Fun Spot's Expansion: Groundbreaking Ceremony (2)
Thank you for continuing to read this new update (PART 1 can be found at this link).
We will now take a look around the additional 10 acres where work on the expansion has just begun:
Some of the first pieces of the SkyCoaster:
Let us now move over to the park itself, Fun Spot America:
New replaces the old:
Some Disney characters hanging from the ceiling. We thought this was a nice detail!:
Poor Mickey!:
One of the attendants told us that this lady has been up there since the park opened, almost 15 years ago:
The brand-new Grand Carousel installed in the park has some of the former horses used in the carousel attraction from the former Cypress Gardens Adventure Park (now LEGOLAND Florida):
The Scrambler:
The Commander go-kart track is currently closed as it is being greatly expanded:
It will reopen in 2013:
The other three go-kart tracks are still open to the public:
The iconic Ferris Wheel:
The Bumper Boats:
Thanks for the nice afternoon, Fun Spot:
And this concludes our photo-gallery regarding this event. As always, we recommend you continue to check back here on Orlando Theme Park News for additional news and reports about this expansion.
Hey, thanks for your coverage of our event. I just wanted make a couple of small corrections to your information. The double decker carousel is brand new, made by Chance Rides. Although we did get some of the horses from the ride at Legoland, the rest is all new. And, we currently have 3 go-kart tracks open in adition to the Commander which will be expanded. Thanks, again.
ReplyDeletePatrick Tuten
Creative Directore
Fun Spot America
Also, the Scrambler has been there for many years.
ReplyDeletePatrick
Thank you very much for the clarifications, Mr. Tuten! We have updated the post.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Scrambler, we got confused with the new Tilt-a-whirl (which may have not been installed yet) mentioned on your official blog: http://www.funspotattractions.com/blog/everything-old-is-new-again/
Thank you again for taking the time to read our post!
that fun spot are going to get this HUGE expansion done by Spring 2013 is seriously impressive - Disney take note!
ReplyDeleteWhy should Disney take note, they are not even close to being in the same ballpark.
ReplyDeleteI think what Fatdonut meant by that comment is that fun spot is doing a major overhaul in a short time while Disney with all its resources takes forever to get things completed.
ReplyDeleteWith no theming except for kitsch miniature statues of Lady Liberty you can go much quicker than the impressively themed Disney expansion or the Sea World or the Universal ones. There is no comparison. Fun Spot is a funfair, the others are theme parks. expencian
ReplyDeleteyes Disney are including far more theming but Funspot are still building 2 roller coasters and a skycoaster (plus adding other attractions) in just a few months - those are hardly minor projects!
ReplyDeleteThe final overall effect of the Disney expansion WILL be truely impressive but they still take far too long: even the simple refurbishments and repairs to existing buildings / attractions seem to take an eternity.
Universal, Seaworld, and now Fun Spot have proven that a major project can be completed in a fraction of the time it seems to take Disney. I'm all for getting things right but having a theme park look like a construction site is far from right!
The tarpaulin world magic kingdom became last year was little short of shocking imo
While I agree with OT that you can't really compare Fun Spot to Disney, the characterization of "no theming except for kitsch miniature statues of Lady Liberty" is not really a fair one. We're using the small statues as a marketing tool for the new park, they're not the actual theming. I think you will be surprised by just how much of an upgrade we are constructing. We will have two very nicely designed buildings, one at the entry and an 8,000 sq. ft restaurant facility with the SkyCoaster launch on top. We've worked many months with our architects (ACI - who did the Peabody Hotel expansion) to design some very attractive, themed structures. We've also worked with Foster Conant, our landscape architects, to create a well designed, much more lush, park-like setting than we've had in the past. We have a lot of theming planned for the park as well. Budget will determine just how much we will be able to implement in the very beginning as we don't have the billions that Disney has. But, I can say that the plans include a 50ft. tall Statue of Liberty and unique theming for both coasters and the SkyCoaster. I'm working on new graphics and additional theming for all the Go-Kart tracks. Those will go in this fall. I'm also working with an American ride company to design a completely new, uniquely themed, Himalaya style ride, just for Fun Spot America. So I think if you are patient, you will be pleasantly surprised at what Fun Spot will have to offer when we open up our new expansion. I'll release imagery of some of these items in the months to come, but of course we have to save some surprises for the Grand Re-Opening.
ReplyDeletePatrick Tuten
Creative Director
Fun Spot America
Mr. Tuten, as always we thank you very much for answering to our readers' comments.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to tell you how happy I personally am to hear what you just said! I'm the biggest fan of theming (I would stay hours and hours just observing all the little details in the New Fantasyland, for example), and knowing that there will be themed elements in the Fun Spot Expansion only makes me even more excited!!
I have always believed that this expansion Fun Spot is preparing was going to be something very special, but the details you provided us (such as "unique theming") definitely show that what you have released to the public may still not be all you have in store!!
Thank you again for your time.
Thanks for the reply and it's nice to hear that Fun Spot is putting some effort in theming. Still not sold on the statues though, not even when you make it "big". It's devalueing Lady Liberty into a garden gnome and that is kind of offensive, even for me who is not an American. I rather would see that money go into some plants and trees to break the parking lot theme that is now so prominent.
ReplyDeleteAgain I look forward for the changes and I hope that one of the restaurants will be an all American dinner, that would fit the America theme wonderfully.
As a tourist to Florida, I'm afraid I would stick to the big boy theme parks rather than the small ones- have those at home anyways. However, I am impressed that the Creative Director of this park responds to the comments. That shows the determination to keep up with the competitors. Way to go, and I wish you all the best with your plans.
ReplyDeleteIm curious to know if the waterpark has changed since they first announced this? They showed having a cool multi-lane racing slide but in these new drawings its totally gone
ReplyDelete