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Weeki Wachee Springs - a classic Florida roadside attraction
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In 1966 Weeki Wachee incorporated and was thereby put on the nation’s road maps, but wood-paneled station wagons loaded with families have been making their way to the water park since 1947 when the underwater theater opened.
It seems that after clearing out rusted cars and discarded kitchen appliances from the massive Florida springhead, a former US Navy frogman named Newton Perry perfected the art of “hose breathing” under water with a compressor from above ground supplying the air.
Newton built the original 18-seat theater six feet under the surface. He scouted the area for attractive young women and trained them to smile, drink and behave normally under water for extended periods of time. Their performances evolved into acting presentations and eventually the mermaid shows became the feature attraction. The girls would run out to the road and wave at occasional cars, beckoning families to come see their shows. Back then there were more bears and alligators living in the area than people and there were few cars to hail down.
The 60-year-old family park is a one of a kind American roadside attraction. Each day 117 million gallons of clear, potable water bubble up from the deep caverns around the springhead. The springhead’s water temperature stays a constant 72 degrees and Weeki Wachee Spring is so deep that the bottom has never been found. Divers regularly fan out for nearly a mile through massive underwater caverns to explore the ancient walls of subterranean splendor.
In 1959 American Broadcasting Company (ABC) bought the attraction and promoted it heavily. They replaced Newton’s 18-seat theater with the present then state-of-the-art 500 seat auditorium.
In the 1960s girls came from all over the world to try out for the role of Weeki Wachee Mermaid. The show had become more sophisticated and the mermaids had to be part actor and part diver.
During its peak, the popular attraction held eight shows per day to sold-out crowds and employed 35 mermaids. My cousin, Billie Jean, was one of them and has returned many times to swim with mermaid alumni.
Buccaneer Bay Water Park was added and the river boat rides became another popular park attraction. Today, Weeki Wachee is a full-fledged state park as well as a tiny town of mermaids. The Park is open year round, however days and hours vary according to seasons. Attractive mermaids perform shows such as The Little Mermaid daily.
There is a link to the park on my site that provides all of this information, directions and maps and a lot more. I urge you to bring the kids to Weeki Wachee Springs Park as it is a fun, family-friendly adventure that is unique in the world.
For serious divers, Weeki Wachee offers many levels of difficulty, from shallow dives to depths of hundreds of feet through volumes caverns. The river boat rides are a Florida education in ecology and there are fast-food galleys where appetites are satisfied and where big thirsts enhanced by the Florida sun are thoroughly quenched. Buccaneer Bay is always a favorite for teens, and there is a small wading pond for the toddlers.
See a living slice of Florida history – Weeki Wachee, the town of beautiful mermaids.
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