Volume 3, No. 8. April 25, 2003
South of
Eden
Banana George Blair,
the popular octogenarian barefoot skier at Cypress Gardens, broke down in tears
during an interview on National Public Radio the day after the Winter Haven
park closed its gates for good. The newscaster, though, turned Blair’s
tears to anger when she asked how the park struggled after it was eclipsed by
the trio of theme parks in Orlando. “Cypress Gardens was never eclipsed,”
he said.
He was right, in one sense. Cypress Gardens was a singularly stunning collection
of gardens and gracious Southern living, and the water ski show remained the
Broadway of the genre. However, whether the park liked it or not, it was in
the heavyweight division of Florida’s attractions, and rather than entering
the ring the park knocked itself out standing on the apron.
When a venerable, prestigious, widely well-known business falters, it usually
sends shudders through its industry. The closing of 67-year-old Cypress Gardens
sent a collective “Huh?” through the amusement industry and through
Florida. Among Floridians the closing created a public outcry reaching up to
the statehouse and Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia (see story below). Florida
Governor Jeb Bush, in directing state officials to study a state purchase of
the property, (see story in Extra!
Extra!), provided the most telling quote of the whole affair: “If people
aren’t coming, perhaps they’re not coming for a reason.” That
comment touches many depths of truth.
The reason cited by owner Bill Reynolds was the post-9/11 tourism slump in Florida,
the threat of terrorism and the war in Iraq. If those reasons ring true, Cypress
Gardens is a foreboding bellwether for other Florida attractions. That doesn’t
seem to be the case, however.
“We look at trends every month from 48 attractions around the state,”
said Donna H. Ross, president and CEO of the Florida Attractions Association,
which has 85 member attractions. “Certainly, business is down. Some have
decreased hours of operations, some have laid off workers, some haven’t
staffed up fully. February was pretty dismal, but most were able to hold on
and capitalize on a good spring break.” In fact, last weekend she said
many attractions reported “gangbuster days,” which she attributes
to Floridians breaking free of cabin fever brought on by addictive war watching.
One phenomenon of this year was the late arrival of the Snowbirds, the migrant
retirees who annually descend on Florida from points north, usually making their
Winnebago pilgrimages after the New Year. “When the country went to orange
alert (for perceived terrorism threat), nobody moved,” Ross said. “People
just sat tight. Then we sat tight waiting to see if there was going to be a
war, then we sat tight watching the war.” The decrease in Snowbird visitation
would especially impact Cypress Gardens, a favorite destination for the seniors
market.
Ross also cites the rising cost of doing business as a factor in attractions’
struggles, something that possibly played a key role in Cypress Garden’s
demise. “We have had a huge spike in the cost of worker’s compensation
in this state,” she said. “Everybody’s worker’s comp has
gone up 15 percent, and parks with animals are having trouble finding companies
that will underwrite them.” The association has a bill working through
the state legislature addressing the rising insurance costs “that we hope
will bring sanity back to the attractions in Florida.”
Still, to counter these costs and the downturn in out-of-state visitation, many
parks have embarked on new programs, like summer camps, to entice new business,
and the residential market is still formidable. “We’re blessed in
a way that other states aren’t in that we have a population of 15 million
people,” Ross said. Many parks adjusted their marketing thrusts toward
that demographic, including the Orlando and Tampa heavyweights, as well as Silver
Springs in Ocala, the closest rival of substance to Cypress Gardens.
Clearly, in concept, Cypress Gardens as a theme park could succeed even in today’s
Florida. It could not earn as much money as Cypress Gardens land development
could, but while that’s a wildly speculated motive for the park’s
closing, Reynolds has not shown any signs of playing that hand, yet. Rather,
he has promised the state’s Department of Environmental Protection that
he wouldn’t do anything about the park for three weeks to allow state officials
the opportunity to nominate Cypress Gardens for the department’s Forever
Florida Program designed to purchase endangered wildlands and historical entities
and keep it in perpetuity.
Meantime, the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce has formed a task force charged
with formulating a plan to save the park. Chaired by former State Senator Rick
Dantzler, husband of Cypress Gardens founder Dick Pope’s granddaughter,
the task force toured the park Thursday and hosted a public hearing there. The
most obvious option in the early stages is for the state or local government
to purchase the original 37-acre gardens that Pope created and let the current
owners do what they will with the remaining 160 acres added in 1974. Much of
that acreage lies unused.
Another option would be to find another operator, like the one north of the
border anxiously seeking an audience.
THE LOOP is written and produced by Eric Minton, Minton Enterprises, LLC. To see more examples of Eric Minton's work and Minton Enterprises services, visit www.ericminton.com.
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