Today we are going to learn if the county will give Merlin/Blackstone a permit for the project. Below is a video including some mockups and soundbites of the guy responsible
- The Madam Tussauds part I might get.
- The Ferris wheel, well, you are kind of missing a view
- Sealife, hmmm there is this small park around the corner called Seaworld
Of course such a development would be an interesting (very expensive) marketing tool on the I-drive property to promote their new Legoland investment.
Here's the video:
http://www.wftv.com/news/28815389/detail.html?taf=orlc
A developer wants to replace an abandoned plaza on International Drive with a Ferris wheel, nearly 45 stories high. The new attraction will look like London Eye in the United Kingdom, which is the largest Ferris wheel in the world. The developer and owner of the land said the Ferris wheel being built on I-drive will top that. For the first time, developer Chuck Whittal showed WFTV the renderings of the
$100 million project.If the county approves the plan, it will be built on the site of the old Mercado shopping center on International Drive.
"It's going to be the game changer on I-Drive," said Whittal.
The models of the project show a Madame Tussaud's wax museum and an aquarium surrounded by shops and restaurants. In the middle of it all is a 450-foot Ferris wheel designed just like the London Eye, but bigger. The developer said visitors will get a
30-minute ride and an aerial view of all of Orlando.
The Ferris wheel doesn't look that large in the model, but when it's finished, it will be taller than the Peabody Hotel on International Drive and the tallest Ferris wheel in the world.
But, WFTV asked Whittal how he plans to compete with the countless attractions already on I-drive. "We don't. We're going to out compete. We think what we're doing is unlike anything that's been done on I-Drive," he said. Whittal said he expects
3 million to 4 million visitors a year. WFTV found tourists from the U.K. who are willing to make another trip back to see what the Orlando eye has to offer."That's actually a pretty good idea because you don't have that here at the moment. I've used the (London) Eye a few times, and it's quite fun. The only thing you would be missing, of course, is the view of London," said British tourist Robin Walman.
Whittal said the project would bring nearly 1,500 jobs.
The County Planning Department is expected to approve the plans on Wednesday. The only concern officials had is parking, they said. The developer said a free garage will be built.