Orlando Attractions Area News & Developments

[shardoon]

On 5/5/2018 at 3:58 PM, spenser1058 said:

Connecting the dots at USF: how will Universal link the disparate properties it now owns?

http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201805/6087/

From Theme Park Insider

Most ideal thing would be an elevated monorail. ..... but also the most expensive. 

[WAJAS]

Whatever happened to the light rail proposal for the I-Drive District?

[prahaboheme]

37 minutes ago, WAJAS98 said:

Whatever happened to the light rail proposal for the I-Drive District?

It got built...in Charlotte.

[aent]

4 hours ago, WAJAS98 said:

Whatever happened to the light rail proposal for the I-Drive District?

The airport doesn't want any tourist transit on site as it will hurt rental car revenues, and thats been a requirement of all the proposals, so they're all DOA.

[WAJAS]

6 hours ago, prahaboheme said:

It got built...in Charlotte.

Not what I was directly referring, but I still hate how that happened.  Very short sighted on our local government's part.

2 hours ago, aent said:

The airport doesn't want any tourist transit on site as it will hurt rental car revenues, and thats been a requirement of all the proposals, so they're all DOA.

I heard about that a little while ago, but I wasn't sure if it was real or just an urban legend of sorts.  It'd explain why that Maglev thing never got approvals.  That project volunteered to pre-fund the demolition costs in case things went south, yet it still didn't get the go ahead.

[spenser1058]

This article is Orlando Tourism 101 and a must read for anyone who wants to understand our biggest industry.

Some important points it brings up:

(1) Why I-Drive is unlikely to befall the same fate as US192;

(2)One of the strengths of our tourism industry is that we aren't all mom, pop and the kids. Our convention business and international visitors lengthen average stay and make the business more stable. One of our strongest markets (not mentioned here) is sports tourism. Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex brings in tens of thousands of kids every year for athletic competitions (did you know the AAU is headquartered at Disney?)

(3) The business is continuing to expand because of the billions of dollars being invested. Uni and Disney aren't fighting for an existing market, it continues to get bigger every year.

http://orlando-rising.com/universals-new-resort-drive-neighbors-need-step/

From Orlando Rising

[spenser1058]

Sea World, the weak sister of Orlando's theme park industry, may finally be turning the corner.

Attendance at its parks was up 15% in the first quarter. It's not broken out, however, just how much of that was due to Sea World Orlando (which traditionally has the highest attendance of all their parks.)

New features such as a Sesame Street area in Orlando will hopefully keep the trend going.

SeaWorld attendance rises 15 percent
http://bit.ly/2KIHVmR

From the Sentinel

[shardoon]

Breaking news......... isquare has 18 months to come up with the money or forfeit the property. Technically out of foreclosure..... temporarily lol.  

Westwood blvd 1200 room convention hotel moving along slowly, looking to break ground next year under a national brand. 

[spenser1058]

6 minutes ago, shardoon said:

Breaking news......... isquare has 18 months to come up with the money or forfeit the property. Technically out of foreclosure..... temporarily lol.  

Westwood blvd 1200 room convention hotel moving along slowly, looking to break ground next year under a national brand. 

I saw that. Do you think we should hold our breath for the 7-star resort? One question I had - he was complaining about weak occupancy in the existing strip mall. Didn't he encourage several of the tenants to leave at the end of their leases to make way for his grand edifice?

[shardoon]

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

I saw that. Do you think we should hold our breath for the 7-star resort? One question I had - he was complaining about weak occupancy in the existing strip mall. Didn't he encourage several of the tenants to leave at the end of their leases to make way for his grand edifice?

That resort would never had been 7 star to begin with............. however, the prospects for something like this at that location did go up with the new Universal resort very close by.  In fact, just a few land purchases of the days inn, chevron, red lobster, and 7-11 can create a wall of mega resorts on that area of I-drive. 

