Forthcoming roller coasters at Florida theme parks spark joy from roller coaster enthusiasts

I'm seriously thinking about a Florida trip in the back half of the year, that I've had my COVID vaccination by then.

Florida will warmly welcome any dry humping of strangers by that time, I'm sure.

Guardians and Tron are a big mystery though, in terms of opening targets. I'm not sure if they have any. It would seem to me that if they have the appropriate cash flow, and it seems they do, that finishing new attractions to, uh, attract people post-Covid would be a top priority.

I am pleased to announce that one of my annual conference destinations just happens to be holding itself in the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld in September.

Whatever will I do with any downtime?

Hmm.

As you wear a mask and wash your hands, dry hump.

OhioStater said:

Whatever will I do with any downtime?

Rent a car, drive to Tampa, and ride Gwazi?

I'm still not convinced the tag team of Iron Gwazi/Icebreaker will be open by then. SeaWorld doesn't seem to have any interest in making any sort of operational improvements to their parks, and I have this hunch those two rides will sit closed until the holiday season this year or Spring 2022.

Jeff said:

Guardians and Tron are a big mystery though, in terms of opening targets. I'm not sure if they have any. It would seem to me that if they have the appropriate cash flow, and it seems they do, that finishing new attractions to, uh, attract people post-Covid would be a top priority.

I think I read somewhere that Disney's plan for Tron was to finish the exterior of the ride and then, in effect, close up the building...stopping any additional construction for the foreseeable future. I'm guessing that mean they don't want to spend any more money on it in this fiscal year.

If you read that on a fan site, I'd take it with a metric ton of salt. I don't buy any of that. I don't see any world where Disney doesn't want to be in a strong position against Universal when travel picks up, and I think Velocicoaster is gonna make a lot of noise.

Make that 2 metric tons.

If I recall, wasn't there a huge blowup in another thread on here about how Disney has little to no interest in Universal and they aren't trying to compete with them because they aren't even in the same league?

If I am thinking of the right site, then why would it now be of concern to Disney and is one coaster really the deciding factor of people picking one park over the other?

OMG because you're right CoasterBuzz isn't the real world!

Are you sure you aren’t, confusing this with the SFMM vs CP or regional vs destination discussions?

BrettV said:

I'm still not convinced the tag team of Iron Gwazi/Icebreaker will be open by then. SeaWorld doesn't seem to have any interest in making any sort of operational improvements to their parks, and I have this hunch those two rides will sit closed until the holiday season this year or Spring 2022.

How long can they let them sit SBNO? Heck, Gwazi was fully completed, ride, queue, theming, everything, when I visited last August. (From what I could tell at least. Let's say it was 99% finished). It doesn't help that it's the most prominent thing on the skyline from the road and that you're forced to walk by the ride's entrance to get to the back of the park.

We really are living in the weirdest, worst times, aren't we?

TheMillenniumRider said:
If I am thinking of the right site, then why would it now be of concern to Disney and is one coaster really the deciding factor of people picking one park over the other?

I didn't know the Coasterbuzz forums were so homogenous.

I don't see a world where Disney seals up Tron like a sarcophagus and lets it sit there unfinished. They may not open it right away, but they will continue construction, testing, etc. Of course I didn't see a world where Disney would shut down due to Covid either so...

Jeff said:

...I think Velocicoaster is gonna make a lot of noise.

Are they not putting sand in the support legs?

bjames said:

How long can they let them sit SBNO?

Indefinitely. There are a few examples:

• Mission Ferrari (https://rcdb.com/12575.htm) has been mostly done since late 2016. It has been seen testing but hasn't opened.
• Orphan Rocker (https://rcdb.com/1870.htm) was built in 1988. It never opened and given that parts of it have been removed it's a safe bet that it never will.
• Vertigorama (https://rcdb.com/1506.htm) was built in 1983. It never opened, but still stands to this day.
• Wild Chase Coaster (https://rcdb.com/13470.htm) was built in 2016. It has yet to open.

There are also several examples of rides that have closed and have remained around:

• Camelback Coaster (https://rcdb.com/3372.htm) closed in 2011. The station has been removed but the rest of the ride has been repainted and kept as a decoration!
• Eureka Mountain Mine Ride (https://rcdb.com/1129.htm) closed in 2006. It was removed in 2017.
• Loop Coaster (https://rcdb.com/1277.htm) closed in 2000. Half of it had been removed by 2006, but the other half still stands today, twenty years later – the ultimate Roller Coaster Tycoon death coaster :)
• Thunder Coaster (https://rcdb.com/1265.htm) closed in 2017, but still stands.

If I had to guess, the rides will open when there's the footfall to support them. While some people (like me!) will hold off booking until opening dates have been published, the majority don't give a monkeys – Florida is too much of a destination.

I realize it's not WDW, but just to pre-empt the "Disney would never do that" people, I have only two words that I am surprised were not on Richard's list: "Rocket Rods".

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

There’s Adventureland’s Dragon. It was partially razed, but the loops remain as if to say “Remember when this ride tried to kill you? Well, there’s a new one now.”