Florida flowers - Family Vacations - Cypress Gardens - Brief Article

Travel America, Nov-Dec, 2001

Cypress Gardens, the Central Florida theme park noted for its horticultural splendor and water ski shows, puts on a dazzling holiday display November 21 through January 6. This year's Poinsettia Festival moves to its new home in the FloraDome, where a two-level garden railway winds through flowing waterfalls, rippling streams, and alpine forests of white, pink, and red poinsettias. The centerpiece is a 20-foot-high poinsettia tree, and there are 25 lavishly decorated Christmas trees.

Cypress Gardens visitors also see five million lights in the Garden of Lights, the "Legend of Santa Claus" exhibit, and the "World's Tallest Christmas Tree," a 116-foot-tall tree covered by 25,000 lights. Adult admission to the park is $32.95 (plus tax), children (6-12) $16.95.

Contact: Cypress Gardens (TravelAmerica Magazine), P.O. Box 1, Cypress Gardens, FL 33884; (800) 282-2123; www.cypressgardens.com. The park is located on the shores of Lake Eloise and Lake Summit near Winter Haven, between Tampa and Orlando.