Finding Florida 1989

After 3 days of Disney and a SeaWorld adventure, it was time to explore some of the lesser known attractions in the central and southern Florida area, time to hit the road...

Saturday @ Lion Country Safari

On the 3 hour drive to Lion Country Safari near West Palm Beach, we got lost in Broward county. All we knew about Broward county was that it had been mentioned on the TV show COPS, a lot. So we quickly got some directions and got back on track to find and visit a destination I was really looking forward to seeing. A chance to visit Africa... well kind of.

Lion Country Safari was founded in 1967 by a group of South African and British entrepreneurs who wanted to provide a safari experience for families that would not be able to experience one. At the time Lion Country Safari was the first drive-through safari park in the country and introduced a new concept to animal lovers, "The Cageless Zoo". This time the humans are in the cages.

After taking our pictures in the appropriate cutouts, we purchased our tickets, and entered the park in our rental car, the whole time thinking, "please don't attack our car, it's a rental". We were the animals in the cage as we drove slowly through the park, watching the animals while listening to a recorded narration on audiotape. We have been thoroughly warned to drive slowly and carefully, to avoid stopping too close to animals, and not to open our car doors or windows. No problem.

In 1989 we were lucky, the lions roamed freely around the cars, but in 2005 they had to be separated from visitors with a fence built around the road, due to people ignoring the warnings and opening their car doors and windows. Did I mention that people are stupid?

Originally, Lion Country Safari only had lions, but now they have a variety of over 1,000 animals.

One unique aspect of Lion Country Safari is the chimpanzee exhibit. The chimps live on an island system where they move to a different island every day, replicating their natural nomadic lifestyle. The chimps live in complex social groups, as they would in the wild. Because of this, Lion Country Safari has been useful to those interested in behavioral studies of chimps, including Jane Goodall.

After spending some quality time with the animals, we decided to drive a little further down the coast to check out Miami. As soon as we exited the freeway, and stopped at a light, window washers were squeegeeing our window. It was just like you see in a movie, because in 1989, we hadn't seen that in Vancouver yet. We both were stunned, Norine says "what do we do?", I suggested to give him a quarter, so she rolled the window down about 1/4 of an inch, and slipped two coins through to him, it was about all that would fit through the gap in the window.

We sped away in search of Miami Beach, and found the shore. After parking our car, and walking past a couple tough looking fellows sitting by the entry to the beach area, we realized we were probably in a bad part of town. It was a nice beach, but wasn't quite right, not many people, and thoughts of the 2 probable drug dealers we passed having our car up on cinder blocks, led us to clear out of this town called Miami, and instead drive up the coast, through Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Palm Beach, and back onto the Toll Highway to our hotel in Orlando.

Sunday @ the Spaceport

NASA's Kennedy Space Center aka Spaceport USA, is a short drive away on the east coast at Cape Canaveral. As you leave the parking lot you definitely get a sense of the past, present and future of the USA space program. You walk through a Rocket Garden of huge rockets from all eras of space exploration, and past a lunar lander (I loved that video game).

The bus tour of the complex starts when you depart the Visitor Complex to see NASA facilities, including the massive launch pads, the gigantic Vehicle Assembly Building, and the Apollo/Saturn V Center where the ground crew communicated with the Apollo missions. You know, where Ed Harris talked Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton back to earth in Apollo 13? Except this one isn't in Houston. In the distance we can see the Space Shuttle ready to go on one of the launch pads... very cool!

From the time we get on the bus a young boy was whining and crying, "I don't wanna...","I wanna...", "Waaaah"... finally an old man on our tour freaks on the little kid. "Alright that's enough!!! We didn't come here to listen to you cry and whine all day, this is my vacation too, don't ruin this for everyone else. If you're going to keep crying get off the damn bus!!!!". I think he may have gotten a standing ovation from most of the tour guests. I think his parents were ready to crawl under the bus, and after that, the kid was much better behaved.