[aent]

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

I saw that. Do you think we should hold our breath for the 7-star resort? One question I had - he was complaining about weak occupancy in the existing strip mall. Didn't he encourage several of the tenants to leave at the end of their leases to make way for his grand edifice?

Yes, I remember them kicking them out. Some of these real estate investors really make no sense... same thing at Artegon, after all the chasing everyone out, they now need to refill many spaces with the new owner, and don't seem to have any plan to knock it out and build a new thrill/theme park there anymore.

[I am Reality]

2 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Sea World, the weak sister of Orlando's theme park industry, may finally be turning the corner.

Attendance at its parks was up 15% in the first quarter. It's not broken out, however, just how much of that was due to Sea World Orlando (which traditionally has the highest attendance of all their parks.)

New features such as a Sesame Street area in Orlando will hopefully keep the trend going.

SeaWorld attendance rises 15 percent
http://bit.ly/2KIHVmR

From the Sentinel

Let's not gloss over the dumpster fire that has been SeaWorld.  It has exhibited some of the worst corporate governance I have ever seen.

SeaWorld had no PR pushback to Blackfish.   Attendance plunged to dismal levels.  The company lied to shareholders.  A federal court granted class-certification on a monster class-action securities-fraud lawsuit brought by shareholders. And the CEO left with a $9 million compensation package. 

I don't feel bad for SeaWorld.  Few people who saw Blackfish would. 

[klstorey]

I'm not going to get into the propaganda piece that is Blackfish but SWO was hurting before the film. It was Hogsmeade that hurt it, though Blackfish certainly didn't help. 

While these numbers look great, a big part of this is thanks to Easter. Still a positive quarter, despite the lawsuit and servance pay which hurt the bottom line. 

In the end, the parks seem to coming back slowly but surely. Only question is- will it be enough to hold off a takeover of the company? 

[dcluley98]

I have heard there are multiple hotels planned for the new Universal area, including two high end hotels (not 7-star, lol, but maybe 4 or 5) as well as some cheaper ones where Wet-N-Wild used to be. Don't know the details but word on the street is a billion dollars worth of hotel construction. 

[sunshine]

It would be good if they create another outdoor shopping areas like Disney Springs there but in a more urban way.

[HankStrong]

12 minutes ago, sunshine said:

It would be good if they create another outdoor shopping areas like Disney Springs there but in a more urban way.

So.  Like normal shopping? 

[prahaboheme]

1 hour ago, klstorey said:

I'm not going to get into the propaganda piece that is Blackfish but SWO was hurting before the film. It was Hogsmeade that hurt it, though Blackfish certainly didn't help. 

While these numbers look great, a big part of this is thanks to Easter. Still a positive quarter, despite the lawsuit and servance pay which hurt the bottom line. 

In the end, the parks seem to coming back slowly but surely. Only question is- will it be enough to hold off a takeover of the company? 

Seaworld may also have the sleeper hit of 2018:  Infinity Falls. 

With no new attractions at Disney this year, and the dud that was F&F at Uni, this may be an opportunity for Seaworld to gain some exposure mid-year with a quality attraction (as it appears to be from the construction progress).

[klstorey]

1 minute ago, prahaboheme said:

Seaworld may also have the sleeper hit of 2018:  Infinity Falls. 

With no new attractions at Disney this year, and the dud that was F&F at Uni, this may be an opportunity for Seaworld to gain some exposure mid-year with a quality attraction (as it appears to be from the construction progress).

Disney has Toy Story Land. Universal has a big new nighttime water show. Infinity Falls looks great but also looks to be behind schedule. Lets just hope it opens by July 4th! 

[prahaboheme]

10 minutes ago, klstorey said:

Disney has Toy Story Land. Universal has a big new nighttime water show. Infinity Falls looks great but also looks to be behind schedule. Lets just hope it opens by July 4th! 

How could I forget TSL

[prahaboheme]

19 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

This article is Orlando Tourism 101 and a must read for anyone who wants to understand our biggest industry.

