Comments on: Land South Holdings LLC has Contract on Gardens

By: D Gentry

D Gentry — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:24:19 +0000

I wish Land South and all its employees the best. I am disappointed that they decided to keep the previous owner as CEO. But I will give him a chance if he will listen to what the public wants in Cypress Gardens. I would like to see two tiers of tickets and annual passes. One if you want to do the rides and everything there. The other if you are not interested in doing the rides. That way the ones of us that love to enjoy the gardens and the ski shows can come back more and more instead of paying for something that I will never do like the rides. I noticed that the prices are being reduced but you have two days to use in the same week. Why not just reduce the entrance fee?

The other thing that I would like to see is to bring back all the festivals/events like before ie: the fall mum fest, Christmas with all the decorations and plants, etc. Good luck and I am glad it will be staying open. Now please make it more reasonable priced for folks that would love to come out on a regular basis. $7 for parking? Thank you!

By: Andy Burr

Andy Burr — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:35:38 +0000

Best wishes to Land South; here’s hoping the park will survive for decades to come.

By: Neil Rangen

Neil Rangen — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:57:28 +0000

I wish the new owners the best of luck. Please continue with the wonderful concerts during the winter season. And please bring the Cypress Gardens website back up so you can keep all of us who love and visit Cypress Gardens abreast of changes and/or events in the future.

By: David Sutter

David Sutter — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 08:16:27 +0000

Cypress Gardens Adventure Park has all the makings of a great one day trip..away from the crowds, It provides a pleasent and relaxing day for all..Agreed its not at all like our Big three,,but in that lies the beauty of it..Having workedd for theme parks of all type and sizes..Ive often found that most have lost the “family appeal” to attract world records..a shame..There are a few things Id have done a little dirrfent with the restoration..Having done inprovement consoltaion for a few parks…But all in all it presents a wonderful “europian Pleasure Gardens fell..I hope Land South Development is serious about buying and maintaining it…Wonder if they have a job for a planning and development person…

By: Bill Johnson

Bill Johnson — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 21:41:43 +0000

I thought that the minimum bid for the Gardens was 17.4 million. I think some of the old money in town should join together and save what is truly the oldest theme park in the state and the best park around for the money. I hope the concerts continue because my wife and I truly enjoy them. My Grandchildren keep asking me PaPa why are they closing Cypress Gardens again and the only thing that I can tell them is that I don’t know. My Granddaughter, Chloe asks me what will happen to the bugs in Bugville. Again, I don’t have an answer. Would someone please purchase the Gardens so that the Bugs in Bugsville will have a place to call home.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 22:17:50 +0000

We love the Gardens, it has something for everyone, I beleive now there are two bids the one above and another undisclosed bidder, who ever wins the bid I hope that nothing is changed, I think maybe alittle more advertising in other markets may help, We live in Kissimmee and don’t often see advertisements for the Gardens

By: Terry

Terry — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:42:37 +0000

Best Wishes to Land South in aquiring Cypress Gardens. Winter Haven needs this Park, not only for the people it employs, but for the draw to our community. It is very important for the growth of Winter Haven to keep this up and running. And we should all be out there doing our part to help it survive.

By: John Bauman

John Bauman — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:07:12 +0000

The current owners have created an excellent entertainment facility. My grandchildren have really had wonderfull experiences at Cypress Gardens. My wife and I have really enjoyed the concerts. That being said, the bottom line is that as a business with the goal of making a profit, its a dim future. The shadow of major, world class theme parks in the region makes competing impossible. I do not know if the bidders have any experience in this business. I know the finances or running a theme park after having worked in that industry for over 20 years. It is really based on scale. Seasonal parks usually need 1 million visitors to survive. Year round parks need much more.It may be time for the local community ( City and County) to work in conjuction with the State to preserve a unique property as a recreational entity.

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:24:41 +0000

I don’t think this bid will work out considering the minimum bid was 17.4 million…

By: Carl Kocher

Carl Kocher — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 20:07:03 +0000

Locally owned generally is good but hopefully they understand adequate insurance.

Overall I wish them well in their effort, Cypress Gardens needs and deserves a wise local owner.