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https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2018/03/05/starflyer-orlandos-newest-thrill-ride-will-open-this-may

 

Starflyer, Orlando's newest thrill ride, will open this May

The skyline of International Drive is about to change dramatically. 

After months of delays, the Orlando Starflyer is finally going vertical. When finished, the tower will be one of the tallest structures in Central Florida and the tallest Starflyer ride in the world. 

Clocking in at 425 feet tall, 25 feet taller than the nearby Orlando Eye, the Orlando Starflyer will only be 3 feet shorter than the Hyatt Regency Orlando (formerly the Peabody Hotel), and only 16 feet shorter than the SunTrust Center in downtown Orlando, the tallest building in the region. 

First approved in 2015, the tower saw its opening date pushed back multiple times, but developer Unicorp has now confirmed that the swing ride will open May 11. 
 

(Here is a similar one)
 
Image result for starflyer ride

A large crane is now on site, and all tower pieces are assembled and are waiting to be stacked on each other with a large chrome turret on the top. We should see the tower topped off within the next few weeks. 

Once operating, the swing ride will offer open-air views unlike anything currently in Orlando. Riders will sit in rows of two with numerous belts holding them in place while their feet dangle. Altogether the attraction will hold 24 riders at a time. An impressive LED light system includes multiple rows of lights along the entire length of the tower, similar to those found on the Orlando Eye, and multiple lights on each seat. Just up I-Drive, Magical Midway has its own Starflyer ride, though much shorter at only 230 feet tall. 

At the base of the Starflyer Orlando tower, a 3,400-square-foot building is currently being finished. It will house a bar themed to the attraction, the ticketing office for the attraction, a Westgate Resorts timeshare sales office, and a dual Haagen-Dazs ice cream and Wetzel Pretzels shop. All the stores will have windows overlooking the ride. 

The Orlando Starflyer will soon be joined by a whole slew of other additions to the are, including another tower attraction. The 600-foot-tall Skyplex entertainment complex is slated for a 2020 opening. It should break ground later this year or early next year, after developer Joshua Wallack finishes the Hollywood Plaza complex he is currently developing. That 141-foot-tallcomplex includes a large parking garage topped by a restaurant and will feature two retail spaces at its base, one of which will house Hulk Hogan’s beach shop. A smaller Hogan’s Beach Shop currently resides in a former 7-Eleven building, which is scheduled to be demo’d to make way for Skyplex. 

Unicorp is also developing a hotel, a five-story apartment complex, a zipline attraction, and other additions to the 360 complex that includes both I-Drive 360 and The Vue at 360. 

Expect to see testing on the new Starflyer by early to mid-April. 

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We have done this type of swing at other theme parks, tho maybe not as tall, and to our surprise it really was not that bad. The spin is a nice wide spin so you do not get that queezy feeling but now if you have height problems that's a whole other issue :cantbelieveit:

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19 hours ago, dblr....Rennie said:

We have done this type of swing at other theme parks, tho maybe not as tall, and to our surprise it really was not that bad. The spin is a nice wide spin so you do not get that queezy feeling but now if you have height problems that's a whole other issue :cantbelieveit:

I've done the swing things at other theme parks as well where they haven't been so far off the ground.  I actually like those.  This one is so high in the air though that if anything happened and someone fell out of it, they would be plummeting to their death...that is the part I have a problem with. 

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4 hours ago, wdwpoohbear...Jennifer said:

I've done the swing things at other theme parks as well where they haven't been so far off the ground.  I actually like those.  This one is so high in the air though that if anything happened and someone fell out of it, they would be plummeting to their death...that is the part I have a problem with. 

Riders will sit in rows of two with numerous belts holding them in place while their feet dangle.

I don't think the riders will go anywhere.... now their shoes and other accessories are another thing.

And if a plane crashed they probably plummeted to their death also.

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27 minutes ago, Travisma said:

Riders will sit in rows of two with numerous belts holding them in place while their feet dangle.

I don't think the riders will go anywhere.... now their shoes and other accessories are another thing.

And if a plane crashed they probably plummeted to their death also.

What if a chain breaks and the whole swing with the rider strapped in flies off?  I'd be thinking about that if I ever ride this thing  

TCD 

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3 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

What if a chain breaks and the whole swing with the rider strapped in flies off?  I'd be thinking about that if I ever ride this thing  

TCD 

what if.... 

Space Mountain cars could fly off the tracks

Ferry boat could sink

Chunk of Cindy's castle could fall off and impale a passerby.

Door could open on a moving monorail...oh wait that did happen....:lol:

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2 hours ago, Travisma said:

Chunk of Cindy's castle could fall off and impale a passerby.

I'd be ok with but being a traditionalist only if it wasn't in the Frozen overlay. 

I'm not afraid of heights but I doubt I would give this one a go as it is just too high for the type of ride it is. I can't explain why but I would feel safer hanging from a piton on El Capitan than ride this.

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All I will say is don't offer to pay for Jessica to go on it. She'll take you up on it. Steve found that out years ago during one of our trips to Worlds of Fun. There was that bungee flying thing that you had to pay extra to go on. Jessica had just reached the 48" minimum height requirement. Steve asked her if she wanted to go on it. Thinking she would say no just like her brother and sister. Nope. She said yes. Nothing he could say would change her mind.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

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