Marco Polo Park - History

History

The park was first envisioned in 1967 as a novel family recreation center. The central feature was to be a 12-story building as long as a football field. Dubbed "The Climatron", it was to contain horticultural exhibits from regions as diverse as the Arctic and the Equator, with each display occupying a floor climatically simulating the native environment of the plants. The glass walls of the building would be hidden by trees, plants, flowers and a 90-foot (27 m) high waterfall. From the roof, visitors would be able to look down upon a variety of exhibits including a Japanese garden, a Black Forest garden, a storybook forest, a grand bazaar and various scientific laboratories. Opening day was proposed for the Autumn of 1968. The Climatron was never built.

The first phase of the park was completed and opened in early 1971. The Japanese gardens covered about 500 of the park's 5,000 acres (20 km2). It included a replica of a Japanese fishing village, a Japanese botanical garden and a mile long waterway spanned by oriental bridges. Eighteen sampans, made of teakwood imported from Japan, carried visitors along the waterway. Two restaurants served tempura-style dishes. There were also a number of souvenir shops which sold a variety of Japanese-themed items. A year's admission to the park cost $2 for adults and $1 for children until April 1, 1971 when the cost for adults was raised to $2.50. The park opened to considerable fanfare but it was never profitable. Other lands which Marco Polo would have visited were added. In 1975 the park closed after two fires ravaged the property just eight days apart. The park briefly reopened that year renamed Passport to Fun World, keeping the world travel theme. It closed for good in 1976. The remaining equipment was sold at auction on March 14, 1978. No structures from the former park remain. The road crossing I-95 leading to the park entrance, once renamed Marco Polo Park Boulevard, reverted back to Old Dixie Highway. The community of Plantation Bay now occupies the site of the former park.

One hindrance to the success of the park was the fact that there was NO southbound exit off of I-95 to access the park. People traveling south to Daytona or Orlando/Disney had to either go to the next exit and return, a trip of several miles or leave the beach area and come back.

Many preferred to go on to Daytona or Orlando and simply stay there. Overselling was a problem as well. In the Daytona Beach market there were TV commercials produced and run that stated the visit to the park would be "THE GREATEST ADVENTURE OF YOUR LIFE". The park provided almost a hundred jobs for young people in the area for two summers in its heyday but never became the large attraction developers expected.

The park undoubtedly suffered from the opening of Walt Disney World in Orlando in October 1971. It was a difficult sell getting people to stop at a lesser attraction along the way to the Disney park.