Cypress Gardens was a botanical garden and

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

near

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is located about east of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and about southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, with neighboring Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland located to its west. The city's popul ...

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's first commercial tourist theme park,"Cypress Gardens Adventure Park"
. About.com – Florida Travel. Retrieved 2010-12-18. Cypress Gardens opened on January 2, 1936, as a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

planted by Dick Pope Sr. and his wife Julie. Over the years it became one of the biggest attractions in Florida, known for its water ski shows, gardens, and

Southern Belle "Southern belle" () is a colloquialism for a debutante or other fashionable young woman of European heritage in the planter class of the Antebellum South, particularly as a romantic counterpart to the Southern gentleman. Characteristics Th ...

s. It became known as the "Water Ski Capital of the World" because it was the site of many of the sport's landmark firsts and over 50 world records were broken there. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, soldiers visited and waterskiing was introduced for their entertainment. Numerous movies were filmed at the park, including portions of ''

This is Cinerama ''This Is Cinerama'' is a 1952 American documentary film directed by Mike Todd, Michael Todd Jr., Walter A. Thompson and Fred Rickey and starring Lowell Thomas.

'', the first feature filmed in the wide-screen format, and a string of

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

films and TV specials in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1950s the Southern Belles attraction was introduced, in which young women dressed in the

crinoline A crinoline is a stiff or structured petticoat designed to hold out a skirt, popular at various times since the mid-19th century. Originally, crinoline described a stiff fabric made of horsehair ("crin") and cotton or linen which was used to ...

s reminiscent of the Antebellum South. During the 1961-1965 American Civil War Centennial young men dressed in Confederate uniforms would be photographed with the Southern Belles. In the early 1960s a custom photography boat named ''Miss Cover Girl'' was introduced, and the park became a popular site for the filming of television commercials. Many celebrities and dignitaries have skied and visited at the park, including

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

King Hussein Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was traditionally considered a 40th-generati ...

of Jordan and his son and successor,

King Abdullah II Abdullah II (Abdullah bin Hussein; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of the Hashemites, who have been the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is traditionally reg ...

. It was also the site of a

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

special. On April 14, 2014, it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Competitions and changes of ownership

Competition for guests increased after

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...

opened nearby in 1971. In the early 1980s, the Popes retired and transferred the park to their son, Dick Pope, Jr. In 1985 book publisher Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich purchased the park to build their SeaWorld parks group. Harcourt sold the other businesses to

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC ( ) is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...

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 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. 529 people were put out of work with three days' notice.

Cypress Gardens Adventure Park

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 The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

, a national conservation organization. TPL then sold a

conservation easement In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified land conservation organization called a "land trust", or a governmental (muni ...

over the entire property to the state of Florida, while Polk County purchased the gardens portion of the property, less the development rights conveyed in the state easement. Adventure Parks Group purchased the balance of the property, also subject to the conservation easement. 0105CypressGardens17

Buescher's plan to reopen the park in September 2004 was delayed by damage from hurricanes Charley,

Frances Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "F ...

, 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 A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming ...

opened in 2005, along with the ''Galaxy Spin'' roller coaster. On May 18, 2006, scenes for the film '' Grace Is Gone'', starring

John Cusack John Paul Cusack ( ; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor. With a career spanning over four decades, he has appeared in over 80 films. He began acting in f ...

, were shot at Cypress Gardens. In the film, a man delays telling his daughters that their mother has been killed in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

by taking them to "Enchanted Gardens", their favorite theme park. In September 2006, Adventure Parks Group filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

bankruptcy protection at the Florida site citing approximately $30 million in damages sustained from 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 Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, took over park operations in January 2008. On Monday, November 10, 2008, Land South Holdings announced the temporary closure of the park, which was shut down November 17 of that year. It reopened on March 28, 2009, with an expanded water park named Splash Island. The animals, however, were gone, and the rides did not operate or had already been removed. Cypress Gardens and Splash Island began separate ticketing, with dual-park season passes also available; parking was free. On September 23, 2009, owner Land South Holdings LLC announced that the park was closing immediately, saying that all avenues to keep the park open had been explored but that they were unable to find a way to "keep the park running in its traditional form".

Legoland acquisition

On January 15, 2010, the world's second largest theme park and attraction operator

Merlin Entertainments Merlin Entertainments Limited is a global entertainment company based in London, England, which operates a number of theme park resorts and other visitor attractions. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until November 2019, when it was ...

bought Cypress Gardens with intent to use the site for the fifth

Legoland Legoland (, trademarked in uppercase as LEGOLAND) is a chain of family amusement parks focusing on the Lego building toy brand. They are owned and operated by the British theme park company Merlin Entertainments, which shares a common owner ...

. On January 21, 2010,

announced that the park would be turned into Legoland Florida. On October 21, 2010, an October 2011 opening date was announced.Press - LEGOLAND
Opening day occurred on October 15, 2011, at 10 am EDT.

Attractions

Roller coasters

Thrill rides

Gallery

WIKI CG 08.jpg, Gardens WIKI CG 09.jpg, Gardens Cypress Gardens butterfly and flowers.jpg, Gardens WIKI CG 11.jpg, Gardens – Mum Fest WIKI CG 12.jpg, Gardens – Mum Fest WIKI CG 05.jpg, Ski Show Cypress Gardens carousel.jpg, Boardwalk Carousel Cypress Gardens Tonga Tubes.jpg, Splash Island Water Park Tonga Tubes Cypress Gardens Polynesian Adventure.jpg, Splash Island Water Park Polynesian Adventure 1970 cypress gardens ski show.jpg, Cypress Gardens Ski Show 1970

References

External links

Cypress Gardens Photo GalleryCypress Gardens Water Ski Team
{{Theme parks of Florida 1936 establishments in Florida 2009 disestablishments in Florida Defunct amusement parks in Florida Gardens in Florida History of Polk County, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Polk County, Florida Parks in Polk County, Florida Buildings and structures in Winter Haven, Florida Amusement parks opened in 1936 Amusement parks closed in 2009