Are Simple Thrills Enough For Another Orlando Theme Park?

If Central Florida didn't have enough thrill rides, a whole park full of them should do the trick. The Baker Leisure Group is helping a group of investors create what may be known as “The Orlando Thrill Park”, a proposed 70 acres of roller coasters located along International Drive. Does Orlando need this thrill-only park, or is this too much of too little?

"The Incredible Hulk" at Universal's Islands of Adventure

Roller coasters built purely for thrill are not even mentioned as top attractions in Orlando, it takes a sensory experience unlike anything guests have ever seen before to make it in this town. If people want to ride some un-themed, generic scream machines, they can head to their local Six Flags or hometown amusement park. Extreme thrill rides already open in Orlando like "The Incredible Hulk", "Mission:SPACE", and "Dragon Challenge" are a lot of fun, but fall short of the most popular attractions in the area and this is when a respected company such as Disney or Universal are at the helm. Imagine if a budget-conscious company decided to build a coaster-only park. We could see something worse than a Six Flags sitting on International Drive.


From a business stand-point, this is a horrible idea. How could a park with far less to offer than what visitors can see close to home or right down the road (in any direction) succeed in Central Florida? It can't. Everyone who wants to vacation in Orlando is there for Disney World and will only extend their trips so long to include Universal Orlando, Sea World, and Busch Gardens. Visitors will not stay an extra day for a few rather plain roller-coasters. Locals will visit, but their annual passes to the established parks will be far more inviting. Never-mind if you don't like thrill rides, then you'll never find yourself visiting a one-dimensional park like this. Variety is key, and if a park doesn't offer something for everyone, than everyone doesn't go.


Regardless, I can't wait to watch this park fail. If you can't compete with the lower tier parks in Orlando, you shouldn't even be there. This is a tourist trap that will fade just like the rest if the investors even get the money together to make this thing happen. I hope they don't....