C. Matthew McMahon
Christian Preacher
My wife and I went on an excursion today to Cypress Gardens. their website said they had upgraded the park after one year of being closed, and have instituted 38 new rides to attract the whole family.
Sounded good.
We went.
Wasn't good.
Of the 38 rides, 25 of them were kiddie rides for 5 year olds.
Of the remaining, there were 3 roller coasters that were less impressive than Disney's thunder mountain.
All of their rides were Carnival rides and things you would see at a midway. They charged $30 to get in. It took us about 2 hours to see the whole park and ride everything we were able to ride.
They had 1 person operating 2 rides, which meant that when you got in lines, you had wait for the guy to come back from the bumper cars to start up your ride on the Ferris Wheel. Terrible.
Food? Yes, they had one stand opened, and a candy shoppe. Looks good from the outside, but when you go in, the shop had one shelf of goodies and was about the size of a hot dog stand inside. Terrible.
I think what they tried to do was copy Disney and Universal at a VERY SMALL SCALE. For example, when you go to Universal Islands of Adventure, there are 50 people holding cameras as you walk in the park to take pictures of oncoming people. At Cypress Gardens, there was ONE. They took a big scale idea, brought it down to kid size, and made a park that is perfect for 5-11 year olds. If you are 5-11, then go have a great time. You can ride all the rides. If you are an adult brining your 5-11 year olds, then its not work the time. Take them to Disney, or wait for the local fair before you make the 3 hour ride.
Cypress Gardens Adventure Park = translated:
Cypress Gardens, Where's the Adventure Park?
Sounded good.
We went.
Wasn't good.
Of the 38 rides, 25 of them were kiddie rides for 5 year olds.
Of the remaining, there were 3 roller coasters that were less impressive than Disney's thunder mountain.
All of their rides were Carnival rides and things you would see at a midway. They charged $30 to get in. It took us about 2 hours to see the whole park and ride everything we were able to ride.
They had 1 person operating 2 rides, which meant that when you got in lines, you had wait for the guy to come back from the bumper cars to start up your ride on the Ferris Wheel. Terrible.
Food? Yes, they had one stand opened, and a candy shoppe. Looks good from the outside, but when you go in, the shop had one shelf of goodies and was about the size of a hot dog stand inside. Terrible.
I think what they tried to do was copy Disney and Universal at a VERY SMALL SCALE. For example, when you go to Universal Islands of Adventure, there are 50 people holding cameras as you walk in the park to take pictures of oncoming people. At Cypress Gardens, there was ONE. They took a big scale idea, brought it down to kid size, and made a park that is perfect for 5-11 year olds. If you are 5-11, then go have a great time. You can ride all the rides. If you are an adult brining your 5-11 year olds, then its not work the time. Take them to Disney, or wait for the local fair before you make the 3 hour ride.
Cypress Gardens Adventure Park = translated:
Cypress Gardens, Where's the Adventure Park?
