SeaWorld proposes building new park
The 58-acre attraction would be built along the east side of I-Drive.
By Jack Snyder and Jim Leusner | Sentinel Staff Writers
Posted June 18, 2005
SeaWorld Orlando is planning its first major expansion in five years -- a 58-acre attraction it hopes to open in 2007, the company confirmed Friday.
Spokeswoman Becca Bides confirmed the plans but said the company won't offer any details until the fall. It would be about a third the size of SeaWorld and larger than Discovery Cove, the 30-acre park that opened in 2000.
An International Drive businessman -- who asked not to be identified because of his connections to the tourism industry -- said it is likely a water park will be built on the site.
"We're pretty sure it's being designed as a competitor with Wet 'n Wild -- and some of what you see at Adventure Island," he said.
Universal Orlando-owned Wet 'n Wild, which opened in 1977, is a few miles north of SeaWorld on International Drive. Adventure Island, next to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, features splash rides and a 17,000-square-foot wave pool on 36 acres. Both SeaWorld and Adventure Island are owned by Anheuser Busch, based in St. Louis.
Sketchy plans filed by SeaWorld with Orange County indicate a 58.37-acre park would be developed on part of about 100 acres the company owns along the east side of International Drive, south of Sea Harbor Drive.
The plans show five attraction areas, with no specifics about what they are. Three commercial areas also are on the map, again with no details. No building in the expansion would exceed 140 feet, according to the filing.
The park's capacity was listed as 7,500 people.
Residents of nearby Williamsburg also have heard the attraction will be a water park.
Jerry Pastore, president of the Montpelier Village Home Owners Association, a part of the huge Williamsburg community, said SeaWorld workers have told him that a $90 million water-park attraction will be developed.
The company wouldn't say, issuing a statement that read: "SeaWorld Orlando intends to build a new park in Orlando, to open in 2007. We will fully detail the concept and nature of this exciting new project in an official announcement later this fall."
The county planning department has notified the Orange County Development Review Committee it must have more details before it can make recommendations. The review committee is scheduled to consider the plans Wednesday.
Parking would be to the east of the new theme park, abutting Montpelier Village. Plans indicate parking for more than 2,000 vehicles.
Pastore said a large number of Williamsburg residents -- Montpelier Village is one component of the large community -- plan to attend the meeting to object to the expansion.
"We don't want the parking lot next to our community," Pastore said. The lights and noise will be disruptive and annoying, he said.
Pastore fears crowded area roads will get worse. "The traffic is terrible now," he said.
The development of the 3,000-acre Williamsburg was launched in the late 1970s, just a few years after the marine-life park opened.
Pastore said the attraction has become an increasingly annoying neighbor for many Williamsburg residents.
The addition of the Kraken roller coaster in 2000 increased that annoyance to new levels, he said. "You can hear it day and night," Pastore said.
Discovery Cove was the last major park attraction opened by the company, though SeaWorld did develop a lakefront dining and shopping complex within the original park in 2003.
SeaWorld has rebuffed past offers to buy the land now targeted for development, indicating it had future plans for the property. "I have tried to buy it for years," said Susan Morris, a senior vice president of Colliers Arnold Commercial Real Estate in Orlando. Morris said hotel developers coveted the land.
If SeaWorld opens a water park, it would be in head-to-head competition with the Wet 'n Wild attraction.
Wet 'n Wild was built on land leased from the California family of Elmer "Al" Slavik, whose heirs still own it. Park founder George Millay sold the attraction to a subsidiary of Universal Studios in 1998 because the land lease with the Slaviks started to escalate each year through 2007 and would "have gone through the roof" starting in 2012, Millay said in his book The Wave Maker released earlier this year.
"Universal Orlando, which now owns the park, will move Wet 'n Wild from its current location to Universal property before the 2012 escalation in the lease," Millay predicts in his book.
Abe Pizam, dean of the College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida, said if the new attraction is a water park, it likely will be a new concept.
"They're smart enough to know there are a lot of water parks already," he said.
Walt Disney World has been in the water-park business since 1989, when it opened the 50-acre Typhoon Lagoon. Blizzard Beach, slightly larger at 66 acres, opened in 1995.
Mark Schlueb of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Jack Snyder can be reached at 407-420-5094 or at jsnyder@orlandosentinel.com Jim Leusner can be reached at 407-420-5411 or at jleusner@orlandosentinel.com
The 58-acre attraction would be built along the east side of I-Drive.
