The story of Moby Dick at the end is such great mythology. A rogue one-eyed dolphin performer who escaped from his theme park home and entertained random Floridians as he ventured up and down the coast. Just rad.
Lol I once made a "Floridaland" in Planet Coaster and "THE I-4 Experience," which was themed around heavy traffic and crashed vehicles, was one of my main attractions alongside a log flume ride "Gator Encounter" and a rollercoaster "Category 5." I was working on the "Publix Experience" when I got bored.
I was raised in Sarasota. Went to Floridaland when I was 5ish. All I remember about it is a deer tried to eat my dress and the freestanding headless, plywood, cutout’ cancan girl and cowboy photo op area. I was too small to reach the neck so it’s a headless cancan girl with a small head attached to her shoulder.🙄 I still have that pic. Interesting video, there was a lot I didn’t know about its history!!
AHHHH NOT YOU DOING A VIDEO ON THE TOWN I LIVE IN. The national park that sites on Floridaland now is incredible. My neighborhood literally sits on the land of Floridiand. Never thought anyone would make this video. (If you can’t tell I’m excited I am 😂) also never thought I’d know more lore about a theme park than a theme park nerd. Nevermind the fact that I was born and raised in Osprey, FL 😂❤❤❤❤
Also I’m very happy you made this. I felt like the only person who knew this existed. I will be going to Oscar Sherer national park this weekend in floridalands honor.
For those curious about the UFO looking building at 25:25, that is a Finnish product - the Futuro house by Matti Suurunen. It was made of plastic and meant to be used as a Summer cabin that you fly into the area and put on stilts. The concept died quickly with the oil crisis (plastic prices quadrupled) and when it was discovered that plastic does NOT weather well over the years in Winter. You can see a refurbished one at a museum in Tapiola, Espoo, Finland. It must have been shipped in from Finland, where they were made.
It looks like 2001 Odyssey in Tampa bought it for it's adult entertainment site. I used to drive by it to do beer pick up at Cigar City. Always thought it looked a little strange.
Seems to be a recurring theme: Phase 1: Let's open a theme park! Phase 2: Wow! It's expensive to run a theme park! Phase 3: In order to stay open, we're going to raise ticket prices while reducing the amount of stuff to do and see Phase 4: Let's sell this failing husk at a point where it's near impossible to salvage to someone that doesn't really know how to run a theme park Phase 5: RUclipsr makes documentary on this failed theme park. Oddly enough, Disney itself seems to be firmly in the middle of Phase 3 at the moment.
@@nbewarwe doesn’t matter why they’re highly profitable. They’re still highly profitable. Their parks are still getting 10k plus attendance per day. Their hotels are still 95% occupied. Sponsees aren’t buying those rooms and tickets. The original posting clearly implies they’re financially strapped. That’s clearly incorrect any way you cut it
@@Meatball2022 I went on a school day on a TUESDAY in the off season and it was SO crowded at Disneyland.. I asked my cousin when weren't they crammed? She said they're always packed. Couldn't walk anywhere without being in a crowd. People will smile and shell out $$$ for fast passes like it's nothing.
25 дней назад+30
Florida has a lot of parks with history. It's always interesting to learn about each and every new one.
My Parents and I visited Florida many times in the 1960's. I never visited Floridaland but I did visit the Ice cream Bunny at Pirate's World in Dania, FL many times. The biggest thrill there was riding the original Steeplechase Ride from Coney Island. I also visited Six Gun Territory several times. Probably the best Western Town Attractions I have ever been to. Wild West City in NJ. (which is still running) is the second. We also visited St. Augustine, Marineland, Cypress Gardens, Weeki Wachee and Silver Springs. We also visted Jungleland near Miami where I got to meet Johnny Weismuller (Tarzan/Jungle Jim). There were plenty of things to do and see in Florida before Disney.
Hi Sam! I find the story of Floridaland to be interesting, but I feel so bad for the dolphins. Using Bay Lake water never ends well [even Disney learned this the hard way with River Country]. And honestly even if Floridaland somehow managed to make it past the 70s, I feel like parks like Epcot and Busch Gardens would have been the nail in the coffin for Floridaland. Also, I see the Expedition Restaurants logo in the new intro and I am super excited as I am a huge restaurant history buff. From Burger Chef and how Mcdonald's stole the Happy Meal from them, to Jack In The Box Restaurants' evolution [personally I prefer the 1970s version of the Jack mascot from the animated ads and the comics mostly because Paul Winchell was the voice actor for him at the time], to Chuck E Cheese's evolution and the many, MANY animatronic-based restaurants that tried to get a piece of the CEC pie, restaurants can be just as interesting as theme parks [and often cut-throat too, look at the many restaurant chains Hardee's bought out solely to convert said restaurants into Hardee's locations]. Funny thing is, with Chuck E Cheese, it all goes back to Disney, as Nolan Bushnell originally wanted to work for Disney but was rejected, and also got inspiration for CEC from the Country Bear Jamboree.
