Courtesy: NBC 2 News Florida
For once, a positive “Florida Man” story.
This time it’s a feel-good story of a father who decided to make his kid’s wish come true by building an exhilarating rollercoaster on one of his properties.
“When the pandemic came in they shut the parks down so I built a basketball court for my son,” said Scott Friga. “They shut the gyms down, so we built a gym.”
The man behind this? Scott Friga of North Fort Myers.
Friga has been on a mission since the pandemic began in early 2020 to make his kid’s wildest dreams come true, and almost a year into the pandemic, he’s still going strong.
Fast forward to the end of 2020, Friga’s kids had another idea—a rollercoaster.
The basketball court and the gym is cool and all, but a rollercoaster sounds way cooler. So Friga and company got to work building the coolest rollercoaster they could think of on one of his properties.
“The rollercoaster started about two months ago. Took four or five days to get it done, and then we had to get a cart custom made,” Friga said.
Although it is not yet complete, the 310-foot-long rollercoaster will be something his kids will never forget. Friga also plans to add a go-kart course somewhere in between.
“Why not? It’s for the kids man, it’s fun,” added Friga.
Fun indeed.
The community has celebrated Friga’s attractions, and he often has kids from the neighborhood go to his basketball court and play there.
“We built this for a playland, something for them to do,” he added. Friga believes that “staying inside is crazy” and that he much rather have his kids enjoy these projects outdoors than being inside all day.
So far, this “Florida Man” has built a basketball court, gym, and rollercoaster, but by the looks of it, he won’t be stopping anytime soon. So long as his children continue to give him crazy ideas and he is more than willing to carry them out, they will continue to enjoy the pandemic in their own amusement park.
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Mike has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and public relations. He once owned his own agency and has worked with some of the largest brands in the world.
