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Skyplex Project Hits Snag: Orange County Board Votes ‘No’ on World’s Tallest Roller Coaster

track1aThe Skyplex project on International Drive near Orlando hit a snag. The Orange County Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-3 on Thursday against the proposal for the $500 million Skyplex complex, which would include a 570-foot polercoaster, called The Skyscraper.

Skyplex developer Joshua Wallack unveiled Skyscraper’s design at 2014 IAAPA trade show at the Orange County Convention Center. Along with the world’s tallest roller coaster, Skyscraper, the Skyplex development will include a 450-foot SkyFall drop tower, a state-of-the-art open-air plaza, the SkyFly 600-foot zipline, a 350-room hotel and the largest Perkins in the world. Continue reading “Skyplex Project Hits Snag: Orange County Board Votes ‘No’ on World’s Tallest Roller Coaster”

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Orlando Airport First to Add Facial Recognition

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOrlando International Airport (MCO) has become the first airport in the United States to add facial recognition technology to its automated passport control (APC) kiosks.

The technology is part of new requirement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The APC kiosks are meant to verify people’s identities by matching their faces to the biometric data in the newer passports with a 99.7% successful match rate. The APC kiosks take a snapshot of each traveler’s face and compare the image with biometric record in their e-passports. Continue reading “Orlando Airport First to Add Facial Recognition”

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Transgender Passenger Detained by TSA at Orlando Airport

Gender-Symbol_Transgender_M2F_LesbianTransportation Security Administration agents at the Orlando International Airport detained a transgender woman when a suspicious “anomaly” appeared in her image after she entered an X-ray security scanner.

The transgender woman says TSA agents called her a man and held her for a lengthy security inspection because of her genitals at the Orlando airport on Monday.

Shadi Petosky, a television writer and executive producer for Puny Entertainment, was on her way back to Minneapolis from a vacation in Orlando, Fla. in celebration of her own birthday and her mother’s retirement when she was stopped at the airport and detained by Continue reading “Transgender Passenger Detained by TSA at Orlando Airport”

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Canada’s Porter Airlines Adds Florida to Its Route Map

Porter_Airlines_Q-400_at_TorontoCanada’s Porter Airlines, headquartered at Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto, announced Monday, that it is adding its first Florida destination- Melbourne.

The airline, that is an award-winning air carrier, said it enters the Florida market for the first time and it has selected Melbourne International Airport for its first destination in the Sunshine State.

The flights to Melbourne International Airport (MEL) will be seasonal. The weekly service begins Continue reading “Canada’s Porter Airlines Adds Florida to Its Route Map”

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Emirates Starts Daily Service to Orlando

Emirates_Airbus_A380_In_AucklandThe Emirates announced the launch of a new daily 16-hour direct flight to Orlando a few months ago.

The daily service started on Tuesday when an Airbus A380 touched down at Orlando International Airport just after 11:30 a.m. East Coast time. A water salute welcomed the Airbus A380 when it landed at Orlando International Airport as it was the first of its kind ever scheduled to land at the airport in Orlando. Continue reading “Emirates Starts Daily Service to Orlando”

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Fast and Furious: Supercharged Coming to Universal Orlando in 2017

800px-Fast_and_Furious_6_Premier_7_(8749822359)An all-new ride, based on Universal Pictures’ huge Fast and the Furious franchise, will be coming to Universal Orlando Resort in 2017, Universal confirmed officially via its blog on Tuesday.

The ride is called Fast & Furious: Supercharged, and is similar to the attraction using the same name at Universal Studios Hollywood whichopened earlier this year. Fast & Furious: Supercharged opened as part of the iconic Tram Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood, California in June and at a grand-opening event, actress Michelle Rodriguez is rumored to mention a future ride in Orlando. It is a common industry practice to have similar attractions at other theme parks, though. Continue reading “Fast and Furious: Supercharged Coming to Universal Orlando in 2017”

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Star Wars Coming Soon to Disney Parks

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Disney has recently unveiled its plans to build two enormous Star Wars lands in Florida’s Disney World and Anaheim, California’s Disneyland, marking the biggest expansion in the theme park’s history. The announcement was made by Disney chief executive and chairman Bob Iger at the annual D23 Exposition in Anaheim, California before 7,500 Star War fans.

Each park will be 14 acres and will include sensor features to give visitors an ‘immersive’ experience. The lands will be populated with actors playing aliens, droids and many other creatures from the Star Wars world.

The authentic Star War’s lands will feature a new planet from George Lucas’ sci-fi intergalactic universe.  Two new rides will be introduced, including one where participants will be able to board and take control of one of the most recognizable ships in the galaxy- Millennium Falcon Continue reading “Star Wars Coming Soon to Disney Parks”