Circus World (theme park)
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Circus World was a
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
built north of
Haines City, Florida Haines City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Its population was 13,174 at the 2000 census and 20,535 at the 2010 census. It is the third most populous city in Polk County. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan ...
in
Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...
, on the south-east corner of the Interstate 4-
US 27 U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 1 in Florida, US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 in India ...
interchange. It was originally a property of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Combined Shows Inc., and was intended additionally to be the circus's winter headquarters as well as to have the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College and its museum located there.


History

Circus World plans, which did not change by opening, were announced by
Irvin Feld Irvin Feld (April 19, 1918 – September 6, 1984) was a business entrepreneur who built a chain of record stores, promoted rock groups, produced concerts involving some of the biggest names in popular music. He was also the head of Ringling Bros ...
as a project of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, in September 1972. Plans included a 19 story elephant-shaped hotel and Barnum City, a state-of-the-art residential community. These items and some of the other items were never built, but the plans did not change until after Mattel sold the park. Circus World Showcase, its preview center, had its groundbreaking on April 26, 1973 with building contractor Mercury Construction Company of Haines City. The showcase was due to open in December 1973 when Mattel placed Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Combined Shows Inc., including the park, up for sale. Venture Out in America, Inc., a
Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...
recreational subsidiary, agreed to buy the combined shows in January 1974, and the opening was further pushed back to 1975. While the Circus Showcase for Circus World opened on , Venture Out placed the purchase deal back into negotiations, and the opening of the whole complex was moved to an early 1976. Early added rides included the Zoomerang (June 1977) and the Hurricane (1978). Attendance peaked in 1979 at 1.3 million. In 1980, the theme park made a profit. Mattel sold the circus back to its previous owner,
Irvin Feld Irvin Feld (April 19, 1918 – September 6, 1984) was a business entrepreneur who built a chain of record stores, promoted rock groups, produced concerts involving some of the biggest names in popular music. He was also the head of Ringling Bros ...
and other parties in 1982, but kept the park, further expanding it with shows, rides, and a new roller coaster. Attendance had declined for five straight years when Mattel agreed to sell the park to Jim Monaghan in 1983. The sale was finalized in 1984. Monaghan nicknamed the park Thrill City USA and made his objective to have the park be a world-class theme park. He added nine major European-built thrill rides and six youth rides. According to Funways Holidays, Circus World developed a big problem with the opening of Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in late 1982. With most tourists taking a full four days visiting Central Florida,
Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...
added Epcot to its passes, resulting in three days being filled, thus tourists usually only had one day to visit other venues and usually selected Sea World, Busch Gardens and/or Wet 'n Wild over Circus World. In February 1985, Circus World started putting vintage objects and exhibits up for auction with Guernsey`s auction house, including a 1921 original Marcus Illions Coney Island carousel and Gargantua II. These items did not add to the park's draw of attendees per Monaghan. The park made a profit in 1985. Monaghan sold the park for stock to
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City a ...
(now Harcourt, a division of
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) on May 10, 1986. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, which had just bought several parks including the
SeaWorld SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be ...
parks and
Cypress Gardens Cypress Gardens was a botanical garden and theme park near Winter Haven, Florida that operated from 1936 to 2009. As of 2011, the botanical garden portion had been preserved inside the newly formed Legoland Florida. History Billed as Florida' ...
, had a new idea for the area and closed the park at opening time that day to rebuild it into
Boardwalk and Baseball Boardwalk and Baseball was a theme park built near Haines City, Florida, at the south-east corner of the Interstate 4-US 27 interchange. It replaced Circus World at the same location, and was owned by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Park Group (now Har ...
. Circus World was never successful, as its standard carnival-type rides were no match for Disney's state-of-the-art attractions, and its location was out of the way relative to Disney World. Under Mattel, then some under Monaghan, Funways Holidays also noted the park attendance was hurt by lagging in cleanliness, value and food. Also, constant staff turnover, ticket discounting, marketing errors and swift policy changes were issues.


Attractions

*Circus World Showcase, The preview center for Circus World Showcase, as it was originally called, a building designed to look like a circus tent, was erected and opened in 1974. The building featured, among other things, an IMAX and regular movie theater. Exhibits were built around it throughout the next two years, including a carousel, a
Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...
, a classic wooden roller coaster, several shows, and an interactive experience where visitors could actually attempt certain daredevil stunts such as
tightrope Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...
walking and the
trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...
(with copious safety equipment and expert help). A 1000+ seat arena was also built featuring daily circus performances that included live tiger, elephant, equestrian, trapeze and acrobatic acts, as well as clowns and a live band. The Showcase part was eventually dropped, making the park "Circus World". Other live shows were added including a wild West rodeo that performed daily in a customized outdoor rodeo arena. **James A. Bailey Theatre, an IMAX theater **Carousel **Elephants performances **Elephant rides **Camel rides * Center Ring * Zoomerang (June 1977) a loop ride one-minute in length first forward and back at a top speed of . * The Hurricane (1978) also Florida Hurricane, a main attraction at the park, this was a wooden coaster and was used at Boardwalk and Baseball * Wiener Looping (1984) Manufactured by Shwarzhopf of West Germany
Starting with a nose-bleed, 150-feet climb backward up a flagpole, the coaster then zips down into a series of shoulder- crunching turns and then a neck-twisting full loop. Ah, a temporary reprieve. Then, a forward ascent up the same pole with a trip backward through the same route shortly thereafter. I mean shortly thereafter. The trip backward is more frightening because passengers can`t see the twists and turns ahead.
* The Ranger, ship-like swing ride that rotates * Music Express, backward traveling carts over a hilly circle a few times while playing loud disco music * The Schlittenfahren (German: sleigh-riding) sleigh-shaped carts that are trackless and suspended from above. The sleigh seems to travel over water speedily in an oval. * The Para Tower, a three-person gondola drops along tower with a parachute and is for small children * The Wave Swinger, riders, designed for kids, sit in wicker chairs suspended a hub and spin until forces pushes them outward. * Roaring Tiger coaster * Great Western Stampede show * Barnum City Depot * flaming high diver * flame eaters * polar bears show * Wonderful World of Clowns location with show and "Be a Clown" * midway (fair) * tightrope walking * ''Be a Star'' circus show, with attendee participation as they can try the flying trapeze in a safety harness


References


External links


Circus World
at Florida's Lost Tourist Attractions (source of information for this article)

{{Theme parks of Florida Defunct amusement parks in Florida Defunct IMAX venues Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus History of Polk County, Florida 1974 establishments in Florida 1986 disestablishments in Florida Amusement parks opened in 1974 Amusement parks closed in 1986