We went to Cypress Gardens in December for the first time. We went during their "free" promotion. We will never go again. Very crowded, after standing in line at a food stand for 20 minutes, I got to the window to be told they had run out of hamburgers! I was shocked at the number of people wandering the park dangling their "smokes" right at my daughters eye level. We had several near misses. The ride attendents we encountered were rude. One employee was actually laughing at a guest who was having trouble getting off a merry go round horse.
What we did see of the grounds was very pretty, but I agree with the comment that it looks like an overpriced country fair.