Legoland owner buys Cypress Gardens

[thelakelander]

It looks like one of Florida's oldest theme parks is about to get a ton of money poured into it.

By Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel
4:25 p.m. EST, January 15, 2010

The owner of Legoland has purchased Cypress Gardens, the venerable Polk County attraction that shut down last fall.

A spokeswoman for the buyer, British amusements operator Merlin Entertainments Group, said Friday the purchase includes the current Cypress Gardens theme park, the Splash Island water park and the adjacent botanical gardens.

The sale closed Jan. 7. The price was not disclosed.

Merlin is the second busiest amusement company in the world. Its holdings include Legoland theme parks, Madame Tussaud's wax museums and the London Eye.

Rumors have been circulating for months that Merlin would like to open a Legoland in Florida, which would be its second U.S. location. The company currently operates four parks themed around the toy building blocks in Carlsbad, Calif.; Germany; Denmark; and England.

Spokeswoman Julie Estrada said Merlin has been working with Polk County and Florida officials on new business plans for Cypress Gardens. Details are expected to be unveiled at a news conference Merlin has scheduled for Thursday.

The acquisition expands the presence of private-equity colossus The Blackstone Group in Central Florida's theme-park industry. Blackstone, which last fall purchased SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment for about $2.5 billion and co-owns Universal Orlando with General Electric Co., holds a majority stake in Merlin.

Once famed for its botanical gardens and Southern Belles, Cypress Gardens has struggled over the last decade, enduring multiple closures and a bankruptcy.

The 73-year-old Winter Haven attraction has been unable to compete with Orlando's much larger, more modern theme parks.

Cypress Gardens' current owner, Land South Adventures, spent $17 million to buy the park at a bankruptcy auction in 2007, betting it could revitalize the park through a combination of scaled-back attractions and cheaper tickets.

The bet failed, and Land South abruptly shuttered Cypress Gardens in September, saying it could find no way "to keep the park running in its traditional form."

A representative for Land South on Friday referred all questions to Merlin.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/os-cypress-gardens-merlin-20100115,0,1252259.story

[alta]

Cyrpress Gardens has a lot of potential.  I was born and lived in Polk County until I was eight.  Best of luck. 

[Ocklawaha]

I really think it would be much more successful if they'd merge it with Marineland Aquarium and reconstruct it at I-295 and I-95, on Julington Creek!  Then turn the original site over to the state and/or county for preservation as a local park.

Hey, Location, Location, Location!

OCKLAWAHA

[thelakelander]

Cyrpress Gardens has a lot of potential.  I was born and lived in Polk County until I was eight.  Best of luck. 

What city?

[CS Foltz]

I have been several times to Cypress Gardens but that was back when I lived in Lakeland about 15 years ago! Me as well as the kids enjoyed it...........everyone had a grand time!

[alta]

Cyrpress Gardens has a lot of potential.  I was born and lived in Polk County until I was eight.  Best of luck. 

Lakeland

What city?

[Jason]

There was recently a ton of money poured into it when Wild Adventures bought it.  My firm worked on a new water park as part of its revival and expansion.

Its to far out of the way and any "buzz" created by the new owners will soon fade away unless they move it closer to the interstate system.

[thelakelander]

It has to have its own niche.  The Wild Adventures concept was doomed from the start.  There are already a ton of water parks and places with small amusement rides in Central Florida.  Hopefully, Legoland will bring something new and unique to the table.

[Ocklawaha]

MASTERPIECE GARDENS, The Great Mosaic and nice train ride and a million parrots.


RAINBOW SPRINGS, had a cool Monorail System


Does it even need a caption? GONE!


Everything to the right of the river and the upper left 1/4, is now GONE.


They're about extinct today.


GOD do I miss this place.


Six Guns Terriroty gone in 83.

There was recently a ton of money poured into it when Wild Adventures bought it.  My firm worked on a new water park as part of its revival and expansion.

Its to far out of the way and any "buzz" created by the new owners will soon fade away unless they move it closer to the interstate system.

Moved to a Jacksonville location it would have the same successful formula employed by "Frontier City" in Oklahoma City, OK.  What started as a smallish collection of carnival rides along Route 66, grew into a powerhouse theme park that now manages the 6-Flags group.

The founder decided the WEST BOUND side of 66, (Today's I-44) would be ideal to capture all of the Disney Bound, California traffic, BEFORE THEIR POCKETS WERE EMPTY. As he said, "On the way to Disney, they are looking for a good time, loaded with cash, time to spare, looking to spend. On the eastbound side, they are washed out, broke, and thinking only of home."

I don't think any amount of BUZZ is going to save the gardens short of the State Park Service. Unless that BUZZ is as big, or nearly equal to Disney in it's Niche, it won't fly Wilbur. Sea World, Universal, NASA, MGM, are the biggies. Even Busch Gardens isn't much more then our own Zoo with amusement rides (something the zoo once had, back when it WAS a big tourist-amusement park draw... and before we, AS USUAL, gave it up). In all seriousness, moved to the area South of I-295 and 95, in the headwaters of Julington Creek, would cause every car headed to Disney on I-10 or I-95 to drive right by the door.

