County Board Votes 'No' on World's Tallest Roller Coaster in Orlando

An Orange County (Florida) board voted today to recommend against approving the construction of the world's tallest roller coaster on Orlando's International Drive.

The county's planning and zoning board voted 4-3 against the proposal for the $460 million Skyplex development, which would include a 570-foot polercoaster, called The Skyscraper. The development was planned for the intersection of International Drive and Sand Lake Boulevard, about one mile south of the Universal Orlando Resort.

Universal Orlando was one of the most outspoken opponents of the project, sending representative to argue against it at today's hearing. Universal's representatives said that the project lacked a proper traffic-impact study. They also argued for imposing a height restriction as a condition for allowing the project to go forward, which would prevent the polercoaster from being built as planned. A 570-foot tower located a mile south of Universal Orlando easily could be seen from the Universal property, though it is unclear how much it could be seen from inside the theme parks.

The Skyplex's developers fought back by accusing Universal of bullying.

Ultimately, though, while Skyplex won some support, it was not enough to earn an recommendation for approval. Still, the vote today was advisory, and the proposal goes to the Orange County commission for its vote in December. If the commission votes no, the project, as currently proposed, is dead. But the commission could choose to ignore the planning board's vote and approve the project anyway. One local reporter tweeted that might happen:

.@SKYPLEXOrlando update: Speaking with people after meeting and I hear O.C. staff supports project and that weighs more than the P&Z board. — Richard Bilbao (@RichOBJ) October 15, 2015

Four years ago, the City of Orlando killed a proposed Orlando Thrill Park by denying zoning changes requested by that park's developers. That project would have brought 14 amusement rides to International Drive, including one coaster over 400 feet tall. Orlando Thrill Park's site was even closer to Universal Orlando, near the Wet 'n Wild water park.

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