Lost Florida Tourist Attractions Are Part Of Florida History And Heritage

Florida's historical landscape is dotted with tourist attractions that didn't make it.

For every existing Florida tourist attraction, there seems to be two or three more that didn't survive.

In the years after World War Two and up into the 1960's, there were no interstate highways in Florida and no Turnpike.

A lot of these roads converged near Ocala, and then fanned out to head southwest toward Tampa and Sarasota or southeast toward Lake Okeechobee and Miami beyond.

Many of these lost Florida tourist attractions were on these old highways, typical Florida backroads.

Others came later, trying to feed off the frenzy surrounding Walt Disney World and the other major theme parks.

I've wandered around this state for almost 50 years and I am the first to admit that I don't always know which attraction is still alive and which ones have gone to that great theme park in the sky.

For example, Cypress Gardens, founded in 1936, finally bit the dust on September 23, 2009. That's only yesterday in the world of Florida tourist attractions. The home of Southern Belles and water skiers is now a new Florida tourist attraction, Legoland.

Even Epcot, still alive and well, is not the same attraction that Walt envisioned. The final chapter of "What Would Walt Do?" shows what Walt might have thought of today's Epcot.

The attractions listed on this page are no longer in business (I think). There may be something else on the site where they used to be because these things are like reincarnation.

For example, in the early 1970's I worked on the early phases of Circus World at I-4 and US-27 north of Haines City. It flopped, and became Boardwalk and Baseball in the late 1980's.

That also flopped, and the property is now Posner Park, a mixed use development of residences, hotels, shopping centers and offices.

Orlando's International Drive is also the graveyard of lost Florida tourist attractions. More than one have bit the dust.

For example, the Guinness World Records Experience was on I Drive (as it's called locally), and when it failed it was replaced by Hard Rock Vault. Hard Rock Vault closed, and I don't know what's in the building now.

When you are wandering around Florida's backroads, it is fun to ask the locals where the lost attraction was and go visit it.

Here are the ones I know about. I'm sure there are many more, but this is a start.

I also invite you to create your own web page about any of these lost attractions - or others you might know of - using the form at the bottom of this web page. Tell us about any attraction you visited or give us any information you might have.

PANAMA CITY BEACH
Castle Dracula
Jungleland Zoo
Long Beach Deer Ranch
Magic World
Miracle Strip Amusement Park
The Ocean Opry
Petticoat Junction/Old Laredo
Snake-a-Torium
Toombstone Territory
Top O' the Strip Observation Tower

WAKULLA SPRINGS
Wakulla Springs (now Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park)

ST. AUGUSTINE
Casper's Ostrich & Alligator Farm
Cross and Sword
Gator Land (not the one in Kissimmee)
Mystery House
Tragedy In The US Museum

DAYTONA BEACH
Atomic Tunnel
Forest Amusement Park
Klassix Auto Museum
Jungle Gardens
Sea Zoo

KISSIMMEE
Haunted Mansion (not the one at Walt Disney World)
Indian World Museum and Trading Post
Jungleland Zoo
Splendid China

LAKE WALES
Black Hills Passion Play
Masterpiece Gardens
St. Anne Shrine, Grotto of Lourdes

ORLANDO
Florida Festival
Guinness World Records Experience
Hard Rock Vault
King Henry's Feast
Mystery Fun House
Stars Hall Of Fame
Terror on Church Street
Skull Kingdom
Wings and Wheels Museum

SILVER SPRINGS
Carriage Cavalcade
Early American Museum
Paradise Park
Prince of Peace Memorial
Ross Allen's Reptile Institute
Tommy Bartlett's International Deer Ranch
Six Gun Territory

SARASOTA
Circus Hall Of Fame
Museum of the Cross
Sunshine Springs & Gardens
Texas Jim's Sarasota Reptile Farm and Zoo

ST. PETERSBURG
Caswell Orchid Gardens
Criswell's Money Museum
Florida Wild Animal & Reptile Ranch
Fountain of Youth
Gresh Wood Parade
HMS Bounty
Moses Tabernacle In The Wilderness
St. Petersburg Alligator Farm
Sunken Gardens (Now a city park)
The Peacock Farm
Webb's City

TAMPA
Fairyland Park
Fun Forest
Rattlesnake Farm
Supertest Amusement Park
Treasureland

FORT MYERS
Fantasy Isles
Florida Marine Museum
Fort Myers Tropical Gardens
Honey Bee Observatory

BOCA RATON
Africa U.S.A.
Ancient America
International Museum of Cartoon Art

MIAMI
Bryce's Kiddie Park
Coppinger's Pirate's Cove
Donnin's Arms Museum
Famous Trees
Funland Park
Lost Lake
Miami Aquarium & Marine Museum
Miami Marine Stadium
Miami Rare Bird Farm
Miami Serpentarium
Miami Wax Museum
Musa Isle Indian Village
North Miami Zoological Garden
Planet Ocean
Policemen's Park
Tropical Hobbyland

The internet is a treasure trove of information about these old tourist attractions. Here are some interesting websites.