This is easy math, but I'm afraid the new owners are going to starve due to location. Just ask, Masterpiece Gardens, Rainbow Springs, Ocala Caverns, Silver Springs (on it's last legs), Weeki Wachee, Marineland studios and aquarium, Six Gun Territory etc...  Niche or not, if your not in their path today, you won't even catch the mouse droppings.

OCKLAWAHA

[copperfiend]

My dad grew up Largo and has told me about Six Gun Territory. Was it open until 1983?

[Wacca Pilatka]

Thanks for all the great finds Ock.  Especially the Silver Springs map--brings back memories of visiting there in the early 80s.

There is a full chapter in the terrific book "Dixie Before Disney" by Tim Hollis (I saw it at San Marco Bookstore last time I was there, FWIW) on the springs attractions in FL.  Six Gun Territory and other lost parks such as Floridaland and Cape Coral Gardens are covered in other chapters.

[Ocklawaha]

Yeah, it closed in 83 for the development of a "new" Woolco Plaza. Woolco was the big box spin off of Woolworth's Five and Dime Stores. They upset K-Mart for a season, then got buried. By the time it closed, Six Gun was looking more like a REAL ghost town! Sad.  Cross the highway into Silver Springs on any pretty day, and there will be 14 cars in the parking lot built for 4,000.

RAT!

OCKLAWAHA

[thelakelander]

In all seriousness, moved to the area South of I-295 and 95, in the headwaters of Julington Creek, would cause every car headed to Disney on I-10 or I-95 to drive right by the door.

If its relying on mouse droppings, a Jax site is worse off than Cypress Gardens which is only a 20 minute drive south of I-4 via US 27.  Most of those driving to Disney/Central Florida are using I-75 and the Turnpike, so they are bypassing the First Coast altogether.  Hopefully, they are not because if they are, then yes, success probably won't happen regardless of location.  

Anyway, these guys have deep pockets, a history of success and have been looking to enter the Florida market for a while now.  They'll be announcing their plans for the site later this week.  It will be interesting to see what they have cooked up.

[Ocklawaha]

Interesting to watch, but it ain't going to fly... NO FREEway, no direct physical transit connection with the rest of the state.

I agree that I-75 carrys the bulk of ALL traffic coming into Florida. (which is WHY I'm against SEHSR routing an Atlanta-Jax train via Jessup or Savannah, believing Macon-Cordelle-Valdosta-Jax the superior route)  I think Cypress Gardens as well as a "MARINELAND JACKSONVILLE (Aquarium) would make it here because I-95 is the second heaviest travel route to Florida. Add to that, AIR, Amtrak, Bus and Cruise Ship connections (charters and tours) can be operated out of JIA or the Stations. We have 3 more things that Cypress Gardens doesn't have at any price.  1.5 Million recreation starved residents who would quickly adopt the park as "our own Disney". A beach growing in popularity during Spring Break, and the US Navy, where ANY operator is guaranteed a 30,000+ population between 17-30, in addition to the normal population ratios. While it's true Marineland HAS a nice beach, there is nothing left of the restaurants and the beautiful Quality Inn that sat there, obviously JAX, The Buccaneer Trail, and St. Augustine blow that away. Anyone discounting that effect need only visit our bases where "The Travel Office" maintains a complete DISNEY-UNIVERSAL-NASA-SEA WORLD TICKET AGENCY!

Hell the only thing missing is STREETCAR
See also: http://www.house.gov/corrinebrown/pdf/TransReauthTotal.pdf

If it doesn't sound like a discussion, and instead it sounds like OCK is pitching JAX for a location of a major theme park... UH?

Cypress Gardens North?

BUY LAND SOUTH OF I-95/I-295 which also takes all southbound traffic from I-10, US 1, 301, 17
SLECTIVELY CLEAR AND PLANT 200 ACRES
CREATE A SKI LAKE
EMPHISIZE THE NATURAL WETLANDS
BUILD A RIDE PARK

... OH HELL, and circle the whole thing with a train.
I'd even offer Wild Adventures in Valdosta a deal they couldn't refuse. I don't see this as a "need to be a city" or to compete with Orlando, rather it is a quality of life issue that would help keep the kids at home.

Marineland Jacksonville?

BUY LAND NEAR DOWNTOWN CONVENTION CENTER/RIVERWALK/HOTELS
BUILD A STATE OF THE ART AQUARIUM
RESEARCH FACILITY TIED TO WATERFRONT WHERE VISITORS CAN WATCH
ADD A SHOW TANK AND SMALL STADIUM
TIED TO SKYWAY AND STREETCARS
MARKETED UNDER THE FAMOUS MARINELAND NAME!


OCKLAWAHA

[Omarvelous09]

Sounds like a very cool idea...i've never been to the actual Legoland, but the Lego superstore in Chicago is amazing. Could only imagine an actual theme park.