Kids in Naples (apartment complexes, to rent, waterpark)

[justjayme]

I would love some recommendations for pediatricians, pediatric dentists, dance studios, photographers, parks, mom groups, etc. in the Naples area.

Can someone tell me about the zoo there?

What are some of the good local waterparks?

My husband is going to be working at 3581 Mercantile Avenue and we are trying to find a gated (?) community with access to a pool, bike path, park, etc. We want to rent. Can you tell me any good ones near my husband's work? I will be calling a realtor soon but looking for any and all advice. Thanks!

[amanamist]

I haven't moved there yet- but I'm only an hour away so while looking at places to live I took my 3 yo to the zoo. Wasn't too impressed with that one. . .it smelled REALLY bad (but that is probably because of the heat) and it seemed expensive ($17 for me $11 for her, I think), and did not have too much to look at. In fact, she was bored, saying she didn't see enough animals. The best deal, I figure is to get the annual pass for family ($60ish), so you can go anytime and not feel obligated to stay for long because you paid so much for one day). What are your kid's ages? I'm moving in Oct with a 1 and 3 yo. Can't wait- excited to get out of SE Florida!!

[justjayme]

I have a 7 year old daughter and a 2 year old son. Thanks for the info on the zoo. I saw an article in the paper saying that they wanted to expand the zoo but it got postponed for now.

[RMD3819]

Collier residents get free admission on certain days because the zoo is partially tax supported.

There is only one waterpark in Collier Collier County : Sun-N-Fun Lagoon

Briarwood is a good community and only a few minutes from his work. Maplewood is also nice. Any of the gated communities off Radio or Davis are good. Any of the communities named Berkshire are nice.

Stay away from any apartment complexes or trailer parks in those areas.

[melannewis]

Park system is pretty good here. There is a water park (Sun and Fun Lagoon) at the North Collier Park off of Livingston. This is very reasonably priced (about $10 per person). Has a nice lazy river, 3 water slides for bigger kids and has pools/play areas for kids by age range. Many of the parks in the area offer free/low cost activities and biking/hiking trails. One of the parks in East Naples has a fresh water lake you can take your kids to swim or ride a paddle boats on. The same lake has free water ski shows I believe every Saturday. Library system is great too. Lots of free activities/crafts for kids. If you go to www.collier.gov.net (http://www.collier.gov.net - broken link) you can look up the locations of the different libraries and a list of their activities for each month. Collier County Museum (in the govt building at Airport and 41) also has a free history museum and garden you can check out with your kids. There is a small theme park, too, called King Richards (off Airport Rd). This however is a little pricey, but has some rides and arcade games.

[ksamuel]

you can buy an annual membership to the zoo, water park and the new botanical gardens which has a wonderful kids area. This makes it very economical to go to the zoo. i have a 2 and 5 year old. All parks are outside, so they pretty much are really HOT during the summer. That's why we do the beach. the beach is free!
For you and your family, make sure you rent in an area that has good schools. there are many A rated schools in the area. http://www.collier.k12.fl.us/about/docs/SchoolGrades.pdf (broken link) will give you the ratings.