An upcoming addition to Florida EcoSafaris at Forever Florida will have guests pedaling their way up in the treetops. The Cypress SkyCycle attraction will be a ride — picture a reclining bicycle — suspended from high-tension steel cables over forested wetlands and over a pond that’s home to a 13-foot alligator named George.
>Cypress SkyCycle is set to be completed in July. It will then be the first of its kind in the United States and only the second in the world. The ride technology, developed by ECO-Adventure Technolgies, has been used at Hidden Worlds Adventure Park in Mexico for four years. Florida EcoSafari’s version will be a companion for its zipline canopy tour known as the Zipline Safari. It opened in 2009.
“Our goal is to provide our guests with outrageously fun adventures first and foremost but at the same time get them an up-close and person view of this vitally important area that we’re helping to conserve,” Ken Wilshire, general manager of Florida EcoSafaris, said in a new release.
The attraction is still under construction, but the height is expected to be about 22 feet above the ground. The atmosphere should be more mellow than the zipline, meandering through foliage. The experience should take about an hour.
Ticket for the Cypress SkyCycle will be $45. Participants must be at least 10 years old and weigh less than 275 pounds. A combo ticket that includes SkyCycle and the Zipline Safari will go for $120, a $10 savings.
Advance reservations will be required at 407-957-9794, ext. 1.
A portion of the safaris’ revenue goes to support the Allen Broussard Conservancy, a nonprofit group trying to preserve and the ecosystems of Florida’s native wilderness. Forever Florida is in Osceola County, east of St. Cloud, about an hour’s drive from Orlando. For more information, go to www.FloridaEcoSafaris.com.
Article Courtesy of: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com