Our Story · History of the Zoo

From Closed Zoo to Bavarian Beer Garden.

I bought the zoo in 2020 with my wife, Kathryn Krush, and we headed down a long journey of recreating a favorite part of Europe: Germany. I was stationed in Bad Aibling, Germany for 3 years and got to go to Oktoberfest 3 times. Each time it became more exciting as I joined new and old friends.

Read the storyBefore Krush Brau: the zoo
The journey

How the garden was found

  1. 1

    Bad Aibling, Germany

    Stationed in Bad Aibling, Germany for 3 years, I got to go to Oktoberfest 3 times, each time more exciting as I joined new and old friends.

    The Krush Brau Park Festplatz festival tent with long beer-hall tables
  2. 2

    The search

    Back home, I searched all around Central Florida for a place to have Oktoberfest year-round, with a garden like the beer garden in Munich. Agents kept showing me industrial buildings on asphalt and concrete.

  3. 3

    The call

    An agent called: “I found your garden, but you need to move fast.”

    Aerial view of the closed zoo before restoration: entrance and parking lot on U.S. 192
  4. 4

    2020: buying the closed zoo

    Kathryn and I bought the zoo in 2020 to recreate a favorite part of Europe: Germany.

    Aerial view of the overgrown former zoo grounds before Krush Brau Park
  5. 5

    Why we're not called Tiger König

    I originally named the property Tiger König (König is “king” in German) but got a cease-and-desist from Heineken, which owns Tiger Beer, saying the name copied their TIGER beer mark. Actually, I was playing on Tiger King: this place was a zoo with lions and tigers, and in December 1997 one of its big cats, Nala the lioness, got out and made the news, reported heading toward Disney. So if you like German beer, we have almost all of them. If you like Heineken, go somewhere else; they will never be welcome.

    — Waylon Krush

    In October 2020, lawyers for Heineken Asia Pacific, the maker of Tiger Beer, sent a cease-and-desist over the TIGER König trademark application, so we renamed the park Krush Brau.

    Page 1 of the October 7, 2020 cease-and-desist letter, personal details redacted
    The October 2020 cease-and-desist from Heineken Asia Pacific’s lawyers (personal details redacted) · Open PDF (3 pages)

    Sources: GrowthSpotter (2020) · CNN (1997) · The Spokesman-Review (AP, 1997)

  6. 6

    Clearing 10 years of overgrowth

    The closed zoo had 10 years of overgrown Florida sprawl, but I saw the garden.

    Draining the old gator pit while clearing the former zoo
  7. 7

    Building the park

    My 9-month project is now 6 years and counting, and my initial budget was blown at 9 months, but we keep going.

    The restored gator pit area looking better each day
  8. 8

    Today

    We continue to bring new live shows and events to Krush Brau Park, a part of Bavaria and Europe in Central Florida, next to a big castle: our neighbor Medieval Times on 192.

    A full house under the Krush Brau Park festival tent
  9. 9

    What’s next: the big-cat stadium (planned) Coming soon

    The original lion and tiger cages from the zoo days still stand in the back of the park. Our plan is to turn them into a stadium for different live shows. Coming soon.

    Red-roofed octagonal wire lion cage from the old Jungleland Zoo, with covered wooden bleachers beside it, under a blue sky
    The original Jungleland lion cage and its bleachers, the future home of our big-cat stadium shows.
In Waylon's words

Our story

I bought the zoo in 2020 with my wife, Kathryn Krush, and we headed down a long journey of recreating a favorite part of Europe: Germany. I was stationed in Bad Aibling, Germany for 3 years and got to go to Oktoberfest 3 times. Each time it became more exciting as I joined new and old friends.

When I came back, I searched all around Central Florida for a place where we could have Oktoberfest year-round. That was not the hard part, but I wanted a property with a garden like the beer garden in Munich. I had looked at several properties in the area, many of which had great Oktoberfest tent options, but they lacked the garden. When commercial agents kept taking me to industrial buildings and saying I could have a German beer garden on asphalt or concrete, I knew this was going to be more difficult than I first intended. I decided I would need to buy land and build it from scratch.

