Cypress Gardens Charlie Damage???

[iluvflorida]

I have not seen any info about Cypress Gardens? It is to open soon. Did it receive any Hurricane Damage??

 

[SnackyStacky]

Unless I missed something about it, Cypress Garden closed sometime last year due to low attendance.

 

[gatour]

Yes, it did. However someone bought it and was planning on opening it by this summer but was unable to get everything done, so it won't reopen until this fall

 

[LibertyBelle]

Yes Cypress Gardens closed earlier this year but just before it was to be closed forever it was bought. The new owner has been revamping the park and it is to reopen sometime this year. Here is their web site for updates

http://www.cypressgardens.com/

As far as damage to the park I have not heard any reports from there.

I know that the Bok Tower had it's windows blown out and that the Bok Gardens were severly damaged (which very close by in Lake Wales)

 

[Bete]

I see from the site that it will be a thrill park which will take away from some of the tranquility there but I'm happy the place survived to a degree.

Thanks for letting us know about it. I had given up on this place for home development. I hope it will be sucessful in it's new format.

 

[Beth]

They aired a report on Cypress Gardens last night on the local news.

They had a lot of damage.

The new owner (the guy who owns Wild Adventures in Valdosta) gave the interview.

Of course, a good bit of the flowers, trees, etc are all damaged, but a lot of the structures are, also.

He showed one pretty white building - reminded me of the CP at MK - that had a lot of structural damage - said it would cost $300,000 to repair.

They also interviewed a local (Winter Haven) hotel owner. He said they were "barely making it," waiting for Cypress Gardens to reopen, and were really counting on the tourism to come back in. He said that this delay was really going to hurt them.

The park owner said the park re-opening would no doubt be delayed, but hoped to have it open later this year...

I'm not sure how soon they were "supposed" to reopen, but it appears that they were pretty close.

They also showed the track of a new ride he installed - apparently he's adding a "few" rides.

 

[gatour]

I just found an article that sais they were scheduled to open in Oct, that was before the storm hit.

 

[WDSearcher]

Cypress Gardens was scheduled to re-open in October, but that has been delayed at least a couple of months, according to a news report this morning.

There was a lot of damage to newly-planted trees and landscaping, and one large gazebo lost two sides. Maintenance buildings and greenhouses were also damaged. The estimate on damage is $3.5 million.

However, building continues on the big rides -- coasters, etc -- that are going in, and the new owner (Kent Buscher) says that he plans to name one of the coasters "Hurricane Charley."

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by LibertyBelle
...(snip)....I know that the Bok Tower had it's windows blown out and that the Bok Gardens were severly damaged (which very close by in Lake Wales)

I'm very sorry to hear this - my DH and I visited Bok Tower and the gardens a few years ago. It was such a beautiful and peaceful place. Hope the carillion escaped unharmed and that they are able to repair all the damage.


Best wishes -