Splendid China to become a sport complex

Not many people know anything about a lost educational theme park: Splendid China (More info HERE, HERE and HERE). Here's how the park looks as of today (pictures courtesy of the sites found at the preceding links):



It's in really bad conditions, as you can see. There are news about it from CF News 13:
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OSCEOLA COUNTY -- Osceola County wants to become the Amateur Sports Capitol of the World.

Currently, the county is working on plans to bring in a massive softball and baseball complex that could bring in hundreds of thousands of people.

There is big money involved in this project. Not only is the proposed complex valued in the tens of millions, but the proposed economic benefit could eventually go into the hundreds of millions.
Soon some woods could be transformed, as Osceola County wants a massive softball complex up and running by this time next year.
Details are few, but multiple sources said the facilities would include as many as 16 multi-use fields and cost between $20 million and $30 million.
"We really are trying to become the sports capitol of the world for youth amateur sports," said John Brost from the site selection committee.
Eight sites from all over Osceola County are in the running and the competition is fierce.
Mark Brisson represents a local business association. He wants it built right in the of the U.S. 17/92 tourist corridor.
"When you go to a softball tournament, you want to have your hotel, your restaurant, your retail shops right nearby,” Brisson said. “That is why we have this economic stimulus.”
The site Brisson is advocating for isn't one of the favorites.
Sources familiar with the selection process said the site just south of Osceola Heritage Park and the old Splendid China location are the early favorites.
"Those are the two that seemed to work the best because they met all the criteria," Brost said.
Brisson though disagrees with those choices. He said the site near Heritage is too far away and the Splendid China location borders so many counties that Osceola won't get most of the benefit.
Osceola County Commissioners will hold several meeting over the next couple of weeks before making a decision on the project.
However, county officials don't have much time to make a decision.
One of the organizations that wants to operate in the complex needs it to be up and running by next April."
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Well, I'm not happy about this, but it's better than an abandoned park...

5 comments:

  1. Man i remember than in my of our first family Orlando trips in the 90's we got tickets to go to Splendid China. It was a package about 14 days or so, Disney, Universal Seaworld, Busch, 2 Water parks etc. We never went, so i never saw it while is was still open.
    It was supposed to be around day 8 or something of the trip. But after leaving in the morning and returning around 9 or 10 at night for 7 straight days we where spent. We really didn't had anything left so we stay in the hotel to rest that day. Since there where like 6 more (full) days of theme park adventure to go. Plus my brother was sick too.
    Was it any good? Did you see it while it was still open?

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  2. No, unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to see it..
    I think it was one of the minor theme parks, so you didn't miss any real attraction, but maybe it was worth seeing it at least once...

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  3. I did visit the 'new park', Splendid China back in the mid 90's. It was quite a thing and I was heartbroken, though not surprised, when I saw it closed. It was more like a huge outside museum of great buildings and amazing natural scenes from China than a theme park. No rides at all that I recall. Several shows of decent quality. It was run by the Chinese Gov and they simply had no idea how to run a theme park. I only learned of it cause I asked my Thrifty Car Rental van driver what was new as we traveled from the airport to the pick up location. I had hoped that Disney would buy it and make a go of it. It was something quite special, but not a mass-market theme park experience- and not marketed at all for that matter.

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  4. at Jud. Thanks for the info. I like that you used the insider "Thrifty Car Rental van driver" to get the knowledge that the place existed. Those people know some inside stuff. I didn't knew it existed either back in 96. But when you bought the huge package of tickets those where included. Thanks for the review!

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