Long before Walt Disney World opened in 1971, making Florida the epicenter of Mousemania, Florida had a thriving tourist culture. Cities and towns across the state were attracting the adventurous, the curious and the tourist-minded before the Magic Kingdom was even conceived. And enterprising Floridians have capitalized on the tourist economy from the get-go.
Here are photos of some roadside attractions, amusement parks and curiosities that predate Disney World. There’s deep sea adventures, pirates, mermaids and reptiles of all shapes and sizes to enjoy (or shudder away from).
All photos, unless otherwise noted, are from the State of Florida Archives, www.floridamemory.com
Casper’s Ostrich and Alligator Farm
Also known as Casper’s Gatorland and Casper’s Gator Jungle, Casper’s Ostrich and Alligator Farm ran in St. Augustine from 1946 to 1982. The spot was home to plenty of native and nonnative animals, including Big Bessie, the spot’s famed 15-foot python. Credit: Photo via flcrm.govRoadside Fountains of Youth
Florida was once home to not just one (and the one) Fountain of Youth, there was a string of roadside fountains. The immortality-promising water spouts, like this one at Waterfront Park in St. Petersburg, offered visitors the chance to defy time in the Florida sun.Cypress Gardens
Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven (now the home of Legoland) was once one of the hottest tourist traps around. Credit: Photo via Florida MemorySt. Augustine Alligator Farm
Feeding gators has always been a Florida tourist pastime, especially at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. The spot is one of Florida’s oldest running attraction, opened May 20, 1893.Silver Springs
The springs were so clear at Silver Springs that they used to set up underwater vignettes, like this one from the 1940s, to show them off. Credit: Photo via Florida MemoryWeeki Wachee Springs
Weeki Wachee Springs was long famous for its live underwater mermaid performances, like this one captured in 1950. Floridians and tourists flocked to the site to enjoy the clear waters and revel in the fantasy of elegant sea-people. Credit: Photo via Florida MemoryBusch Gardens
Tampa’s own Busch Gardens had exotic wildlife on display way before Disney World opened its Animal Kingdom. These two rhinos caught hanging out in 1965 were just some of the nonnative animals tourists could admire.Dixieland Park
Jacksonville’s Dixieland Park was a hopping amusement park at the turn of the 20th century. The short-lived park first opened in 1907 and billed itself as “Jacksonville’s greatest resort” and “Florida’s playground.” Guests could enjoy the spot’s 160-foot bamboo slide called the “Dixie Dewdrop,” gardens, a theater, a dance pavilion and a silent movie studio. There were also animal shows, daredevil attractions and exhibitions with motor-propelled balloons and aerial rides.The Miami Serpentarium
The Miami Serpentarium was open from 1947 to 1985, and was the first-of-it’s kind pioneering venom production laboratory in the world. Located along the South Dixie Highway, the Serpentarium featured green mambas, king cobras, palm vipers and plenty of other venomous snakes, on top of the 35-foot-high concrete and stucco cobra outside the building. Presiding over the snakes was Bill Hasst, snake handler and scientist who injected himself with a cocktail of snake venom every week to prove it could treat various ailments. Credit: Photo via flcrm.govMonkey Jungle
Miami’s Monkey Jungle gave guests the chance to get up close and personal with the different primates that roamed the property. It was first established in 1933 for the exhibition and study of endangered species of monkeys.Wild Monkeys. Danger. 1946.Mystery Fun House
From 1976 until 2001, Mystery Fun House was a second-tier tourist attraction that operated in the I-Drive corridor in Orlando. It was an old-school fun house, with mirror mazes and creepy dungeon rooms and monsters and magic shows, and it was wildly popular with families in the 1970s and ’80s. Today, it’s a Westgate Resorts/Florida Visitors Welcome Center owned by Central Florida Investments (which owns Westgate). Credit: Photo via flcrm.govFairyland
Once upon a time, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo was home to Fairyland, featuring dozens of fairytale figures children could roam through. Credit: Photo via Florida MemoryFountain of Youth
St. Augustine’s Fountain of Youth has been awarding its visitors (presumably) age-defying powers since long before it was discovered by Ponce De Leon in 1513.Gatorland
Orlando’s Gatorland has been operating since 1949, specializing in alligator safety education and up-close-and-personal encounters.Marineland Florida
Marineland Florida was kind of like a low-rent Sea World, located about 20 miles south of St. Augustine. The park was opened to the publis in 1938 and was originally called Marine Stusios, as it was built as an underwater studio for filming marine life. Credit: Photo via Florida MemorySix Gun Territory
Six Gun Territory in Ocala was a Wild West-themed theme park first opened in 1963. For about 20 years, the park entertained guests with simulated gun fights. Credit: Photo via Florida MemoryRainbow Springs
Rainbow Springs near Dunellon was home to submarine boats that allowed guests to see into the crystal clear waters while they waded through the springs. Credit: Photo via Florida MemoryWigWam Village Motel
There was a WigWam Village Motel on Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando in the 1960s. Each wigwam had a bedroom and a bathroom. Credit: Photo via dc.ocls.infoAll of the rooms in WigWam Village were inside stucco wigwams, via ebay.com.Rainbow Springs
Guests could explore this bizarre underwater Christmas scene at Rainbow Springs in the 1950s.Pirates World
If you think the rides at some of our modern amusement parks are terrifying, check out this rickety-looking crow’s nest ride at the Pirates World amusement park, circa 1967. Located in Dania, Pirates World was a 100-acre pirate-themed park also featured a sky trail ride and a pirate ship ride that cruised along the adjacent river.Bongoland Ruins
Visitors could ride a brontosaurus at the Bongoland Ruins at Dunlawton Plantation Sugar Mill Ruins in Port Orange. The quirky, short-lived dinosaur-themed amusement park was scattered with concrete replicas of prehistoric creatures, some of which have stood the test of time and are still present at the site to this day. Credit: Photo via flcrm.govOcean View Pavilion
In Jacksonville, Ocean View Pavilion’s featured attraction was a 93-feet high coaster, with cars reaching up to 50 miles per hour. Due to the coaster’s size and proximity to the beach, it was extremely vulnerable to damage. It was eventually deemed unsafe and replaced with the much smaller “Wild Mouse” coaster.