I started down that road when I got a call from an agent that said, “I found your garden, but you need to move fast.” I showed up to the closed zoo with its 10-year overgrown Florida sprawl, but saw the garden.

I of course bit off more than I could chew. My 9-month project is now 6 years and counting, and my initial budget was blown at 9 months, but we keep going. Anything that you believe in will be much more difficult than you intend, but worth it.

We are happy that we can bring part of Bavaria and Europe to Central Florida. Not an industrial building or old cafe calling itself German, but more like a mini Helen, Georgia next to a big castle (our neighbor Medieval Times on 192). We continue to bring new live shows and events to Krush Brau Park and hope you can join us soon.

— Waylon & Kathryn Krush
Before Krush Brau

Jungleland Zoo

Before it was Krush Brau Park, the property at 4580 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy was Alligator Safari Zoo (Alligatorland) and then Jungleland Zoo. Here is what public records and news coverage say about it.

  1. 1970s

    The site on U.S. 192 opens as Alligator Safari Zoo (Alligatorland), with more than 1,600 animals and birds. Its landmark is a giant concrete alligator, 126 feet long, at the entrance: the second-largest alligator statue anywhere, beaten in size only by Swampy, the 200-foot alligator at Jungle Adventures in Christmas, Florida. Abandoned Florida dates the opening to the early 1970s; GrowthSpotter gives 1977.

    Sources: Abandoned Florida · GrowthSpotter · Studio Hourglass · Urbex Hub

  2. 1995

    The property is sold and reopens as Jungleland Zoo, with about 300 exotic animals: lions (including Nala), Bengal tigers and a Siberian tiger, African leopards, caracals, bobcats and lynxes, a spotted hyena, a pair of Himalayan bears, an orangutan named Radcliffe, Stinker the monkey and more than 30 American alligators. Daily shows include a big-cat show, the “Bushmasters” gator show and “Magic of the Rainforest.” The giant alligator out front is updated to chomp a safari Jeep, with a tour guide dangling from a rope.

    Sources: Abandoned Florida · Urbex Hub · Wandering Florida · Jason Perrone · Studio Hourglass

  3. December 1997

    Nala, a 2½-year-old, 450-pound lioness named after the Lion King character, slips away on Monday, Dec. 15, while handlers work on her cage after days of flooding rain. A helicopter and ground teams search the swamp off U.S. 192 for two days; on Wednesday, Dec. 17 she is found a few hundred yards from her cage, tranquilized by veterinarian Dr. James Barnett and returned to the zoo unharmed.

    Sources: CNN · The New York Times · Los Angeles Times · The Spokesman-Review (AP)

  4. 2002

    Jungleland Zoo closes for good in 2002, amid falling attendance after the 9/11 attacks: Urbex Hub reports the zoo needed about 300 paying visitors a day to break even, drew about 200, and fell to about 50 a day after 9/11. By late 2002 the animals were off public view and the gift shop was 50% off. The owners blamed the post-9/11 economy; local TV also reported state and federal animal-welfare investigations at the time. The site then sits abandoned for years, is foreclosed on in 2017 and is sold again at the end of 2018.

    Sources: Urbex Hub · Wandering Florida · Studio Hourglass · Abandoned Florida · GrowthSpotter

Jungleland Zoo in its abandoned years

The Jungleland lion cage, a red-roofed octagonal wire enclosure, seen from the covered wooden bleachers
The Jungleland lion cage, a red-roofed octagonal wire enclosure, seen from the covered wooden bleachers. Photo: Abandoned Florida
Empty animal enclosure and wooden decking under a covered viewing area at the abandoned Jungleland Zoo
Empty animal enclosure and wooden decking under a covered viewing area at the abandoned Jungleland Zoo. Photo: Abandoned Florida
Weathered wooden boardwalk crossing the swampy grounds of the abandoned zoo
Weathered wooden boardwalk crossing the swampy grounds of the abandoned zoo. Photo: Abandoned Florida
Overgrown animal enclosure with fallen timbers and vines at the abandoned zoo
Overgrown animal enclosure with fallen timbers and vines at the abandoned zoo. Photo: Abandoned Florida
Red-roofed open pavilion standing in tall grass on the abandoned zoo grounds
Red-roofed open pavilion standing in tall grass on the abandoned zoo grounds. Photo: Abandoned Florida
Fenced animal pens overgrown with grass and palms at the abandoned Jungleland Zoo
Fenced animal pens overgrown with grass and palms at the abandoned Jungleland Zoo. Photo: Abandoned Florida

Photos courtesy of Abandoned Florida (abandonedfl.com), used with permission.

