Universal Orlando Resort Expansion (Part 1)

[maxairmike]

I was just reminded, looking through a County Powerpoint presentation, that they did already approve an extension of Mandarin Drive that would intersect with the Kirkman extension. However, Mandarin would mostly be on Lockheed's property (running right next to their Perimeter Rd) up to the intersection with Kirkman with the exception of the start of it, which would also be on that 161 acre lot. It is then slated to curve north, to intersect with either Sand Lake or Ordinance Rd (not sure, haven't gotten to the actual Mandarin extension plans yet).

 

[Teebin]

Who here has been to DisneySea? How did it feel direction wise. Looking it over today it struck me as an odd layout... one that could be as confusing as DHS. Is it?

 

[Scott W.]

Who here has been to DisneySea? How did it feel direction wise. Looking it over today it struck me as an odd layout... one that could be as confusing as DHS. Is it?

I've always had this theory that Americans and Brits head in different directions when they enter a park. I think this all started when I watched something about the psychology behind supermarkets. Most supermarkets in the UK will have their entrance to the right of the store and I've noticed most in the US, tend to be to the left because of the way people will instinctively turn when they have a choice, this may also have something to do with different on opposite sides of the road.

 

[Teebin]

I've always had this theory...

Are you saying that you find DHS to be just peachy in its layout?

 

[JungleSkip]

Who here has been to DisneySea? How did it feel direction wise. Looking it over today it struck me as an odd layout... one that could be as confusing as DHS. Is it?

It's not confusing at all save for one dead end space. Otherwise it's a big circle with an island in the middle. Some of the lands meander in themselves, but the park isn't confusing

 

[Teebin]

It's not confusing at all save for one dead end space. Otherwise it's a big circle with an island in the middle. Some of the lands meander in themselves, but the park isn't confusing

Oh, so that far end of the river land can enter directly back into the main lagoon and Portofino square?

 

[Teebin]

I'll see if I can't find anything on ROW easements and such.

Yeah, there appear to be easements all over that land in the real-estate outlines, one that is kinda an extension of tradeshow blvd through the property. Universal should be able to get those erased and build all over hell. All except the canals. One cannot muck (much) with canals in CF.

 

[Scott W.]

Are you saying that you find DHS to be just peachy in its layout?

It probably has to be the worst designed park of all time. If it was a roller coaster tycoon park, the people would be forever getting lost.

 

[Mad Dog]

It probably has to be the worst designed park of all time. If it was a roller coaster tycoon park, the people would be forever getting lost.

Yeah, it's all dead ends. But, for some reason, I always liked the intimacy of the park. It was my second favorite WDW park until they started shutting everything down. Now it's just a mess. When we were there in October the front of the park was so jammed you couldn't move. But there was barely a soul once you went past Star Tours. Muppets area, SOA, the huge section in front of LMA, and everything past Toy Story was deserted like a bomb hit it.

 

[Scott W.]

The future...

 

[Mad Dog]

I like that. Very clever. Monorail was so unobtrusive that I didn't even notice it at first glance.

 

[Scott W.]

I like that. Very clever. Monorail was so unobtrusive that I didn't even notice it at first glance.

It was an absolute nightmare trying to find 2 photos that would line up. I figured I could go to google street view and have the option of millions of photos on google images of the monorail passing by over head but couldn't find any.

 

[Teebin]

^ That's clever and yet funny. I suppose that since Universal has connections with European mass-transit designers now, anything is possible.

 

[Porkchop]

It probably has to be the worst designed park of all time. If it was a roller coaster tycoon park, the people would be forever getting lost.

I wanna get off Mr Bones Wild Ride

 

[JungleSkip]

Oh, so that far end of the river land can enter directly back into the main lagoon and Portofino square?

Yup. I thought it was going to be confusing before I went, but it's an intuitive park.

 

[captainmoch]

Is there a chance that a Universal monorail system could be Simpsons themed?

...I'm only half joking. That would be a legit awesome ride.

 

[NashvilleTrio]

As I recall, the Simpson's Springfield monorail was a loop with a single station.

 

[MillenniumDragons]

I think we're all looking forward to the what the I-Drive area and Universal will look like 10-20 years from now. We could come up with just about everything and Universal has probably been planning it for years!

 

[maxairmike]

Yeah, there appear to be easements all over that land in the real-estate outlines, one that is kinda an extension of tradeshow blvd through the property. Universal should be able to get those erased and build all over hell. All except the canals. One cannot muck (much) with canals in CF.

I'm not so sure about that. The city, county, and I-Drive committee all consider the Kirkman Rd extension to Tradeshow Rd a vital north-south connector, and it would almost certainly be under construction if land ownership wasn't so up in the air with bankruptcy, back taxes, the Colony lots being sold, etc. In fact, last year in the minutes of a meeting of the County Roadway Agreement Committee, there's this statement:

Ms. Bell-Johnson stated that the Convention Center Master Plan may call for OCCC expansion which brings up the 1998 Land Use Covenants Agreement which prohibits expansion until the Kirkman Road Extension is constructed.

As you can see from this statement in particular, as well as the other statements pertaining to the Kirkman Extension in the linked document, it is unlikely that any plans interfering with the extension would be approved. Now, the Mandarin extension that would intersect with Kirkman is probably one that can be cut, but Kirkman isn't.

 

[fryoj]

I think the kirkman extension actually helps universal. It puts a 6? lane road right down the edge of their property and all paid for by the taxpayers. It Gives them more road front property for hotels, parking, etc. And it'll give their busses a nice straight shot from the backdoor of their current garages to the new area. Now they may want to move it a little bit to account for how they are going to use the land, and that may be negotiable. But as for the road itself, there should be no objection from Uni.