Move over, Kingda Ka. In 2016, a new roller coaster in Orlando will take the “world’s tallest” crown.
Today, father-son business duo David and Joshua Wallack announced plans to build the world’s tallest roller coaster, dubbed “The Skyscraper™,” as well as the lavish “SKYPLEX™” indoor entertainment complex at International Drive and Sand Lake Road in Orlando, Florida.
The Skyscraper at SKYPLEX, the towering coaster to be built not far from the soon-to-open Orlando Eye 425-foot ferris wheel, will alter the Orlando skyline dramatically. The $200 million SKYPLEX will comprise approximately 495,000 square feet located on a 12-acre plot of land.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2015 with the complex opening in 2016.
“Next to our theme parks, International Drive is one of the most recognized icons of Orlando,” said Visit Orlando president and CEO George Aguel. “It’s exciting for our tourism community to see this type of investment being made to continuously raise the bar on the dining and entertainment experiences we offer across our destination.”
The Skyscraper at SKYPLEX is 570 feet tall and will feature the first Polercoaster ever built. The vertical roller coaster will feature “all the other thrilling mayhem” of a great coaster experience, but “in a very small footprint,” according to Michael Kitchen, President of US Thrill Rides, the Orlando based company that created the ride.
Bill Kitchen, Founder of US Thrill Rides and creator of the Polercoaster said, “Not only will the ‘Skyscraper’ coaster be the world’s tallest, we believe it will be the most thrilling. There will be incredible heart-pounding inside and outside loops, dives, spirals and inversions like the world has never seen.”
The SKYPLEX observation deck at the tip of the tallest structure in Central Florida will offer views 535 feet from the ground. To get there, visitors will ride in the region’s tallest glass elevators.
“We’re extremely excited about creating a record-breaking, must-try attraction on International Drive,” said Joshua Wallack, Mango’s Tropical Café chief operating officer, who also will open a Mango’s Orlando next year across International Drive from SKYPLEX. “Nowhere in the world will you have two iconic structures like The Skyscraper and the Orlando Eye. This will be an incredible opportunity for International Drive.”
“Imagine a night of incredible dining, lounging and dancing atop a glass elevator ride 55 stories into the air,” said David Wallack. “It’s a true meeting of engineering, technology and art that is making this dream happen for us. We plan to bring Ocean Drive to I-Drive with a new dining and nightlife district that locals and Orlando visitors won’t want to miss.”
The idea for the complex was conceived in late 2012 soon after Joshua Wallack began investigating parking garage locations for the Mango’s Orlando restaurant project. What began as a search for multi-acre valet parking site for the Mango’s project mushroomed into a whirlwind of negotiations for additional land after Wallack was contacted by US Thrill Rides as to their interest in building the world’s first Polercoaster ride.
Learn more about Skyplex by visiting the complex’s website.
What do you think of the Skyscraper coaster? Share your thoughts about the record-breaking attraction in the comments section below.
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