CoasterGallery.com -- Cypress Gardens Adventure Park

Cypress Gardens Adventure Park
Legoland Florida
Cypress Gardens, Florida

Founded in 1936 by Dick and Julie Pope, Cypress Gardens became the birthplace of performance water skiing in 1941. The park was run by the Pope family until 1985 when it was purchased by book publisher Harcourt Brace and Jovanovich (HBJ). Just four years later, Busch Entertainment Corporation, a subsidiary of Anheuser Busch Companies, purchased Cypress Gardens, Sea World, and Circus World. Cypress was sold in 1995 to a private partnership led by Bill Reynolds. Declining attendance forced the park to close in April 2003. A year later, the park was bought by Kent Buescher, owner of Wild Adventures in Georgia. Land South Adventures, LLC, purchased the park in 2007, and Baker Leisure Group took over the management in early 2008.

In November 2008, the park announced it would close for a major renovation. The park reopened in March 2009 with a water park and the original botanical gardens, but the animals were gone and the roller coasters and rides were in the process of being removed. The park closed yet again in September 2009. After months of limbo, it was sold and is currently expected to reopen as Legoland Florida in late 2011, no coasters are expected in the new park.

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