Fun Spot coasters open

[Surf Dance Chris]

Apparently White Lightning opened earlier this week and Freedom Flyer
has been open already. Their 3rd small coaster has not opened yet. So
glad there is now a wood coaster in the Orlando area! Can't wait to go
ride it soon.

[Coasti...@hotmail.com]

Got to ride both the Freedom Flyer and White Lightning the other day. 2 very nice rides in what turned out to be a great little amusement park.
Since it has no inversions, the 2 rider wide, hanging steel coaster, Freedom Flyer, has an over the shoulder lap bar that is quite nice.
Of "family" size, the most intense ride is in the back rows as the whip thru the final helix and loading barn final brakes will leave riders knowing they've been thru some strong positive G's
White Lightning, love it. To me it's a catagory of coaster types all by itself. It's a "Twisted Out n Backer"
While there's no real sustained airtime due to the coaster's size, there are alot of pops of it as you speed around the coaster's track.
Slightly more intense in the back due to whip factor, every seat on the short GCII Mil Fly give great rides.
In general I loved this new little amusement park. From their ride selection, to how they're placed, to the friendly attitude of the people that work there, to their price (a $40 POP in an area where the big theme'rs are $100)
If you're reading this newsgroup and can get to Orlando, you should put a stop at Fun Spot on your list of things to do. White Lightning is a very fun ride

Coastin Steve

[Surf Dance Chris]

Thanks for the report. Planning on going this Saturday for the
official grand reopening. I have never been to this location. Can't
wait to ride the White Lightning. I hope ACE has an event here soon.

[Coasti...@hotmail.com]

On Thursday, May 23, 2013 9:15:23 PM UTC-4, Surf Dance Chris wrote:

I'm not sure how soon ACE is going to have an event there, but you really don't need an ACE ERT to get tons of rides on this new great coaster.
The place is pretty much brand new, so not enough people know about it yet to get it crowded (altho I was there on a weekday, there was zero wait for everything)
And, we really should support them. They're building a small family amusement park in the actual shadow of Universal.
And I think they've got a great start with the new White Lightning roller coaster and "Huge" 250ft Skycoaster (and other rides they've got, too )

[thekma...@gmail.com]

Coastin Steve "think they've got a great start with the new White Lightning roller coaster and "Huge" 250ft Skycoaster (and other"

250' - in Florida?? I guess they've lifted the 200' restriction there?

I watched the History Channel doc about MK/Epcot, and both the sphere and the Castle were not allowed to exceed 200' max height.

[ansley]

What about the 300' skycoaster that is next to Old Town, or was next to Old Town? Is is still there?

[Surf Dance Chris]

The 300" Skycoaster is still there. That property is actually owned by
Fun Spot which is their Kissimmee location. Fun Spot bough the
property there a few years ago and made that location a small
amusement park too (the drag racing ride closed shortly after it was
bought). There's no wood coaster there but there is a wild mouse from
Cypress Gardens and a kiddie coaster from the Cincinnati Mall.

200" can be allowed, however it is typically avoided due to the
requirement of a red blinking light on top for airplanes to see.

And Steve I definitely agree about supporting the park (so glad to
finally see a wood coaster in Central Florida), but ACE events are
good for the atmosphere just like any other ACE event I've been to in
the past.

[Surf Dance Chris]

I visited Fun Spot America yesterday June 8 for their grand opening.
It was my first vist ever to this location and boy was it packed! They
were parking cars anywhere possible on grass and such. I don't think
they ever saw a crowd like this. I waited just over 30 minutes to buy
my wristband which was discounted to $15 as a promotion, and the major
reason the place was packed. I also bought two vouchers for that price
to use later on this year. I saw the opening ceremony through the
fence while on line for the wristband, it was a very nice ceremony and
you can tell the park is proud of their accomplishment, even talking
about history of the Skycoaster and about the manufacturers of the
coasters. Once inside, I immediately went to the White Lightning, and
waited about 15 minutes. It has 2 trains, with 12 per train. The
operators were very enthusiastic and very efficient about getting
trains out and filling in seats with single riders. The Millennium
Flyer trains and great and deliver a great ride. It reminds me of
Lightning Racer at Hersheypark, but more out and backish. Rode that
ride twice before going to the Freedom Flyer. This ride only has one
train, also waited about 15 minutes. The breeze at the end of the ride
in the helix feels great while waiting on the line. This ride is a
Vekoma inverted similar to the Swampthing/Flight School at Legoland.

I then met up with 2 friends, went to TGIF for lunch near Universal,
and then headed back. Once the $15 promotion ended at noon, the
entrance was back to normal. We rode the Revolver, the park's ferris
wheel, giving a great view of the park and area. From the wheel, you
can see where the waterpark will be going, as land has already been
cleared. We then did both coasters and both friends loved it, one had
never even ridden a wood coaster before! The Sea Serpent small coaster
was not open yet, and the green track go karts was under
refurbishment. We then did the yellow track go karts, waited close to
an hour, and it started pouring as we were riding! This rain did not
let up at all for about an hour, and it continued to rain even after
for about 2 hours. The go kart track was very good, and stayed open
through the storm (only the yellow one). The ops were great about
getting the crowd enthusiastic. My friends left at that point due to
prior commitments, but I stayed, had dinner at the SkyDiner, had a hot
dog and fries and a hot chocolate for $9. I did the RipCurl, which is
a himilaya type ride, pretty fun and goes forward and backwards. The
Enterprise never reopened. White Lighting did reopen and I rode it an
additional 24 times, many being after dark. Waits were only 1 or 2
trains for most of the night. The Freedome Flyer eventually reopened
much later, and I got one night ride on that as well. I also rode the
Scrambler, something I have not ridden in a long time. Should have
done Paratrooper instead. I left around 10:45, as it started to
drizzle at that point.

White Lighting is a great wood coaster. The park seems very proud of
it, the guests loved it, and I hope that motivates them to build
another wood coaster, unique design at their other park in Kissimmee.
I can't wait to go back!

[Dave Althoff Jr.]

The Skycoaster at the other Fun Spot is 300'.

I suspect that Disney's 200' height limit is self imposed.

200' is the height at which the FAA starts requiring that you do such
theming-hostile things as puting big flashing aircraft warning beacons
on top of your structures.

-- Dave Althoff, Jr.
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[surfd...@aol.com]

Made another visit to the park the other evening, using an additional $15 voucher I purchased on the day of the grand reopening. (I wish I had bought a few more, up to 6 were allowed!) anyway, the Sea Serpent coaster still wasn't open, neither was the "Commander" green go kart track. According to their Facebook page, the Commander track has since reopened. Was able to get 15 rides on the White Lightning, running well still. The park is pretty fair about re-rides if there's no one waiting for your row. Rode the other 3 go kart tracks, with the yellow being my favorite, followed by the blue, which has a "drop" of sorts over a hill. Pretty cool. Also did the Fun Slide this visit which was good, it went pretty fast for me!

[surfd...@aol.com]

Ah ok. They must be having issues with it because it was down for the day when I visited the second time too.