Florida’s Oldest Roadside Attraction at Silver Springs State Park - Took The Glass Bottom Boat Tour!
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2020
- Welcome to Silver Springs and welcome back to Florida’s Roadside Attractions & Abandoned Places. Today we visit Florida’s oldest roadside attraction at Silver Springs State Park near Ocala, Florida. Let’s take the world famous Glass Bottom Bout tour and see what there is to find at this old Florida tourist attraction. There is much ahead!
#roadsideattraction #abandonedplaces #silversprings
#ocala #florida #nature
#travel
The entire park is just gorgeous! It was a great day glad I could share this with all of you. Thanks for watching.
My dad and I used to love to take that tour I have taken it several times good vlog my friend
That’s awesome buddy. I really enjoyed the park I can imagine how wonderful and happy of memories of him you have out there. I hope you get to stop in there one day
@@TampaJay;) Both of you are awesome! Great vlogs and many more!
I have never been there. Thanks for sharing this place. It looks like a great place for those of us that need a wheelchair to get around. Thanks again and I watch all of your videos.
Mind me asking how much you paid? For how long? Thank you.
I worked at Silver Springs for years.. Back when we had all the concerts, car shows, animal shows, the alligators etc... The empty boat that you were wondering about was used to sell beer and drinks when we had our concerts and events.. The mansion was the stage.. Loved it there.. Best job ever ❤
I worked with Oscar he's a really nice guy..
Hi Jay! ❤️❤️This! I used to work concert security there for bout 6 yrs. That huge painted mural on the ground, was the site of a walk up gift shop. The antique boat sitting in the lawn of the stage is an actual retired boat and it was our bar during concerts there. The frog slide was actually a water slide brought over from Wild Waters next door....the spring is a constant 72° yr round, 98% pure, cleaner than most municipality water supplies annnnd its the beginnings of the St Johns river that flows NORTH up the Fl and exits in Jacksonville. The St Johns is the only other river than the Nile that flows North on Earth!! The monkees that are there are all direct descendents from the Tarzan movies! They are ornery, at night, they used to get in the security trucks and eat the night guards food! 😆😆I know more, Just ask! God🙏Bless! Soo sorry bout ur Dad. Im still struggling from losing my Mom in 2018! Take care!!
At summer camp in 1991 we went to wild waters and then silver springs. I remember wild waters had a wave pool
Not true ! The white river in NW Arkansas flows North to MO.
Boy, did that bring back the memories. I was in in the late 70s a a kid.
That’s so awesome. Good memories of this place was beautiful. thank you so much for watching
Me too
Well done Jay, I like the Ocala area, it's more of what Florida use to be, those were the good ole' days....i miss the old Florida, the less crowded, smaller places, like Cypress Gardens, etc...
Thank you Greg. Old Florida Americana stuff is the best !
We went there. In 1965. And 1967 and it was awusume. Easter 1965 and summer. 1967, i will take. My wife. And. Kids next spring. Alot. Of good times. Thanks.
I am so glad that you did this video because I had no idea that Silver Springs has been turned into a State Park. Several years ago I saw a video a guy did where he snuck into the abandoned park and filmed some areas and it was so sad to see it that way. I lived in Ocala from 1979 to 1987. My family had season tickets to Silver Springs in the 1980's and spent some wonderful times there. At one point there were reptile shows, jungle cruises, a wildlife park, antique car and player piano museum, gift shops, eateries, you name it, it was a hopping place. I bet we had the same tour guide you had on the glass bottom boat. He sounded familiar! Not far from the Sea Hunt area, near the memory garden is (or at least was) a large stone with a plaque on it dedicated to a childhood friend of my son, Wayne Senser, who died when he was about 10. I wonder if it is still there. Wayne loved going to the park as much as my son did. Wow, this video brought back a flood of memoires! Thanks for making it!
You forgot the Petting Zoo. 😊
I bought tons of their fudge when I lived near Ocala.
LOL the boat captain’s voice and tone tho 😂😂😂😂😂 I’m dead😂😂😂😂😂😂
The most mellow tour guide ever?? His voice was making me sleepy!! :)
That water is crystal clear that's good 👍
It’s so beautiful
What a beautiful and relaxing place!
