Fun Spot Orlando is one of the few true amusement parks in Florida.
In a state dominated by highly themed parks, Fun Spot offers a cheaper alternative. Fun Spot
can’t compete with those larger parks and it’s not trying to. Fun Spot compliments those parks
and I think this is the perfect nightcap while in Orlando. Find out why in this review.
This park opened back in 1979 as Fun N Wheels just off I-Drive with the usual
family entertainment offerings including go karts, bumper boats, and miniature golf.
But they moved to their current location and reopened as Fun Spot Action Park in 1997.
This 4.7 acre park cost $4 million to build. The park was known for their multi-level go
kart tracks, but they transformed into a more conventional amusement park over the past decade.
In 2010, Fun Spot purchased an additional 10 acres of land, tripling the size of the park. In 2013,
the park spent a whopping $25 million and rebranded themselves as Fun Spot America.
The park added three different roller coasters including the White Lightning wood coaster from
GCI. They also added the world’s second tallest sky coaster and a bevy of flat rides. This was an
incredibly bold move for a FEC, but it paid off. Fun Spot Kissimmee is located roughly 20 minutes
away and that park underwent a similar evolution after the success of the Orlando property.
This park now features 4 different roller coasters including the
inverting wood coaster in Mine Blower. Then in 2017, Fun Spot purchased a third
park in Atlanta. Fun Spot Atlanta already had a solid mix of rides and go kart tracks, but for
2022 they are opening the largest coaster in the chain in a brand new RMC hybrid in ArieForce One.
These large investments at their other properties likely would not have happened
had it not paid dividends at the Orlando park. Fun Spot Orlando has free parking and free
admission. Once inside, you can either choose to pay-per-ride or purchase an all-day wristband.
Smaller rides cost $5 and larger rides cost $10. Then the giant skycoaster costs as
little as $10 if you have a season pass, but up to $40 if you just pay-per-ride.
Pay-per-ride is the best option if you only want to ride one or two attractions,
but I always go with the wristband. An all-day wristband costs $50-$55 as of 2022.
That’s pretty pricey, but there are two things to consider.
One, you are in the pricey Orlando market. This is actually the cheapest park in town!
Two, it includes unlimited go-karts. At most parks, these are extra upcharge attractions.
I know there are evening specials for considerably less as well,
but I typically visit with a season pass so I can stop into all their parks for an hour or two after
a day at the Orlando parks. I’ve been to both Florida Fun Spot parks roughly a dozen times,
but I’ve only been there during daylight hours once.
The primary reason is this park’s hours. Fun Spot Orlando has some of the longest hours
in the industry. The park is open 365 days per year and regularly open from 10 am to midnight.
It’s impressive they can staff the park as well as they do.
Part of that is because they often use rotating ride operators for the smaller
flat rides on quieter days. I don’t mind since the operators are fairly attentive.
If you stand by an attraction, there’s a good chance an operator will come over pretty quickly.
Most rides will be open daily. Since they are open yearround, rides inevitably close
for refurbishments at points. Unfortunately, they do not post this calendar in advance
so you can’t plan ahead if something like White Lightning will be down.
Lines are rarely an issue here. The coasters are usually walk-ons.
The longest wait I’ve ever seen here for a coaster was 15 minutes for White Lightning on a Saturday
night on a holiday weekend. The go-karts usually take longer to board due to their
lower throughputs and long cycle times. These lines can often take closer to 15-30 minutes
unless the park is totally dead. Then the flat rides are usually complete walk-ons.
Fun Spot Orlando doesn’t really have any theming. However, this park does look ok. Parts of the park
feel like a carnival, particularly as you pass the portable food trailers and smaller rides,
but they do seem to try between the small pond and the general look of each attraction.
Most rides have fresh coats of paint and many have flashy lighting packages at night.
I particularly love the rainbow chaser lights on White Lightning.
