It was announced on September 23, 2009, that the park would be closing immediately, saying they have explored every option to keep the park running and were unable to find a way to keep it open. Cypress Gardens and Splash Island reopened on March 28, 2009, however, the rides did not operate or were already removed and the animals were gone. On November 10, 2008, it was announced the park would temporarily close, and was shut down on November 17th that same year. Land South Holdings purchased Cypress Gardens at the bankruptcy auction on October 16, 2007, for $16.9 million, taking over operations of the park. In September 2006, Adventure Parks Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after sustaining over $30 million in damages due to the 2004 hurricane season which they never recovered from.

The park included many roller coasters including the Triple Hurricane which was named after the hurricane season which delayed its initial opening and later, the Starliner which operated at the Miracle Strip Amusement Park in Panama City. The park finally opened in November 2004 and the adjacent Splash Island water park in 2005. The initial plan was to open in September 2004 but that was delayed by damages created by Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne. On February 22, 2004, Adventure Parks Group purchased the property and renamed it Cypress Gardens Adventure Park. The Popes retired in the early 1980s and transferred the park to their son, Dick Pope Jr.

In the early 1960s, a custom photography boat named Miss Cover Girl was introduced, and the park became a popular site for the filming of television commercials.

In the 1950s, the Southern Belle attraction was introduced in which young women dressed in the crinolines reminiscent of the Antebellum South. Numerous movies were filmed at the park, including portions of This is Cinerama, the first feature film in the wide-screen format, and a string of Esther Williams films and TV specials in the 1950s and 1960s. It became known as the “Water Ski Capital of the World” because it was the site for many of the sport’s landmarks firsts and over 50 world records were broken there.

and his wife Julie, billed as Florida’s first commercial tourist theme park. Cypress Gardens opened on January 2, 1936, as a botanical garden planted by Dick Pope Sr.

Under The Cypress Tree by Ashleigh Z.