place

Circus World (theme park)

1974 establishments in Florida1986 disestablishments in FloridaAmusement parks closed in 1986Amusement parks opened in 1974Defunct amusement parks in Florida
History of Polk County, FloridaRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Circus World Showcase
Circus World Showcase

Circus World was a theme park built north of Haines City, Florida in Polk County, on the south-east corner of the Interstate 4-US 27 interchange. It was originally a property of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Combined Shows Inc., and was intended additionally to be the circus's winter headquarters as well as to have the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College and its museum located there.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Circus World (theme park) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Circus World (theme park)
Posner Boulevard,

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Circus World (theme park)Continue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 28.23147 ° E -81.643234 °
placeShow on map

Address

Posner Boulevard (Victor Posner)

Posner Boulevard
33896
Florida, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Circus World Showcase
Circus World Showcase
Share experience

Nearby Places

Boardwalk and Baseball

Boardwalk and Baseball was a theme park built near Haines City, Florida, at the southeast corner of the Interstate 4-US 27 interchange. It replaced Circus World at the same location, and was owned by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Park Group (now Harcourt, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). It opened in April 1987, and closed January 17, 1990. The park reused many of Circus World's rides and exhibits. The petting zoos were removed, the rides and shows were rethemed, and Baseball City Stadium was built on the site. There were several exhibits that borrowed artifacts from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. HBJ attracted the Kansas City Royals from Fort Myers, Florida, to make Baseball City Stadium their new spring training home and the site of their Class A Florida State League affiliate, the Baseball City Royals. They also had a Rookie-level affiliate in the Gulf Coast League, one of two lowest level minor leagues in the U.S. (along with the Arizona League).In addition, ESPN taped a quiz bowl-style game show, Boardwalk and Baseball's Super Bowl of Sports Trivia, on the site which aired in 1988 and 1989.Although the park was considered superior to its predecessor, it was predicted to fail by industry observers at the grand opening. It mostly reused Circus World's relatively standard rides, which were considered no match as a Walt Disney World competitor. Industry observers were proved correct, as the project was quickly falling into financial ruin within 18 months of its grand opening, at which point, employee layoffs and reduced hours were used to try to cut costs. To further limit expenses, the park closed before sunset for almost the entire year, rendering its antique style gas lighting (that cost over $1 million to install) useless.