There is a lot to do at the Kennedy Space Center, from historical and futuristic shows to very interesting displays. We see the Space shuttles Canad-arm proudly displaying it's Canadian Flag, mixed in with pieces of amazing history, like Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon.

The funniest thing was talking to Space Suit Steve, outside of the A/C buildings it has to be close to 100° and here is this guy walking around in heavy space boots and a space suit. You would think it is designed for extreme temperatures from freezing to boiling, so I ask him, "It must be hot in there?"... he replies "Like you wouldn't believe", and collapses onto a bench to cool down. A perfect chance for me to get my picture taken with a soon to be dead guy.

After wrapping up our NASA tours, we head to the nearby Daytona Beach and Cocoa Beach to check out the sand and surf. The sand was grainy, and the water was wet... nice to cool off a bit.

Monday's Mayhem

Monday was a bit of a mess, we had grand plans for a day of amusement park rides, and baseball history. One errant lap belt would change those plans in just a few minutes.

Boardwalk and Baseball is a 135 acre baseball and amusement park built on the recycled rides and exhibits of the original Circus World. The petting zoos were removed, the rides and shows were re-themed, and they built Baseball City Stadium on the site. There were several exhibits that borrowed artifacts from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The Kansas City Royals moved from Fort Myers, Florida, to make Baseball City Stadium their new spring training home and the site of their Class A Florida State League affiliate. Sounds pretty good, huh?

In addition, ESPN taped a game show, Boardwalk and Baseball's Super Bowl of Sports Trivia, on the site. The show aired in 1988 and 1989 and featured single-elimination tournaments of three-person teams representing U.S. colleges and universities. Chris Berman of ESPN NFL fame hosted the show. I was chosen to be a contestant in the show, and came in second... we got a VHS tape for being a contestant, we were so lucky, someday I'll find that tape to learn where I went wrong.

The Hurricane wooden coaster and Shuttle Loop coaster were significant roller coasters by 1989 standards, and they had a good selection of other rides, but it all came to a screeching hault after the Pirate ride. If you haven't been on a pirate ride before, basically it is a curved ship that swings back and forth, making you feel like you will fall out of your seat one way, and upside down the other way. Once we were seated, the guy came over and pushed the lap bar down one more click and effectively castrated me. For the entire 2 minute ride (seemed like hours), I was having the royal nutty-crush. When the ride finally finished, I thought I was going to be sick... it didn't get any better after trying to recover on a park bench. There would be no more amusement rides today, no matter how good they were, I didn't even want to be in this park anymore.

The week we arrived in Florida, Boardwalk and Baseball (as well as SeaWorld and Cypress Gardens) was sold to Anheuser Busch, and they closed Boardwalk and Baseball three months later. At about 3:00 pm, on Wednesday, January 17, 1990, a PA system announcement stated that the Boardwalk and Baseball was closing several hours early and the some 1000 park guests were asked to leave. They were offered refund vouchers at the front gate. The picture below is what it looks like today. Can't really say that I will miss the place, maybe they'd still be open if they didn't maim guests.

The abandoned Boardwalk and Baseball Theme park, circa 2005

Looking for something that involved more sitting and watching than riding or doing, we headed to the nearby Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven. It opened in 1936 as a botanical garden, and over the years, it became one of the biggest attractions in Florida, known for its water ski shows.

Once we got to Cypress Gardens, there was one thing I wanted to do, sit quietly and absorb my pain... perfect, a Water Ski show. It started with a hang glider coming from way above, some water skiing acrobatics, a flurry of daring lifts and jumps, as well as barefoot skiing, tandem jumps and then finished with the world-famous Cypress Gardens water ski pyramid.

We watched the show that made Cypress Gardens "The Water Ski Capitol of the World." It is known as that because many water skiing "firsts" and over 50 world records were broken there.

Follow that up with an Ice skating revue, yes that's right, Ice Skating in the middle of Florida. It would be 3 more years before the Tampa Bay Lightning, and then the Florida Panthers would join the NHL. It was lame, but it was sitting, and it was cool (cool, as in temperature not quality).

