Remembering Florida Before Disney

Now that I'm all grown up one of my favorite collections are vintage charms. I have one with several charms from the old Florida tourist attractions. You can read about it on my Charm Chatter Vintage Charm Bracelet Blog. These are a few of the places I visited as a child, some of which have long since closed. But I remember them well. Read ahead for my memories of these magical places.

Water Skiers, Cypress Gardens, Florida
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Silver Springs, Florida - View of Riverboat & Fish
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Right across the street from Silver Springs was Six Gun Territory. Here you would get swept up in the action of a good old fashioned gunfight between cowboys (actors of course), and at least one would get gunned down during every show. Then the coroner would try to put the body in his wagon and it was already so stiff he couldn't fit. There were Can Can dancers and a little train that wound around the park. The bad guys were always trying to rob the train. Six Gun Territory had a sky ride and a few carnival type rides which were the most fun for me and my brother. Unfortunately the park closed down shortly after Disney World opened up.

I think this was my very favorite attraction as a young girl. Weeki Wachee was home to a huge clear spring that had been turned into a mermaid showcase. There was an underwater theater where we sat and watched "real life mermaids" swimming and dancing underwater. They could perform for the longest time while holding their breath. I remember hearing that the girls who applied to be Weeki Wachee mermaids had to hold their breath for at least 3 minutes. I tried and tried when I was a kid because I thought when I grew up that would definitely be the job for me. No, I can't hold my breath for 3 minutes, so I never became a mermaid. I became a tax accountant instead. I loved going there and watching them though. Weeki Wachee is still open and I highly recommend it if you have a chance to go.

The Florida Citrus Tower was built in the middle of thousands of orange groves in Lake County Florida so visitors could view the groves for miles around. I was scared to death to go up there but my parents loved it. We visited several times. If I remember right there was no glass protecting us from the edge (or maybe that was my imagination). At any rate that's the first time I ever remember feeling a fear of heights. I still have it, only now I realize it's not really a fear of heights, it's the fear of a high balcony. I even have trouble walking near the edge of a second floor mall walkway. I believe my childhood trips to the Citrus Tower are responsible. The tower still stands and now it's in the middle of thousands of acres of housing developments. It used to be quite a country drive to get there, and now it's just part of the Central Florida urban sprawl.

Gatorland had to be one of the oddest yet most enjoyable spots to visit. We lived only about 10 miles away making it a great place to go when mom and dad didn't feel like going far. There was a giant alligator mouth around the door so it looked like we were walking into the mouth of a gator, and I remember climbing all over the teeth while going in and exiting the building. There was a big gopher turtle that we could climb in the pen with and sit on his back, and a huge crocodile named "Bonecrusher". No climbing in with him thank goodness. A train meandered around the grounds and you could get on and off at different spots. And the snake pit always scared me to death. It was open and there were big trees with snakes climbing all around. I just knew one would drop on me. People are always shocked when I say this, but in the gift shop right along side the alligator purses, they sold tiny live baby alligators for $1. They had the sharpest baby teeth. I begged and begged for one every time we went but my parents always said no. Gatorland is still in the same spot with the same big gator mouth building. They've upgraded their shows and have more zoo animals. I loved going to Gatorland and I took my children there many times when they were little too.

Join Florida's own Master of the Weird Charlie Carlson and his K9 canine companion Miss Scarlet as they travel the highways, byways and even down a few back roads in search of the Sunshine State's offbeat, weird and downright wacky side. It's a journey you won't want to miss! Visit the official website here Weird Florida: Roads Less Traveled - Website of Charlie Carlsons Award Winning Television Show

Charlie has written several books about the weird side of Florida Weird Florida Books By Charlie Carlson

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There are many more roadside stops around Florida that my family and I visited in the 1960s. I have a lot of fond memories of old Florida. We rode through the scrublands and saw a Florida panther running into the woods. We wondered why in the world there was orange clay in the hilly terrain of Northern Florida, and we searched for gators while traveling the swampy Tamiami Trail through the everglades. This beautiful state has been through tremendous changes in my lifetime, some good and some not so good. My grandchildren will have the magical experiences of going to the Disney, Universal, and Seaworld theme parks with all of the excitement and spectacle those places offer. But In a way it seems bittersweet that they will miss out on the lazy old fashioned day trips to the quirky tourist stops of the Florida I knew. I'm grateful for my memories.