SLALOM WATER SKIS CYPRESS GARDENS (1936-2009) DICK POPE III 57” RARE SET

Description

VINTAGE CYPRESS GARDENS (DICK POPE III) SLALOM COMBO WATER SKIS
57 INCHES. SKIS ARE IN FAIR CONDITION.
This article is about the Florida theme park. For the CDP in Polk County, Florida, see
Cypress Gardens, Florida
. For the South Carolina botanical garden, see
Cypress Gardens (South Carolina)
.
Cypress Gardens
Location
Winter Haven, Florida
, United States
Coordinates
27°59′24.41″N
81°41′30.66″W
Coordinates
:
27°59′24.41″N
81°41′30.66″W
Owner
Adventure Parks Group
Opened
January 2, 1936
Closed
September 23, 2009
Previous names
Cypress Gardens Adventure Park
Operating season
Year-round
Rides
Total
41
Roller coasters
5
Water rides
2
Website
cypressgardens.com
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location
Winter Haven, Florida
Coordinates
27.990114°N 81.69185°W
Built
1936
NRHP Reference #
14000152
[1]
Added to NRHP
April 14, 2014
[1]
The Gazebo and a Southern belle of Cypress Gardens
Cypress Gardens
was a botanical garden and
theme park
near
Winter Haven, Florida
that operated from 1936 to 2009. As of 2011, the botanical garden portion had been preserved inside the newly formed
Legoland Florida
.
Contents
[
hide
]
1
History
1.1
Competitions and changes of ownership
1.2
Cypress Gardens Adventure Park
1.3
Legoland acquisition
2
Attractions
2.1
Roller coasters
2.2
Thrill rides
3
Gallery
4
See also
5
References
6
Further reading
7
External links
History
[
edit
]
Billed as Florida's first commercial tourist theme park,
[2]
Cypress Gardens opened on January 2, 1936 as a
botanical garden
planted by
Dick Pope Sr.
and his wife Julie. Over the years it became one of the biggest attractions in Florida, known for its
water ski shows
, gardens, and
Southern Belles
.
[3]
It became known as the "Water Ski Capital of the World" because it was the site of many of the sport's landmark firsts and over 50 world records were broken there. During
World War II
, soldiers visited and waterskiing was introduced for their entertainment.
[3]
Numerous movies were filmed at the park, including portions of
This is Cinerama
, the first feature filmed in the wide-screen format, and a string of
Esther Williams
films and TV specials in the 1950s and 1960s.
[4]
In the 1950s the Southern Belles attraction was introduced, in which young women dressed in the
crinolines
reminiscent of the Antebellum South. During the
American Civil War Centennial
young men dressed in Confederate uniforms would be photographed with the Southern Belles. In the early 1960s a custom photography boat named
Miss Cover Girl
was introduced, and the park became a popular site for the filming of television commercials.
Many celebrities and dignitaries have skied and visited at the park, including
Elvis Presley
,
King Hussein
of Jordan and his son and successor,
King Abdullah II
. It was also the site of a
Johnny Carson
special.
[5]
On April 14, 2014, it was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
.
[1]
Competitions and changes of ownership
[
edit
]
Competition for guests increased after
Walt Disney World Resort
opened nearby in 1971. In the early 1980s, the Popes retired and transferred the park to their son,
Dick Pope, Jr.
.
In the 1980s book publisher
Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich
purchased the park along with
SeaWorld
,
Circus World
(later rebuilt as
Boardwalk and Baseball
) and Stars Hall of Fame.
[6]
Harcourt sold most of the businesses to
Anheuser-Busch
in 1989. Busch continued to operate Cypress Gardens until April 1, 1995, when a group of the park's managers, led by Bill Reynolds, bought the property.
Bill Reynolds and a Southern Belle
Under President and CEO Reynolds, the park operated until April 13, 2003, when it closed after a prolonged tourism decline following the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks
. 529 people were put out of work with three days' notice.
[
citation needed
]
Cypress Gardens Adventure Park
[
edit
]
On February 22, 2004,
Adventure Parks Group
, owned by Kent Buescher, purchased the property and renamed it Cypress Gardens Adventure Park. The purchase of the amusement park portion of the Cypress Gardens property was part of a larger conservation transaction. In that transaction, the entire 150-acre (61 ha) site was purchased from its previous owner, First Gardens, L.C., by
The Trust for Public Land
, a national conservation organization.
[7]
TPL then sold a
conservation easement
over the entire property to the state of Florida, while
Polk County
purchased the 30-acre (12 ha) gardens portion of the property, less the development rights conveyed in the state easement. Adventure Parks Group purchased the balance of the property, also subject to the conservation easement.
Sign for Cypress Gardens
Buescher's plan to reopen the park in September 2004 was delayed by damages created by hurricanes
Charley
,
Frances
, and
Jeanne
. Cypress Gardens Adventure Park finally opened in November 2004. One of its new attractions, the
Triple Hurricane
roller coaster, was named for the tumultuous storm season. The adjacent Splash Island water park opened in 2005, along with the
Galaxy Spin
roller coaster.
In September 2006, Adventure Parks Group filed for
Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection at the Florida site following approximately million in damages sustained by the 2004 hurricanes.
Land South Adventures, a subsidiary of
Mulberry, Florida
-based Land South Holdings, purchased Cypress Gardens at a bankruptcy auction on October 16, 2007, for .9 million, leaving Buescher as interim manager until Baker Leisure Group of
Orlando, Florida
, took over park operations in January 2008.
[8]
On Monday, November 10, 2008, Land South Holdings announced the temporary closure of the park, which was shut down November 17 of that year. It reopened on March 28, 2009, with an expanded water park named Splash Island. The animals, however, were gone, and the rides did not operate or had already been removed. Cypress Gardens and Splash Island began separate ticketing, with dual-park season passes also available; parking was free.
[9]
On September 23, 2009, owner Land South Holdings LLC announced that the park was closing immediately, saying that all avenues to keep the park open had been explored but that they were unable to find a way to "keep the park running in its traditional form."
[10]
Legoland acquisition
[
edit
]
Main article:
Legoland Florida
On January 15, 2010, the world's second largest theme park and attraction operator
Merlin Entertainments
bought Cypress Gardens
[11]
with intent to use the site for the fifth
Legoland
.
[12]
On January 21, 2010,
Merlin Entertainments
announced that the park would be turned into
Legoland Florida
.
[13]
On October 21, 2010, an October 2011 opening date was announced.
[14]
Opening day occurred on October 15, 2011 at 10 am EDT.
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