“From the earliest moment that our firm purchased Cypress Gardens and Splash Island Waterpark, our highest priority has always been to maintain the park’s beauty and protect its proud traditions as a mainstay of the State’s history and natural treasures. It is with these ideals in mind that we must announce that the park will be closed for business as of Wednesday, September 23, 2009. During the last two years, Land South Adventures, LLC, has explored numerous management frameworks and exhausted every possible approach to keep the park running in its traditional form. Now, we are in the process of negotiating with several potential purchasers and lessees for all or part of the property, and do not feel it is fair to our employees, the guests, or the public to continue operations heading into the fall with the future of the property in flux. We are optimistic that the outcome will be in the best interests of both the park and the residents of Polk County and the State of Florida.”

There is something for the whole family to enjoy, from the wild and wet thrills of the waterpark attractions, to a relaxing walk through the beautiful botanical gardens at Cypress Gardens.  So make your plans now to visit.  What’s even better is there are no coupons to clip, no website to go to, just go to the Splash Island Waterpark ticket booth and when you purchase one waterpark admission you receive another one for FREE!

Splash Island Waterpark is open until 7 p.m. Sunday through Friday and to make their summer celebration even bigger, the waterpark will be open until 10 p.m. on Saturday’s for “Splash Party Nights,” featuring live music! This week’s live music will be provided by “Blowing Trees” who will be performing at the Paradise Wave Pool stage at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.

As the new Cypress Gardens takes shape and prepares to open on March 28, there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to get the park ready for opening in just a few weeks. There have been a lot of rumors out there that the botanical gardens and topiary gardens are overgrown and in bad shape, but I had a chance to take a behind the scenes tour last week and things are looking great and a lot of progress is being made. Here are some photos from the tour. If you are wondering about ticket prices and operating hours, wonder no more. Here they are.

Cypress Gardens has announced that the world famous Florida attraction will resume operations on Saturday, March 28. The opening of the renowned Botanical and Topiary Gardens and the wildly popular Splash Island Waterpark will coincide with the local Spring Break. Entertainment industry veteran Bill Sims will lead the new management team. Mr. Sims is President of CG MGMT, LLC, which has been retained to oversee the attraction’s day-to-day operations. Mr. Sims previously worked at Cypress Gardens for park founder Dick Pope, Sr., from 1970 to 1985, serving as the Park’s Executive Vice President for many of those years. Mr. Sims has also headed management teams at Silver Springs in Ocala and Weeki Wachee Springs in Spring Hill.

Here are some highlights of the announcement that was made:

• Entertainment industry veteran Bill Sims will lead the new management team. Mr. Sims is President of CG MGMT, LLC, which has been retained to oversee the attraction’s day-to-day operations. Mr. Sims previously worked at Cypress Gardens for park founder Dick Pope, Sr., from 1970 to 1985, serving as the Park’s Executive Vice President for many of those years. Mr. Sims has also headed management teams at Silver Springs in Ocala and Weeki Wachee Springs in Spring Hill. “I cut my teeth in the entertainment industry at Cypress Gardens and learned from the best in the business, Dick Pope, Sr.”, Mr. Sims said, “I am thrilled to be returning.”
• The re-born Cypress Gardens will focus on the iconic Botanical and Topiary Gardens along with the Splash Island Waterpark. The famous water ski shows and the electric boat tours will also resume operation. A number of special events, including flower festivals and concerts, are being scheduled and will be announced in the near future.
• All carnival and adventure rides installed in 2004 are being sold and removed from the Park.
• The Gardens and the Waterpark will have separate admission gates and sell separate tickets. Ticket prices will be reduced by up to 40% off the 2008 prices.
• Season Pass expiration dates will be extended by 4 months to offset the period of time the park was closed. New Season Passes will be available separately for the Gardens and the Waterpark at lower prices than past years. Season Passes will go on sale on March 1.
• Many past employees of Cypress Gardens will be contacted over the next weeks regarding resumption of their duties at the attraction.