Recently I got to preview the new offerings coming to International Drive in Orlando at I-Drive 360.
Media got to tour around the complex, still under construction, including the queue and turnstile area for the new Orlando Eye observation wheel.
Before guests are loaded onto their gondola, they are held in a waiting area before being let into a 4-D pre-show.
While the pre-show wasn’t ready for screening, they are getting very close to being ready for opening day in May 2015.
All of the capsules have been installed on the Orlando Eye and they are currently putting finishing touches on the wheel. I am a huge fan of observation wheels and can’t wait to ride this one.
They also had a few photos on hand of the new SeaLife Aquarium being constructed in the same complex on International Drive.
However, the real star of the show was getting to go on a tour of the new Madame Tussauds Orlando.
Appropriately, just before hosting the Oscars, a wax figure of Neil Patrick Harris was unveiled to the press which will be part of the Madame Tussaud’s experience.
Once inside, the media was greeted by Tom Hanks and literally dozens of other celebrities.
Each figure costs around $300,000 to design and build for the attraction.
All of the celebrity wax figures are not behind glass or ropes, meaning you are encouraged to take pictures with them.
The amount of detail on these figures is incredible, right down to celebrity tattoos.
Right down to the tattoo Katy Perry got on her arm which matches the one Russell Brand also got before their marriage in 2010. It reads “go with the flow” in Sanskrit.
There are also plenty of sports stars represented, some with direct ties to Orlando like Shaq or Tiger Woods.
There are also other interesting ties to Florida, like this figure of Ponce de Leon, who discovered the sunshine state.
There is even a small up-charge experience in the middle of the attraction where visitors will be able to have their hands immortalized in wax.
You could spend an hour, if not two in Madame Tussauds and when the Orlando Eye and SeaLife Aquarium open in May 2015, you could easily spend a day at I-Drive360. There will be a lot to do. For more information visit www.madametussauds.com/Orlando/!
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