World’s tallest roller coaster officially canceled for Orlando, Skyplex land for sale near Epic Universe
The Orlando property planned for world’s tallest roller coaster, Skyscraper, is up for sale, confirming the cancellation of Skyplex.
Skyscraper scrapped
The world’s tallest roller coaster was, at one point, planned to open in Orlando, Fla., but the property on which the attraction would have been built is now for sale/lease. Skyplex Ownership LLC put its land on International Drive on the market, as reported by the Orlando Business Journal on Dec. 16, 2024. The decision signals the official cancellation of a project called Skyplex, which would have included the tallest coaster (Skyscraper) and drop ride (Skyfall) in the world, among other attractions.
Standing 570 feet tall, Skyscraper would have had 10 inversions. Since it would have been wrapped around an observation tower, the ride was sometimes referred to as a “polercoaster.”
Take a virtual ride on Skyscraper — unique even among the many other roller coasters already in Orlando — in this POV:
The roller coaster was announced in 2014 for an intended 2016 opening. Following delays, the pandemic halted investment, according to the Orlando Business Journal. In 2020, rumors circulated that movie studio Lionsgate was interested in developing the site as Lionsgate Resort World Orlando.
The intended 14-acre Skyplex property is at the corner of International Drive and Sand Lake Road — near Icon Park and just down the street from Universal Epic Universe. The Skyplex project was projected to cost $500 million.
Skyplex was to be operated by Wallack Holdings, the same company behind the Mango’s Tropical Café nightclub. The coaster itself was to be manufactured by US Thrill Rides, an Orlando-based company that filed for bankruptcy in 2022.
World’s tallest roller coaster
Until recently, the world’s tallest roller coaster was Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, N.J., at 456 feet. Kingda Ka closed permanently in November 2024.
The new record-holder for world’s tallest roller coaster will be Falcon’s Flight, an Intamin-manufactured coaster standing at 640 feet tall and opening at the upcoming Six Flags Quiddiya City in Saudi Arabia. Intamin completed the track installation last week.
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You forgot to mention quite a few details – like all the power Universal used in ensuring this did not break down. They put in a ton of money and effort, including city meetings and mailers, to limit this company. A quick research in “Universal Skyplex Feud” will bring up a lot of details highlighting their influence over the city and ability to squash even minor competition like this complex and any potential of it interfering with their business – from ensuring city officials attended meetings to cause additional project delays and even an influence behind the website against the project called Save Our Orange County Community. Definitely was a very interesting story and taught you a lot about local political influence the more you dig into the details. And unfortunately the locals lost out.
Not sure if allowed, but here’s a link to a news story on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0VPaHE0CFw