Further reading

  • Jungleland Zoo · Abandoned Florida, by David Bulit ·
    The fullest history of the site, from Alligator Safari Zoo to Jungleland Zoo, the 1997 lion escape and the 2002 closing, with photos of the abandoned grounds.
  • Jungleland Zoo · Urbex Hub ·
    History of the zoo and its 126-foot alligator; reports the zoo closed in 2002 as ticket sales dwindled after 9/11.
  • JungleLand Zoo, Kissimmee · Wandering Florida ·
    The giant Jeep-eating alligator, Nala's escape, the animals and the 2002 closing after the post-9/11 drop in attendance.
  • Lost Attractions: Jungleland Zoo · Studio Hourglass ·
    A 2009 look at the closed attraction and its giant alligator, second in size only to Swampy in Christmas, Florida.
  • Abandoned Jungleland Zoo 360-degree Tour · Jason Perrone ·
    360-degree panoramas of the abandoned big-cat cages and grounds, published in August 2020, weeks before Krush Brau bought the property.

Krush Brau Park, year by year

  1. September 2020

    U.S. Army veteran Waylon Krush, who was stationed at Bad Aibling, Germany for three years and went to Oktoberfest three years in a row, buys the abandoned zoo with his wife, Kathryn Krush, at 4580 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy for $1.3 million and starts clearing it for a German beer garden.

    Sources: GrowthSpotter · Central Florida Lifestyle · Orlando Sentinel

  2. 2021

    Construction on Krush Brau Park and Biergarten is underway, and the park holds its first Oktoberfest and Weihnachten Fest in the festival tent (the Festplatz, today's World Event Center).

    Sources: Osceola News-Gazette · Orlando Magazine

  3. 2022

    The second annual Oktoberfest runs Sept. 16 to Oct. 30 under the tent, and plans are announced for a 'mini Epcot' across the 10 acres: 13 countries built from shipping containers.

    Sources: Orlando Sentinel · Central Florida Lifestyle

  4. 2023

    Summertoberfest launches free on summer Saturdays, and the Portal Immersion Center at 2198 Four Winds Blvd opens daily on Aug. 10 as the park's indoor home for dining, festivals and private events.

    Sources: ClickOrlando · PR.com

  5. 2024

    FOX 35's Central Florida Eats features the park in February, and Oktoberfest returns to the World Event Center tent from Sept. 14 to Nov. 3.

    Sources: FOX 35 Orlando · Gotta Go Orlando

  6. 2025

    Krampus Con runs Dec. 5–21 with a Krampus March along West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, an art show, a haunted house and Kakes with Krampus.

    Source: ClickOrlando

  7. 2026

    Oktoberfest runs every weekend from Sept. 19 to Nov. 1. The permanent Biergarten & Brewery is planned for Spring 2027, and the five-acre World Adventure is in development.

    Source: Krush Brau Park

Then and now

The old gator pit before restoration
The old gator pit before restoration
A row of the old Jungleland big-cat cages behind the park
A row of the old Jungleland big-cat cages behind the park
Heavy equipment clearing the former zoo grounds
Heavy equipment clearing the former zoo grounds
Rooster, who leads the Krush Brau Park landscaping team
Rooster, who leads the Krush Brau Park landscaping team
Entry to the Festplatz area at Krush Brau Park
Entry to the Festplatz area at Krush Brau Park
Animatronic elephant, tiger and giraffe, a nod to the old zoo
Animatronic elephant, tiger and giraffe, a nod to the old zoo

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