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Orlando Eye, Sea Life & Madame Tussauds

Just seen that the SEALIFE will have a 360 degree tunnel rather than the standard 180 degree shark tunnels you usually see - at least that's something haha!
 
Sea-Life Orlando: we may not be SeaWorld but at least we don't have Orcas.

Who knows that tagline might work ;)
 
See the midway attraction are the one thing (with a few exceptions) I think Merlin generally get right. The UK is a bit oversaturated with them and the manchester ones are naff but all other Tussauds, Sealife and Dungeons I have visited have been good.
 
I think the reason they have so many is clearly this is where Merlin make their money, apart from the initial build cost and general day to day costs you don't have any major costs throughout the life of the attraction, compared to a theme park. You also dont need to add new rides every year, and like most sealifes, they just move fish and stuff between each one.

And by adding a group of attractions together, they can do what they do in Blackpool, price them on their own, but do much better deal rates, which I imagine 99% of people buy.
 
The Sea Life Centres is something Merlin do rather well to be fair.

You can cut/copy/paste those as it's a winning formula, I have certainly never read anything negative about the conditions the feeshes are kept in, and they are quite educational and on the whole pretty relaxing chilled out places to visit, especially when it's quiet.

Joking aside there's a huge difference between Sea World and Sea Life, who knows with the nonsense about Sea World and people who like aquatic life, perhaps this may turn out to be a little stroke of genius on Merlin's behalf.

They seem more interested overall in the responsible (I hope this is right lol) maintenance of their incumbents, and Sea Life rocking up next door might actually do some good in the world.

You never know.
 
The capsules are now being added to the wheel:

10358743_10152826234586461_7174729948521350572_n.jpg
 
It's actually a quite clever design. The usual problem with the wheels like this is that your view is obstructed with the supports, which is why most modern day examples the capsules are on the outside of the structure which then themselves rotate. But this looks like an improvement on the traditional style which I imagine is significantly cheaper, particularly knowing what Merlin are like.
 
Another view of the wheel:

B8hj4-3CYAEyn_k.jpg:large


I quite like it in a weird way. But I also really like how RMCs look!

:)
 
The whole complex will open May 4th, i personally dont see the fascination with this but from what i can see most views from various sites are general excitement, even to the extent they were reporting live updates from the press conference as well as showing it live video.
 
Visiting Orlando in August.

Regrettably for Merlin this is of little interest to me so I won't be visiting.
 
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Can't see anyone being interested in any aspect of this development once Skyplex opens...


Skyscraper_at_Skyplex.jpg
 
There's still quite an attraction to ferris wheels, so whilst I'm sure they'll see a drop in attendance with Skyplex and their observation tower/coaster, there'll still be plenty of demand. Tussauds and Sealife will always draw in the crowds, especially in the iDrive area and the masses of redevelopment it's getting at the moment.
 
The Orlando Eye is of little interest to most on here, myself included, but TPR posted this stunning photo of it on Facebook:

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Thought it was worth sharing!

:)
 
Never a fan of this development, but I'll admit that photo is indeed stunning.
 
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