Last year, when the Orlando Skyplex announced plans to build the world's tallest roller coaster on International Drive, it made worldwide news. Media from NBC's "Today" show to the London Daily Mail fawned over the 570-foot-tall attraction's jaw-dropping plunges.
YouTube videos featuring animated renderings of the vertical drops and twisty turns were viewed millions of times.
From Vegas to Milwaukee, media showed viewers what Orlando was doing and asked: "Would you dare ride it?"
Everyone was excited.
Well ... not everyone.
Unbeknownst to many, Universal Orlando has been quietly lobbying to quash Skyplex's sky-high ambitions.
You see, the Skyplex needs permission from the county to build that high. And Universal — which operates coasters of its own — has been griping to county officials.
At a meeting of county staffers back in May, a Universal attorney complained that the Skyplex would prompt a "character change" to I-Drive.
If so, bring it on.
Seriously. much of I-Drive is T-shirt shops, fast food and hookah lounges. If the Skyplex will change that character, please go right ahead.
Universal's attorney also argued that the Skyplex would create "visual intrusion and sound intrusion" at the site at the intersection of I-Drive and Sand Lake Road.
And that part — Universal arguing that a ride might bother people — is downright laughable.
Sixteen years ago, when I was a beat reporter covering Orange County, I remember sitting with residents on the patios of homes in the Orange Tree subdivision — right across the street from Islands of Adventure and the park's Dueling Dragons roller coasters.
For 12 hours a day and into the night, coaster wheels clicked, carts roared and passengers screamed. Some residents said the coasters even rattled their homes.
Today, those coasters still roar across the street from residents.
Now, consider the neighbors of the Skyplex: A giant McDonald's, a liquor store, hotels, bars and restaurants ... oh, and a 425-foot-tall Ferris wheel just down the street.
According to Universal's logic, loud coasters near homes are fine. But a tall coaster in one of the busiest tourist strips in America would be a big problem.
That doesn't even pass the straight-face test.
Joshua Wallack, developer of the Skyplex, said Universal is really just scared of the competition.
"They don't want I-Drive entertainment district becoming competitive with CityWalk or their theme park," he said. "They have started coming at us in all these meetings, throwing everything at us they can, hoping something will stick."
Universal said that's not the case. While noting it built its own park under "more restrictive guidelines," Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said: "We compete on a global basis, not with individual attractions on I-Drive. Most of our guests know they will visit us before they arrive in town."
If that was true, Universal wouldn't have an attorney griping about this individual attraction.
Still, it should be true.
Universal is the giant wizard on the block. It kicks theme-park tail. Ever since Harry Potter opened, the park has shattered attendance and profit records. It's pioneering and popular.
It's not like a family planning a trip to Orlando for Universal will spy a giant coaster and say: Ya know what? Forget Universal.
Plus, I'll be honest: I've been skeptical about whether the Skyplex will ultimately rise.
While I like Wallack's vision and spunk, I've worked too long in this town to believe every pie-in-the-sky proposal — whether it's a supposed "seven-star hotel" or billion-dollar resort.
Wallack says he's the real deal, having already acquired the land and invested more than $100 million, an admittedly big deal.
But it doesn't matter what I think. Skyplex should succeed or fail on its own merits, financing and market conditions — not because Universal or anyone else is afraid of competition.
And certainly not because county commissioners or officials take orders from the bully on the block ... even if he does have a cool wand.
