Cypress Gardens

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This article is about the Florida theme park. For the South Carolina botanical garden, see Cypress Gardens (South Carolina).

**Cypress Gardens Adventure Park**
Cypress Gardens' logo
Location	Winter Haven, Florida
Website	Cypress Gardens
Owner	Adventure Parks Group
Opened	1936
Previous names	Cypress Gardens (1936-2003)
Operating season	Year-round
Area	?
Rides	41 total 5 roller coasters 2 water rides

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

1 History
2 Rides and Attractions
- 2.1 Roller coasters
- 2.2 Thrill rides
3 Gallery
4 See also
5 External links

[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. The park's popularity eventually declined, especially 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

The Triple Hurricane, the park's first wooden roller coaster.

Ride	Year Opened	Description
Fiesta Express	2004	A Zamperla kiddie coaster with small hairpin turns.
Okeechobee Rampage	2004	A Vekoma roller skater coaster. Similar to Flying Unicorn at Islands of Adventure.
Swamp Thing	2004	A Vekoma Family Suspended roller coaster. Trains swing around the twisted track similar to Arrow Dynamics-made suspended coasters.
Triple Hurricane	2004	Martin & Vleminckx Group junior wooden coaster. Named for the three hurricanes-(Charley, Francis, and Jeanne that struck the park in 2004.
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, Florida.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Gallery

Gardens	Gardens	Gardens	Gardens
Gardens - Mum Fest	Gardens - Mum Fest	Ski Show	Paradise Sky Wheel
Triple Hurricane Roller Coaster	Boardwalk Carousel	Tortoise	Green iguana
Bill Reynolds and Southern Belle	Kent Buescher