A small theme park in Orlando?

OrlandoIsTheBest6124

Member
Original Poster
Do you think a small theme park in Orlando to work something as small as let’s say Oaks Amusement Park in Portland, Or or Idlewild Park in PA? A sesame place in Orlando does that sound like a good idea?
 

Dead2009

Horror Movie Guru
Considering there's a lot to do in Orlando....I doubt another theme park that isnt Disney or Universal would get a lot of traffic.
 

Queen of the WDW Scene

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Seaworld just took on Sesame Street so doubt you'd get a theme park based oni t.

There are tons of smaller attractions with rides in the Central Florida area.
They seem to do well enough especially among locals.
I don't think there needs to be more though.
 

kap91

Well-Known Member
There's absolutely a market for something that caters to locals as a place for them to hang out away from tourists and take things at a slower pace. (If cypress gardens had lasted long enough and was in a better location I think that's exactly the kind of thing)
 

Queen of the WDW Scene

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
There's absolutely a market for something that caters to locals as a place for them to hang out away from tourists and take things at a slower pace. (If cypress gardens had lasted long enough and was in a better location I think that's exactly the kind of thing)

There are plenty of places for locals and tourists to enjoy that are off the beaten path and away from the rush of Disney/Universal.

Also not sure what you mean had Cypress Gardens "lasted long enough".
Cypress Gardens was Florida's original theme park and was open from 1936 to 2009.
That's 73 years which is longer than Disney World or even Disneyland has been open.
My family wishes it was still open instead of it being Legoland but we also understand that we wne to many things in the area during their glory days. (At least I believe they still have the gardens and Florida pool)

A few other places that while are't quite as spectacular as they were say 25 years ago but are still around for locals and tourists are Homosassa Springs (home of the manatee), Weeki Wachee Springs (home of the mermaid), Silver Springs (home of the glass bottom boat).

There really is a lot to do you just have to look beyond the major attractions to find it.
 

kap91

Well-Known Member
There are plenty of places for locals and tourists to enjoy that are off the beaten path and away from the rush of Disney/Universal.

Also not sure what you mean had Cypress Gardens "lasted long enough".
Cypress Gardens was Florida's original theme park and was open from 1936 to 2009.
That's 73 years which is longer than Disney World or even Disneyland has been open.
My family wishes it was still open instead of it being Legoland but we also understand that we wne to many things in the area during their glory days. (At least I believe they still have the gardens and Florida pool)

A few other places that while are't quite as spectacular as they were say 25 years ago but are still around for locals and tourists are Homosassa Springs (home of the manatee), Weeki Wachee Springs (home of the mermaid), Silver Springs (home of the glass bottom boat).

There really is a lot to do you just have to look beyond the major attractions to find it.
Cypress gardens was taken over by the wild adventure guys - turning it into a low budget amusement park, and then later turned into legoland. So it's it's not really around anymore - that's what I'm talking about. It didn't last long enough to see the growth of Orlando into what it's become. Hipsters and all the new people that have moved in since the recession would go wild over something like what Cypress gardens used to be - especially if it had a bit of sprucing up.

And sure there's plenty of local attractions, I'm well aware of them. But they're not theme parks and the question was if there was room for one.
 

kap91

Well-Known Member
Cypress gardens was taken over by the wild adventure guys - turning it into a low budget amusement park, and then later turned into legoland. So it's it's not really around anymore - that's what I'm talking about. It didn't last long enough to see the growth of Orlando into what it's become. Hipsters and all the new people that have moved in since the recession would go wild over something like what Cypress gardens used to be - especially if it had a bit of sprucing up.

And sure there's plenty of local attractions, I'm well aware of them. But they're not theme parks and the question was if there was room for one.
And I'm talking about creating a community theme park, definitely not the amusement places like Fun Spot.
 

some other guy

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure what a community theme park is we're not talking about something like Old Town/Fun Spot. Like, all themed to local stuff like a shooting gallery done up like Pine Hills?
 

kap91

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure what a community theme park is we're not talking about something like Old Town/Fun Spot. Like, all themed to local stuff like a shooting gallery done up like Pine Hills?
Something smaller, with roots to the area, that specifically caters to the local market with various events, incentivizes annual passes, is designed to be a place that's just fun to hang out in, prioritizes environment design, offers unique types of attractions, might have some very interesting attractions that aren't just rides or shows (demonstrations, exhibits, places to be active, etc). A place that brings in the community to be part of the experience as well - such as with local artists or farmers. There's not an example I know of that does it perfectly how I'd like (a lot have become big coaster parks) but places that come to mind are Efteling, Dollywood, Knotts, Cypress Gardens circa mid 90s, Seaworld Orlando circa mid 90s, Busch Gardens (both Tampa and Virginia) especially circa the late 90s, Gatorland, the Biltmore estate, possibly Puy de Fou and Tivoli Gardens.
 

some other guy

Well-Known Member
Something smaller, with roots to the area, that specifically caters to the local market with various events, incentivizes annual passes, is designed to be a place that's just fun to hang out in, prioritizes environment design, offers unique types of attractions, might have some very interesting attractions that aren't just rides or shows (demonstrations, exhibits, places to be active, etc). A place that brings in the community to be part of the experience as well - such as with local artists or farmers. There's not an example I know of that does it perfectly how I'd like (a lot have become big coaster parks) but places that come to mind are Efteling, Dollywood, Knotts, Cypress Gardens circa mid 90s, Seaworld Orlando circa mid 90s, Busch Gardens (both Tampa and Virginia) especially circa the late 90s, Gatorland, the Biltmore estate, possibly Puy de Fou and Tivoli Gardens.
Ah, show the tourists our traditional crafts and arts of importing cheap junk from China to take money from tourists!
 

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