Delta Lady
12-08-2004, 01:10 PM
I was at the pre-view this morning....this place was amazing when it was kept up.
pictures here..
http://kincaid.com/china/pic2b.html
Theme park auctions off displays, equipment
03 Dec 2004
By Marvin Cortner News-Gazette Staff Writer
The Great Wall of Splendid China, which stretches for half a mile in western Osceola County but is not visible from space, will be up for auction soon.
Bidders will have the opportunity to buy the replica of the architectural wonder either in total or in pieces when it and all displays, equipment and other inventory at the defunct Splendid China theme park are put on auction Dec. 9 – 11. Randy Kincaid Auction Co. of Lakeland will conduct the sale.
“It’s going to be fun,” said Kincaid. “I’ve done family fun centers in the past, but nothing of this magnitude. This is one of my larger undertakings. I had no hesitation taking on the job. I like a unique challenge.”
Kincaid said it took 20 workers two years to build the Great Wall replica, which supposedly has 6.5 million miniature bricks. Part of this display includes miniature Chinese workers on scaffolds constructing the wall.
“We’re willing to sell it anyway we can. It’s probably going to be difficult to take the wall out, though, as is the case with a lot of other displays,” said the auctioneer.
Kincaid said many of the statues and miniatures in the park can be easily removed. If you buy it, you remove it, he said, adding that the auction should be of interest to homeowners, landscapers, restaurant owners, collectors, maintenance companies and theme park businesses.
“There will be a lot of bargains; we have to sell things pretty fast,” he said, adding that there likely will be two auction rings going simultaneously. Preview days for the auction are Dec. 7 and 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Auction offerings will include restaurant equipment, which comes from what auctioneers are calling the largest Chinese food kitchen in the Southeast. Also up for bid are maintenance tools and equipment, vehicles, landscaping materials, portable buildings, gift shop inventory, store fixtures, sound systems, stage lighting, tents, canopies, seating and an extensive costume wardrobe containing more than 1,500 silk pieces of costuming. Most of items to be sold were imported from China, and a few items were made on-site.
“There’s a tremendous amount of gift merchandise that will be auctioned— there was a warehouse full of it,” said Kincaid. “There are Chinese pen sets, some books on the Imperial tombs, small stone statues of Buddha and other carved things. Every time we go into a building, we find more things.”
One of the bigger challenges will be catching and auctioning more than 100 large koi tropical fish inhabiting the main pond at the attraction, according to Kincaid. Some of the fish—akin to large goldfish or carp – are 16-inches long and sell for as high as $200 each.
“There are three acres of paving stones laid into sand,” said the auctioneer. “There is plenty of landscaping material here. We’ll be selling the bonsai trees, too.”
Some imported rare stones in the Suzhou Gardens area of the park, Kincaid said, have already been sold to a museum in Chicago.
The Splendid China theme park originally opened in 1993 on 76 acres just off U.S. 192 West; it closed Dec. 31, 2003, apparently a victim of the post 9-11 drop in tourism. The theme park was owned by China Travel Service, which, according to several sources, is under the direct control of the government of the People’s Republic of China.
The only corporation still active related to the park, according to state records, is Florida Splendid China Inc. with registered agents listed with addresses in Kissimmee or Hong Kong. Kincaid’s auction contract is with Florida Splendid China.
The park when in operation included more than 50 scale model displays of ancient Chinese villages, temples, palaces, tombs and replicated landscape scenes. Besides representing various regions, the miniature villages also represented different architectural styles and designs. There also were four restaurants, four large performing stages and a Chinese shopping village — and all equipment and items related to these will be sold as well.
The theme park’s restaurants represented various regions in China. Live entertainment included Chinese acrobats, a snow tiger show, dancers, musicians and contortionists.
The miniatures and scale models of the various Chinese structures and inhabitants are intricately detailed. The Imperial Palace, for example, stretches over a half acre. The Dalai Lama’s Potala Palace, at the back of the park, is sprawled over a tiny hill ringed by acolyte, priest and peasant figurines.
Potala was the subject of various protests when the park first opened, given China’s history with Tibet and allegations of human rights abuses.
The park also recreated at half size in a dim cave under the Great Wall its version of the terra cotta warriors found by archeologists. The warriors were guarding the grave of a dead emperor. The reproductions from the display as well as other reproductions of the various warriors also will be auctioned off.
The theme park was akin to a tiny visit to a giant foreign land, with political overtones spicing up — or detracting from — the experience. As many as 500 people worked there in its heyday.
The auction schedule includes:
• Dec. 9, restaurant, kitchen, dining room and gift shop equipment and uniforms, display fixtures and gift shop merchandise.
• Dec. 10, theme park equipment, theater equipment, the tram, golf carts, vehicles, the various displays and replicas.
• Dec. 11, maintenance equipment, vehicles and tools, equipment from the woodworking shop, landscaping material, portable and permanent buildings and the koi fish.
Auction times each day begin at 10 a.m. and run until all items are sold for that day. The auction will not run past nightfall, according to Kincaid.