Of course being called Cypress Gardens, you knew there had to be some gardens, they did have a lovely collection of Botanical gardens, about thirty acres of them. They also had some animals, and an Aviary. That's where birds are kept if you didn't already know.

Cypress Gardens operated until 2003, when it closed after a prolonged tourism decline following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Plans to reopen the park in September 2004 were delayed by approximately $30 million in damages created by hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne. Cypress Gardens Adventure Park finally opened in November 2004. One of its new attractions, the Triple Hurricane roller coaster, was named after the triple hurricane season.

After a rather 'uncomfortable' day, we headed back to Disney World. We had a 4 day pass, so we may as well make use of it, back to EPCOT again, and watch their laser/fireworks show again.

Tuesday @ Gatorland

Gatorland is a 110-acre theme park and wildlife preserve located between Orlando and Kissimmee. Billed as the "Alligator Capital of the World," Gatorland features thousands of alligators and crocodiles, a breeding marsh with a boardwalk and observation tower, reptile shows, aviary, petting zoo, a swamp walk and educational programs. The entrance is even impressive.

There is a huge variety of gators here, huge being the key word, some are as long as 15 feet and over 1000 lbs. We learn the difference between crocodiles and alligators, and see the evolution from egg to cute little hatchlings, to caymans, to nightmare inducing monsters.

One of the "highlights" was the Gator Jumparoo, where they suspend raw chickens and the alligators leap out of the water to grab them. Damn they can move fast, and they are ravenous. This is where the feeding frenzy in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" was filmed.

It seems a little odd to have a wildlife preserve selling alligator belts, boots, wallets and purses. Of course we couldn't leave the alligator capital of the world without a can of Chowder for my Dad.

Believe it or not, he told me it tastes like chicken... see, I told you!

Silver Springs: Voyage in the Wild Kingdom, is located 90 miles north of Orlando. It is the site of one of the largest artesian spring formations in the world, producing nearly 550 million gallons of crystal-clear water daily. In the 1870s, the invention at Silver Springs of the "glass bottom boat" gave visitors a spectacular and unique view of the springs. Silver Springs gained national attention through journals and guidebooks, and became a mandatory stop on the "grand tour" of Florida.

After doing the glass bottom boat tour, the second boat tour we do is the 2.5 mile River cruise, meant to give you a glimpse into the florida jungles, and give you an opportunity to see the only free roaming monkey population in North America. Colonel Tooey, who operated the Jungle Cruise boat ride, established the first troop of wild rhesus monkeys in the 1930s on an island in the Silver River. Tooey established the colony to attract visitors to his ride, but did not realize the rhesus monkeys were excellent swimmers. They quickly escaped, forming wild troops along the river.

We realized how wild they were when one leaped onto our boat after we got too close, I thought the guide was going to abandon us and leap off the boat, but she recovered from the scare, and moved the boat close enough to a tree for him to climb back off. We are constantly being told how wild they are, but aside from a few old ladies screaming, we all stared and grinned at the monkey, and I donned my National Geographic pose, taking pictures of our stowaway.

Many movies and TV shows were filmed at Silver Springs including six of the original Tarzan movies, starring Johnny Weissmuller, from 1932-1942. More than 100 episodes of "Sea Hunt," starring Lloyd Bridges were filmed here, and there still is Sea Hunt movie sets. The clarity of the water of the Silver River made it useful for filming underwater scenes for James Bond movies such as Moonraker, episodes of the Six Million Dollar Man, and of course the classic horror movie...
'The Creature from the Black Lagoon' was filmed here in 1954.

Silver Springs features a lot of native animal exhibits, with over 300 kinds of animals.

We explored the natural habitats of Florida’s alligators, saw some wildlife shows from birds to snakes and reptiles, got up close to the critters in the Kritter Korral petting zoo, very close.

