Cypress Gardens

This park, perched on the shores of Lake Eloise, opened as a botanical garden in 1936 and soon became world famous for its performance water-ski shows and carnival rides. It closed in 2003, but new owners updated and reopened the park in 2007. Today it is an enchanting mix of rides; bucolic gardens; live performances (including the now classic water-ski shows); animal displays, such as a butterfly house; and weekend concerts, blessedly free of loud music and sensory overload. And the Southern Belles walking around, straight out of Gone With the Wind, are as synonymous with Cypress Gardens as water skiing. Ask about them at the gate.