Cypress Gardens certinatly has a rich history, Its been a centre piece in Florida for years, but it suddenly closed in 2003 due to reclining attendance over 9/11, However a deal was brought forward to reopen the park and thanks to one man Kent Buescher, that day became reality on 26th November 04, the park was complety transformed, and 40 rides were brought in making it more of a thrill park,more time if of course needed to see how well the park survives over the next few years, but the future does look bright. So we soon hit the road, and arrived just before 10AM, It took a lot longer than I thought to get here, but we finally found our way, The Car Park was empty, so it didnt look like it was going to be busy

To be honest we didnt stay for long, and I guess I kinda felt disapointed mainly because of the fact that there is no way enough stuff to keep you occupied for a whole day. The Park has still changed in a big way though, and the tranformation because of that is still pretty amazing.

So onto the Coasters, Okeechobee Rampage was up first, a vekoma junior coaster(Same as Flying Unicorn at IOA) it rode very nicely, and you were greeted with 2 laps and 3 if you're lucky(IOA only give out 1 stingy lap) so not a bad little ride.

Next was the Spinning Rapids Ride, Not a bad little ride actually, but you dont get wet which is a shame(would have been welcome in the 85 degree heat) and its all over very quickly. Next was Triple Hurricane, a wonderful junior woodie ride which while a very short ride still gives out some nice thrills(Definatly a hit with the kids) The last coaster was Swamp Thing, an inverted version of Okeechobee Rampage which I have to say was horrible, It really bashed me about quite a bit to the head which was'nt very pleasent. 2 Laps round as well(OUCH)

Other Stuff I briefly rode was the Pirate Ship, The Ferris Whell and the Drop Tower which was excellent, the ride just goes up really slow, and you cant look up properly to see when it reaches the top and when it does, it instantly drops you(And I mean it doesnt hang you at the top for even a second) Its a great trick and catches everyone out because you just dont know when it will drop.

So after a few short hrs, we decided to leave to go back into Orlando. Overall I would say Cypress Gardens is OK, and has certaintly transformed, but I would rather wait quite a few years until they add loads more new stuff. I actually spoke to a nice lady ride op who said the management have a 3-4 year programme and they want about 100 rides in total at the park, she also said the New 5th Coaster has arrived but wont be ready for another month or so, she also let slip that in 2006, a corkscrew coaster will be added, and finally there is the new water park coming soon which should certaintly help things, but I laughed when they said it would be open July 2nd, as when you see the construction for it, It looks way off completion(I mean NO slides are even complete,Entrance still being built etc) If they get it ready by that date, Hats off to the construction crew, but I cant see it myself.

Pictures now follow from this transformed park,ENJOY

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