In 1963, a small, developing area of coastal land in the panhandle of Florida was being developed. With condos and businesses, one of the new developments was the classic Miracle Strip Amusement Park. The park had one major wooden coaster, being the only coaster in the area for years to come called Starliner. Designed by John Allen, a well known wooden coaster designer, and Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Starliner became an icon for years to come.

Over the years at Miracle Strip, Starliner would be taken care of very well and modified. The most notable modification being the addition of a dragon themed tunnel with strobe light effects added in the early 1970’s. The Dragon Tunnel would remain to be an icon of the coaster and be a part of a unique yet cheesy charm. Later in the coasters’ lifetime, a repaint of the coaster occurred over a span of two years from 1992 to 1993. Starliner would remain thrilling riders until it became endangered in 2004, when Miracle Strip Amusement Park was bought by developers to tear down the amusement park and replace it with beachside condos.

Throughout 2004, locals and coaster enthusiasts were urging not to tear down the beloved Starliner coaster, but leave it at its current location and make the coaster a part of the complex, or relocate it to another park. Time was ticking for saving a classic wooden coaster, and it seemed nothing was happening. Starliner gave out its final rides at Miracle Strip on September 5th, 2004 before the park would close forever. And the closing was well timed as well, as Hurricane Ivan would strike the area the next day. Luckily, Starliner and the other rides weren’t badly damaged.

The rides were towed off and moved to other parks in America except for Starliner, which would sit dormant, waiting for its fate. In spring 2005, news flew around saying Kent Beuscher, owner of Wild Adventures and Cypress Gardens, has bought the coaster. Enthusiasts and locals took a sigh of relief. It seemed likely Starliner would be relocated to Cypress Gardens, since both parks were pieces of Florida history saved from doom. Starliner would be one of the biggest wooden coaster relocations since the relocation of the famed Pheonix coaster now residing at Knoebels Resort in Pennsylvania.

Sadly, after only a little over a year at its new home in Cypress Gardens, that park would also close, and the coaster along with it. But all hope was not lost, as the well-known Merlin Entertainment expressed interest in purchasing the park to use as for as a home for another LEGOLAND park, to be called Legoland Florida. Shortly thereafter, Merlin did indeed buy the park, and all the rides along with it, working to open up Legoland Florida by late 2011. The company decided to keep the small, but punchy, Triple Hurricane wooden coaster, which became Coastersaurus, but after some time developing their plans, they decided not to include the Starliner in its lineup of attractions when the park closed. But Starliner would not be denied, as word soon came that a new Miracle Strip amusement park was being back in its home town of Panama City, where the coaster is set to open in 2012.

With the aide of John Fetterman and Leonard Adams of Knoebels in supervising the relocation of the coaster, Starliner would soon be thrilling riders again at its new location at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Florida for the 2006 season. Soon to be riders would dash over to the ride entrance of Starliner and board the classic PTC wooden coaster trains. After riders buckle up their seat belts and pull down the single wide lap restraint, the train dispatches out of an unusual and hard to find curved station (the other coaster with this unique feature being the Yankee Cannonball at Canobie Lake Park). Riders are then up the chain lift, pulled up to heights over seventy feet, before plunging down a sixty five foot drop and going through speeds of nearly fifty miles per hour. After that, riders then go through two airtime hills and at the bottom of the third hill, riders are then going through the famous dragon tunnel. Surprisingly inside the tunnel, you are greeted with a bunny hop which delivers more insane air.

After the tunnel, riders are then lifted back up and turned around back toward the station. Dipping down from the turnaround, riders are then going through the back portion which consists of four more airtime hills. After the last four hills, the train then encounters the brake run and the manually operated brakes slows the train down before riders come off dazzled after conquering the classic coaster.

Want to feel dazzled? Fan of classic wooden coasters? Come over to Cypress Gardens in Spring 2006 to ride a piece of Florida history, Starliner, only at Cypress Gardens. It will leave you dazzled.