Our Generation Florida

Cypress Gardens: A Return to Grandeur

By Sandra Friend
In 1936, Winter Haven resident Dick Pope knew he had a gold mine when visiting servicemen showed up to see this new-fangled idea called water skiing that his wife, Julie, choreographed and his kids and their friends put on. Pope mined that vein for all it was worth, creating the first Central Florida theme park, Cypress Gardens. A tireless promoter, he called on movie studios and television executives to stage their shows among the ancient cypress lining Lake Louise, earning him the nickname “Mr. Florida.” In 1940, Julie came up with the idea for the Southern Belles, women who stroll the park in antebellum dress to add to the beauty, when she needed to hide a showy plant damaged by frost. By the time I made my first visit to the gardens, Dick Pope, Jr. ran the show. You could take the whole family’s photo in a mirror reflecting gardens, gazebo, and Southern Belles, climb on giant storybook creatures, and make a phone call from an AT&T phone “room,” a real first of its day.

Over the past decade, it’s been a bumpy ride for this classic attraction. Owned by a developer who started to plow down lakeside cypress – to the horror of neighbors, who quickly entreated the state to buy the park – Cypress Gardens has undergone several changes and closures since. Under new ownership since last fall, the park is making a huge comeback, with restoration work reflecting three generations of care and creativity, and new fine Southern-style cooking at the park’s eateries.

As you enter the park through Jubilee Junction, you’re in the world of Dick Pope, Jr., who added the village of shops and eateries and its zoological section, which includes Nature’s Way, a boardwalk through grand old cypress down to Lake Louise, a free-fly interactive aviary with tropical birds, and the tucked in a corner but not to be missed Pirates show. Overshadowing it all, literally, is the Sunshine Sky Adventure, the only such ride of its kind in North America, a rotating open-air platform that lifts you 16 stories in the air with the gentle touch of a hot-air balloon and provides amazing views, including a clear sight of the Bok Tower on Iron Mountain, the high point of Florida’s peninsula. Add the Wings of Wonder butterfly house and HO model railroad display, and there’s plenty to do—don’t miss the barbecue, too!

Walk down the steps and across the lawn to transition into the original Cypress Gardens through Topiary Trail, a garden with oversized creatures and waterfalls. The water ski spectator stadiums flank the lakeshore, and it’s here you’ll see the stuff of legend. The current show pays homage to the past, showing off some of the original costuming, water ballets, and the famous pyramid alongside top-ranked skiers and wakeboarders being pulled by drivers who know their way around tight turns. The sport of hang gliding got its start right here, and you’ll see the glider pulled up by tow rope to sail back into shore. Directly past the stadiums is the entrance to the botanical gardens, a stroll you should not miss. While the 2004 hurricanes took down some of the older trees, grand cypresses still line the waterways. Pause at the Florida Pool, shaped like the state and built for the Esther Williams film Easy to Love (1953) for a water ballet scene. The Oriental Garden offers a quiet place for reflection, but my favorite spot is the banyan tree that Dick Pope planted in 1938—it’s a forest unto itself, with orchids and bromeliads added for ornamentation. Behind the gardens is Splash Island, their summer-only water park, with a variety of waterslides and the lazy Paradise River.

The “Adventure Park” part of the name comes from prior owner Kent Buescher, who imported amusement park rides from around the world, and even purchased the about-to-be-demolished Skyliner, Florida’s first roller coaster, from Panama City Beach. As a result, Cypress Gardens now has the finest classic amusement park in Florida, on par with the old-time amusement parks of the Northeast that are only open in summer. Good old fashioned rides like Tilt-a-Whirl, the Paradise Sky Wheel, a two-story Boardwalk Carousel, and Bugsville, devoted to children’s amusement rides, will keep a family busy all day. My favorites are the roller coasters – two wooden, three steel – with names like “Okeechobee Rampage” and “Swamp Thing.” The Skyliner, built in 1962, is a woodie imposing enough it requires modern-day restraint systems to keep you in your seat; I like the Triple Hurricane, a more sedate but still fun woodie with lots of hills, the best. Adjoining the amusement park area is the concert stage, where performers like Wayne Newton and the Oak Ridge Boys are regulars.

Cypress Gardens Adventure Park opens at 10 a.m. daily, and depending on special events and concerts, may close at 5 p.m. or be open as late as midnight. Summer visitors get full access to Splash Island with their admission. $39.95 adults, $34.95 for over 60 and ages 3-9; a Golden Passport good for a full year is only $79.95 adult, $69.95 senior, $59.95 child. For more info, visit www.cypressgardens.com.