John K. Lai, listed as an officer in the corporation, would not comment on the impending sale. He also would not permit a long-time theme park employee to comment on anything except what was related to the auction.
pictures here..
http://kincaid.com/china/pic2b.html
Theme park auctions off displays, equipment
03 Dec 2004
By Marvin Cortner News-Gazette Staff Writer
The Great Wall of Splendid China, which stretches for half a mile in western Osceola County but is not visible from space, will be up for auction soon.
Bidders will have the opportunity to buy the replica of the architectural wonder either in total or in pieces when it and all displays, equipment and other inventory at the defunct Splendid China theme park are put on auction Dec. 9 – 11. Randy Kincaid Auction Co. of Lakeland will conduct the sale.
“It’s going to be fun,” said Kincaid. “I’ve done family fun centers in the past, but nothing of this magnitude. This is one of my larger undertakings. I had no hesitation taking on the job. I like a unique challenge.”
Kincaid said it took 20 workers two years to build the Great Wall replica, which supposedly has 6.5 million miniature bricks. Part of this display includes miniature Chinese workers on scaffolds constructing the wall.
“We’re willing to sell it anyway we can. It’s probably going to be difficult to take the wall out, though, as is the case with a lot of other displays,” said the auctioneer.
Kincaid said many of the statues and miniatures in the park can be easily removed. If you buy it, you remove it, he said, adding that the auction should be of interest to homeowners, landscapers, restaurant owners, collectors, maintenance companies and theme park businesses.
“There will be a lot of bargains; we have to sell things pretty fast,” he said, adding that there likely will be two auction rings going simultaneously. Preview days for the auction are Dec. 7 and 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Auction offerings will include restaurant equipment, which comes from what auctioneers are calling the largest Chinese food kitchen in the Southeast. Also up for bid are maintenance tools and equipment, vehicles, landscaping materials, portable buildings, gift shop inventory, store fixtures, sound systems, stage lighting, tents, canopies, seating and an extensive costume wardrobe containing more than 1,500 silk pieces of costuming. Most of items to be sold were imported from China, and a few items were made on-site.
“There’s a tremendous amount of gift merchandise that will be auctioned— there was a warehouse full of it,” said Kincaid. “There are Chinese pen sets, some books on the Imperial tombs, small stone statues of Buddha and other carved things. Every time we go into a building, we find more things.”
One of the bigger challenges will be catching and auctioning more than 100 large koi tropical fish inhabiting the main pond at the attraction, according to Kincaid. Some of the fish—akin to large goldfish or carp – are 16-inches long and sell for as high as $200 each.
“There are three acres of paving stones laid into sand,” said the auctioneer. “There is plenty of landscaping material here. We’ll be selling the bonsai trees, too.”
Some imported rare stones in the Suzhou Gardens area of the park, Kincaid said, have already been sold to a museum in Chicago.
The Splendid China theme park originally opened in 1993 on 76 acres just off U.S. 192 West; it closed Dec. 31, 2003, apparently a victim of the post 9-11 drop in tourism. The theme park was owned by China Travel Service, which, according to several sources, is under the direct control of the government of the People’s Republic of China.
The only corporation still active related to the park, according to state records, is Florida Splendid China Inc. with registered agents listed with addresses in Kissimmee or Hong Kong. Kincaid’s auction contract is with Florida Splendid China.
The park when in operation included more than 50 scale model displays of ancient Chinese villages, temples, palaces, tombs and replicated landscape scenes. Besides representing various regions, the miniature villages also represented different architectural styles and designs. There also were four restaurants, four large performing stages and a Chinese shopping village — and all equipment and items related to these will be sold as well.
The theme park’s restaurants represented various regions in China. Live entertainment included Chinese acrobats, a snow tiger show, dancers, musicians and contortionists.
The miniatures and scale models of the various Chinese structures and inhabitants are intricately detailed. The Imperial Palace, for example, stretches over a half acre. The Dalai Lama’s Potala Palace, at the back of the park, is sprawled over a tiny hill ringed by acolyte, priest and peasant figurines.
Potala was the subject of various protests when the park first opened, given China’s history with Tibet and allegations of human rights abuses.
The park also recreated at half size in a dim cave under the Great Wall its version of the terra cotta warriors found by archeologists. The warriors were guarding the grave of a dead emperor. The reproductions from the display as well as other reproductions of the various warriors also will be auctioned off.
The theme park was akin to a tiny visit to a giant foreign land, with political overtones spicing up — or detracting from — the experience. As many as 500 people worked there in its heyday.
The auction schedule includes:
• Dec. 9, restaurant, kitchen, dining room and gift shop equipment and uniforms, display fixtures and gift shop merchandise.
• Dec. 10, theme park equipment, theater equipment, the tram, golf carts, vehicles, the various displays and replicas.
• Dec. 11, maintenance equipment, vehicles and tools, equipment from the woodworking shop, landscaping material, portable and permanent buildings and the koi fish.
Auction times each day begin at 10 a.m. and run until all items are sold for that day. The auction will not run past nightfall, according to Kincaid.
John K. Lai, listed as an officer in the corporation, would not comment on the impending sale. He also would not permit a long-time theme park employee to comment on anything except what was related to the auction.