Cypress Gardens = Legoland ??

[Ed]

Legoland owner buys Cypress Gardens

By Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel
4:25 PM EST, January 15, 2010

The owner of Legoland has purchased Cypress Gardens, the venerable Polk County attraction that shut down last fall.

A spokeswoman for the buyer, British amusements operator Merlin Entertainments Group, said Friday the purchase includes the current Cypress Gardens theme park, the Splash Island water park and the adjacent botanical gardens.

The sale closed Jan. 7. The price was not disclosed.

Merlin is the second busiest amusement company in the world. Its holdings include Legoland theme parks, Madame Tussaud's wax museums and the London Eye.

Rumors have been circulating for months that Merlin would like to open a Legoland in Florida, which would be its second U.S. location. The company currently operates four parks themed around the toy building blocks in Carlsbad, Calif.; Germany; Denmark; and England.

Spokeswoman Julie Estrada said Merlin has been working with Polk County and Florida officials on new business plans for Cypress Gardens. Details are expected to be unveiled at a news conference Merlin has scheduled for Thursday.

The acquisition expands the presence of private-equity colossus The Blackstone Group in Central Florida's theme-park industry. Blackstone, which last fall purchased SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment for about $2.5 billion and co-owns Universal Orlando with General Electric Co., holds a majority stake in Merlin.

Once famed for its botanical gardens and Southern Belles, Cypress Gardens has struggled over the last decade, enduring multiple closures and a bankruptcy.

The 73-year-old Winter Haven attraction has been unable to compete with Orlando's much larger, more modern theme parks.

Cypress Gardens' current owner, Land South Adventures, spent $17 million to buy the park at a bankruptcy auction in 2007, betting it could revitalize the park through a combination of scaled-back attractions and cheaper tickets.

The bet failed, and Land South abruptly shuttered Cypress Gardens in September, saying it could find no way "to keep the park running in its traditional form."

A representative for Land South on Friday referred all questions to Merlin.

[Kenny1113]

THAT's awesome! My DSs would love that! I wonder how ling it will be until it is up and running. Too bad my dad just moved from that area!

[Ed]

New info in today's Orlando Sentinel ~~

Email: Legoland to open at Cypress Gardens

By Jason Garcia and Sara K. Clarke, Orlando Sentinel

2:53 PM EST, January 20, 2010


It appears Cypress Gardens will soon become Legoland.

An email sent this week to Polk County commissioners indicates that Merlin Entertainments Group, the British amusement company that acquired Cypress Gardens earlier this month, plans to convert the venerable attraction a theme park based on the toy building blocks.

Merlin has declined to discuss its plans for Cypress Gardens since news that it had purchased the site broke late last week, saying it would wait to unveil details until a news conference scheduled for tomorrow at the park.

But the email, sent by a Polk County tourism official to county commissioners invited to tomorrow's news conference, appears to confirm long-running rumors that Merlin intends to use the site for its second Legoland in the U.S.

Under the heading, "Helpful facts: Confidential until Thursday," the email reads:

"1.LEGOLAND Florida will be the fifth LEGOLAND attraction worldwide (CA, Denmark, England, and Germany).

"2.Merlin is the second largest attraction company in the world, second only behind Disney.

"3.Merlin's massive research in the area already indicated that the LEGOLAND brand already has high recognition and a 90% intention to visit by families in their target market.

"4.LEGOLAND, CA is the fastest growing theme park in the U.S., realizing an astounding 6% growth in 2009. The park was also recognized by Amusement Today as the country's best theme park for children for the sixth consecutive year.

"5.Check out Merlin's website (www.merlinentertainments.biz.) for a broad overview of their operations."

The existence of the email was first reported by the Lakeland Ledger.

A spokeswoman for Merlin, whose other holdings include Madame Tussaud's wax museums and the London Eye, could not be immediately reached for comment. Multiple high-profile business and government officials are expected at tomorrow's event, including Gov. Charlie Crist and Merlin Chief Executive Nick Varney.

