WINTER HAVEN (CBS4) – Florida’s newest theme park, Legoland, has been flooded with job applications from folks who used to work at the park when it was known as Cypress Gardens.

Former Cypress Gardens employees are among the thousands of people applying for jobs at the new Legoland Florida in Central Florida.

Cypress Gardens, which opened in the 1930s abruptly closed in 2009, leaving 200 people unemployed. It will reopen as Legoland Florida in October.

Many former Cypress Gardens employees say they’re applying to be “Model Citizens,” which is what Legoland employees are called.

Legoland spokeswoman Jackie Wallace says the park has received more than 6,000 online applications for 800 positions.

The former Cypress Gardens employees say they hope to revive their family traditions of working at their old park, which had a 30-acre botanical garden, canals and a mile of shoreline on Lake Eloise. Some have struggled to find work since its closure.

Cypress Gardens’ water ski shows and botanical gardens are being retained as part of Legoland, which will cater to families with children 2 to 12.

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