Orlando Eye, Sea Life & Madame Tussauds

[BigAl]

It's not new news so I expect one or two may have already heard about these developments, but Merlin are expanding their midway attractions in the US once again with the introduction of the Eye Ferris Wheel, Sea Life Aquarium and a Madame Tussauds for Orlando.


These images were shown at a presentation for local legislators:

The Attractions Magazine has an article on all of this here.

 

[T]

Looks a nice concept! It would be a place I'd visit, if I ever happened to be that way


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Rose Of Dawn]

Wait...Sealife Orlando?

Why?

Why go to Sealife when Sea World is just around the corner? The Sea World parks I've visited blow Sealife out of the water (...) simply due to the sheer scale of the places. Given a choice between orcas, dolphins, polar bears, belugas, walruses and so on, compared to what Sealife usually offers, and it's no contest. Even the theming of Sea World is superior (Wild Arctic is incredible), so I fail to see what Sealife could offer.

Madame Tussaud's makes sense, although due to the sheer heat in Florida they'd better be careful the models don't melt.

The one chain that really needs to open in Florida is Six Flags - there simply arent enough serious thrill rides. More giant coasters are needed.

 

[Rob]

SeaLife and SeaWorld are very different products though. They will not be in any real competition with each other. For Merlin, opening these three attractions makes sense. They will all be in the same location and the idea will be that people visit all three at the same time using combi tickets.

 

[Rose Of Dawn]

SeaLife and SeaWorld are very different products though. They will not be in any real competition with each other. For Merlin, opening these three attractions makes sense. They will all be in the same location and the idea will be that people visit all three at the same time using combi tickets.

They are different in that Sealife is a midway attraction and Sea World is a full-blown theme park. And I don't think Merlin would ever advertise it as being in direct competition. But otherwise, opening an aquarium in a city that boasts one of the most renowned marine life attractions on the planet will draw comparisons.

 

[Sam]

Wow, that ferris wheel looks really state-of-the-art. :

 

[Fredward]

I would suggest an Orlando dungeon, but there's not much history in America suitable for a dungeon attraction...

 

[DiogoJ42]

Ugly, off the shelf looking Ferris wheel, pointless fish tank compared to Sea World down the road, and another clone of the world's most boring statue collection. This is where out MAP money is going, people. :

 

[Novas]

The wheel is the one attraction I'd visit.

I can't think of a worse use of my time in Orlando than visiting another Madame Tussauds crayon factory.

At the moment Pointe Orlando is really just resturants and a couple of shops, if they can develop that area into more of a day out then the Sealife centre could work, but it's risky. It needs to offer something low key yet unique, and most importantly it needs to be competitively priced as it really will be an attraction that you dip into for a couple of hours on a chill out / recovery day!

 

[nickhutson]

I would suggest an Orlando dungeon, but there's not much history in America suitable for a dungeon attraction...

There so is a dark history to America.

They've long been considering a dungeon midway attraction in the US - probably New York. They'd have to tone down the crude nature a bit, but - it's certainly something they're looking into.

A Florida dungeon could work - Florida has a history of pirates (it was actually the VERY first part of American to be discovered down in St Augustine - which is still a Spanish fort area). Florida and Orlando are Spanish names.... I think there's a big market for an attraction exploring the darker side of Florida's history.

 

[DiogoJ42]

I can't see Dungeons working in America. People are too easily offended over there.

 

[BigAl]

Perhaps a Sea Life Sanctuary somewhere along the coast (near Kennedy Space Center along with their own wild life reserve and to attract people visiting that?) might work? Is there a Sea Life Sanctuary outside of the UK? I don't know too much about them so forgive me if there is!

 

[Thomas]

So long as there is some differentiation between all these centres I don't mind. One thing I fear though is Merlin are going to 'McDonaldise' all their attractions to a point where the attractions lose visitors.

 

[djtruefitt]

They might as well shove a LegoLand Discovery centre in it and be done!

 

[BigAl]

Maybe not in Orlando with it being so close to Legoland Florida, but perhaps something up at Daytona Beach or maybe over by Busch Gardens along with an observation tower overlooking the sea and / or a city?

 

[nickhutson]

They should just buy SeaLife Parks and Entertainment and be done with it. Then they'd have gained their goal - to be "bigger" than Disney.

 

[Jordan]

The whole Sea Life, Tussauds and 'Eye' brands just seem so uninteresting now. They are all practically clones of each other (with a few exceptions).

 

[Rob]

I think it's important to remember that these midway attractions are not there to attract international visitors or even domestic visitors living on the other side of the country. They're not like theme parks in the sense that you will go to a place just for the park. However in a tourist destination they are attractions that people will consider visiting once they are there. They will also probably attract local visitors. Midways are clearly very successful for Merlin.

 

[Novas]

Spot on Rob. It's easy to forget that not everyone goes to Orlando for Disney or Universal. When I was there I was suprised by how many locals were just taking a short/cheap break to I-Drive!

 

[BigAl]

As much as I don't really care too much for the midway attractions (it wouldn't be so bad if they varied them a little rather than just taking the same concepts and dressing them up slightly differently), I can only hope that the more money that Merlin makes through them, the more they'll be able to put into their theme parks.

Hey, maybe one day they might decide to open a new park that isn't a Legoland or a small Sea Life Adventure Park?