Photographed December 26, 2017
Words by Mr. Tee
We had been following the story of this course for a while. Volcano Island was ready to close and a prominent community stepped up to keep this dinosaur filled mini golf park open. Hard to miss from the road but currently in a shambles. The parking lot was filled with busted up cars and dodgy characters. Signs provided warnings for trespassers. We snapped a few photos and were off to explore functioning courses nearby off International Drive.
For a little history, here is an October 8, 2015 piece on Volcano Island from the Orlando Sentinel:
Barrett, a veteran investigative reporter for the TV station, bought the aging mini-golf location near Coco Key Hotel in 2012 along with a former traffic reporter at the station, Bob Baxa.
But fixing up and maintaining the run-down attraction cost more than they realized, according to a video the two posted on YouTube in January 2014, when the were auditioning for a reality TV show on making over run-down tourist attractions.
“It financially is not doing what I hoped it would do,” Barrett said in the opening of the five-minute video. “I’m just about going broke trying to fix this place up.”
TV reporters’ mini golf business goes kaput
