TR Cypress Gardens

[OrlandoMike]

I had the opportunity to visit Cypress Gardens with some co-workers yesterday. I visited this park with my parents when I was about 8, but haven't been back since. For those of you who don't know, this very old park went belly up a few years ago, was bought by a park in Georgia, and now is re-opened with additional rides.

Here is a brief TR.

When we arrived we noticed that there were only about 50 cars in the parking lot. We had this place to ourselves. One of their problems is the fact that it is a good 30 minute drive from WDW, most of it on the very "odd" road known as State Route 27.

I'll rate the park in different areas...........

The Gardens and Cleanliness - A+ - Most of the old gardens have been restored, and the park was "Disney standard clean" including the restrooms and dining areas. Lot's of topiaries, lots of Cypress Trees, beautiful flower beds, overall a great job of restoring this park to it's past glory! Yes, they even have the "Southern Bells" wandering the park. (Ok so on a Thursday we only had one Belle, but we found her and had our pic with her!) They actually had "Southern Belle meet and greet" on the park map, so finding her was very easy!

Food and Beverage offerings - C - Because the park was so dead, most of the food and beverage outlets were closed. We had the option of a few quick service joints, where we could have purchased fast food and eaten outside, or one food court type of place where we could eat inside. We chose the food court. It was pretty basic, salad window, burger window, sub window, and a bakery. The food was your average theme park fare, and was priced at theme park prices. They did have a buffet, but it's only open on Saturdays. The restaurants were clean, and well staffed.

Rides - B - Let's get one thing straight, this isn't Disney! BUT they do have a fair selection of rides. Two small steel coasters, on decent wooden one, lots of carnival type rides, and a great kiddie section. The water park (about 6 decent slides) is included in your admission, so if you want to bring a bathing suit, go ahead by all means. Getting between the "gardens" and the "water park" is very easy, it's almost like it's part of the regular park.

Animal Exhibits/Shows - B - Once again, this isn't Animal Kingdom, but it's well done, and a nice relaxing way to see Florida wildlife in a relaxing setting. They had an Ice Skating show (didn't catch this one) a ski show (OK it's not as big as it was when I was a kid, but it was decent) A pirate show (closed the day we visited) and numerous animal acts, and animal exhibits.

Overall I would recommend this park for something different to do if you had an extra day in the Orlando area. It would take you about 45 minutes from Disney to get there, 5 or 6 hours to see the park, and another 45 minutes to get back to Disney. If your looking for a quiet, clean, beautiful place to visit on your vacation, try this one out!

It's a classic Florida attraction that is holding up pretty well for it's age.

(I also noticed the Starliner Coaster from the Florida Panhandle sitting in a field ready to be re-assembled, great news!)

Mike

 

[ConcKahuna]

I actually just went there Wednesday myself

I had a great time, even though as Mike said it was pretty dead. This park seems to only get busy on the weekends, which is a shame.

The gardens were great, and while there is still some work being done to restore them, they are great. I have always loved the Banyan tree (one of the best places to relax out of the sun). My one complaint with the gardens is that the one water fountain I found out there was not working yet, so if you go bring a bottle of water

The animal area is like Mike said, not Animal Kingdom but nice. One cool resident is "Tarzan", so named because he is the aligator that was used in the filming of several Tarzan movies in the 40's and 50's (and who turned 75 this year!) The poor guy is blind now, but he looked happy (and almost as round as, he was a bit chubby LOL) a clam basking in the warm sun.

Also, there was an Indian Ringneck parrot in the aviary that I was ready to bring home. He looked kind of lonely in his cage (he was next to an amazon who was talking, and therefor got all the attention), so I walked over and started petting him. Next thing I know, my finger is nasty because he regurgitated on me If any of you have ever owned birds, this is like the ultimate sign of bonding. So I went to Cypress Gardens and didnt pick up any people, but I had one bird who was hot for me...

I didnt get a chance to do the rides, but walking past them it looked like a pretty good selection. The ski show was fun as well.

As for the ice show...the first thing I noticed when I walked in was that it's not a rink, it's a theater with a stage. Once the curtain goes up you see that the performers are on ice. Since you have a straight-on view of the performers, it's more of dance show on ice, but still good. The one thing I noticed is that it is very very Patriotic. To the point where I was wondering how much camo material they had to buy to make that many costumes, and what company they were keeping in business with red, white, and blue sequins LOL.

All in all, a great time!

 

[OrlandoMike]

Did you have "the letter"?

We did, and we got reports all week about wether or not we would get in with said letter. We even got a cell phone call while we were approaching the main gate telling us "No the letter would not work".

Well it did, and we got in. We had a great time, and I plan on returning soon, hopefully in time for the Octoberfest celebration.

Mike

 

[ConcKahuna]

Yup, I also had "The Letter." The next day we got an e-mail saying that it was a mistake, but we got in with no problems. I might actually end up getting a seasonal pass there.

Phobia looks like a blast too, I might have to go around Halloween just for that!

 

[OrlandoMike]

Ya, the letter worked for us also. And yes, we're thinking about the annual pass also. I want to go back for Octoberfest, even though it's in September!

Does anyone in Florida know how to celebrate holidays at the right time?

I think "the letter" may work for them, between word of mouth, and selling annual passes, I think they may get more buisness.

 

[ConcKahuna]

I agree, I think it was a good idea, even tho the huge group of people who got them weren't supposed to

I've always loved that place, and used to have an annual pass. The letter just made me want to get another one. It's changed a lot, but I think the changes were good, and I really do suggest this to anyone who comes to visit and has a car of thier own.