I've been debating to post this as a long twitter rant, a blog post, or a forum post. Forum post wins. That being said this post is my views only and not of anyone at Orlando United, and my position as a moderator is to keep discussions civilized, remove spam, and perform maintenance in the forums.
There's a lot of manufactured emotions on both sides of this issue. Universal and Skyplex are both using local regulations, citizens support/dissent, and also created an AstroTurf movement of support in the community and social media. In this situation no one is Jesus or Pontius Pilate.
When the generic Polercoaster design was announced and unveiled in 2011 several locations were proposed and none have been built so far. A co-designer for the project, S&S, has pulled out of the development of the Orlando installation. And funding for the land purchase and development has been a long time coming. These are several warning signs of a troubled project simply based on history of other projects. We quickly forget about the DreamVisions, Wizard of Oz theme parks, and smaller local amusements that get announced, planned, or even begin construction that soon get abandoned. It's not bullying or being a jerk to raise an eyebrow at the Skyplex design (untested and unbuilt so far) and it's funding (get clearer now but murky for awhile). Even projects with major funding never get off the ground or get abandoned (just look at the graveyard of Disney projects).
As the Skyplex project becomes less murky and solidifies its plans the easier it is to see the trajectory. Skyplex's statements over the years of "it's coming!" without any information did not create a narrative of success. Reports of shady international funding, project issues, and more did and does not inspire confidence in my eyes. What Skyplex should have done was hold the line with a boilerplate response as the project forms till they can lay out their plans all at once. There should not be any zoning or height related issues while one is on a positive PR blitz. I believe in retrospect Skyplex would do things differently and they'd be the first to admit it.
Universal's response to Skyplex is not cool, but not unheard of or illegal. I believe questioning traffic studies and more are honest questions asked from a skeptical eye looking out for their own interests. Creating a
citizens united organization as an AstroTurf movement to show dissent on the project is shady in my eyes. I am 100% behind honesty in intentions, and UOR's so far have not been. But I do not agree with using loaded language such as "bullies" to describe their actions.
This leads me to social media and 3rd parties where a sustained effort from a select few are trying to change the narrative. I have removed myself this part of the community because of the attacks at my friends, the vitriol, and removal of any grey zones in discussion. It's either you fully support Skyplex with the "facts" or you're part of [HASHTAG]#bullyversal[/HASHTAG], and I reject that stance. Additionally, just as Universal funds and supports an AstroTurf movement, I question the funding of several 'promoted tweets' lambasting Universal while supporting Skyplex from these 3rd parties. To create and feed a negative environment to position Skyplex as a victim of Universal while appearing to use the same tactics you condemn is hypocrisy, plain and simple. And if anything these 3rd parties are hurting Skyplex in the eyes of the community more than Universal or Skyplex could ever do. A positive message of support will always work better in the long run than a negative. Skyplex and Universal are companies and projects, my friends are people, that's my line. I have unfollowed, muted, and blocked people in that part of the community because, to quote WarGames, "the only winning move is not to play"*.
Thanks for following along with my brain dump.
*Not Skyplex or Universal, but socially and my mental health