Cypress Gardens sold to Merlin Entertainment Group

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Well... Looks like I was wrong again!

Cypress Gardens: British amusement operator Merlin Entertainments buys park - OrlandoSentinel.com

The historic Central Florida theme park may have life again! Merlin Entertainment (owner of Legoland) just closed on the purchase this month.. And yes, this is a company controlled by Blackstone (which owns SeaWorld and the Busch Gardens brands as well as the Hilton Brand)..

My earlier post saying I didn't think this would happen (http://www.timeshareforums.com/forum...sed-today.html) was obviously way off base..

For what it's worth, I'm thrilled to have been so WRONG! This attraction has been a fantastic value for those families lucky enough to discover it over the years.. It's going to be very interesting to see how Blackstone markets to try and get tourists to make the drive from either Orlando or Tampa.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

My grandsons love LegoLand, maybe they will bring some of what they do there to Cypress Gardens.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

I'd love to see them build a humongous waterpark that can be used year round like the indoor parks in the snowy places.

I think that would make it worth a families while to make the trip year round to the area.

A new HGVC would be nice too, now that I'm a HGVC owner.

For me, I only do waterparks in the summer because it's way too cold from November to April for an outdoor park for this Floridian chicken.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Last time I was there, they had added a very nice water park section.. It's not indoors (I don't know of any indoor water parks in Florida- it might defeat the whole "sunshine state" idea)- but come on... We are talking about Central Florida.. It's 75 and sunny right now (and probably warmer down in Miami)..

I've never gone to a waterpark in the middle of January, but I'm sure it's possible!

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

It is 72 degrees now and trust me it's too cold to go in the water even in the sun. We keep our air conditioner on 78 degrees to keep cool in summer so 72 is cold by Florida standards to go in the water. 72 degrees is almost sweater weather for us.

That's why you never see any locals at the beach in summer only tourists who drown in the undertow.

I don't go to the beach until mid-May and even then it's a little cool in the water for me although the air temps are pleasant enough to enjoy it without shivering.

Most of us beach whimp Floridians are only caught on the beaches from June thru September. After Labor day forget it.
It is just too chilly for us warm blooded gators down here.

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

This attraction has been a fantastic value for those families lucky enough to discover it over the years..

Cypress Gardens is the only thing I remember from the vacation we took to Florida when I was a kid (the ONLY vacation we took when I was a kid - we took another to California when I was a teenager...). I remember the model my brother bought at Kennedy Center but not actually visiting there.

[pranas Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pranas]

It is 72 degrees now and trust me it's too cold to go in the water even in the sun. We keep our air conditioner on 78 degrees to keep cool in summer so 72 is cold by Florida standards to go in the water. 72 degrees is almost sweater weather for us.

That's why you never see any locals at the beach in summer only tourists who drown in the undertow.

I don't go to the beach until mid-May and even then it's a little cool in the water for me although the air temps are pleasant enough to enjoy it without shivering.

Most of us beach whimp Floridians are only caught on the beaches from June thru September. After Labor day forget it.
It is just too chilly for us warm blooded gators down here.

So you like swimming with the sea lice and the purple bubbles, summer is their season.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

So you like swimming with the sea lice and the purple bubbles, summer is their season.

With all the years I've lived here (since 1970), I have been so lucky that I have never gotten sea lice nor gotten stung by a jelly fish. I know it's hard to believe and I've even done lots of snorkeling and we have a boat but so
far so good. Hopefully my luck won't run out this year.