It doesn't quite fit with the Springs theme, but they also have an impressive collector car museum, featuring a classic 'ahead of its time' 1948 Tucker, and a unique 1925 Rolls Royce Phantom.

Wednesday @ Busch Gardens

Since we were flying out of Tampa Bay, we saved our last day for the infamous Busch Gardens - The Dark Continent. Busch Gardens is a 335 acre 19th century African-themed park located in Tampa. It opened in 1959 as an admission-free hospitality facility for the Tampa Anheuser-Busch brewery on the grounds of the manufacturing plant. Visitors could watch animal acts in a tropical setting and before leaving the grounds entered a beer garden offering free Busch beer to drink. Busch Gardens began charging admission as the entertainment became more complex, with extra fees for the thrill rides, such as the roller coasters for which Busch Gardens is now known.

Busch Gardens is broken up into eight different themed areas, each one based on a different area of Africa. One by one we would make our way through the Dark Continent. Hey, I didn't make that up, that's what they call it... so no harsh e-mails or phone-calls please.

Morocco is the first area you enter, and as I would find out many years later in the real place, there is no need to return. It's highlights are a snake charmer and a lame song and dance review.

Crown Colony is home to the famous Budweiser Clydesdales. The area is setup with a chance to see the famous beer wagon, an assortment of the huge Clydesdale horses, and their barns.

Nairobi is home to a number of animal exhibits, including crocodiles, fish, and monkeys. It has a small petting zoo and an exhibit called nocturnal mountain where the night dwellers hang. Nairobi is also the boarding location for their historic Trans-Veldt railroad Steam train which connects you to different areas of Busch Gardens and takes you through the wildlife areas like the Serengeti.

Serengeti Plain is representative of the wildlife reserves in Africa, wide open spaces, and many animals such as Camels, Elephants, zebras, giraffes, chimps, rhinos, Cape Buffalo, Gazelles, Greater Kudus, and Hippos. There is also a Skyride and monorail to whisk you away from here.

Timbuktu is a unique looking area featuring a Dolphin exhibit and show. It's main focus is Midway style games and an assortment of rides like the Scorpion 360, Crazy Camel, and the Sandstorm.

Congo would be an area where we spend a lot of time, it is the home of the beautiful White Bengal tigers. I could watch these amazing animals playing and swimming, yes swimming, all day.

Around the corner from the main White Bengal exhibit is the Nursery. We have come at the right time, and have a chance to see several baby Bengals. In order to prevent cross-breeding as there is only a few original White tiger sires, they breed them with Orange tigers. Each litter of cubs has a 50% chance of being either white or orange. This litter would be 2 orange and 2 white... 50%.

Some other big attractions in the Congo area are the Python, a 1200 ft corkscrew roller coaster and the Congo river rapids, an 8 person round raft, that winds down a turbulent river with waterfalls designed to soak the unlucky few who happen to be on that side of the raft as they pass.

Stanleyville named after Stanley Livingstone I presume, features a broadway style variety show, as well as Orangutans, which are in their own way better than a variety show. There is also a couple water based rides, one is a standard log flume, the other is the Tanganyika Tidal Wave fast water adventure. Much like Splash Mountain it is designed to create a massive Tidal wave that soaks not only the passengers, but also the bystanders who happen to be watching from or near the bridge at the end of the ride. The funny thing is watching how many gullible people are lured up onto the bridge by secret Busch Gardens staff... do they not see how wet the bridge is?

Bird Gardens & Brewery are the last area of the park, there is an interesting bird exhibit and show, the colourful flamingo Island, and Eagle Canyon. Before you leave you are treated to a brewery tour, and a Bavarian band playing in a Beer garden... sadly, the beer is no longer free.

Even without the free beer, Busch Gardens is definitely one of the premier theme parks in North America, and I highly reccomend anyone staying in Orlando to make a 1 day or overnight trek to Tampa Bay to check it out, you won't regret it. We sure didn't.