Opinions of Cypress Gardens?

[scarboroughmom]

Has anyone been to Cypress Gardens lately? My Husband and I were both there years ago. We are thinking of going there this April. Are the waterskiing shows still fun? Is the park worth the trip from the Hard Rock Hotel? We will have our 3 sons, (11, 8, & 8) with us. Do they still have the glass bottom boat rides? We go to US/IOA and WDW alot, and we are looking for a change of pace for one day. I would appreciate any reviews or opinions on the place these days. Thanks.

 

[Andrea]

i was just reading about this in one of my books and i never really heard anything about it, so i just came to do a search on the boards for it...

so im just bumping this up

 

[Runey]

You could try the website http://cypressgardens.com/welcome.asp

 

[Christypl]

We live near there. We have the annual pass. I have a 2 and a half year old and he loves it. It is a slow paced day but enjoyable.

 

[gottaluvdis]

We'll be visiting there at the end of this month. In-laws live 45 minutes from CG. We've been several times in the past, but that was before they were sold and refurbished. It looks like they've added a lot more rides than they used to have. DD9 loved it as a smaller child and will probably love it now that there are more rides. They kept a lot of the old park too from what I can tell (the southern bells, the gardens, butterfly building, ice skating show etc.). I'll post a review here after we return.

 

[indigoxtreme]

We went last February and loved it. The Gardens are beautiful again and the butterfly house was great. I enjoyed the ski show. We also went to the free concert and yes they added some rides. Nothing like the big thrill rides at the world etc, but pleasant as the whole park is slow paced and very enjoyable. The children will love the Topiraries(Sp) (flower animals) etc. We felt it was worth the drive. Look at the website and see what is going on at the park. They had a by one day get one free option. We didn't get to go back the second day as we were leaving. It is about 60 minute drive to it from WDW.
Cypress Gardens is one of the original tourist attractions in Florida pre Disney.

By the way the glass bottom boats are at Silver Springs. This is in Ocala. It is an older park that has been redone as well.

Both of these park hold fond memories for me and my DH as we remember them from childhood.