano the Blast coaster:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s6ojXGIdxs

And an S & S (formerly Arrow) 4th Dimension is like X2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-y-0IFiZqY

Was trying to find them myself, so thought I'd put what I found up here. Might be wrong though...

December 2, 2010 at 4:47 PM · Here's the dirty secret about iron parks, compared with theme parks.

Their capacity is terrible.

Iron rides put through a few hundred people an hour while theme park dark rides and shows can put through 1,000-3,000 per hour.

With no shows and no dark rides, the Orlando Thrill Park will lack the audience-eating safety valves that make the wait times for the iron rides bearable at other parks featuring a mix of both. As a result, this park won't be able to handle more than a few thousand people at a time.

You can get away with that in a regional theme park, with few out-of-town visitors. But this is I-Drive, in the middle of the biggest theme park market in the world.

I'd like to compare OTP with Legoland, another park whose design creates inherent capacity problems. Legoland's addressed its capacity issues by selecting relatively out-of-the-way locations in the United States - Carlsbad in California and Winter Haven in Florida. That distance from the "local" mega-attractions helps dissuade casual visitors, leaving the park for motivated fans.

What will OTP do to address this capacity issue? Will it keep ticket prices high? Will it implement an advance reservation/purchase system? Or will it allow itself to be overrun at opening, potentially creating bad word-of-mouth that dissuades future visitors?

December 2, 2010 at 4:26 PM · This sounds like my dream park!

December 2, 2010 at 4:27 PM · The 4d coaster lines are going to be the WORST!

December 2, 2010 at 5:55 PM · Based on what I've read in the article, the management seems to know what they're doing. They're projecting a potential of 2 million annual visitors, which is a pretty conservative estimate. The spokesperson even mentioned that they know they can't out-Disney Disney, so at least they understand the environment. In fact, they're happily acknowledging that there won't be any dark rides, theming, shows, or any other fluff. Nothing but the biggest, tallest, and fastest. Unlike Six Flags, this park seems to have an identity and is unashamed of it.

That being said, there are only about half as many coasters as there are at Cedar Point or Six Flags Magic Mountain. Add to that Robert's suggestion of throughput issues and there may be a problem. Perhaps we may see some doubling up of the thrill park with Universal or Busch Gardens Tampa, which has a comparable amount of coasters.

December 2, 2010 at 5:56 PM · Robert said: "What will OTP do to address this capacity issue? Will it keep ticket prices high? Will it implement an advance reservation/purchase system? Or will it allow itself to be overrun at opening, potentially creating bad word-of-mouth that dissuades future visitors?"

How long was that Harry Potter line on opening day again?

I keed - you have some extremely valid points there...that I'm sure will be completely ignored by the park planners.

December 2, 2010 at 6:53 PM · That's why I said "potentially." With a huge crowd, you take a risk. If people love it despite the wait, you're golden. If people judge it not worth the wait, you're toast. Potter (obviously) = gold.

An iron park appeals to a much smaller segment of the market than something like Harry Potter. Will the coaster freaks who come here like it enough to consider it worth the cost or wait? We'll see.

December 2, 2010 at 7:47 PM · I still don't like this idea. I looked at Vekoma's site and the Stingray coaster has a capacity of around 700 pph. This, along with the fact that it is an "iron park", will not fare well. As pointed out, parks like Busch Gardens have a comparable amount of coasters. Plus, 80(ish) acres is not alot of land for a park like this. Big coasters take up a lot of room, and will leave little for expansion.

I don't see how this park can be successful around Giants Like Disney, Universal, and Seaworld. Who knows, maybe I am underestimating the thrill seekers of Orlando...time will tell.

December 2, 2010 at 9:05 PM · The idea is terrible. Sounds like a hangout just for teens>

December 2, 2010 at 9:22 PM · After an 18 hour drive, there better be more waiting for me than a mediocre collection of amusement park thrills. I'll take a pass.

December 2, 2010 at 11:25 PM · This has dead park written all over it, unfortunately.

Families come to Orlando for the cutting edge in ride technology and theming, and there's more competition in that department than ever before. Visitors already have to make hard choices about limiting or cutting out world class park attractions. How on earth are ancient Vekoma SLCs and drop towers going to possibly compete for that precious time?