FYI... that SkyGlider (what we call it in Illinois) is still going strong at the Illinois State Fair. My parents owned concession stands at the fair all my life til into the 2000's. Can't imagine how many times I rode that thing😂
Despite growing up in Florida, I never knew about Floridaland. I did however get to experience Six Gun Territory, Cypress Gardens, Marco Polo Park and Circus World before they ended. My parents also took me to Busch Gardens, Marineland, Gatorland, Weeki Wachee and of course Disney and Sea World. By the time Universal came to Orlando I was an adult working in entertainment so have my own stories there.
Someone needs to make a movie about the dolphin who escaped his captures and went on adventures. Occasionally popping up to tell the humans he's still doing good and to give the finger to the people after him.
I always think about an alternate timeline in which Disneyland went through with WestCot, while Walt Disney World's 4th gate was a Florida-themed theme park named Disney's Florida Escape
Honestly, not the most unbelievable alternate timeline when you consider that public pressure overcame their reluctance to build a Pirates ride actually close to the real Caribbean.
I have this mental picture of folks checking into the Holiday Inn for years after, asking when they can see the dolphins in the swimming pool. And loved loved loved the account of Moby Dick’s jailbreak!
5:20 - Hmmm, I think that strange orange UFO-like building might be another surviving fragment of Floridaland. It looks like it was repainted silver and placed atop the roof of the 2001 Odyssey "gentlemen's club" in Tampa. You can see it pretty clearly as you drive past on Dale Mabry Highway!
That is the Futuro house by Finnish designer Matti Suurunen. Only 20 were made, though. Few survive. It was meant to be easily moved (to be put in site) so I wouldn't be surprised if they helicoptered the Floridaland one over to Tampa.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the insecticide contamination was related to the vast quantities of insecticide required to produce Florida Oranges TM and Florida Orange Juice TM lol. Especially considering the fact that, at the time, there were almost certainly few, if any, regulations and a far more cavalier public attitude.
This made me laugh because being from California, I went to California Adventure in 2005 and always thought it was hilarious that a park existed around my home state. Also, LANCE IS BACK LETS GOO
A 2024 Florida Land would have to include Disney World Land. Popular attractions would include the Ride Queue Simulator and the Dark Ride Dark Ride, in which guests watch animatronics riding a much more interesting dark ride. At the end there is a simulated gift shop in which you have to stand behind a velvet rope and can't actually buy anything.
Thanks for the video; being from California I don’t remember ever hearing about this park. DCA was pretty sorry when it started but has improved greatly since it de-emphasized the original vision.
It really seems like Cyprus Gardens was the one local park that survived (and only then because Merlin bought it to make a Legoland next to the original gardens).
I think the biggest surprise people would have with a theme park called Bathland is realising it's a theme park rather than a shop where you can buy bathroom stuff
Floridaland is where I’m from. Just down the road, however I do have friends who live in the development that came afterwards. I have a photo when I was a child visiting there. I worked with a lady who was a can can dancer when she was young. I want to thank you for a nice history piece about the park.
When I was a kid in the 80’s I lived with my grandparents for a short time in Ruskin,Fl (I still live in Fl). I used to see all the tourist attractions pamphlet from all over the state because my grandparents used to collect things from everywhere they used to go. I remember seeing post cards and pamphlets from Floridaland and never knew about it until your video.
My mom, dad, and I visited Floridaland in 1970, when I was a young child. My mom had a thing for show gardens, and we visited them all. I don’t remember much about it except the dolphins. You might be interested in a defunct amusement park that existed from the late 50s/early 60s until some time in the early 80s called Lakeland. It was located just east of Memphis, Tennessee off of I-40. It consisted of a large man made lake, some kiddie rides, a picnic area, the cable cars recycled from a World’s Fair (Brussels I think), a speedway/drag strip, a steam train named Huff & Puff, a restaurant, and a large dance hall. It’s the only amusement park (at least, according to my research) that, many years after it became a memory, lent its name to a newly-incorporated town. The city of Lakeland is now full of large McMansion-style homes. The drag strip and speedway long outlasted most of the other features of Lakeland, up into the early 90s, then abandoned completely.
I grew up in Venice and often went to Floridaland as a child. I LOVED going there with my family & friends!!! I think about Floridaland now and again wondering why it closed and now I know so thank you for sharing this mini documentary on it. You brought back many fond memories of my visits there. I am sure I was crushed when it closed, but maybe it influenced my decision later in life to move out West to CO then SO AZ 1 hour and 20 minutes from Tombstone a real old Wild West town. 🌵🐃🤠🐎🌵
I have never been to Florida, USA but everything I hear about it sounds so surreal. If I ever do a trip to the USA I feel like I HAVE to make that part of the trip along with Texas and California.
