Is Kissimmee area getting another theme park?
Details still murky on development plans for 450-acre parcel west of city.
Bob Mervine
Staff Writer
KISSIMMEE -- Investors are eyeing a 430-acre parcel west of Kissimmee, once planned for the Vedaland Theme Park, to build Paidia's DestiNations Themed Resort, a 1,000-unit condominium and fractional resort with nearly 200,000 square feet of retail space and a 140-acre theme park.
The group has not closed on the land on West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway pending "governmental approvals," says Tonya Pope, a spokeswoman for the company who is listed with the state of Florida as the corporation's president.
Pope says the purchase is contingent on getting those approvals. County records indicate the property was purchased in 1986 for $11.2 million by the Maharishi Global Development Fund.
Osceola County spokesman Don Madden says the county received a telephone inquiry recently about the land, asking if a previous Development of Regional Impact (DRI) for the land remained in effect.
Madden says it does not.
Paidia Parks Inc., a privately held Florida corporation created in November to assemble the deal, includes unnamed investors from both Florida and Louisiana.
Pope says the company also looked at acquiring the Splendid China site before deciding "this property offered us much more."
A general outline of the project was contained in a release dated May 16, 2005, but it contained very few specifics.
Still not resolved or still unannounced, Pope says, are the affiliation of the hotel's operators, estimates of unit costs, admission prices and myriad other details.
The company plans a major announcement in the months ahead, as details for the project become more solid, Pope says.
She says the company's plans call for putting out a request for proposals to hire a general contractor for the project late this summer and making a decision in the fall. Groundbreaking would occur in spring 2006, with opening scheduled for late 2007.
The theme park, says Pope, is expected to cost about $300 million. She did not provide costs for the hotel and retail center.
The park's general theme is to bring people together through understanding various exotic places in the world. The focus of the park, Pope says, are five areas or lands, themed to specific exotic destinations including Egypt, Thailand, Peru, Russia and New Zealand. The park will include both educational and family-friendly entertainment as well as thrill rides and attractions.
The release also mentions the park will offer live entertainment, with performances by "Stars on Ice" planned for one of the lands.
A spokesman for the "Smuckers Stars on Ice" Tour, a subsidiary of Cleveland-based IMG, says he is not aware of any proposed agreement.
One local theme park consultant doesn't hold out much hope for the planned theme park. He estimates the park's chances of getting off the ground as "slim to none."
Steve Baker, founder of Baker Leisure Group LLC, says the park is the problem. "It's as big as Epcot -- twice as big as the Magic Kingdom," Baker says. "Who will they entertain? They need 2 to 3 million in attendance just to cover their costs."
"The other stuff makes the money," he adds. "That's what allows them to lose money on the park and still make out."
. Unlikely to actually make it, and if it does, it will fail miserably!