It so was relaxing and peaceful out there thank you for watching Maddy
Oh man, I wish you could have seen this park 25-30 years ago....was amazing. Living in Gainesville we always visited to ride the glass bottom boat and see the animals. My last visit was right before it turned into a state park and they got rid of the gators and wild cats....it was a thing a beauty and has so much history!
Thats awesome! I would’ve loved to have seen it that long ago I wish I would’ve came sooner. I even lived in Ocala in the summer of 2009 I should’ve came to it more then too
Wow. It’s beautiful there! Considering a move to Ocala. Happy to find this video from you!
That poor Squirrel haha 🤣 perfect timing!!
I love Silver Springs!! Went there as a kid a few times on our family trips down to Orlando.. Found it fascinating! Creature from the Black Lagoon the Bond Movie!! This was the first place that got me into movie locations and probs. Nice work Tampa Jay.😁
Back in the 60s there was an awesome small beach there. I spent many hours there in the summer of 69 and 70'💕🐊⛱️🐟
Thank you for doing such a wonderful job! I had a great time with you!😉👍🏽
I really need to make it out to see this place. Great video, thanks for bringing us along for the trip.
The springs are so pretty. Beautiful mural
Its so amazing out there thanks buddy
I love parks liek this one, also I love water and a mix of them is the best for me. The water is so clear, like I see it in Homosassa Springs.
Absolutely loved this. I had no idea so many movies were made there.
Thanks Harry It’s got quite some film history very exciting.
Thanks for watching :)
Yeah we all had fun!!!!!!!! It's always fun tagging along on your video excursions into the unknown world of who knows what! It's a welcome little "escape" for a few minutes from the drudgery of Covid-19 boredom and a very interesting journey into a wonderous land who's boundries are that of imagination!! (Rod Serling)... Pretty cool boat ride too with so much history and natural beauty all around the place. Another beautiful spot where I know I will have to visit one day for myself now that I've sorta been there!
Thank you for a super great vlog, I was here 40 years ago & your video just sparked my memory back. So very true what you said that video cannot do the area any justice, Nik
I subscribed today because I saw you with Adam at the Pioneer Village. I liked your style. And then to come across this delightful tour of Silver Springs. I visited here twice. Once when I was in the 8th Grade. Back in 1972. Disney World was just the Magic Kingdom and you had to use Tickets. A - E. The second time was when our marching band marched in the Orange Bowl parade in 1975. I'm so glad they are still open and embrace the simple things in life. Thank you for wearing your mask and staying safe when with other people. Thank you for sharing. I remember those areas that were decaying when they were operating....
Oh my family visited silver springs and we loved it seeing all the animals
Absolutely an amazing gem of Florida I have been there many times over my lifetime and have many treasured memories of those visits.. Appreciate you sharing..there used to be another one called Rainbow Springs that too had the glass bottom boats.
I use to live in Bradenton Florida as a kid. During summer camp of 1991 we visited silver springs. It looked alot different back then and was really busy. I remember it had a antique car museum, a sea hunt cabin and a civil war boat at the bottom of the springs
That mural looked like a green turtle. Great video showing this park. Thanks for posting.
Thank you
You brighten my day Tampa Jay. Even though I can't get back to Florida because of the Covid you make me feel as though I'm there. Thanks again.
Aww thank you so much Joy! I hope the world heals up fast so we can all have the opportunity to enjoy these types of places, especially you. Thanks you kindly my friend
WOW! This is one of the most beautiful places I've seen! I can't wait to visit 😍
It’s so beautiful out there
Your videos are so nostalgic for me. Thank you for continuing to post.
Thank you so much Andrea I’m happy to hear you enjoy the videos. Thanks for joining your journey. :)
Thumbs up!
Thank you
That park is beautiful!
I am 51 years old the last time I was at that park is when we lived in Florida about 10 miles east of that part I would have been probably four years old and wow just from watching your video the changes that even I don’t remember such as that boardwalk I think that was fairly new put in it is my goal to get back to Florida to visit my childhood places that I visited this being one of them Mom has pictures of me soon I will see you sometime in the future thank you for your video
Thanks Jay
I like your style
You’re just a regular guy who likes the same neat stuff I do. Thanks for your cool tour of Silver Springs!
