Cypress Gardens In Florida - 1975 (The Go-Gos & Esther Williams, Too!)

Today, I have more slides of the Swanson Family's visit to Florida, from March of 1975.  We saw their Walt Disney World photos earlier this year, and we saw their Lion Country Safari (Florida) photos, back in 2017.  This time, they were visiting Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Florida.  (FYI, this park also happens to fall into the category of "Places I've Never Been.")

Cypress Gardens was a theme park, which originally opened as a botanical garden.  It was started by Dick and Julie Pope in 1936, and their family maintained ownership up until 1985.  In it's later years, it went through multiple expansions and multiple owners, but ultimately closed in 2009.  The botanical gardens section of the park has been preserved, and is now a part of "Legoland Florida," which opened on the property in 2011.

I believe this Canadian Outpost was located in the "Gardens of the World" section of the park.  Standing next to the totem poles, we see the the Swanson Family's mother on the left, and the father (Dale) on the right.

The park grounds included many water features, such as lagoons, canals, waterfalls, and fountains.

This next photo shows "mom and daughter," seated next to the Italian Fountain in the Gardens of the World section of the park.  The fountain featured 10,000 pieces of hand baked tiles, and was described by park publicity as being "reminiscent of Ville D' Este in Tivoli, Italy."

This vintage postcard shows an aerial view of the fountain.

The small sign in this next pic reads, "Lolly Pops Bush - Recently Brought To Us."  I looked up that name, and there is a plant called a lollipop plant (also known as "golden candle" or "golden shrimp"), which is native to Peru.  There are also a few garden gnomes hanging around in the planter!

Below, is the park's "Dutch Windmill."  Note the two giant Dutch clogs out on the lawn.  Guests were able to climb inside of these and pose for pictures.

I'm not sure exactly where in the park this next photo was taken, but the landscaping looks pretty lush and "jungle-y."

The water seen in these next two pics, is Lake Eloise.  Those trees with the gnarled trunks (near the edge of the lake) are "bald cypress" or "swamp cypress."  Some of the cypress trees on the property are estimated to be up to two thousand years old!

The park's "Southern Mansion" had originally been built on the neighboring property (in the 1940s), as a home for citrus magnate, John Snively.  In the 1970s, the owners of Cypress Gardens purchased the house and the surrounding land, so they could expand their park.  I'm not sure if guests could go inside the mansion at first, but a 1975 publicity release stated, "Cypress Gardens' newest attraction is the beautiful Southern Mansion.  Located on a hillside overlooking the new Gardens of the World section, it's Georgian architectural style makes it a perfect subject for photographers."

In 1977, the Florida Sports Hall Of Fame opened inside the mansion, but it moved out of Cypress Gardens altogether, in 1985.  On a 1996 park map, the building was listed as "Magnolia Mansion," with the description, "Ice cold beer and Pepsi products, chips & snacks."  This postcard view is from the 1970s.

The park had a "Scenic Electric Boat Ride" attraction, so I'm assuming these next three photos were all taken while floating through the botanical gardens.  I bet it was just like the "Jungle Cruise," but without animals or people.  However, there might be a Native (Floridian) or two, on the far left.

These two publicity photos show the electric boats, traveling through what the park called, "The Magic Isles of Movieland."  That name was due to the fact that the garden's "palm-fringed backdrops and colorful scenery have been used on many television and motion picture productions, as well as in magazine stories and TV commercials."

 

The park was home to multiple species of birds.

An African spoonbill:

Two red macaws:

A pair of peacocks:

Cypress Gardens was also famous for it's water skiing shows.  The park had two large covered grandstands, for viewing the shows out on Lake Eloise.

The water skiing shows had a long history at the park (dating back to the early 1940s), and were even featured in a segment of the 1952 film, "This Is Cinerama."  Here are a few vintage postcards, featuring some of the park's water skiers.

The image above reminds me of the cover of the 1982 Go-Go's album, "Vacation."  That cover photo was actually shot at Cypress Gardens, and then the band members' faces were "pasted" onto the bodies of the professional water skiers.  The music video for the song also featured footage shot at Cypress Gardens, with band members "pretending" to ski in front of a rear projection of the film.

The album's back cover:

Back in the day, Disney News Magazine did a fair amount of promoting for Cypress Gardens.  Admission prices for Cypress Gardens were often listed in the back of the magazine, and a special discount was even offered to Magic Kingdom Club members (as seen in the Spring 1975 issue, below).

The following year, the Executive Director of the Magic Kingdom Club took a trip to Cypress Gardens, and wrote about the visit in the Spring 1976 issue of Disney News Magazine.

The Winter 1978-79 issue also featured an article about the park.

And the Summer 1980 issue had an article about Cypress Garden's recent 14-acre expansion.  At this point, the park was trying very hard to keep up with the competition from it's nearby neighbors, Walt Disney World and Sea World.

I'm guessing that the photo of what looks like the interior of a dilapidated mansion, is a part of the Legends of the South "multi-media historical presentation," described in the article.  It sounds pretty interesting, especially the part about the soldiers and pirates who "appear and disappear," and the secrets of "bayou trappers and Cajun voodoo queens" being revealed "in this mystifying mansion of illusion."

Here's a park map and show schedule, from 1982:

And here's a park brochure, also from 1982:

The park had just added new versions of their water ski shows, in addition to a new bird show, reptile show, and magic show.

Hey everybody.....it's Flop the Rabbit!  Remember him?  Okay, I don't either, but apparently he was one of the mascots of Cypress Gardens, along with "Timmy the Tiger" (not pictured).  The miniature car ride was called "Down-The-Pike."  And that miniature parachute drop attraction was called the "Fundangler."  It looks like it was about the same size as Disney's "Jumpin' Jellyfish" attractions, in both Anaheim and Tokyo.

The park's Living Forrest was also a new addition at this time.

"Attractive Southern belles also grace our gardens."  I wonder if that position entailed working an 8-hour shift?

Wow, free parking......just like it was for many decades, at Knott's Berry Farm in California!  Just out of curiosity, I checked the current parking prices (for Legoland Florida).  It now costs $35 to park a car, but it's $55 if you want "preferred parking."

Another attraction at Cypress Gardens, was the park's Florida-shaped swimming pool.

 

The pool was built for the 1953 MGM musical, "Easy To Love," starring Esther Williams.

Cypress Gardens even received special billing as the filming location.  I've never seen the movie, but I can't help but wonder if Van Johnson tells Esther Williams, "I'm sorry, lady, but you're talking nutsy-cuckoo!"

In 1960, Esther Williams returned to Cypress Gardens, to film the NBC television movie, "Esther Williams at Cypress Gardens."  The movie's plot revolved around Esther Williams (starring as herself), filming a fictional television special at the park.  Joey Bishop and Esther's future husband, Fernando Lamas, also starred in the movie.  That's Esther in the pink dress, waving to us from below.

The pool still exists today, and was "restored" by Legoland in 2014.

****Bonus****

For anyone who's interested, an eleven-minute clip from Esther Williams' 1960 television movie exists, and is available on YouTube:

Esther Williams at Cypress Gardens - 1960

Also.....I'm sharing a picture of Esther Williams, from my personal collection of autographed photos.

And, just for fun.....here's a link to the Go Go's music video for "Vacation," with footage shot at Cypress Gardens:

The Go-Go's - Vacation

I still have more of the Swanson Family's slides, so stay tuned for more from their 1975 Florida vacation!