Defunct, Operated from to
| Former names | Circus World ( to ) Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus World (? to ) Circus World Showcase ( to ?) |
|---|---|
| Former status | Operated from to Operated from to |
| The park was located on US 27 just east of Interstate 4. |
| 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, they 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 by 2004 the site was being cleared. The stadium came down in 2005. Construction of Posner Park, a $500 million leisure and retail complex, started in 2007 and by 2008 there was nothing left of the former park. |
| The October 25th, 1984 edition of the Tampa Tribune, contains a column simply titled "Circus World buys new rides" and lists: Wiener Looping, Himalaya Bahn, Wave Swinger, Para Tower, Polyp/Das Monster, Music Express, Slide, Ranger and Shuttle Boat". While the Wiener Looping was indeed delivered, the Himalaya Bahn was not. |