In spite of the fact that NJ has so much more going for it than the stereotypes people associate with it and more directly the small area outside of NYC they associate it with (or anything involving the Sopranos) I dread to think what would be a NJ theme park.
I grew up about 30 minutes from Osprey and I had no idea this existed. It boggles my mind to hear Venice and Sarasota talked about as tourist destinations, but I guess anything went back before Orlando became the center of the theme park universe!
I’m blown. I’ve worked at that sky ride at the Illinois state fair. I had NO idea this is where they came from! Also makes them way more terrifying than they originally were!! I’m not sure if the carts are the same but the supports are the EXACT same supports that hold the sky glider I still ride on every year at the fair! Terrifying!!!!!
@ the carts don’t look exactly like that and I have mild hope they’ve upgraded the line but there’s no doubt in my mind those supports are the EXACT way they were when they showed up. I do remember it being refurbished within the last 15 years but that could have just been a new coat of paint🤷🏼♀️ This does makes me wonder how many ‘rides’ like this have unknown lore to this extent though. I’ve lived through 25 Illinois state fairs and even WORKED AT THE DARN THING and had no idea the trauma this poor ride holds😭🤣
In my hometown they have a football hall of fame (American football) & for fans it's a great museum to visit. Now they're building a football themed village around this attraction. Although it's good for business in the area, at the moment they ran out of money to finish a hotel/water park. And I understand that it costs quite a bit to build any themed attraction, park or village, let alone keep it operating. Hopefully this village doesn't end up like the Floridaland story & actually thrives. Great video!
I assume you've already heard about Muppet*Vision 3D and Muppets Courtyard at Disney's Hollywood Studios will be closing to become a new Monster Inc. Theme Land and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith will be retheme to The Muppets? So The Muppets lose theirs original attraction and theme area while in return will be taking over another attraction at Hollywood Studios. That's is a lot to take in, what you think about all of this?
I remember going to Florida Land as a youngster several times with my father during the 60s. We lived just south of the attraction in Charlotte County and Dad was a fan of western themed amusement parks. We would also occassionally visit Six Gun Territoty in Ocala.
That's awesome that Moby got away and lived to come up outta nowhere and surprise people in the water ........ "Hey kid wanna see me do a trick"? 😅...... Go Moby go!!!! ❤️
Feeling fortunate that my local park, Carowinds, is still (somewhat) themed to Carolina history and culture. I never got to see the park in its earliest years when it was all-in on the Carolina theming, but I'm glad that in more recent years they've been slowly transitioning the park back to it's original themes and are even including lots of homages and references to past attractions that were lost over the (Paramount Parks) years.
Fun fact: Carowinds on the NC/SC border near Charlotte was originally opened as a Carolinas-themed amusement park. Paramount took it over after about 25 years and gradually replaced a lot of the themed stuff with rides based around movies that they owned, which then had their themes removed when they sold it to Cedar Fair. But there have been some Carolinas-themed things that have survived, and a few that were even added in over the years.
Hey, One of my favorite musicians grew up in Swindon and you worked at it's twin town at Disney World. Can't be be all bad. I have vaguely heard about this place. Don't know if it was something that come up in the history column that sometimes was in the Sentinel or one of those lost attraction sites. As to where I'm living, We've got a world class aquarium, beaches, Car Week, The Jazz Festival, kayaking on the slough, sailing on Monterey Bay. Kinda works best as it is.
Isn’t this Oscar Scherer State Park now? I remember flyers for Floridaland at the rest area kiosks but my parents never took me there. I did visit Six Gun Territory & the original Busch Gardens, as well as the Aquatarium & Tussaud’s Wax Museum on St. Pete Beach.
Good for you Moby... Funnily enough there was a theme park based on where I live although sadly it was not called 'chavland'. Missed opportunity. Dickens World was a relatively small outlet located in Chatham Maritime near the Historic Dockyard and although technically it was based around Dickens the novelist rather than 'Chatham' or 'Medway' the greater area is often called 'Dickens Country'. On signposts and everything... Although of course it stands no more much like our titular Florida Land here replaced by a 'ninja warrior' centre or something and you're more likely if you asked a local about the area to hear about the time someone got stabbed to death in the car park than for anyone to remember what was once in that particular building. Yeah that happened, I was nearby in fact, I just so happen to live practically next door incidentally. Good times.
Honestly, a Floridaland today could be pretty cool. There's a lot to the history of the state that tends to get forgotten about due to the more tourist-y and meme-y aspects of the state, so taking a more historical approach could be interesting. I mean St. Augustine is the oldest city in America, tons of inventions came from Florida, the state has tons of food that's either popular here, or was created here, and so on. The original Floridaland only seemed to scrape the surface of that potential.
In case anyone is interested, do your research. The Tallahassee pbs station published the information. Just Google Florida is the ORIGINAL GARDEN OF EDEN. Prove me wrong please. Old World Florida RUclips channel has all the information you might be interested in.
