Volume 3, No. 13. July 11, 2003
Rebirths
It’s
a theme park!
Parrot Jungle &
Gardens announces its rebirth as Parrot Jungle Island in Miami, Florida, June
28, 2003. Measurements: 18.6 acres (7.5 hectares), six attractions, three amphitheaters
of 1,200 seats, 500 seats and 800 seats, 7,960 feet (2,426 meters) of trails
of which 1,820 feet (555 meters) are covered, 1,000 parrots of various varieties,
1,200 other animals representing 110 species, 1,000 species of plants, a 350-seat
restaurant plus a snack bar, three retail outlets, a 1,000-seat banqueting facility
and parking for 600 cars and 40 buses. Delivered by Archicoustics, Birdair Europe-Stromeyer,
Biscayne Aquaculture, Cankat-Essman, Curtis & Rogers Design Studio, E.A.S.
Engineering, ISP Design Kaderabek & Barreiro Consultants, Koroglu Associates
Architects, Rock and Waterscapes, RPJ Engineer, Southern Bleachers, Starnet
International Corporation, TDI, the Tower Group, and York Bridge Concepts.
Bobbie
Ibarra, Parrot Jungle Island’s general manager, said the mission hasn’t
really changed as her park moved from a south Miami upper class residential
neighborhood to Watson Island in Biscayne Bay, a skipping stone’s throw
from downtown Miami. “Our mission is the same in that we are an animal
theme park that provides family entertainment,” she said. “What we
are emphasizing more today is the entertainment component.”
Parrot
Jungle, the stalwart Florida roadside attraction that opened in 1936, closed
its landlocked and neighborhood-restricted site last November and opened in
its new high-profile locale with an addendum to its name. In doing so, it re-emerged
as a first-class theme park. The “entertainment component” is no longer
just performing parrots but also a reptile show in the Serpentarium featuring
venomous snakes, crocodiles and a komodo dragon; the iconic Jungle Theater featuring
15-story high lightweight woven fiberglass fabric sails for a roof and staging
theatrical shows by day and a big cat show by night; the cafeteria-style Lakeside
Cafe serving fare from a first-class chef and providing seating overlooking
a lake full of pink flamingos; a retail store with high-priced museum-calibre
artwork and artifacts plus a pet store specializing in hand-raised exotic birds;
and the Treetop Ballroom, which opened in January (THE
LOOP, January 10, 2003) for banquets and meetings with spectacular views.
“One
of the things we’ll strive to do at the park is interactivity,” said
Emily Marquez, director of sales and marketing. “As you walk throughout
the park there will be people walking with animals. You’ll be able to feed
the flamingos, feed the fish, feed the birds.” Even feed the crocodiles,
along with watching the crocodiles and alligators through underwater viewing.
For
all that’s new at Parrot Jungle Island, it was two of the traditional Parrot
Jungle offerings that proved most popular for the opening weekend crowd: the
photo op with parrots and the bird show in the 1,200-seat Parrot Bowl. “You
get close, you get the pictures,” said Public Relations & Promotions
Manager Daiva Fernandez of the photo op. “It’s very Florida, the very
Miami thing to do.” The Parrot Bowl featured a mingling of the traditional
Parrot Jungle bird show with Joe Carvalho’s flying fowl performances. In
exit surveys, in which Parrot Jungle Island was receiving overall ratings of
80 to 90 percent satisfaction, the Bird Show scored a 100 percent “very
satisfied.”
Being
an institution for Miami, Parrot Jungle Island’s construction has been
front-page and lead-story news throughout the past few months. Being part of
a community redevelopment grant program, Parrot Jungle Island’s construction
has been a source of pride for the city and county government. Miami Mayor Manny
Diaz participated in the new park’s ribbon cutting and escorted his daughter
through the turnstiles as the first guest. A sudden driving rainstorm doused
the opening festivities, soaking the Polynesian dancers, but after two hours
the weather broke and the 8,000-capacity park hosted 3,122 guests, most of those
pre-sold tickets. The next day, a Sunday, 3,678 passed through.
The
majority of these were devotees of the old Parrot Jungle, and as expected their
reactions were mixed. “Some of them were displeased because it didn’t
have the lushness and quaintness of the old park,” Marquez said. “It’s
not as jungly as the old one, but building a jungle takes more than 18 months.”
Other longtime fans, on the other hand, loved Island's newness and new amenities.
After that first weekend, the Jungle’s new location became more of a factor
though attendance figures remained steady. “There’s a lot of newcomers
and an influx of tourists coming in,” Marquez said, including passengers
on cruise ships docking across the harbor.
It’s
a good start toward Parrot Jungle Island’s “conservative projection”
of 724,000 annual attendance. With summer camp field trip bookings kicking in
this week, a spike in guests already is expected. Citing the 110,000 cars that
pass by daily on the MacArthur Causeway between downtown Miami and South Beach,
Parrot Jungle Island owner Bern Levine said, “This location is as good
as any location on the East Coast of America.”
Parrot Jungle and Gardens was “very Miami” in its kitschness. Parrot Jungle Island is “very Miami” in its soaring architecture and haute couture exhibits, theaters and amenities. Miami finally has a bona fide theme park of its own, and an entertaining one at that.
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.
©2003, Minton Enterprises
LLC
All rights reserved