DESTIN — At HarborWalk Village, in the shadows of the 14-story Emerald Grande, you go big or you go home.
This summer, in the name of making the upscale resort ever more family friendly, new attractions are scheduled to open near Father’s Day in an area known as the “kid zone.”
Anchored by two towers — including the 103-foot “Rolls Royce of towers” — a $2 million zip-lining, free falling, rock climbing Mecca of amusement was conceived rather than copied, said Christopher Cristiani.
“There was nothing like it, no model to look at. We had to engineer it from the ground up,” said Cristiani, director of operations for World Class Attractions, which is overseeing construction of the twin towers.
On the west end of the project site, which sits along Destin Harbor and straddles the future home of Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant, a 65-foot tower is being built to stand behind a kiosk where zip liners will prepare for a 1,000-foot journey.
The world’s first interactive rock-climbing wall also will be located there.
The 40-foot wall will be illuminated with LED lighting that can operate in “passive” or “active” mode, Cristiani said.
“Whatever you envision, we feed it into the wall and it will do it. We can do one million colors,” he said.
The zip line will carry two passengers at a time over the harbor and provide stunning views of the water and Norriego Point on one side and the city of Destin on the other, Cristiani said. The first tour on the zip line will run west to east. Customers then will climb the structure Cristiani termed “the Rolls Royce of towers” for a return trip from 100 feet up.
The really brave can also climb to the top of the big tower and jump off. Cristiani said a jumper’s fall will be broken by a power fan “that slows you down so you touch the ground very lightly.”
Jamie Marie Hall, spokeswoman for HarborWalk Village, envisions the amusement area as a place where families can have a little fun while waiting for a seat at a nearby restaurant. They might even be tempted to visit during a break from the beach or in less than optimal weather, she said.
Hall said she’s even begun contemplating finding a couple looking for a June-ish wedding themed around zip lining … or free falling … or rock climbing.
“The view from these towers is unbelievable,” Cristiani agreed. “I wish I had my office up there.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.