Back in this time, Norfolk/ Virginia Beach had 4 beach pier amusement parks and several other 'theme parks' like one outside of Colonial Williamsburg. Now of course, we have Busch Gardens Williamsburg and one of the beachfront amusement parks moved inland. Now it it is basically a large swimming pool with go-carts and a huge Gorilla statue.
You: "I just wanted everyone to experience the horror of the Ice Cream Bunny one more time." Me: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I honestly miss those old tourists traps. When i was a kid the city i went to in summer didn't have a boardwalk but the road facing the beach was lined with shops, mini golf, Bungie jumping, attractions, a theme park, etc. now its all condos and you can barely even see the ocean unless you are staying in one of those condos.
What are the rides at a Theme Park based on where you are from?
Zoo and animals (Chessington World Of Adventures)
Edit: it appears I misunderstood the question
Sadly, we don't have a BostonLand... yet
I’m in Salisbury, so you’ve already covered it.
Mostly bigger rides. Buzz Lightyear, Return of the mummy, etc.
For me... the corkscrew Rollercoaster in Shakopee, Minnesota ❤❤❤
The story of Moby Dick at the end is such great mythology. A rogue one-eyed dolphin performer who escaped from his theme park home and entertained random Floridians as he ventured up and down the coast. Just rad.
Amazing right
It can't get more Florida than that...
It's a plot that would actually work really well as an animated Disney movie
I have a cousin who swears he saw him in the wild😂
@RariettyC so true
Moby Dick getting to live the rest of his life as a free dolphin was not the heartwarming ending I was expecting.
Actually it was a happy ending. Watch the Cove and Blackfish.
He's an outlaw!
Lol I once made a "Floridaland" in Planet Coaster and "THE I-4 Experience," which was themed around heavy traffic and crashed vehicles, was one of my main attractions alongside a log flume ride "Gator Encounter" and a rollercoaster "Category 5." I was working on the "Publix Experience" when I got bored.
Ahah love it
Petition to make your planet coaster Floridaland real
And the haunted house called the i4 eyesore
Can expect a new one in planco 2😅
I was raised in Sarasota. Went to Floridaland when I was 5ish. All I remember about it is a deer tried to eat my dress and the freestanding headless, plywood, cutout’ cancan girl and cowboy photo op area. I was too small to reach the neck so it’s a headless cancan girl with a small head attached to her shoulder.🙄 I still have that pic. Interesting video, there was a lot I didn’t know about its history!!
AHHHH NOT YOU DOING A VIDEO ON THE TOWN I LIVE IN. The national park that sites on Floridaland now is incredible. My neighborhood literally sits on the land of Floridiand. Never thought anyone would make this video. (If you can’t tell I’m excited I am 😂) also never thought I’d know more lore about a theme park than a theme park nerd. Nevermind the fact that I was born and raised in Osprey, FL 😂❤❤❤❤
Also I’m very happy you made this. I felt like the only person who knew this existed. I will be going to Oscar Sherer national park this weekend in floridalands honor.
Bradenton, born and raised here.
Currently in Palmetto 🤮
Finally! We get to learn about the home of the famous "Florida Man"!
Exactly!
Florida Woman was arguably a better attraction, but she was smart enough to move to Georgia.
@@keith_5584 Her younger sister ended up in Miami and her older sister went to Alabama. 😂
For those curious about the UFO looking building at 25:25, that is a Finnish product - the Futuro house by Matti Suurunen. It was made of plastic and meant to be used as a Summer cabin that you fly into the area and put on stilts. The concept died quickly with the oil crisis (plastic prices quadrupled) and when it was discovered that plastic does NOT weather well over the years in Winter. You can see a refurbished one at a museum in Tapiola, Espoo, Finland. It must have been shipped in from Finland, where they were made.
It looks like 2001 Odyssey in Tampa bought it for it's adult entertainment site. I used to drive by it to do beer pick up at Cigar City. Always thought it looked a little strange.
@@RomanJockMCOit is one of the UFO homes! You can get special adult dances in there 😂
Seems to be a recurring theme:
Phase 1: Let's open a theme park!
Phase 2: Wow! It's expensive to run a theme park!
Phase 3: In order to stay open, we're going to raise ticket prices while reducing the amount of stuff to do and see
Phase 4: Let's sell this failing husk at a point where it's near impossible to salvage to someone that doesn't really know how to run a theme park
Phase 5: RUclipsr makes documentary on this failed theme park.
Oddly enough, Disney itself seems to be firmly in the middle of Phase 3 at the moment.
Disney theme parks are highly profitable.
@@Meatball2022 Only because of they get tons of sponsors and they have such a high reputation that they can jack prices without losing any profits.
