History
Cypress Gardens opened on January 2, 1936 as a botanical garden planted by Dick and Julie Pope. Over the years, it became one of the biggest attractions in Florida, known for its water ski shows and Southern Belles.
It is known as the Water Ski Capital of the World because many of the sport's landmark "firsts" and over 50 world records were broken there. Numerous movies have been filmed at the park, including portions of "
This is Cinerama," the first feature filmed in that wide-screen format, and a string of
Esther Williams films and TV specials in the 1950s and 1960s.
Competition for guests increased after
Walt Disney World Resort opened nearby in
1971. In the early 1980s, the Popes retired and transferred the park to their son, Dick Pope Jr.
In the 1980s book publisher
Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich purchased the park along with
SeaWorld,
Circus World (later rebuilt as
Boardwalk & Baseball) and
Stars Hall of Fame, but sold most of the businesses to
Anheuser-Busch in 1989. Busch continued to operate Cypress Gardens until
April 1,
1995, when a group of the park's managers led by Bill Reynolds bought the property.
Under President and CEO Reynolds, the park operated until
April 13,
2003, when it closed after a prolonged tourism decline following the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. A grass-roots effort to reopen the site soon materialized against plans to develop the property into condominiums.
On
February 22,
2004,
Adventure Parks Group, owned by
Kent Buescher, purchased the property and renamed it Cypress Gardens Adventure Park. The purchase of the amusement park portion of the Cypress Gardens property was part of a larger conservation transaction. In that transaction, the entire site was purchased from its previous owner, First Gardens, L.C., by
The Trust for Public Land, a national conservation organization (TPL). TPL then sold a
conservation easement over the entire property to the state of Florida, while
Polk County purchased the 30 acre gardens portion of the property, less the development rights conveyed in the state easement. And finally, Adventure Parks Group purchased the balance of the property, also subject to the conservation easement.
Buescher's plan to reopen the park in September
2004 was delayed by damages created by hurricanes
Charley,
Frances, and
Jeanne. Cypress Gardens Adventure Park finally opened in November 2004. One of its new attractions, the Triple Hurricane roller coaster, was named for the tumultuous storm season. The adjacent Splash Island water park opened in
2005, along with the Galaxy Spin roller coaster.
In September
2006, Adventure Parks Group filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the Florida site following approximately $30 million in damages sustained by the 2004 hurricanes.
Land South Adventures, a subsidiary of
Mulberry, Florida-based Land South Holdings, purchased Cypress Gardens at a bankruptcy auction on October 16, 2007 for $16.9 million, leaving Buescher as interim manager until
Baker Leisure Group of
Orlando, Florida took over park operations in January 2008.
[1]
Many celebrities and dignitaries have skied and visited at the park, including
Elvis Presley,
Jordan's former
King Hussein and his son and successor,
King Abdullah II. It was also the site of a
Johnny Carson special.
Attractions
Roller coasters
| Ride
| Year Opened
| Description
|
| Fiesta Express
| 2004
| A Zamperla kiddie coaster with small hairpin turns.
|
| Okeechobee Rampage
| 2004
| A Vekoma junior roller coaster.
|
| Swamp Thing
| 2004
| A Vekoma Family Suspended roller coaster.
|
| Triple Hurricane
| 2004
| Martin & Vleminckx Group junior wooden coaster. Named for the three hurricanes-(Charley, Frances, and Jeanne that struck the park in 2004. It is an ACE Coaster Classic. [2]
|
| Galaxy Spin
| 2005
| Zamperla Spinning Wild Mouse coaster, similar to Primeval Whirl at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
|
| Starliner
| 2007
| A classic Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters designed wooden coaster. Originally operated at the Miracle Strip Amusement Park in Panama City Beach, Florida.
|
Thrill rides
| Ride
| Year Opened
| Description
|
| Delta Kite Flyers
| 2004
| Zamperla Kite Flyer flat ride, riders are spun around while in a flying position.
|
| Disk'O
| 2004
| Zamperla Disk'O flat ride, riders spin around on a frisbee traversing a track.
|
| Inverter
| 2004
| Chance Rides Inverter flat ride. Two platforms spin around and flip people at the same time.
|
| Pharaoh's Fury
| 2004
| Chance Rides Swinging Ship flat ride.
|
| Power Surge
| 2004
| Zamperla Power Surge flat ride, a large spinning and flipping flat ride.
|
| Thunderbolt
| 2004
| An ARM tower ride, similar to Power Tower at Cedar Point.
|
| Yo-Yo
| 2004
| Chance Rides "Yo-Yo" flat ride, a circular "wave swinger" type flat ride.
|
Gallery
References
- "New Cypress Gardens Ownership Announces Operational Change at Historic Attraction", ''PR Newswire'', 2 January 2008
- ACE Coaster Classic Awards