Several good books are available that focus on the grand old days of Florida lost tourist attractions.

Do You Know Something About A Lost Florida Tourist Attraction?

What Other Visitors Have Said

Blacks Haunted House...And A Very Scared Family! As a family we always went on a yearly vacation all over Florida. So in my 50 years I have seen and worked at a lot of attractions. But Blacks Haunted ...

The Travler I've grown up in FL and I've seen a lot come and go.

Two that I don't see on the list is Dixie Stampede and Race Roc. If you go to Fun Spot in Kissimmee ...

Tropical Wonderland... While I missed actually being able to go to this park while it was open, I live around the corner from where it used to be.

Before the property was....

Mystery Pictures Stars Hall of Fame I recently scrapbooked pictures of a trip I took to Disney World when I has 12 (in 1983). I was able to piece the pictures together with the help of the ...

Aquatarium Photos Hi,

I found your site while looking for more information on the Aquatarium. I have posted some photos from 1970 at:

http://vintagevacationphotos....

Garden of Eden Don't forget the Garden of Eden that was located somewhere near Bristol in the Florida panhandle.

A local preacher named Callaway believed that the ...

Dania Beach/Hollywood's Pirates World I loved that place. From the scary wooden roller coaster the "Mouse Trap" to the giant towers with the rope bridge hanging between them. The rope bridge ...

OCEAN WORLD: Victim of Animal Rights Activism Growing up in Florida in the 60's was a lot of fun if you were a dolphin lover like me. Back in those days, Florida was known as 'Porpoise Show Row' for ...

Follow The Yellow Brick Road . . . Once Upon A Time in Orlando-Land there lived two families.

The May Family and the Ellis Family were neighbors.

During the summer, Ruth May and Betty ...

Mystery Fun House in Orlando Orlando was an exciting place to be in the early years after Walt Disney World opened in 1971. Other big projects were in the wind, including Florida ...

Floridaland Tried To Be All Things To All Tourists My grandparents moved from Indiana to Osprey, near Venice, in 1960. A few years later - in 1964 - Floridaland opened as one of the unusual tourist attractions ...

Six Gun Territory Was Here Before Walt Disney World Six Gun Territory in Ocala, Florida, was a very popular attraction in the days before Walt Disney World.

This western themed Florida tourist attraction ...

Musa Isle Indian Village In Miami, Florida Old timers in Miami tell me that the Everglades essentially began right about where 27th Avenue is today.

Everything west was The Swamp, and land was ...

Marco Polo Park Shortly before Walt Disney World opened in October 1971, I began to notice construction of a new theme park on the west side of I-95 north of Ormond and ...

Remembering Stars Hall of Fame I've always been fascinated by wax museums.

Everyone - well, just about everybody - has heard of Madame Tussaud's famous chain of wax museums that today ...

AQUATARIUM: "The World's Greatest Marine Show!" If you were a dolphin lover like me, growing up in Florida in the 60's was a lot of fun especially if you had parents like Sam and Ruth May.

Once a ...

Remembering the AQUATARIUM In 1955 the Miami Seaquarium opened on 55 acres of reclaimed tideland of Virginia Key. It was hailed as the world's largest tropical oceanarium and was ...

Gone But Not Forgotten My fascination with oceanariums began in 1965 when I got hooked on "Flipper".

Every Saturday night I was glued to the TV watching the adventures of ...

Lost Florida Tourist Attractions
Gone But Not Forgotten

Do You Know Something About A Lost Florida Tourist Attraction?

What Other Visitors Have Said

Enjoy Florida Tourist Attractions
That Are Still Open And Operating

Lost Florida Tourist AttractionsGone But Not Forgotten

Do You Know Something About A Lost Florida Tourist Attraction?

What Other Visitors Have Said

Enjoy Florida Tourist AttractionsThat Are Still Open And Operating

Lost Florida Tourist Attractions
Gone But Not Forgotten

Enjoy Florida Tourist Attractions
That Are Still Open And Operating