@@nbewarwe doesn’t matter why they’re highly profitable. They’re still highly profitable. Their parks are still getting 10k plus attendance per day. Their hotels are still 95% occupied. Sponsees aren’t buying those rooms and tickets.
The original posting clearly implies they’re financially strapped. That’s clearly incorrect any way you cut it
If DISNEY didn't go WOKE WITH THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY, there wouldn't be a problem with DISNEY.
@@Meatball2022 I went on a school day on a TUESDAY in the off season and it was SO crowded at Disneyland.. I asked my cousin when weren't they crammed? She said they're always packed. Couldn't walk anywhere without being in a crowd. People will smile and shell out $$$ for fast passes like it's nothing.
Florida has a lot of parks with history. It's always interesting to learn about each and every new one.
It does!
I’m so glad Moby Dick escaped, what a lad
Legend
06:10 Hurry up with your snacks kids or we'll miss the 2pm hanging
something Marge would say 😂
Alabamaland?
I have lived in Florida for over 40 years and have never heard of Floridaland. Thank you so much for your diligent research!
My Parents and I visited Florida many times in the 1960's. I never visited Floridaland but I did visit the Ice cream Bunny at Pirate's World in Dania, FL many times. The biggest thrill there was riding the original Steeplechase Ride from Coney Island. I also visited Six Gun Territory several times. Probably the best Western Town Attractions I have ever been to. Wild West City in NJ. (which is still running) is the second. We also visited St. Augustine, Marineland, Cypress Gardens, Weeki Wachee and Silver Springs. We also visted Jungleland near Miami where I got to meet Johnny Weismuller (Tarzan/Jungle Jim). There were plenty of things to do and see in Florida before Disney.
Hi Sam! I find the story of Floridaland to be interesting, but I feel so bad for the dolphins. Using Bay Lake water never ends well [even Disney learned this the hard way with River Country]. And honestly even if Floridaland somehow managed to make it past the 70s, I feel like parks like Epcot and Busch Gardens would have been the nail in the coffin for Floridaland. Also, I see the Expedition Restaurants logo in the new intro and I am super excited as I am a huge restaurant history buff. From Burger Chef and how Mcdonald's stole the Happy Meal from them, to Jack In The Box Restaurants' evolution [personally I prefer the 1970s version of the Jack mascot from the animated ads and the comics mostly because Paul Winchell was the voice actor for him at the time], to Chuck E Cheese's evolution and the many, MANY animatronic-based restaurants that tried to get a piece of the CEC pie, restaurants can be just as interesting as theme parks [and often cut-throat too, look at the many restaurant chains Hardee's bought out solely to convert said restaurants into Hardee's locations]. Funny thing is, with Chuck E Cheese, it all goes back to Disney, as Nolan Bushnell originally wanted to work for Disney but was rejected, and also got inspiration for CEC from the Country Bear Jamboree.
FYI... that SkyGlider (what we call it in Illinois) is still going strong at the Illinois State Fair. My parents owned concession stands at the fair all my life til into the 2000's. Can't imagine how many times I rode that thing😂
Despite growing up in Florida, I never knew about Floridaland. I did however get to experience Six Gun Territory, Cypress Gardens, Marco Polo Park and Circus World before they ended. My parents also took me to Busch Gardens, Marineland, Gatorland, Weeki Wachee and of course Disney and Sea World. By the time Universal came to Orlando I was an adult working in entertainment so have my own stories there.
Someone needs to make a movie about the dolphin who escaped his captures and went on adventures. Occasionally popping up to tell the humans he's still doing good and to give the finger to the people after him.
Hotel Motel Holiday Inn almost made me spit out my drink.😂
I always think about an alternate timeline in which Disneyland went through with WestCot, while Walt Disney World's 4th gate was a Florida-themed theme park named Disney's Florida Escape
Honestly, not the most unbelievable alternate timeline when you consider that public pressure overcame their reluctance to build a Pirates ride actually close to the real Caribbean.
@@armanichu6395 I still wish we got WestCot instead of whatever California Adventure is now
Tokyo Disney Sea utilizes a lot of the plans for Westcot, making it that much sadder that we got DCA instead after experiencing how good DisneySea is.
I don't think Gatorland would still be around in that AU unfortunately
I lived in Florida for 10 yrs and never heard of this place. Thanks for the info. On FloridaLand.
As a person who lives in osprey, FL if you find yourself in Sarasota please go to the national park that sits on the land now. It’s a beautiful park.
I’ll bet you never heard of Sarasota Jungle Gardens or Tiki Gardens, either!
I have this mental picture of folks checking into the Holiday Inn for years after, asking when they can see the dolphins in the swimming pool.
And loved loved loved the account of Moby Dick’s jailbreak!
I love this channel so much! Y’all are my two favorite RUclipsrs ever! Much love and happy thanksgiving 🫶
Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🦃🦃
Thanks so much! You too!
