Marco Polo Park
Marco Polo Park (AKA Passport to Fun World) was a theme park located just west of Interstate 95 between Jacksonville and Daytona Beach near Bunnell, at Exit 278 in Flagler County, Florida on the site of the current Plantation Bay Golf and County Club community. The park's theme was based on Marco Polo's legendary travels through Europe and the Far East. The brochure provided at the park's entrance gave this description: "Like Marco Polo himself, you will be wonderstruck at the authentic Oriental splendor of your personal voyage of discovery as you journey into the exotic four worlds of the Far East, Turkey, India, China, Japan and beautiful Venice, your port of embarkation." The park featured rides, puppet shows, multimedia shows, and other attractions.
The park was first envisioned in 1967 as a novel family recreation center. The central feature was to be a 12-story cylindrical 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 December 28, 1970. 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. An expansion in May, 1972, forced a shutdown of the park with the addition of a petting zoo and lands themed to Venice, China, India and Turkey.
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