Theme Park Archives - Robert Redd Historian & Author

Thank you for your interest in my book review of Lost Attractions of Florida written by Dr. James C. Clark.

Clark, James C. Lost Attractions of Florida. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2023. 186 pages, 155 pages of text. B/W images, index, bibliography. ISBN 9781467145954, $23.99.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Dr. Clark is a friend of mine and Arcadia Publishing has published several of my own books. These relationships do not factor into this review. I purchased this book and it was not provided by the author or publisher. There may be affiliate links included in this post.

From the time a reader picks up this book, they are swept away with waves of nostalgia and memory. From pirate ships to the old west; from southern belles to bathing beauties and hunks on water skis the diversity of lost Florida attractions is shown in full color on the cover. Not enough? Flip to the back cover and find alligators, ostriches, and a wonder house. How can you not be enthused to sit down with a cup of coffee (or tea, or whatever) and read a few pages, only to find yourself half way through.

Author James C. Clark, a senior lecturer in history at the University of Central Florida, and a regular commentator on local, state, and national politics, has penned a brief, yet highly readable and enjoyable look at many attractions Florida residents may have forgotten about, or for newer transplants, have probably never heard of.

Readers are given an introduction to how Florida tourism has evolved. From the days of William Bartram and James Audubon through Henry Flagler’s railroads, to the egalitarianism of the automobile, Florida has been a magnet for tourists, some looking to save their health, some looking to get away from the northern winters, and some, looking to make a quick buck. From real estate hucksters to the tin can tourist there has been a place for everyone.

The real interest of this book however are the attractions. Clark has divided his text into several convenient chapters, including the Panhandle, Cypress Gardens, Circus World, and the Never Were Attractions. These are each short, generally half a dozen pages or so.

Then we get into the real meat of the book, Disney Attractions, Universal Attractions, and the longest chapter, and the one that will bring back the most memories for Floridians, the Vanishing Attractions.

With technology developing at such a rapid pace, and with new movies, both animated and live action, being released constantly to a new batch of demanding viewers, Disney and Universal are constantly making “upgrades” to their parks. I use quotations because for those of us who remember the parks from years ago, attractions such as Captain Eo, the Main Street Electrical Parade, the original ride at the Norway Pavilion, the Great Movie Ride, Kongfrontation, and so many more, are just distant memories, often replaced with attractions we can’t relate to. The Disney and Universal chapters will make you wistful if you were a theme park junkie.

The Vanishing Attractions chapter will bring back even more memories. Whether it be Six Gun Territory (Florida even brought in the wild west), Mystery Fun House, or Ross Allen’s Reptile Institute, Florida had an attraction for everyone. Whether you were interested in deer or ostriches, classic cars or Native Americans, you could probably find it during your drive through Florida.

Things changed with the coming of I-95 and other major roadways, but things most changed with the wider availability of affordable air travel. Visitors can easily fly directly to their destination whether that be Orlando, Miami, Tampa, or other cities with a major airport. If behind the wheel, drivers are now whisked along at 70 plus miles per hour to their destination, seldom leaving the interstate other than for gas or food. For a funny, yet highly insightful look at the family road trip, please see my review Don’t Make Me Pull Over, written by Richard Ratay.

Today, these “roadside attractions” as they are often referred to, have a hard time competing. As Clark astutely points out, Disney and Universal have done a masterful job of keeping their visitors on property. Disney has expanded to four major parks, plus multiple other diversions such as water parks, shopping, mini golf, and more. Their internal transportation systems makes it so you can park your rental car at your resort hotel and only get in it to head back to the airport. Or better yet, don’t rent a car. Instead, take shuttle buses to and from your hotel. Universal works on the same system and with plans to open a new park shortly, many visitors no longer have extra days available in their vacation itinerary to explore what else Orlando and the rest of Florida have to offer.

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My only very minor criticism of the book is the shortness of each attraction description, particularly in the Vanishing Attractions chapter. This is only because I personally wanted more. The descriptions and information Dr. Clark has provided are perfectly appropriate for a book of this nature. It’s not meant to go into detail about Sunken Gardens. Rather, it is a reminder that these type attractions were around, many of them successful for years. It is for us the reader, to make the effort to seek out additional information if we choose.

