Another great draw of Cypress Gardens is that there is a water park within the grounds.  Like the dry side, there were no queues at all.  After spending almost an hour waiting to ride Summit Plummet and the like at Blizzard Beach, climbing the steps and then just getting on the 2 kamikazee slides, and a handful of tube slides (both with and without rings to sit in) was a new experience.  For younger children, there is a great pool area with lots of slides and waterfalls.

For the less energetic, there is a Lazy River and a wave pool.  Lockers are available for rent.

There were dozens of unoccupied sunbeds, but shade was a little more difficult to come by.

With the water park, it’s possible for you to set up a ‘base camp’  and let the kids wander around on their own, safe in the knowledge that they can get to you quickly, should the need arise.

Another attraction of the park is the water ski show.  All the acrobatics you would expect, made to look easy.

I’m not sure if it happens all year round, but when we visited in mid August, they were giving a second day’s entry free.  You just go to customer services and they exchange your ticket for a second one that can be used on any of the next 6 days. 

So, for $40, you get 2 days in a theme park / water park with virtually no queuing.  This however could be the downfall of Cypress Gardens.  They can’t possibly sustain a park with so few visitors.  Is it worth avisit?  If you have bought a set of Disney / Universal tickets, its probably not worth paying out the extra for a park that lacks the style of the Orlando parks.  If you’ve done the other parks to death, and especially if you have younger children who like the more gentle rides, then the 45 minute drive down Highway 27 could be worth a try.  The drive time will be more than made up for in the time you don’t waste queuing, and anyway, for $40 you can’t go that far wrong, especially if you get a second day free!