what park would you choose to see - silver springs or cypress gardens?

[julieannbabe]

i would like to go to one of these parks but not sure which.

any opinions please?

xjx

 

[indigoxtreme]

I am not much help to you as I like both parks. They are totally different from each other. Silver Springs has many boat rides and the Famous Glass Bottom Boats. It is really interesting to see the clear waters and the life in the waters. Bird Attractions etc. They also have a water park attached.

Cypress Gardens have the famous garden and topiaries. Along with the water ski show, a butterfly house, come rides, fee concerts etc. Below are the web sites for both. Cypress Gardens is one of the original tourist attractions in FLA pre Disney and has recently been redone in 2005, it closed a few years earlier and has been put back. They have done a wonderful job.

http://www.silversprings.com/

http://cypressgardens.com/welcome.asp

We realy enjoy both of these older parks, they bring bak childhood memories. A nice slower paced and different day for you to enjoy at either

 

[Poohbeck]

I am not much help to you as I like both parks. They are totally different from each other. Silver Springs has many boat rides and the Famous Glass Bottom Boats. It is really interesting to see the clear waters and the life in the waters. Bird Attractions etc. They also have a water park attached.

Cypress Gardens have the famous garden and topiaries. Along with the water ski show, a butterfly house, come rides, fee concerts etc. Below are the web sites for both. Cypress Gardens is one of the original tourist attractions in FLA pre Disney and has recently been redone in 2005, it closed a few years earlier and has been put back. They have done a wonderful job.

http://www.silversprings.com/

http://cypressgardens.com/welcome.asp

We realy enjoy both of these older parks, they bring bak childhood memories. A nice slower paced and different day for you to enjoy at either

Thanks for posting the websites. Silversprings is intriguing to me. I am curious as to what people think. Also, is is worth it in Feb. when the waterpark is closed.
Thanks again.
Poohbeck

 

[spiceycat]

I like Silver Springs a little better.

but only a little!

both are about 45 to 60 minutes away.

 

[Pigletlover]

Actually Silver Springs is further away from Orlando than Cypress Gardens. It's 90 miles north of Orlando and it takes about one and a half hours to drive there.


My husband and I went to both parks in December and loved them both. I would recommend trying to do both if you have the time, otherwise do the other one on a future trip.


I would hate to think of either of these older parks closing down for good. It was a lovely change to visit parks that were much less crowded and far more peaceful and "natural" than most Orlando tourist attractions.


Cypress Gardens is a bit more "themepark-ish" because of its shows and MANY rides. I made a post describing it here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=996716


I just noticed that the Silver Springs website now has a great map of the park which you can enlarge by holding your mouse over the map, then click on the enlarging icon that appears in the bottom right hand corner. Then you can see it much clearer than before.

http://www.silversprings.com/images/Park_Map2.jpg


One thing that Silver Springs does not list on their website is the giraffe exhibit. You can buy cookies and feed them and get a great close-up view.


We also loved their petting zoo which was lovely and clean and had many different animals including some adorable little goats. They had a young black goat which was very comical, hopping and skipping about. I think he knew he was cute!! It's one of the nicest petting zoos we have been to.


The bear exhibit was large and had several species of bear. The keeper gives a scheduled talk about them, so check the time on the guidemap.


They have quite a lot of animals and birds, if you have a good look around. Check out the otters (they were off-exhibit when we went)


Make sure you do the 3 different boat rides and also the jeep ride through the jungle. Two of the boat rides stop at places so you can listen to a keeper and see some extra animals up close, eg birds of prey, raccoons. At the entrance to the jeep ride they have some cute little monkeys.


I wouldn't worry about going to their water park. It didn't look as good as Disney's or Wet N Wild when we drove past it. There is plenty to do in the park itself.


We rented a car for a couple of days to go to Silver Springs and Cypress Gardens, because it was a lot cheaper than using one of the tour companies. One of them was charging about $70 each adult, for transport and admission.


Currently at Silver Springs you can get a good discount on admission if you bring a used Coca Cola can or bottle to the ticket booth.


Cypress Gardens had a second day free when we visited in December.