5:20 - Hmmm, I think that strange orange UFO-like building might be another surviving fragment of Floridaland. It looks like it was repainted silver and placed atop the roof of the 2001 Odyssey "gentlemen's club" in Tampa. You can see it pretty clearly as you drive past on Dale Mabry Highway!
That is the Futuro house by Finnish designer Matti Suurunen. Only 20 were made, though. Few survive. It was meant to be easily moved (to be put in site) so I wouldn't be surprised if they helicoptered the Floridaland one over to Tampa.
Considering there are numerous San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf in a number of theme parks, I don't have to imagine!
I have a sneaking suspicion that the insecticide contamination was related to the vast quantities of insecticide required to produce Florida Oranges TM and Florida Orange Juice TM lol. Especially considering the fact that, at the time, there were almost certainly few, if any, regulations and a far more cavalier public attitude.
Could be!
This made me laugh because being from California, I went to California Adventure in 2005 and always thought it was hilarious that a park existed around my home state. Also, LANCE IS BACK LETS GOO
He’s back!’
At least Moby Dick got a happy ending
I agree.
A 2024 Florida Land would have to include Disney World Land. Popular attractions would include the Ride Queue Simulator and the Dark Ride Dark Ride, in which guests watch animatronics riding a much more interesting dark ride. At the end there is a simulated gift shop in which you have to stand behind a velvet rope and can't actually buy anything.
I personally would have loved "Exit Through a Gift Shop" the screen based ride.
Universal Orlando Land would be similar except with more screens
Lol i love how this went from a documentary to a roast real quick
Fantastic coverage as always. Also...LAAAANCE!!! I love the Lance cameos over the years, don't ever stop.
Yes I loved that too! Also this video made me sad I'll never be able to bring my kids to Vegas to see the Mirage volcano.
15:40 Mount Trashmore acknowledged
That Moby Dick story made me smile so much. Thank you.
Thanks for the video; being from California I don’t remember ever hearing about this park. DCA was pretty sorry when it started but has improved greatly since it de-emphasized the original vision.
It really seems like Cyprus Gardens was the one local park that survived (and only then because Merlin bought it to make a Legoland next to the original gardens).
Awesome video! Born and raised in Florida and this is one I’ve never heard of
I think the biggest surprise people would have with a theme park called Bathland is realising it's a theme park rather than a shop where you can buy bathroom stuff
Floridaland is where I’m from. Just down the road, however I do have friends who live in the development that came afterwards. I have a photo when I was a child visiting there. I worked with a lady who was a can can dancer when she was young. I want to thank you for a nice history piece about the park.
When I was a kid in the 80’s I lived with my grandparents for a short time in Ruskin,Fl (I still live in Fl). I used to see all the tourist attractions pamphlet from all over the state because my grandparents used to collect things from everywhere they used to go. I remember seeing post cards and pamphlets from Floridaland and never knew about it until your video.
I grew up in Sarasota and never heard about this place. I think you're making it up.
Another great video Sam. Glad to see you and Jackie's cameo.
Oh and i loved that Moby Dick got to live life his way
Thank you
"Swindonland" sounds like a theme park for Great Western Railway enthusiasts.
The best part of Swindon.
SwindonLand would just contain one big Wetherspoons with scheduled fist fights.
Britain's first Waffle House
The Dockle and Savoy food court
Stainesland could have an Ali G attraction 😂
LMFAO!!!
Theme music by XTC?
Another great video on the history of theme parks. Sam your the man! 🙂
My mom, dad, and I visited Floridaland in 1970, when I was a young child. My mom had a thing for show gardens, and we visited them all. I don’t remember much about it except the dolphins.
You might be interested in a defunct amusement park that existed from the late 50s/early 60s until some time in the early 80s called Lakeland. It was located just east of Memphis, Tennessee off of I-40. It consisted of a large man made lake, some kiddie rides, a picnic area, the cable cars recycled from a World’s Fair (Brussels I think), a speedway/drag strip, a steam train named Huff & Puff, a restaurant, and a large dance hall. It’s the only amusement park (at least, according to my research) that, many years after it became a memory, lent its name to a newly-incorporated town. The city of Lakeland is now full of large McMansion-style homes. The drag strip and speedway long outlasted most of the other features of Lakeland, up into the early 90s, then abandoned completely.
Swindon is the birthplace of my favorite band ever, XTC.
Dear God
And the birthplace of me.
@@ExpeditionThemePark Like Andy Partridge, you do good work. 👍
They are honestly the only thing I know about Swindon!
@basmatiheather Well, now you know Sam is from Swindon!
Another great video. These videos keep getting better. Cheers!
Thank you!
In 1967 my parents took us to Floridaland and I loved it. Always wondered what happened to it.
Nice! Did you take any photos
If we did, they are probably in my mom's attic.
Only just started the video but you had me laughing my head off at the thought of a Swindon land 😂
Want a ticket to go?
