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Cypress Gardens Adventure Park (formerly Cypress Gardens) is a theme park near Winter Haven, Florida (about 20 miles east of Lakeland) in the United States. It was conceived and built by Dick Pope Sr. and his wife Julie. In the early 1980s they retired and transferred the park on to their son Dick Pope Jr.
History
In the 1980s book publisher Harcourt Brace and Jovanovich (HBJ) decided to aggressively invest in the amusement business by buying up SeaWorld, Circus World (in 1985 -- later rebuilt as Boardwalk & Baseball), Stars Hall of Fame and Cypress Gardens (in 1985). They got out of the business just as quickly and sold most of the parks to the Anheuser-Busch Corporation in 1989.
Busch was most interested in the SeaWorld parks, so they closed Boardwalk and Baseball immediately. Busch continued to operate Cypress Gardens until April 1, 1995 when a group of the park's managers led by Bill Reynolds purchased the park.
Under Bill Reynolds (president and CEO) the park operated until April 13, 2003. The park was closed due to declining attendance due to the drop in tourism after the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attack. During this time the park was owned by First Gardens L.C., of which Larry Maxwell was the majority share holder. Maxwell is a Florida developer known for buying property cheaply and developing it with high-density, low-quality dwellings. The intent was to develop the theme park and wetlands into high-density condominiums With a purchase price of less than $24,000 per acre (including the park facilities). and a selling price of about $1,000,000 per acre for developed property, this would have been extremely profitable. However, the news of this proposed development prompted opposition, which soon was organized into a grassroots "Save Cypress Gardens" loosely knit co-op of protest and pressure groups. To continue with their business plan, the developers Lawrence Maxwell and Bill Reynolds raced to develop the land before the Florida governor Jeb Bush, with the popular backing of the popular environmental and senior citizens groups, could intervene to preserve the state's first theme park and wetlands habitats. Bulldozers had been used under the cover of darkness to destroy a portion of the wetlands, and the developers were taken to court by the Florida water management district for destroying the wetlands.
On February 22, 2004, a rather complex deal to save Cypress Gardens was signed. The land was placed on a conservation easement preventing it from development. Kent Buescher's Adventure Parks Group, owner of Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia purchased the park, and it has reopened under the name of Cypress Gardens Adventure Park.
Rides and Attractions
Roller coasters
- Fiesta Express- Zamperla Fiesta Express coaster, a small hairpin-turn coaster for young kids.
- Galaxy Spin- Zamperla Spinning Wild Mouse coaster, similar to Primeval Whirl at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
- Okeechobee Rampage- Vekoma Roller Skater coaster, a small twisted-steel coaster.
- Triple Hurricane- Martin & Vleminckx Group junior wooden coaster.
- Starliner- A classic Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters designed wooden coaster. Originally operated at the defunct Miracle Strip Amusement Park in Panama City, Florida. Will open in 2007
- Swamp Thing- VekomaFamily Suspended Coaster, a small suspended coaster for families.
Gallery
See also
- Wild Adventures, Cypress Gardens owner Kent Buescher's safari and water theme park located in Valdosta, Georgia
- List of botanical gardens in the United States
External links
- Cypress Gardens official site (uses Macromedia Flash)
- Google Map - 6000 Cypress Gardens Blvd, Winter Haven, Florida, 33884
- RCDB's entry on Cypress Gardens Adventure Park
- ACTWON Un-Official Cypress Gardens site -Photos, news, history and more.
Amusement parks in the United States | Attractions in Florida | Gardens in the United States | Florida
"Cypress Gardens"