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

January 21,2010 - The new owner of Central Florida's Cypress Gardens reportedly plans to turn the Polk County theme park into a new Legoland. Focusing on families with young children, the theme parks are based on the popular toy building blocks. Last week, the British company Merlin Entertainments Group, bought the park for a reported $22.3 million dollars. Now, reports from Polk County say the company will transform Cypress Gardens into Legoland Florida. Governor Charlie Crist is expected to join Central Florida business and civic leaders for a press conference today to announce the new park. Merlin Entertainments is owned by the Blackstone Group. Blackstone also co-owns Orlando's Universal Studios attraction and paid $2.5 billion dollars to buy 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. 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.