Cypress Gardens

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Cypress Gardens Adventure Park (formerly Cypress Gardens) is a theme park near Winter Haven, Florida in the United States.

[edit] 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.

Cypress Gardens is Florida's first theme park, setting the stage for the rise of tourism in central Florida. 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 here. 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. The connection between Cypress Gardens and Cinerama was particularly appropriate, because Fred Waller, inventor of the Cinerama 3-filmstrip/3-projector motion picture process, had also been granted U.S. Patent 1,559,390 on October 27, 1925, for the invention of water skis (although it is now acknowledged that Ralph Samuelson of Minnesota had been skiing since 1922).

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.

[edit] Business History

Competition for guests increased after nearby Walt Disney World Resort opened 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 150-acre 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. Adventure Parks Group also operates Buescher's Wild Adventures theme park in Valdosta, Georgia.

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. The park will operate without interruption during the bankruptcy reorganization.

Starliner, a wooden roller coaster purchased from the defunct Miracle Strip Amusement Park in Panama City, Florida, is scheduled to open in 2007.

April 1st, 2007 will be the day that Cypress Gardens Adventure Park will host the one and only "World's Largest Easter Egg Hunt" with 500,000 eggs. Many prizes will be given up as well as one scholarship to Polk Community College.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Rides and Attractions

[edit] Roller coasters

[edit] Thrill rides

[edit] Gallery

[edit] See also

• List of botanical gardens in the United States

[edit] External links

• Cypress Gardens official site (uses Adobe Flash)
• Google Map - 6000 Cypress Gardens Blvd., Winter Haven, Florida
• RCDB's entry on Cypress Gardens Adventure Park
• ACTWON Un-Official Cypress Gardens site - Photos, news, history
• Cypress Gardens Unofficial Photos Site - Hundreds of photos, maps news and message board
• Cypress Gardens book - Published November 2006
• eCypress.com - Unofficial Cypress Gardens website