The Abandoned Tropical Wonderland Theme Park of Johnny Weissmuller

I'd finished my satellite reconnaissance and memorized the general area thanks to Google and Bing maps. I had a folded printed copy of an ancient, 40-year-old theme park and the Titusville, FL location was calling my name. So on a Friday afternoon, with the heat as brutal as ever, I set out on an adventure, driving north along US1. Twenty-five minutes later, one of the last remaining buildings from Johnny Weissmuller's Tropical Wonderland materialized on the left. The Snake House.

Coming off the adventure of Splendid China (link below) I found it kind of funny that I was even at this old park. Reflecting back on the previous week, I'd done some impromptu interviews and I was amazed at how many people remembered this late 1960's Tarzan "JungleLand". In my initial research, I'd found several sites where the attraction was described as "doomed". I don't like that conclusion. As I've interviewed people, I've watched as eyes and faces light up when I would ask, "Do you remember the 'Tropical Wonderland' park in Titusville?" Almost immediately I'd start to get a retelling of some distant memory. A smiling woman told me tales of a Ferris wheel and a train ride. One older man told of the gunfight show, even pantomiming a gunslinger and his weapon. Another told of an elephant and alligators. "We would ride in the river boat and see monkeys running around on Monkey Island!" I'd hear. "You could see the giant slide all the way from Highway 50!"

40-Year-old memories

And now here I was standing in a parking lot, in front of the unusual, A-frame "Snake House", the Indian River off to my right, the Vehicle Assembly Building of Kennedy Space Center away in the distance.

I had arrived at yet another abandoned theme park. The adventure had begun!

I walked the fence line looking for anyone, but the property seemed deserted. Beyond the fence barrier I saw a grouping of trees. Could this be the infamous "Monkey Island" I'd heard so much about? Should I just walk on in? The 'No Trespassing' signs abounded. I decided to take a chance and call the realtor's phone number listed on the numerous signs around the fencing. When I explained that I was writing an article on the long-ago attraction, I was given permission to walk on and photograph the area. Talk about a thrill! Sadly, about fifteen minutes into my picture taking, my phone rang and I was told that they preferred for me to come back another day, where I'd be allowed to tour the area with a representative. I may just do that. In my brief time on site, however, I was able to see most of the middle section of the park.

Johnny Weissmuller 's Tropical Wonderland

Johnny Weissmuller was born in 1904 and grew up to become one of the world's best swimmers winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He also won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven world records. He would go on to play the role of Tarzan in twelve motion pictures. And if you've ever heard an ululating Tarzan yell in a movie or recording, it was probably Johnny. From 1965 till the end of 1973, he called Florida home. And during the late 1960's, Tropical Wonderland -- aka Tarzan's Jungleland -- was born.

No one has been able to tell me exactly how long the park was open, but it apparently wasn't very long. One thing I did hear quite often were stories of the park's animals being let loose from their cages when the park finally closed for good. It is said that most likely headed across the railroad tracks and into the nearby Enchanted Forest that is/was located to the west and south of the attraction's location. Development has taken some of that land, but I wonder if anyone has seen or heard from all those monkeys.

Johnny Weissmuller died on January 20, 1984.

And now I was exploring a place that he once walked.

For the moment, I was glad to be alone... with just the sound of the wind in the trees.

Monkey Island

I wonder what your idea would be of a "Monkey Island". Do you picture palm trees swaying in the breeze, a tranquil, green cove with water lapping lazily at a sandy beach? Chattering from the trees? Well, that's not what I found. Instead I located a murky, green canal near the area that several interviewees had pointed out as being the previous chimp residence. (Yep. I've flashed that map a quite a few people!) There possibly could have been another canal surrounding the trees. If you look closely at the pictures from this article (At the top of this article, click the numbered squares and then the photos to open up to a larger picture) or at my slideshow (click here), you can see lots of areas covered in bulldozer tracks. Perhaps some of the original canals have been filled in?

I kept moving, my imagination on overdrive.

On the way toward the back of the park, I ran into a large growth of bamboo. ("Say, Tarzan, that some of your work?") The bamboo was tall -- 25 or 30 feet, maybe. It looked so out of place for a Florida location that I stepped back and took in the sight. I'm convinced this was most certainly used as part of the "jungle".

In the mid-right section of the park, and viewable as rectangles from Bing and Google maps, are the crumbling remains of what appears to be building foundations. I approached the vicinity and was rewarded with a "broken pottery" foundation or path. According to my folded map, these remains likely belonged to the "Arcade" or "Jungle Shopping" area.

I still wanted an aerial picture of the property (to try and line up with my folded map), so I crossed to the other side of US1 and asked permission of a resident to take a photo from the 4^th floor of their condominium. Soon a conversation ensued. And I had to smile as yet another future adventure began to materialize. (How fun this all is!)

I climbed back in the car to begin my ride home thinking of Johnny Weissmuller and this little corner of land that used to be his. The attraction may be mostly gone, and only crumbling ruins remain, but in the dancing smiles of kids now older, I've seen it. I've seen his once beautiful park.

A 'doomed park', some may say, but I think Johnny's place achieved far more than he may have ever realized.

The wind is rushing past my car window and turning onto Highway 50 I stare off down the railroad tracks, down into the back property of what was once Tropical Wonderland. And for a moment, there seems I hear a sound...

But that really couldn't have been a monkey howl.... could it?

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Other Resources:

►2010 Slideshow Pictures from Johnny Weissmuller's Tropical Wonderland -(Click Here)

► A German Fan-site for Lex Parker (one of Johnny's friends) holds some very cool pictures. The site is in German, but the pictures are worth seeing. This is also where I discovered the tri-fold map from the long ago park. (Click Here)

►Bing Map of the Snake House (Click Here) (Some map views show a paintball park. That is no longer present as of August 2010. Don't miss using Bing's 'Bird's Eye View'. )

►Google Map of Monkey Island (Click Here)

►Bing Map of the Building Foundations (Click Here)

►How to Find Old and Forgotten Places to Explore (Click Here) - Learn how I first learned of Weismuller's, Tropical Wonderland

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Other Abandoned and Adventure Stories of Mine:

►The abandoned $100 Million Florida Theme Park - Click Here

► The Burning Vessel Miss KaitlynSinks in Indian River - Click Here

► The Search for 12 Lost Submarines from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea -Click Here

► The Abandoned Treasure Island Hotel in Daytona, FL - Click Here

► See all of my articles, videos, slideshows ..... Click Here