Originally Posted By skinnerbox Let the theme park & resort speculation begin! <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/brinkmann-on-business/os-universal-orlando-purchase-20151223-post.html">http://www.orlandosentinel.com...ost.html</a> <> A company affiliated with Universal Theme Parks has closed on the purchase of 450-plus acres near the Orange County Convention Center, sources confirmed. The purchase would pave the way for possible expansion of Universal’s theme park empire in Orlando. The property was transferred through a simple quit claim deed on Dec. 18 to an obscure Delaware company. “It’s Universal, it’s a done deal, they’ve closed on it,” said Robert Cooke, a Miami attorney who represented the seller, California-based Colony Capital, in recent court cases. Universal’s media spokesman in Orlando, Tom Schroder, said the company would not be commenting in response to questions Wednesday. Universal has declined repeatedly to comment on their interest in the property. A source with knowledge of the deal said he doesn’t believe there’s a timeline for development yet. “My feeling is, it’s a lot of land, and my guess is, it will be phased in, and they will figure it out after the holiday break,” said the source, who commented on the condition of anonymity. The property includes the largest tracts of vacant land in Orlando’s International Drive tourism corridor, and is already loaded with entitlements allowing thousands of hotel rooms, residential units and – on one portion -- a theme-park style attraction. A previous Universal company, Universal Vivendi, had once owned the property. It was originally acquired from defense contractor Lockheed Martin in 1998, and was part of Lockheed’s Sand Lake Road complex. Later a team of developers acquired it, including Georgia businessman Stan Thomas, with certain restrictions on what they could build. But the entire acreage fell into foreclosure during the Great Recession. Colony acquired the property through a foreclosure on Nov. 18 this year. A principal with Colony, Paul Fuhrman, had promised that it would be marketed globally, but Colony stopped talking about it after multiple sources said Universal had a contract on it. <> More at the link.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I've heard for a while that Universal was interested in building a third park in Orlando, so presumably this would be for that. I don't know the details of the area very well, but I think they've already developed all of the existing land they own, so this is a logical step I haven't heard any rumors of timelines, so I would guess its still several years away before anything happens
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance "A company affiliated with Universal Theme Parks has closed on the purchase of 450-plus acres near the Orange County Convention Center, sources confirmed." Orange county? In Florida?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Orange county? In Florida?>> Yes, both Orlando and WDW are in Orange county FL. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.unitedgaragedoorsinc.com/uploads/garage-door-florida-orange-county.jpg">http://www.unitedgaragedoorsin...unty.jpg</a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Most of WDW is in Orange County just like DLR but some parts of it (All Stars, Wide World of Sports, Celebration, bits of the Animal Kingdom) actually extend into Osceola County. This means that different sales tax rates apply depending where in WDW you are
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance Interesting. Intersting Fact # 2: There are 1300 decorated Christmas trees in WDW during the holidays. That seems like a crazy amount.
Originally Posted By Yookeroo If you've never been to WDW and only know DL, it can be kind of hard to wrap your head around just how big the resort is. Having been there during the holidays, 1300 doesn't seem to crazy.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance Interesting Fact # 3: I was at Disney World as a teenager for two days, and almost have zero memories of the place. No idea what we rode (except I remember Space Mountain).
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost I don't know when you were a teenager, but, for quite some time, Space Mountain was the primary reason to go to WDW. It would be like a stampede when the rope dropped. 90% headed straight for SM. Still popular, but, it has become almost a secondary attraction comparatively.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance This would have been in the early to mid 90s. I remember my mom and brother using the chicken exit right before loading. lol
