The Holy Land Experience (Facebook | Website) has been purchased by AdventHealth, which somehow totally makes sense at its core, but it won’t continue operating as a Bible-themed amusement park, as the healthcare corp will likely be knocking it down to build more healthcare facilities.
“AdventHealth will make a significant investment in redeveloping the property to bring enhanced health care services to the community. Details on our site plans will be released in the future. Orlando continues to be one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, and it’s important that residents have access to health care that’s close to home, convenient, and comprehensive.”
– AMY PAVUK-GENTRY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, ADVENTHEALTH CENTRAL FLORIDA
The park, which famously was exempt from paying any taxes because of a “places of worship” loophole, has been closed throughout the pandemic except for two days this past April in order to keep its tax-free status and the property has been on the market since early 2020.
The previous owners of the Christian-inspired theme park, the Crouch family of Trinity Broadcast Network, held an auction/estate sale in mid-2016 which featured everything from props used in the theatrical shows to random life-sized disco ball horse sculptures. I managed to snap a few photos (in the camera pre-filter days of my youth) of the sale and Orlando Sentinel had a fairly robust gallery that you can see HERE.
Here’s hoping we get one last chance to take home some of these local history knick-knacks before the property is leveled sometime in the near future. I’ve got the perfect spot in my vegetable garden for a life-sized golden camel.