Some important points it brings up:

(1) Why I-Drive is unlikely to befall the same fate as US192;

(2)One of the strengths of our tourism industry is that we aren't all mom, pop and the kids. Our convention business and international visitors lengthen average stay and make the business more stable. One of our strongest markets (not mentioned here) is sports tourism. Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex brings in tens of thousands of kids every year for athletic competitions (did you know the AAU is headquartered at Disney?)

(3) The business is continuing to expand because of the billions of dollars being invested. Uni and Disney aren't fighting for an existing market, it continues to get bigger every year.

http://orlando-rising.com/universals-new-resort-drive-neighbors-need-step/

From Orlando Rising

While I don't think that I-Drive will befall the fate of 192, I do think that these newer Uni resorts at the former W&W space will actually put the nail in the coffin for many of the motels in the vicinity (especially those that sit on I-Drive between Kirkman and CFP).  What happens to these properties as a result will be interesting to see.  This section of I-Drive has never thrived or been given the same attention as the unincorporated county sections around the convention center.  It seems now, more than ever, that Orlando needs to step up and make improvements to this section of I-Drive (street and landscaping improvements) in order to maximize the potential of the area rather than simply letting the market decide.   

Edited May 8, 2018 by prahaboheme

[shardoon]

6 hours ago, prahaboheme said:

While I don't think that I-Drive will befall the fate of 192, I do think that these newer Uni resorts at the former W&W space will actually put the nail in the coffin for many of the motels in the vicinity (especially those that sit on I-Drive between Kirkman and CFP).  What happens to these properties as a result will be interesting to see.  This section of I-Drive has never thrived or been given the same attention as the unincorporated county sections around the convention center.  It seems now, more than ever, that Orlando needs to step up and make improvements to this section of I-Drive (street and landscaping improvements) in order to maximize the potential of the area rather than simply letting the market decide.   

This is what I was alluding to before. Between the larger Universal Hotel being built and the iSquare strip mall......... there are a few fast food restaurants and a gas station.  Those small parcels can be gobbled up and developed into a big urban style hotel fronting I-Drive.  That literally makes 2 mega resorts next to each other. Suddenly this isquare concept wouldn't seem that far fetched to a investor with a real financial backing to get Isquare off the ground. Connecting it over Kirkman with a large pedestrian bridge......... we will start getting an urban wall on the North end of I Drive........ then the dominos will slowly fall and more and more of these hole in the walls will get razed to make way for large urban destination resorts........................... man, give me the casinos now....... ok, I can dream LOL. 

[TRENCH]

9 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

I have heard there are multiple hotels planned for the new Universal area, including two high end hotels (not 7-star, lol, but maybe 4 or 5) as well as some cheaper ones where Wet-N-Wild used to be. Don't know the details but word on the street is a billion dollars worth of hotel construction. 

Just passed by the one in Wet n Wild is already on its 4th floor lol 

[HankStrong]

If Uni is successful, the number of crappy hotels/motels on I-Drive going the way of the dodo should happen.  There are some seriously skanky motels there.  Those aren't holding guests for most conferences, they are holding tourists.  There is a massive difference between the I-Drive near the convention center and the I-Dive (misspelling intended) of the area up by Fun Spot. 

[spenser1058]

46 minutes ago, HankStrong said:

If Uni is successful, the number of crappy hotels/motels on I-Drive going the way of the dodo should happen.  There are some seriously skanky motels there.  Those aren't holding guests for most conferences, they are holding tourists.  There is a massive difference between the I-Drive near the convention center and the I-Dive (misspelling intended) of the area up by Fun Spot. 

I-Dive. I like that!

[spenser1058]

First Tchoup Chop and now Emeril's itself is closing. Thankfully, I'm still working my way through all the new places at Disney Springs so this won't be hard to get over.

http://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/entertainment/2018/05/09/emerils-orlando-citywalk-to-close

From News13

Edited May 9, 2018 by spenser1058