By Jack Snyder and Jim Leusner | Sentinel Staff Writers
Posted June 18, 2005
SeaWorld Orlando is planning its first major expansion in five years -- a 58-acre attraction it hopes to open in 2007, the company confirmed Friday.
Spokeswoman Becca Bides confirmed the plans but said the company won't offer any details until the fall. It would be about a third the size of SeaWorld and larger than Discovery Cove, the 30-acre park that opened in 2000.
An International Drive businessman -- who asked not to be identified because of his connections to the tourism industry -- said it is likely a water park will be built on the site.
"We're pretty sure it's being designed as a competitor with Wet 'n Wild -- and some of what you see at Adventure Island," he said.
Universal Orlando-owned Wet 'n Wild, which opened in 1977, is a few miles north of SeaWorld on International Drive. Adventure Island, next to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, features splash rides and a 17,000-square-foot wave pool on 36 acres. Both SeaWorld and Adventure Island are owned by Anheuser Busch, based in St. Louis.
Sketchy plans filed by SeaWorld with Orange County indicate a 58.37-acre park would be developed on part of about 100 acres the company owns along the east side of International Drive, south of Sea Harbor Drive.
The plans show five attraction areas, with no specifics about what they are. Three commercial areas also are on the map, again with no details. No building in the expansion would exceed 140 feet, according to the filing.
The park's capacity was listed as 7,500 people.
Residents of nearby Williamsburg also have heard the attraction will be a water park.
Jerry Pastore, president of the Montpelier Village Home Owners Association, a part of the huge Williamsburg community, said SeaWorld workers have told him that a $90 million water-park attraction will be developed.
The company wouldn't say, issuing a statement that read: "SeaWorld Orlando intends to build a new park in Orlando, to open in 2007. We will fully detail the concept and nature of this exciting new project in an official announcement later this fall."
The county planning department has notified the Orange County Development Review Committee it must have more details before it can make recommendations. The review committee is scheduled to consider the plans Wednesday.
Parking would be to the east of the new theme park, abutting Montpelier Village. Plans indicate parking for more than 2,000 vehicles.
Pastore said a large number of Williamsburg residents -- Montpelier Village is one component of the large community -- plan to attend the meeting to object to the expansion.
"We don't want the parking lot next to our community," Pastore said. The lights and noise will be disruptive and annoying, he said.
Pastore fears crowded area roads will get worse. "The traffic is terrible now," he said.
The development of the 3,000-acre Williamsburg was launched in the late 1970s, just a few years after the marine-life park opened.
Pastore said the attraction has become an increasingly annoying neighbor for many Williamsburg residents.
The addition of the Kraken roller coaster in 2000 increased that annoyance to new levels, he said. "You can hear it day and night," Pastore said.
Discovery Cove was the last major park attraction opened by the company, though SeaWorld did develop a lakefront dining and shopping complex within the original park in 2003.
SeaWorld has rebuffed past offers to buy the land now targeted for development, indicating it had future plans for the property. "I have tried to buy it for years," said Susan Morris, a senior vice president of Colliers Arnold Commercial Real Estate in Orlando. Morris said hotel developers coveted the land.
If SeaWorld opens a water park, it would be in head-to-head competition with the Wet 'n Wild attraction.
Wet 'n Wild was built on land leased from the California family of Elmer "Al" Slavik, whose heirs still own it. Park founder George Millay sold the attraction to a subsidiary of Universal Studios in 1998 because the land lease with the Slaviks started to escalate each year through 2007 and would "have gone through the roof" starting in 2012, Millay said in his book The Wave Maker released earlier this year.
"Universal Orlando, which now owns the park, will move Wet 'n Wild from its current location to Universal property before the 2012 escalation in the lease," Millay predicts in his book.
Abe Pizam, dean of the College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida, said if the new attraction is a water park, it likely will be a new concept.
"They're smart enough to know there are a lot of water parks already," he said.
Walt Disney World has been in the water-park business since 1989, when it opened the 50-acre Typhoon Lagoon. Blizzard Beach, slightly larger at 66 acres, opened in 1995.
Mark Schlueb of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Jack Snyder can be reached at 407-420-5094 or at jsnyder@orlandosentinel.com Jim Leusner can be reached at 407-420-5411 or at jleusner@orlandosentinel.com