What a beautiful park good job
Awesome! That's were I live. I wish they never closed the other part of silver springs. This place used to be so much better. Still a cool place tho.
Glass bottom boats they make the rockin world go round
I see what you did there ha ha
I went to Silver Spirngs as a kid. I rode on tortoises while drinking orange aid out of an artificial orange. Now that I live in Florida again, I'd like to visit again. Thank you you for the coverage.
thank you for sharing all your videos,its jan 2021 and how great it is to see parts of florida i will never maybe never see
Thank you Chris happy to hear you enjoyed it appreciate you
That boat captain was a hoot! I have vague memories of visiting there as a child with my parents and grandparents, I definitely need to go back.
Oscar was so awesome! I just learned that was my Mom’s captain once there in the 70s. It’s truly a great and beautiful place full of good memories. Thanks for watching Laura
AMAZING! Thank you for this little trip through the park. ❤️😘
YES READY FOR MORE 👍👍👍👍👍👍❤
Thanks for the tour of such a beautiful place Jay. 🙂👍
I visited Silver Springs in 2001 when it was privately owed. They had more things, an adventure cruise boat ride around monkey island and a jeep tour through the jungle which was a blast. T most memorable though was the clarity of the water as seem from the glass bottom boat..
I have very distinct memories of the glass bottom boats when I was a young girl in the early 70's. My parents took us on a road trip and Silver Springs was one of our stops. I surely miss those days.
Loved it. ... Great Video!....
The water is so pretty and clear and the glass bottom boat was really fun! Beautiful park! Thanks!!!
MangobroskiJay😎, that water is very very clear wow..beautiful, I bet it's nice and cool out on the water in that cookn' hot sunshine..that's the kind of place if theres a fork in the road then take it! Cool learning the history of Osceola never knew that.
I remember taking a glass bottom boat tour in Hawaii back in the late 70’s..super fun, but the water wasn’t nearly as clear.. that was fantastic!!! Loved the movie and tv connection too.. Sea Hunt was a little before my time, but I watched it a bunch in reruns as it was one of my dad’s favorites!! Thanks so much TJ !!!
Smashed the Thumbs up TJ! totally amazing vid! :-D that place is a paradise!
Very beautiful on that board walk. Thankyou this was so serene, peaceful lovely, can't wait for next adventure. .😘😘
Thank you so much Mari I’m glad you enjoyed it it was such a beautiful day out there. I’m happy I could share it with you and everyone. Appreciate it so much hope you had a good weekend
Very nice park Jay! The water looked very clear and fresh. Cool boat ride and the fun facts.
I’ve been there a couple times. It’s so impressive. Your filming was great! Almost like being there. I used to love going swimming at Lithia Springs. The water is so cold, but feels great on a hot day😁I’ve seen lots of black bears “napping” on the side of the road. Sad.
I wouldn’t know what to do if I saw a bear napping on the side of the road that is very fast and cool! Lol Thank you for watching my friend
It really is I never understood why drivers can't slow down in these areas and the ones where panthers are also .It seems like everyone is in such a hurry getting to a certain place they don't enjoy one of the best parts the journey getting there .My wife and I travel a lot and by the time she does all her exploring a 2 hour trip can take 10 hours .She has to check out every interesting sight along the way and gets in no hurry .It isn't like these areas are not full of signs and lower speed limits where the wildlife is located .We live in a very remote area and it is always wise to slow down around here due to feral hogs and deer along the side of the road you really don't want to hit or be ran into by either one .The weirdest encounter on this road was years ago we had a large elk crossing in front of us with a herd of whitetails .It was quite unusual since we live in South Alabama .It apparently escaped from a paid hunting range and there was no mistaking it as being an elk who apparently took up with the whitetail does .We do have a lot of alligators crossing the road also down here in the swamps and have a black bear crossing sign in front of our home we have a resident mama bear that hangs out here in our wildlife habitats . Most who travel this road are locals and know the wildlife crossings quite well so slow down and watch for wildlife I wish everyone did .
