TALLAHASSEE - Fans of one of Florida's oldest tourist attractions, the now-closed Cypress Gardens, bombarded Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Cabinet Tuesday with a crowd of Southern belles in hoop skirts singing God Bless America.
And that was only the beginning.
Trying to get the state to revive the 67-year-old park, fans organized appearances by water skiing champions, the 1967 Miss Universe, a couple who named their children after the park ("Cypress" and "Lily"), and a Florida flight attendant who said she heard U.S. soldiers talk fondly of Cypress Gardens on trips to and from the Middle East.
They buttered up the governor with "Thank You Bush" T-shirts and kind words for his wife and father.
It worked.
Bush and the Cabinet voted unanimously to add Cypress Gardens to the state's conservation land-buying list, sending cheers through the crowd.
One of the state's oldest tourist attractions, Cypress Gardens closed in April, putting 530 people out of work. The famous Southern belles, who stood around the park in hoop skirts, got just three days' notice before the park closed.
What happens next is unclear.
Bush and David Struhs, secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said Florida isn't planning to go into the theme park business. But the state has bought struggling attractions parks before, and Homosassa and Rainbow Springs.
Florida might be interested in purchasing the land's development rights, called a conservation easement, state officials said. In that scenario, state tax dollars would go to the park's owner to make sure the land isn't developed. Speakers Tuesday said commercial land near the park could be worth as much as $500,000 per acre.
Orlando time share magnate David Siegel offered to buy the park, sell it to the state and lease it for 99 years to run it.
"Cypress Gardens to Florida is like the World Trade Center to New York City," he said. "It's what the real Florida was before the Disneys and the Sea Worlds."
Kent Buescher, owner of Wild Adventures theme park in Valdosta, Ga., also wants to run the park. Buescher said the park failed to attract younger visitors, who he said think it is "boring." Buescher said he would add modern rides.
A private group, the Trust for Public Land, has a 30-day option to buy about 107 acres of the 176-acre Cypress Gardens tract. The group plans to act as conduit, trying to reach a deal with the park's owners, First Gardens LC. TPL could buy the land, sell a conservation easement to the state and then find a buyer for the park.
"The ultimate solution of this, we'll find out on the next 60 days," Bush said. "Our role would be to protect the conservation value of the property. . . If we can get someone to operate the park, that's icing on the cake."
Dick and Julie Pope opened Cypress Gardens in 1936 on the shores of Lake Eloise, about 35 miles south of Orlando in Polk County.
The hoop-skirted belles were added one day to detract attention from freeze-damaged plants. The famous water-skiing troupes were also added on a whim. The gardens had giant topiary animals that moved, and a botanical garden with more than 8,000 plants from 90 countries.
But Cypress Gardens has suffered from dwindling attendance, partly because of its location on U.S. 27, away from major tourist attractions.
DEP Secretary Struhs said Cypress Gardens' plight reflects "a transition of the old, original Florida theme parks as they go into a new era. To the extent that they relied on natural resources, the state wants to make sure those assets are protected."
But, Struhs added, "We don't want to go into the amusement park business, per se."
