If a trip to Central Florida is in your family’s future, consider a stop at Wild Florida, a gator-themed park that has lots of unique experiences for your family. KAG’s Kristina has the scoop.
There is a lot to do in the Orlando area besides the theme parks. One such adventure is Wild Florida, less than an hour from downtown Orlando. The park is home to lots of alligators, crocodiles, snakes, a Florida panther, birds, and our favorite – goats. The park also has airboat rides on the nearby lake, the headwaters of the Everglades, as well as a drive-thru safari and unique animal experiences. We only did the gator park so that is what this review will cover.
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Alligators and Crocs
Even though South Carolina has alligators, they (thankfully) aren’t located in the Upstate so I’m not too familiar with their characteristics and lifestyles. Wild Florida does a great job of educating their guests on all things gator and croc-related with boards around the park explaining different facts about them. There are also gator feedings twice a day and a place where you can feed smaller ones yourselves.
We got to see the exotic animal show when we went to Wild Florida, which was super interesting. The guide brought out a blue-tongued skink, a Burmese python, and an American alligator. The crowd loved learning about the animals and seeing them up close. Reptiles have lots of cool facts about them and seeing them up close like that was enjoyable for my kids, especially since they are homeschooled and we are learning about animals like these currently in our studies.
There are several enclosures throughout Wild Florida that house alligators, including two albino ones. You can walk over a wooden walkway to see tons of alligators right below you in the lagoon – terrifying and fascinating.
Birds, snakes, and lemurs
Wild Florida has several different snakes at the park like the copperhead, pygmy rattlesnake and even a King Cobra. They also have an enormous Burmese python, which are invasive species in the Everglades just a couple hours south. I love anything having to do with python hunters so seeing one up close was pretty neat.
They also have a neat aviary where you can walk through a bird enclosure and feed the birds from a stick (there’s a small fee to buy one). There are so many gorgeous birds in the aviary so walking through was quite the memorable experience.
Several lemurs are at the park, which my kids loved. They are pretty cute I have to say. Other exotic animals live at Wild Florida, many of which have been rescued or donated if their owners couldn’t care for them.
Petting Zoo
While my kids, ages 9 and 6, enjoyed all the animals at Wild Florida, the petting zoo was our favorite. The park allows you to walk into the big, fenced in space where there are lots of goats and even some baby goats! You can buy food to feed them or just go in and get happy playing with them.
Readers at Kidding Around Greenville know how obsessed we are with goats so this part of the park was especially awesome. The goats are very friendly and the babies were adorable. It was a lot of fun to play these animals.
There is also a small cow and large tortoise here plus some peacocks, although we didn’t see anyone trying to pet them.
Manageable Size
I thought the size of Wild Florida was not too big but also not too small, a very Goldilocks-esque kind of park . There is plenty to see and do plus an on-site restaurant and lots of areas to sit and enjoy a meal.
We spent around two hours there and would have spent more time except that it was brutally hot. The park had fans and mists everywhere but Florida heat can be oppressive so be sure to hydrate well when you’re there.
You can add on an airboat ride to your park ticket as well as the drive-thru safari.
If you want to take a break, there is a shaded playground near the alligator lagoon, which makes for a nice rest.
COVID-10 policies
In accordance with local regulations, masks are mandatory all throughout the park, both indoors and outdoors.
There are hand sanitizing stations all throughout the park.
Admission
Admission to the gator park alone is $10/adults (ages 13+) and $8/kids. Follow them on Facebook for special deals. When we went, they were doing a promotion where you got free admission if you donated canned goods to the park.
Wild Florida has several Animal Encounter packages for guests, most of which require kids to be at least 12 years old. You can see what they offer and prices here.
Airboat rides start at $30.50/adults and $27.50/kids. And the drive-thru safari is $29/adult and $20/child. You can also combine experiences with Adventure Packages and they do offer transportation from some parts of Florida.
The park is open daily from 9 am – 6 pm.
Wild Florida
3301 Lake Cypress Rd, Kenansville, FL
407.957.3135