@ExpeditionThemePark I think I'll pass 😂 although if there was a remade oasis in its best days I might be tempted
I love watching your Expedition videos ❤️🥰
Thank you
I patiently wait to see your videos Drop glad to see another one great job love it😊
I grew up in Venice and often went to Floridaland as a child. I LOVED going there with my family & friends!!! I think about Floridaland now and again wondering why it closed and now I know so thank you for sharing this mini documentary on it. You brought back many fond memories of my visits there. I am sure I was crushed when it closed, but maybe it influenced my decision later in life to move out West to CO then SO AZ 1 hour and 20 minutes from Tombstone a real old Wild West town.
🌵🐃🤠🐎🌵
Wow this is my hometown and I did not know about Floridaland! Great video
Thank you! Aha
I completely blocked Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny out of my head for many years; thank you for bringing it all back... but also curse you!
Floridaland Floridaman
Yep
I have never been to Florida, USA but everything I hear about it sounds so surreal. If I ever do a trip to the USA I feel like I HAVE to make that part of the trip along with Texas and California.
In spite of the fact that NJ has so much more going for it than the stereotypes people associate with it and more directly the small area outside of NYC they associate it with (or anything involving the Sopranos) I dread to think what would be a NJ theme park.
Thanks for a day-brightening video, as always 🎉
Thank you
Been living in Florida since 2010 and I’ve never heard of “Floridaland”. Thanks for the amazing history lesson!
Woah, did NOT expect my hometown of swindon get mentioned on an expedition theme park video!🤯🤣
I’m at my home town too! 😂
@ 🤣🤣
The original movie "The Evil Dead (1981)" was partly filmed in my town. I would like to think a theme park here would incorporate aspects of the film.
That would be awesome
I grew up about 30 minutes from Osprey and I had no idea this existed. It boggles my mind to hear Venice and Sarasota talked about as tourist destinations, but I guess anything went back before Orlando became the center of the theme park universe!
Literally had a theme park for my area growing up called Paul Bunyanland or something of the like. Brainerd MN.
Iconic
I’m blown. I’ve worked at that sky ride at the Illinois state fair. I had NO idea this is where they came from! Also makes them way more terrifying than they originally were!! I’m not sure if the carts are the same but the supports are the EXACT same supports that hold the sky glider I still ride on every year at the fair! Terrifying!!!!!
I hope they have upgraded it 😂
@ the carts don’t look exactly like that and I have mild hope they’ve upgraded the line but there’s no doubt in my mind those supports are the EXACT way they were when they showed up. I do remember it being refurbished within the last 15 years but that could have just been a new coat of paint🤷🏼♀️
This does makes me wonder how many ‘rides’ like this have unknown lore to this extent though. I’ve lived through 25 Illinois state fairs and even WORKED AT THE DARN THING and had no idea the trauma this poor ride holds😭🤣
The historical timelines of FL mountains made this video 100% tops. Goat mountain forever.
In my hometown they have a football hall of fame (American football) & for fans it's a great museum to visit. Now they're building a football themed village around this attraction. Although it's good for business in the area, at the moment they ran out of money to finish a hotel/water park. And I understand that it costs quite a bit to build any themed attraction, park or village, let alone keep it operating. Hopefully this village doesn't end up like the Floridaland story & actually thrives. Great video!
I assume you've already heard about Muppet*Vision 3D and Muppets Courtyard at Disney's Hollywood Studios will be closing to become a new Monster Inc. Theme Land and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith will be retheme to The Muppets? So The Muppets lose theirs original attraction and theme area while in return will be taking over another attraction at Hollywood Studios. That's is a lot to take in, what you think about all of this?
That Aerosmith already looked like Muppets so it won't be much of a change.
They should have rethemed the ride 15 years ago. Aerosmith hasn't been relevant since Armageddon came out.
My parents lived here since the 50s and never went to Florida land. BUT they did go to circus world and boardwalk and baseball, aka Posner park
I was at Posner Park two days ago and it’s all apartments now!
OMG Thank you for a good laugh.... Trees on the coaster had me on the groud.
Loving it!! Moby Dick, what a legend! Cheers bud for this! 🥰
I remember going to Florida Land as a youngster several times with my father during the 60s. We lived just south of the attraction in Charlotte County and Dad was a fan of western themed amusement parks. We would also occassionally visit Six Gun Territoty in Ocala.
23:48 Hurr! Hurr! Hurr!
Noooo
Awesome video as always Sam happy thanksgiving 🦃 to you and your family and safe travels
Thank you so much. You also
That's awesome that Moby got away and lived to come up outta nowhere and surprise people in the water ........ "Hey kid wanna see me do a trick"? 😅...... Go Moby go!!!! ❤️
I’m immediately picturing the theme park equivalent of Florida Man and I’m so here for it.
