Just a short forty-minute drive from most of the Orlando vacation area, Cypress Gardens is a theme park that you rarely hear about from the concierge desks at the area’s hotels and resorts. It’s probably because they don’t sell tickets to it and, therefore, there is no money in it for them. Known originally for its stunning gardens, sensational ski shows and beautiful southern belles, Cypress Gardens, Florida’s first commercial theme park, closed its gates in April of 2003. The other theme parks had passed this simple park by and there just wasn’t enough here to justify the forty-minute drive for most folks. Newly reopened, Cypress Gardens is now perhaps, the best value in the entire Orlando vacation area!

After Cypress Gardens had closed, rumors of what would happen to the beautiful area began to circulate. It was reported in the media that the owner of the park, a land developer known for buying land cheaply and cramming as many houses as he could onto that land, was going to destroy the park and turn it into another of his low-quality housing communities. At the same time, there was also speculation that the State of Florida was considering a move to step in and purchase the land through a little-known program called “Florida Forever.” The state had used that program in the past to purchase the Silver Springs attraction when it fell on hard times and was about to be destroyed by land developers. Trying to beat the Florida Government to the punch, the owner-developer brought in bulldozers in the middle of the night and began to demolish the wetland areas of Cypress Gardens. Immediately, he was taken to court by the Florida Water Management District for destroying Florida wetlands and was ordered to stop all development immediately by the judge. Through a series of legal moves, environmentalists, led by Governor Jeb Bush, managed to place the land on a conservation easement, preventing it from being developed any further. Shortly thereafter, a white knight rode in to the rescue ...

Theme park owner Kent Buescher, owner of the Valdosta, Georgia amusement park, Wild Adventures, stepped in and bought the troubled theme park. Originally scheduled to reopen in the Fall of 2004, three hurricanes that ripped through the Orlando vacation area slowed progress and forced an even greater investment. $50 million later; in December of 2004, Cypress Gardens opened its gates again.

The gardens have been preserved, the spectacular ski shows still go on and the southern belles are as beautiful and exude as much charm as ever. What is different about the revamped Cypress Gardens is the forty-one new and exciting rides and the addition of a water park. Moreover, there are many animal exhibits and shows, a petting zoo and Cypress Gardens plays host to many well-known Country Western music acts.

Click on the navigation bar at the top left of this page and explore the offerings of this newly remade adventure park and see for yourself why Cypress Gardens is the Orlando vacation area’s best kept secret.