Moving onto the ride lineup, Fun Spot Orlando features a trio of roller coasters. The signature
ride is undoubtedly White Lightning. This Great Coasters International creation features an
out-and-back layout along the perimeter of the park. I have an entire review on this coaster,
but the ride holds its speed well start to finish and there are nearly a dozen airtime moments,
some of which are particularly good in the back row. The ride got a little bumpy during my late
2018 rides, but the ride is running quite well now thanks to some recent trackwork, including
a small section of all-steel Titan Track. Freedom Flyer is a solid family coaster. This
Vekoma suspended coaster has a nice placement above the midway. The ride experience is fairly
mild, but the final helix has some decent force to it. Then the overall experience is quite
comfortable thanks to the open restraints. There is some shuffling on the first few valleys, but it
doesn’t result in any real discomfort for me. Sea Serpent is the Miler kiddie coaster.
Adults can ride this without a child if they want the credit, but this
ride is primarily for the younger guests. Sea Serpent is part of Kids Spot, a small kiddie
section in the center of the park. In general, this park has a quite a bit for small kids,
especially since they can tag along with adults on the go-karts.
Speaking of go-karts, Fun Spot Orlando has four different tracks.
Three of them are multi-level tracks. Conquest is my favorite of the three because of this
sizable drop midway through the track. It’s fun rumbling down that descent. Commander is a long
and involved track with a good mix of turns plus a fun drop at the end. Quad Helix is a step down
from the other two since the layout is simpler with a seemingly endless series of spirals.
The final go kart track is Thrasher. This one requires the most skill since the course features
some super tight turns. It’s exceedingly easy to wipeout and spinout if you aren’t careful.
For flat rides, you have an interesting mix. Fun Spot Orlando relocated a bunch of classic flats
while filling in the gaps with some newer ones. There are four in particular I want to callout.
First is Hot Seat. This is an S&S screamin’ swing that travels over the midway,
giving some fun floater airtime. It does have a short cycle,
but with this park’s crowds, you can just hop right back in line.
Second is Head Rush 360. This SBF inverting frisbee moves super slowly, but it offers tons
of hangtime over the top. So it’s a sneakily nauseating attraction despite its size.
Third is Liberty Swing. This A.R.M. star flyer is not only one of the park’s tallest attractions,
but it also features unique flying cars along with the standard seats to offer a more thrilling take
on a familiar flat. This accentuates the height. Fourth is the Sky Coaster. I don’t usually ride
this since there’s the even taller one down the road at the Kissimmee park, but this is the second
tallest one in the world so I suggest doing it if you aren’t visiting the Kissimee location.
The freefall at the start is incredible in that flying position and it beats most drop towers.
If you want any water or dark rides, you won’t find much here outside of a small
set of bumper boats and a basic fun house. The final attraction of note is the Gator Spot,
which is a small walkthrough past some pools with alligators.
Just note that it has slightly different hours than the rest of the park
if it’s a priority for you. In my most recent visit, it closed an hour early.
For food, this park has one surprisingly good option.
The diner beneath the Sky Coaster has better food than you may expect and it’s reasonably priced
too. I had a nice burger there a few years ago. So do I recommend Fun Spot Orlando? I think this
is a must for any amusement park fan while in Orlando. While it can’t match the overall
experience of the larger parks, you can easily pop in for an hour or two to get several laps on
White Lightning and try a few other attractions as well since lines are so minimal most days.
This is the perfect way to end a day in Orlando in my opinion. I think this park is
a must if you love go-karts though because of the abundance of multi-level tracks.
For the longest time, I had a slight preference for the Kissimmee park,
but due to how rough Mine Blower is riding this year, I now prefer the Orlando property.
So those are my thoughts on Fun Spot Orlando. What are your thoughts on this amusement park?
Do you agree this is a nice way to end a day in Orlando? Let me know your thoughts down in
the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d appreciate it if you gave this video a like
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and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!