Mention the words "Florida" and "theme park" during any word-association party game, and most players will instantly shout out "Disney." Even "Universal Studios," "Epcot" and "Sea World" will all likely emerge before anyone mentions Cypress Gardens. But after a recent $26-million renovation, Florida's oldest -- and original -- theme park is back on the tourism radar.
Beyond all the high-tech pseudo-experiences now available in central Florida, Cypress Gardens remains a quirky, purely retro place, a park filled with beautiful gardens, old-fashioned rides and a water-ski show that earned it international fame decades before Disney came to nearby Orlando.
While you may be forgiven for forgetting the park's name, you may recognize the images conjured up by this 71-year-old water park. Remember those postwar water-ski films and 1940s movie shorts, with pyramids of girls in modest swimsuits skimming the water behind shiny speed boats, the stars and stripes billowing proudly in their wake? That was Cypress Gardens in its heyday -- once known as the Water Ski Capital of the World.
It's the place where Elvis Presley first learned to water-ski, where Betty Grable made Moon over Miami, and where professional swimmer-turned-actress Esther Williams filmed synchronized water ballets in a Florida-shaped pool. Like the old-fashioned "gator shows," costumed southern belles circulating in frilly hoop skirts and manicured gardens, it was synonymous with sunny southern Florida in the golden age of television.
Cypress Gardens was originally opened in 1936 by Dick and Julie Pope, who, like Walt Disney 35 years later, turned a piece of swampland into a park. The Popes' park was a work in progress for many years -- the water-ski shows and "southern belles" posing around the gardens for photo ops a matter of spontaneous invention. But with clever publicity stunts, featuring pretty girls and movie stars, the park soon gained world renown.
Cypress thrived on that reputation for 67 years, but was closed in 2003 after a post-9/11 slump pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy. An outpouring of public support spurred local governments to commit $11-million to protect the historic parkland from development, before it was sold to Georgia theme-park operator Kent Buescher, who reopened it as Cypress Gardens Adventure Park in 2005.
Today, despite fierce amusement park competition on all sides, and extensive hurricane damage during renovations, Buescher has restored many of the park's original charms, while adding a few of his own. It's no Epcot or Universal, but for pure southern nostalgia, family entertainment and retro-kitsch, there's nothing quite like it.
The daily water-ski show is a case in point -- a schmaltzy announcer croons on about the glories of the South with a nostalgic Andrews Sisters musical backdrop, as the athletic Aqua Maids, clad in swimsuits and ruffles, burst from the turquoise dock behind a speed boat. From a seat in the park's circa-1950s bleachers, the view of Lake Eloise is serene and the show is pure show biz -- the kind of live, daredevil acts Ed Sullivan once beamed into our living rooms from this very place.
It's like a watery three-ring circus, the tension of high-speed skiing, complete with jumps, tricks and complicated choreography, balanced by comedic banter. Before you know it, the nerdy candy salesman in the stands is ripping off his shirt and leaping into the waves, clowning his way through another stunt-studded water-ski routine. Skiing couples, togged like figure skating pairs, perform lifts and spins, there are dizzying, athletic feats on wake boards and hang gliders, and the whole thing is topped off with the classic pyramid of smiling young skiers whizzing past.
Like the park's pretty butterfly garden and old-fashioned rides, it all seems low-key when compared with the flash and spectacle created by the computer animators down the road. But the small crowds seem appreciative. While 16 million guests visited Disney World in 2005, Cypress saw 1.4 million arrive that year to inspect the reopened venue. With no huge lineups, convenient parking and an array of early carnival rides -- including Florida's oldest wooden coaster, a Ferris wheel and a double-decker carousel -- the new owners hope a laid-back experience will find its own fans.
While the Friends of Cypress Gardens -- the non-profit group that helped save the park -- wasn't necessarily happy to see the new owners add "thrill" rides and water slides to the mix, Buescher has given the park an air of adventure. For young thrill-seekers, there are now some familiar midway rides, such as the plunging Thunderbolt tower.
Cypress Gardens was once an It Spot for entertainers, serving as the backdrop for beauty pageants and performers such as Johnny Carson, Carol Burnett and Ricardo Montalban. Its star quality may have faded somewhat, but today you can get a rush seat to see a variety of performers at the park's outdoor theatre. George Jones, Kenny Rogers and Charlie Daniels have all taken the stage recently, and Willie Nelson, Charlie Pride, Loretta Lynn and Neil Sedaka will perform here this year.
Sure to inspire scissor-happy kids, the Topiary Trail, with its giant, whimsical, flower-covered animals, is like some kitschy Rose Bowl parade frozen in time. But the real treat (at least for overstimulated adults seeking solitude) is the peaceful botanical garden, traversed with paved trails and canals, and home to the park's namesake cypress trees, dripping with feathery Spanish moss, and more than 8,000 plants, including a rare, giant banyan tree planted in 1939. You may even find your biggest thrill here, as signs along the trail warn walkers to steer clear of the wild alligators that make the lakeside park their home.
Fact is, even if the thrills are not quite as chilling here, when you've done the busy, expensive, exhausting mega-parks, an old-fashioned play day at Cypress Garden may be just the ticket.
Pack your bags
Cypress Gardens Adventure Park: 6000 Cypress Gardens Blvd., Winter Haven, Fla.; http://www.cypressgardens.com; 863-324-2111. The park celebrates its water skiing history this year with a new show revisiting some of the records set and "firsts" attempted here. All-inclusive admission is $47.
WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
Cypress Gardens offers several on-site restaurants with Southern, country-style cooking -- think meat loaf and turnip greens or chicken and dumplings -- a barbecue joint with pulled pork and ribs, plus the usual midway munchies.
Or, for a retro-Florida food experience, the nearby Chalet Suzanne ( http://www.chaletsuzanne.com) is a roadside attraction in itself. A 1931 restaurant and inn known for the canned soups made on the premises -- astronauts took their romaine "Moon Soup" aboard Apollo 15 -- it's definitely unique.
WHERE TO STAY
In Lakeland, the historic 1924 Terrace Hotel has recently been refurbished, making it a lovely spot to stay and dine ( http://www.terracehotel.com). Rates start at around $180 a night.
THINGS TO DO
Winter Haven and Lakeland have other family-friendly attractions, including The Fantasy of Flight aviation museum, celebrating the 1930s and 40s era of flight (fantasyofflight.com) and the Explorations V Children's Museum (explorationsv.com).