Cypress Gardens to Become Legoland.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
By: Tom Parkinson

The new owner of the Central Florida attraction Cypress Gardens plans to turn the Polk County theme park into Legoland Florida. Targeted to families with young children, the theme park is based on the popular toy building blocks. Last week, Merlin Entertainments Group bought the park for a reported $22.3 million dollars. Governor Charlie Crist joined Central Florida business and government leaders for a press conference today to announce the new park. Merlin Entertainments is owned by the Blackstone Group. That private-equity firm co-owns Orlando's Universal Studios attraction and paid $2.5 billion dollars Orlando-based SeaWorld Parks last fall. Billed as Florida's oldest theme park, Cypress Gardens has been known since 1936 for its water ski shows, botanical gardens and costumed Southern belles. The park has changed hands several times over the years. The last owners, Land South Adventures, declared bankruptcy and closed the park last summer. The Merlin Group says it plans to maintain the park's famous botanical gardens as part of the new attraction. There are currently Legoland parks in California, England, Denmark and Germany. The park in Carlsbad, California features more than 50 rides and other activities. Amusement industry experts say the parks, which feature large Lego brick models, are extremely popular with young children.