Thanks I love to travel but can't right now obviously but so nice to come along on ur video. God bless you and thanks again
Good video my friend.
I haven't even seen your whole video yet; I just wanted to say seeing that expanse of water where the glass-bottom boats go, reminds me of taking pontoon boats from Disney Springs to Old Key West or Port Orleans!! Ok, going back to the video Tampa Jay!
Really enjoyed this video. While in the Air Force in the early 80's, this was by far, my favorite place that we visited. Back in the day they had a lot more going on but as you stated, the beauty of the park is what resonates. Thank you.
Again, thank you for taking us with you. Love watching you and seeing familiar sites.
Thank you for tagging along Bonnie it means so much :)
Great Video Jay! That is a place i want to visit in the near future.
Love the springs!! church campgrounds weren't too far from Silver Springs. One excursion from camp was to the springs. a cabin mate found a shark's tooth. (remember Florida had a habit of sinking and rising over time).
I've always wanted to go there.
Thanks for taking us.
Thanks for joining me Gemini. I’m happy you enjoyed the park I hope you get to go there for real one day :)
@@TampaJay are you from Florida?
I have lived near Tampa bay for 16 years originally from Indiana
@@TampaJay I've only been as far as Jacksonville. I love the ocean and hope to live near it one day. I'm sure Tampa is pretty. My mom lived in Englewood. Outside of Sarasota. She loved it. I'm going through a breakup and I need new landscape. Lol
Great video❤
Such a beautiful place! I took my Mom there back in the 80's. Pretty as ever. Thanks for the greyt tour! 👍
Thank you Xander awesome memories
Beautiful! Can't wait to explore it in real life. In the meantime, thanks for taking us along.
Thank you Carla I’m happy you came along that was a beautiful day
I lived this and can’t wait to visit Silver Springs once our weather cools off in early winter lol. Oscar was awesome; I found a few articles online that mention him. What a cool guy ❤️. Thanks for the tour & I’m glad your didn’t didn’t turn into a three hour tour, little buddy 🤣😂🤣. See you next time!
OMG !! 😲😱😱 Awesome video, I love, love all of it !! Wonderful and relaxing place. Big hug for you 🙊
Thank you so much Sandra happy you enjoyed it :)
Love your videos. Me and my gf love waking up and watching your videos. They always make us both smile. Please keep the videos coming.
Aww thanks so much guys.. You just made me smile! I’m happy to hear you are enjoying the videos, I don’t plan on ever stopping, always wishing I had more time to make more. There are so many fun things to see and do and I am so grateful for the opportunity to share my journeys with you guys. Thanks so much guys. I hope you are both having a great day :)
great is historic one of the first
Wow, haven’t been there in years. I saw .38 Special and Rick Springfield there a few also. The last few years before it became a state park, it was getting very run down and dingy, looks like it’s been cleaned up a lot. Hope you had a great time in Ocala, and thanks again for your awesome videos.
I worked at Silver Springs attraction back in 82 and 83 and it was beautiful it was a beautiful place it was a happening place it's gone downhill so badly they remove the water park used to be out on the corner of the highway 40 right next to that white and black building that you loved so much it's been a long time and I've not been there since it turned into a park state park but I know back in the day it was a gorgeous view beautiful park thank you for sharing
TJ - Great content, love the video my friend, we was supposed to visit there last November but our plans changed so missed it , but hopefully next time we are able to visit Florida we can enjoy it all the more armed with your information, we live in France so your videos give us hope that one day we can once again visit Florida, we done Miami - St Augusta - Orlando - Key West last year just love touring the US mainly Florida, keep up the good work Jay much appreciated
Thumbs up
I visited as a child during the 1960s. Last visted in 2013.
Thumbs up TJ!
Thank you Richard ;)
I just discovered your channel and this video. I have lived near Silver Springs my whole life and have visited it many times. It is still a beautiful place, but nothing like it was back in the day when they used to have all the animals there and Wild Waters. My mom still has a picture of me with a big snake when they used to do the reptile presentation and they would let guests hold the snake and get their picture taken with the snake. It was so much fun back then. It makes me kind of sad to see how it is now, but at least they still have the glass bottom boats. And, yes, those monkeys are scary! Great video!
