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Boardwalk and Baseball (Haines City, Florida, USA)
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| Amusement Park: | Boardwalk and Baseball (2/14/1987 to present)
Circus World (3/1982 to 2/13/1987)
Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus World (? to 3/1982)
Circus World Showcase (2/1974 to ?) |
| Address: | US27 |
| Location: | Haines City, Florida, USA |
| Postal Code: | 33844 |
| History: | Originally built by Felds (then owners of Ringling Brothers). The initial park consisted of a 27,000 square foot building designed to look like a circus tent. Inside was an IMAX theater and a model of the proposed park. Over the next couple of seasons new displays and shows were added as well as a carousel.
The toy manufacturer Mattel took ownership of the park as it came with the purchase of Ringling Brothers from Felds. Mattel tried to sell the park but was unsuccessful. So to make the park more valuable, the expanded. By 1982 the park had two roller coasters, a diving show, a wild west show, animal displays, a petting zoo and a few carnival rides.
In 1984 Mattel sold the park to developer Jim Monaghan for $10 Million. Monaghan made various improvements from landscaping to the Weiner Looping roller coaster.
In April of 1986 publisher Harcourt Brace and Jovanovich (HBJ) purchased the park. This was part of sort of a buying spree on HBJ's part as they also purchased Sea World, Stars Hall of Fame, and Cypress Gardens around the same time. HBJ closed the park late in the 1986 season to start construction of the new "Boardwalk and Baseball" park. Circus displays were replaced with a turn of the century seaside boardwalk theme.
On 9/28/89 HBJ sold off their amusement parks to Busch. Busch apparently was not very interested in the Boardwalk and Baseball portion of the purchase as they closed the park on 1/17/1990.
Sometime after 1997 Busch sold the property and as of 2007 it is expected to become home to the Posner Park, a $500 million leisure and retail complex. |
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