Great video! Not sure who is worse...that Ice Cream Bunny or Blobby? Florida is definitely the Mecca of Theme Parks!
Tough choice that!
Loved the titles of each segment of the video 😆
There's that bunny again! 😂🤣😂
He doesn’t stop!
Feeling fortunate that my local park, Carowinds, is still (somewhat) themed to Carolina history and culture. I never got to see the park in its earliest years when it was all-in on the Carolina theming, but I'm glad that in more recent years they've been slowly transitioning the park back to it's original themes and are even including lots of homages and references to past attractions that were lost over the (Paramount Parks) years.
Fun fact: Carowinds on the NC/SC border near Charlotte was originally opened as a Carolinas-themed amusement park. Paramount took it over after about 25 years and gradually replaced a lot of the themed stuff with rides based around movies that they owned, which then had their themes removed when they sold it to Cedar Fair. But there have been some Carolinas-themed things that have survived, and a few that were even added in over the years.
22:24 REALLY SAM?!?! 😂😂😂😂👏👏👏
This was delightful.
Hey, One of my favorite musicians grew up in Swindon and you worked at it's twin town at Disney World. Can't be be all bad. I have vaguely heard about this place. Don't know if it was something that come up in the history column that sometimes was in the Sentinel or one of those lost attraction sites. As to where I'm living, We've got a world class aquarium, beaches, Car Week, The Jazz Festival, kayaking on the slough, sailing on Monterey Bay. Kinda works best as it is.
I've lived in Sarasota since 1985 and have never EVER heard of Floridaland! This is wild!
Isn’t this Oscar Scherer State Park now? I remember flyers for Floridaland at the rest area kiosks but my parents never took me there. I did visit Six Gun Territory & the original Busch Gardens, as well as the Aquatarium & Tussaud’s Wax Museum on St. Pete Beach.
Northwestland: Coffee, rain, trees, hipsters, organic food and, lots of weirdness.
Good for you Moby...
Funnily enough there was a theme park based on where I live although sadly it was not called 'chavland'. Missed opportunity. Dickens World was a relatively small outlet located in Chatham Maritime near the Historic Dockyard and although technically it was based around Dickens the novelist rather than 'Chatham' or 'Medway' the greater area is often called 'Dickens Country'.
On signposts and everything... Although of course it stands no more much like our titular Florida Land here replaced by a 'ninja warrior' centre or something and you're more likely if you asked a local about the area to hear about the time someone got stabbed to death in the car park than for anyone to remember what was once in that particular building. Yeah that happened, I was nearby in fact, I just so happen to live practically next door incidentally.
Good times.
22:47 super enthused!
Honestly, a Floridaland today could be pretty cool. There's a lot to the history of the state that tends to get forgotten about due to the more tourist-y and meme-y aspects of the state, so taking a more historical approach could be interesting. I mean St. Augustine is the oldest city in America, tons of inventions came from Florida, the state has tons of food that's either popular here, or was created here, and so on. The original Floridaland only seemed to scrape the surface of that potential.
That could be good!
In case anyone is interested, do your research. The Tallahassee pbs station published the information. Just Google Florida is the ORIGINAL GARDEN OF EDEN. Prove me wrong please. Old World Florida RUclips channel has all the information you might be interested in.
Back in this time, Norfolk/ Virginia Beach had 4 beach pier amusement parks and several other 'theme parks' like one outside of Colonial Williamsburg. Now of course, we have Busch Gardens Williamsburg and one of the beachfront amusement parks moved inland. Now it it is basically a large swimming pool with go-carts and a huge Gorilla statue.
You've heard of Florida Man, now come see Floridaland
Once again, the Ice Cream Bunny was CUTE!!!!!
the fact that I'm watching this whilst waiting for a light show in Epcot probably says something
I love your videos not to mention the BEST theme tune EVER❤❤❤❤
Thank you!!
I had to post this in my MST3K group thanked to that cursed 🍦 🐇 at the end.
Tis the season!
Hur hur hur! Hur hur hur hur! hur hur hur hur hur hur!
You: "I just wanted everyone to experience the horror of the Ice Cream Bunny one more time."
Me: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I honestly miss those old tourists traps. When i was a kid the city i went to in summer didn't have a boardwalk but the road facing the beach was lined with shops, mini golf, Bungie jumping, attractions, a theme park, etc. now its all condos and you can barely even see the ocean unless you are staying in one of those condos.
Spot on. I live in Middletown, Ohio former home of LeSourdsville Lake/Americana and Fantasy Farm amusement parks.
Yeah for Bluesky on my way to give you a follow
Inb4 the weirdos stop huffing Elon's Musk long enough to declare BlueSky "cringe" and "woke" because they're not allowed in
@@alaeriia01you're brave to admit you prefer censorship.
I’m hoping you can cover Geauga Lake Amusement Park any time soon, because you’ve got a ton of comments requesting that park in particular