Good video
At his best
Cool video and beautiful scenery TJ. Hope you’re good man.
Thanks buddy! You’re awesome
Tampa Jay your channel is doing very well. I’m proud of you. I knew you would be great at this. 👍🏻
First visit was in summer of ‘82. Did the glass bottom boats and jungle cruise with my daughter, age 6, and son age 2. They loved it! Didn’t return until June of 2019. Still beautiful, but nothing like it used to be.
Thank-you Jay! That place is beautiful!! I'd like to go there someday. The water is so clear. I saw a lot of kayakers. I never kayaked cause I was afraid the alligators would hit the kayak w/ their tails would flip me over! Have you ever kayaked? Would I have anything to worry about?? It looked like a group tour so I wouldn't mind that!! Thanks again for the video.
Shared❗
Miss all the animals they use to have there. Probably had the walkways up high because of the stray gators. Use to be so busy and had a water park next door. That was about 20 years ago.
i was just here, we went kayaking and it was very nice out
Wow you were right down the road from where we live
So awesome! That means you also live really close to El Toreo then 😋 🌮
Great video
Thank you Rob
Hey Jay, when I was a kid they had more attractions there. They had a deer park, alligator wrestling and Ross Allen snake show. Oh by the way the Creature from the Black Lagoon underwater scenes were filmed at Wakulla Springs near Tallahassee not Silver Springs. Another movie that was filmed at Silver Springs was The Yearling. Oh Wakulla Springs have the glass bottom boat rides too. Check it out sometime when you're up this way it's a old Florida roadside attraction off the beaten path.
I remember my grandmother buying me some Kodak 210 at that welcome building. Some film to load my new camera to capture our day. Thanks for this TJ
Now that’s an awesome and precious memory. I can always remember my parents grabbing film at the very last minute too. Those were the days. Thank you for watching my friend
What a beautiful place with some cool movie history! And I love Oscar the boat captain. Though I don't know if I want to visit a park where you have to worry about bear and alligator encounters along the trail. Seems like it would be a fun place for a nature walk. Right up until it wasn't when a bear or gator shows up. Thanks for taking us along with you!
It’s beautiful place out there and It was such an honor to have Oscar as my skipper. Thanks so much for watching my friend
Ross Allen had snake and reptile shows at the amphitheater.
We live about 2 miles from the park. I drive by the water tower everyday.
It's kind of sad that the park fell apart real quick. Wild Waters was a favorite hangout when we were kids.
I miss wild waters
Back in your store entry when you first come in to all the buildings on the left across from the glass bottom boats they had a huge it was like two or three stores done up for remember the memorabilia and it showed clips of the movies and when they were doing the pictures and scenes of everything and yeah it is a really cool park back in the day
Such a beautiful park. Thanks for sharing Jay. The only thing I worry about, besides the bears and alligators and monkeys, was that no one was wearing a mask. Be safe out there Jay.
Love the video. Came across by accident. Happy accident. Came here with my best pal when I was a kid. Rafter Silver Springs glass bottom boat we went to a waterpark can't remember the name of Splash something. I think it's close though. Thanks for sharing!
Great video. You have a little Adam the Woo (not a insult) love both channels. Dragonfly bench is awesome. The wild monkey 🐒 feeding warning ⚠️ lol
Thank you Adam’s a good friend I always take the comparison as a compliment. He’s a legend around here. I still gotta see a monkey out there
@@TampaJay you make great videos I live in palm beach Florida is rich in history. You should do a video on the middle silos. Keep the videos coming Jay. I love that Adam is moving back
The one that you said duh that's on the corner right there is where are used to work at her used to be called Harbor lights restaurant it was fast food with an ice cream parlor on the corner and bunch of people running up and down the sidewalks I've never seen it this deserted breaks my heart
This was a fun video. I want to kayak here and see the monkeys!
❤️❤️👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
That was a jungle Cruise that you're walking into at this point I'm watching it was a gorgeous boat ride it ride and see all the stuff and they had old houses and things back there on the river when the first settlers came in it's very pretty area you should get a kayak and go kayaking up there but don't go alone
this Park has style