Maybe if the admission is dirt cheap and/or per ride ticketed, and it can attract some locals and visitors with partial or rest days, it can find a niche. Otherwise I just don't see how a park like this thrives in Orlando's amusement jungle.

December 3, 2010 at 7:30 AM · My older children, (teens), have outgrown Disney World, and Universal is just too small to keep them occupied all week. What is needed in the Orlando area is a park like OTP that provides shuttle service (from the hotel or Disney resort) for the teens to go on their own to OTP, US/IOA, etc. allowing parents to "do" Disney with the tots/tweens. The beauty of Orlando is there is so much variety...OTP will only enhance the variety.

December 3, 2010 at 8:55 AM · Several of the announced rides hold a lot of appeal to me...the 4D, the Dive Coaster, Sky Quest, and that Beach-ball unicoaster thingy. The park will be a capacity nightmare, and I REEEEALLLYYY hope they change the name. But IF it gets built (and that IF is bigger than the Grand Canyon)...it, and young Mr. Potter, will be enough to get me to Orlando for the first time in five or six years.

December 3, 2010 at 11:49 AM · I will visit this park, but I gotta say: the one thing I'm really concerned about is the heat. The heat at SeaWorld, Busch, Universal, and Disney is bad enough, and those parks have lots of shrubbery, shade, indoor queues, and indoor attractions.

If the iron park doesn't find a way to keep guests cool (and, no, those fans with mist don't count), they may suffer.

December 3, 2010 at 2:32 PM · No B&M?

Bah! This is a tourist trap.

December 3, 2010 at 4:19 PM · I think this is really going to be thrilling and I'm all for, especially having an attraction that is geared more towards your older teens and young adults, so we can experience a more fun and exciting environment for us rather than spending time and a whole lot of money at Disney and Universal which are more for babies.

December 4, 2010 at 9:45 AM · i hope it is successful so that it pushes Disney and the others to keep digging deep and coming up with new attractions to stay relevant. Look at all that's going on with Disney now as a result of IOA's HP.

December 4, 2010 at 5:19 PM · Clearly the park is aiming itself towards the teen/young adult market.

Whilst that may seem appropriate, given the attractions on offer, it will cause some difficulties in the future.

Firstly, Universal have done a very good job of attracting the teen/young adult market who have been somewhat looked over by Disney.

Being in such close proximity to Universal will mean OTP will almost certainly be competing with Universal to attract this market segment.

Universal are offering a world-class theme park experience akin to Disney but with added thrill, whilst OTP are offering a collection of fairly standard amusement park fair aside from a small handful of attractions.

If OTP want to compete prices will certainly have to be lower than at Universal, but by under-cutting Universal they run the risk of facing major capacity issues.

December 5, 2010 at 3:04 PM · Okay but I'm still confused on where they are gonna get 77 acres off International Drive! The only lot I can think of that's big enough for that is the wooded area next to Festival Bay Mall that's off the North End of I-drive. But that's a smaller lot and it lacks any room for expansion since it butts right up against that Kingspointe Road (I think that's the name of it)

Is that the lot their talking about?

December 6, 2010 at 7:57 AM · Isn't this the same team that built and abandoned FreeStyle Music Park in Myrtle Beach, SC? Now it sits rusting and bankrupt.

December 6, 2010 at 10:32 AM · A telltale phrase from the LA Times article: "Developers hope to secure financing in the coming months ..."

Wonder which financial approach they will use: "scratch off" or "power ball."

It would have been GREAT if they'd build this on the old Mercado site.

December 7, 2010 at 8:27 AM · If I travel that far for an amusement park, this adult will be going to something better (most of the other parks in Orlando sound better to me) and most likely will be going to Disney. I guess I must be a baby since someone said Disney is for babies...... lol.

Really, I just have little interest in this heap of metal it sounds like they will be throwing up somewhere in the middle of the international drive area.

December 7, 2010 at 3:40 PM · I think there will be people interested in visiting...something new is always worth seeing once. But, what will the rate of return visitors be, especially if there is no room for expansion? It really doesn't offer anything for those who aren't thrill seekers. The lines will be the downfall, as well as the lack of theming. In Central Florida, where "theme" is all the rage, unless you have some kind of theming, you are doomed.