Merlin is owned by The Blackstone Group, the private equity giant that last fall purchased SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment for about $2.5 billion. The firm also holds a 50 percent stake in Universal Orlando.

~~~~~

As a point of information, the location of the proposed Legoland is about 40 miles south of WDW.

[BrerGnat]

This is cool! Legoland is awesome, but not everyone can or wants to come all the way to CA to see it.

I wonder how long it will take to "convert" an existing park, though? I mean, if you've been to Legoland, you can see how the Lego theme is carried out in ALL the rides and even the public buildings. Will take a lot of work if they want it to really look quality...I can envision a huge amount of "bulldozing" would have to happen, or it might look a lot like a conversion, which would not be great for the Legoland image...

[Melanie]

Awesome news!

[Ed]

This is cool! Legoland is awesome, but not everyone can or wants to come all the way to CA to see it.

I wonder how long it will take to "convert" an existing park, though? ..

We'll likely find out tomorrow, when the press conference is scheduled for. Stay tuned for updates. :)

[Ed]

As promised ~~

Legoland Florida: Merlin Entertainments reveals details of new Winter Haven park
Legoland is scheduled to open by the end of 2011.

By Jason Garcia and Sara K. Clarke, Orlando Sentinel

1:19 PM EST, January 21, 2010

Central Florida will be home to the world's largest Legoland by the end of 2011, Merlin Entertainments Group said Thursday.

The park, which is planned for the former site of Cypress Gardens, is expected to include between 40 and 50 main attractions. In addition to Lego's signature attractions -- such as kid-powered rides and giant Lego brick models -- some of Cypress Gardens' top draws are expected to stick around. The historical gardens will stay intact, according to Nick Varney, Merlin's chief executive officer.

Merlin said it plans to keep the popular Splash Island Waterpark operating, although it will be a separate, ticketed admission. Cypress Gardens' water ski shows and one of its two wooden roller coasters will probably be integrated into the new Legoland as well, Varney said.

The details of Florida's newest theme park were announced at a news conference this morning that was attended by government and tourism officials, including Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

Officials hailed the capital investment -- which Crist said would be hundreds of millions of dollars -- and the fact that the park will create more than 1,000 jobs.

"Obviously in these challenging economic times, these jobs are fabulous," said Florida Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales.

Varney kicked off Thursday's event by calling Legoland Florida's "worst-kept secret," referring to the fact that details of today's announcement leaked out Wednesday, after an email surfaced confirming that it was indeed Legoland that was coming to Central Florida.

Merlin said it scouted multiple locations in the Orlando area, but eventually chose the out-of-the-way Polk County spot because of the value of its existing infrastructure.

Renovating a pre-existing theme park, instead of building from scratch, will help Merlin shave years off the development timeline, allowing it to get the park up and running in less than two years.

"If we'd gone anywhere else it would have taken 4 or 5 years," Varney said. He added that the company eventually hopes to turn Legoland Florida into a resort by adding an on-site hotel.

In exchange for building a Legoland in Winter Haven, Merlin Entertainments will receive $5 million in incentives from Polk County over a 10-year period. The package includes $150,000 per year for job creation and $350,000 per year in marketing support, Polk County economic development officials said. The company said it has also talked with government officials about improving road links between Orlando and Winter Haven, but did not provide specifics.

The Florida park is Legoland's second U.S. location, after Legoland California in Carlsbad, Calif. The addition of a Legoland in the Sunshine State is part of a broader push into the U.S. for Merlin.

"We see it as a big development market for us," Varney said. Lego, Varney said, "is without question one of the strongest brands in the world."

Merlin did not provide attendance projections for the Florida park, but said its other Legolands draw between 1.5 million and 2 million people a year.

[NJGIRL]

This is very exciting. I'm so glad they are keeping the gardens :thumbsup:

[MNNHFLTX]

I'm so happy to hear that they are keeping the gardens and the shows going. I've been to Cypress Gardens at least a dozen times and I can't imagine not having them there! And I'm sure that Legoland itself will be a good draw (as long people don't mind driving a little bit of distance from the WDW area to get there!)

[Melanie]

Central Florida will be home to the world's largest Legoland by the end of 2011

YES! It will be open before we move. Woohoo!!! Really looking forward to this.

[Ed]

YES! It will be open before we move. Woohoo!!! Really looking forward to this.

Move? AGAIN ???????? :eek: :eek2:

[Melanie]

Move? AGAIN ???????? :eek: :eek2:

You know the drill. :rolleyes: This should be the last one though. And who knows, we may end up right back down here. ;)

[NJGIRL]

You know the drill. :rolleyes: This should be the last one though. And who knows, we may end up right back down here. ;)

I hope you are going somewhere warm :D. This winter is reminding me why someday I want to move out of NJ.

[RAIDER]

I'm so happy to hear that they are keeping the gardens and the shows going. I've been to Cypress Gardens at least a dozen times and I can't imagine not having them there! And I'm sure that Legoland itself will be a good draw (as long people don't mind driving a little bit of distance from the WDW area to get there!)

Ive been to the one in the UK and its very good so as its going to be in the USA i should imagine its going to be amazing :thumbsup: