Winter Haven, FL - The Florida Tourism Economy is being battered however some investors remain optimistic. Shuttered since November, Cypress Gardens located near other top Orlando attractions reopened March 28 with a former park veteran at the helm, attraction officials said. Bill Sims, introduced by owners Brian Philpot and Rob Harper as leader of the attraction’s new management team, said Florida’s first theme park will open in time for spring break. The announcement was made during a 10 a.m. news conference at the Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce building downtown.
Sims is a former executive vice president of Cypress Gardens who worked with the founding Pope family from the early 1970s until 1985, when the park was sold for the first time. He also is the former chief executive officer and executive vice president of the Silver Springs attraction near Ocala, a former executive with Weekee Wachee Spring Hill and a former state tourism representative.
Sims is president of CG MGMT LLC, which has been retained by Philpot and Harper to oversee the day-to-day operations of their Winter Haven investment.
“I cut my teeth in the entertainment industry at Cypress Gardens and learned from the best in the business, Dick Pope Sr.,” Sims said in a press release distributed at the news conference. “I am thrilled to be returning.”
No longer Cypress Gardens Adventure Park, the attraction will go by the name Cypess Gardens and Splash Island Water Park.
The reborn Cypress Gardens will focus on the botanical and topiary gardens along with Splash Island. To save on operating costs, the park owners have found new homes for the creatures from the attraction’s former zoo and are selling and removing the carnival and adventure rides installed in 2004. Sims said 14 of the park’s previous 38 rides have already been removed.
The famous ski shows and the electric boat tours also will resume operation and concerts and special events, including flower festivals, will return as part of the regular entertainment package. The gardens and the water park will have separate admission gates and separate ticketing, though a combination pass also will be available. Sims said ticket prices will be reduced up to 40 percent off the 2008 prices.
Season passes will go on sale March 1, and the expiration date of valid season passes sold before the park closed in mid-November will be extended by four months. Park officials said many past employees of Cypress Gardens will be contacted in the next few weeks about possible re-employment and resumption of duties.