Filled with dozens of interesting b/w photos, this is a book that anyone with an interest in theme park or roadside attractions history should be interested in. For the casual reader or new resident to Florida, this is a quick read and fascinating way to take a look back into an an often forgotten, but important, part of Florida history.

Recommended!

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Breslauer, Ken. Florida Roadside Attractions History: The Complete Guide to Florida Tourist Attractions Before Disney. N.P., 2018. ISBN 9781532363337. Hardcover, 208 pages, color and b/w photos. $32.

For those who long for the days of getting in the car and driving, only stopping at at a Stuckey’s for a pecan log roll and a Coke and at every roadside attraction along the way, I have the book for you. Ken Breslauer has compiled a large collection of these often times cheesy and yet classic locations that were located in the state of Florida. In an easy to use A-Z format armchair travelers will be taken back to the days before Disney, Sea World, and Universal ruled the tourist market of Florida.

In his introductory chapters the author outlines Florida tourism in the years before the invasion of Walt Disney World. Early Florida attractions tended to focus on natural resources. Gardens, animals, and water were the standard draw. By the 1870s glass bottom boats were already attracting visitors to Silver Springs. Attractions held several things in common no matter the location or subject. Colorful billboards, mass distributed brochures, and a well stocked gift shop selling souvenirs and postcards to entice the folks back home were a standard.

Florida was somewhat an isolated area until water and rail transport opened the state to wider visitation. The belief in the medicinal benefits of sunshine and warm weather drew northerners by the thousands in the late 1800s. Wealthy northerners help line the pockets of men like Henry Flagler who built grand hotels up and down the east coast of the state. His Florida East Coast Railway would deliver tourists practically to the hotel doorstep.

By the 1920s travel by car was exploding and “tin can tourists” took over from the rail lines. The Florida Land Boom/Bust helped push the state into depression several years ahead of the country and the state was able to recover in a quicker fashion due to tourism and the coming of World War II. While the war was a disaster for roadside attractions as people were not travelling and millions were drawn into the service, the ending of the war was a boom time and returning soldiers and their families visited and often moved to the state.

So great was the recovery that in 1949 the Florida Attractions Association was born in an attempt to develop standards and weed out attractions that did not live up to their advertised promises to visitors.

At this time attractions were built close to the major roadways in the state; US1, US41, and US27. Changes were coming to Florida tourism however as interstate construction drew road travelers away from the prior routes and previously successful attractions. A second trend was corporate ownership. No longer were family owned attractions the norm. Many of the smaller attractions could not keep up financially and their offerings became less interesting. This is certainly coupled with the third change which is the increase in expectations of visitors. Tourists were becoming harder to please and expected more. They wanted to be entertained and not just see nature. A fourth change is the increase in land values and developmental pressures. For many owners the chance to sell their land at large profits was too great to pass up and many attractions fell to the wrecking ball only to be replaced by strip shopping centers and fast food restaurants. A fifth change is the increase in air traffic. As flying became a more accepted travel expense tourists would fly directly, or very close to, their destination. The era of the road trip was declining. A final change was the arrival of Walt Disney and his mammoth Walt Disney World. The Magic Kingdom became the destination and was not just a stop in a larger vacation. Kids were more interested in seeing the animatronic Country Bears rather than an alligator farm and parents were happy to oblige.

While there are some of these incredible attractions sill in operation the vast majority are only memories; available to us today in photos, postcards, and surviving souvenirs. In this book Mr. Breslauer introduces us to more than one hundred of these beloved locations. Each location receives one to four pages including a brief text and several amazing images. Some, such as Bok Tower, Gatorland, and Six Gun Territory may be familiar, the majority such as Musa Isle, Seville Peacock Farm, and Pirate’s World are unknown to most of us.

Breslauer appears to be missing an opportunity by not selling his book on Amazon. Rather, visit his web page for further information or purchase the book by going to ebay where you can order a signed copy. Highly recommended for travel enthusiasts, Florida historians, or those looking to relive a simpler time before the days of $100 admission prices and $15 cheeseburgers.

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Tag: Theme Park

Lost Attractions of Florida Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click these links and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. This commission does not affect any price that you pay. Affiliate programs or sponsors providing products do not influence my views and opinions.

Book Review: Florida Roadside Attractions History

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