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Old 01-16-2010, 03:23 PM
 
Location: Sandy Springs, GA
729 posts, read 1,300,809 times
Reputation: 586

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Quote:
Originally Posted by SoFLGal View Post
Many of these are in SW FL but not all. Here's a list I put together of must see things:

Animal Kingdom

Arcadia Historic District

Arcadia Rodeo

Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Aviary & Zoo of Naples

Babcock Wilderness Adventures

Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum

Big "M" Casino Boat

Big Cat Rescue

Big Cypress Gallery

Boca Grande Lighthouse Museum

Broadway Palm Dinner Theater

Busch Gardens

Butterfly World

Cabbage Key

Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium

Cars & Music of Yesterday Museum

Collier County Museum

Cypress Gardens

Disney

Disney-MGM Studios

Edison-Ford Winter Estates

Epcot Center

Everglades Day Safari

Everglades Wonder Gardens

Fisherman's Village

Flamingo Island Flea Market

Fleamasters Fleamarket

Fish Cove Adventure Golf

Florida Everblades Ice Hockey

Florida Firecats Arena Football

Florida Flame Basketball

Florida Railroad Museum

Florida Sports Park-Swamp Buggy Races

Fort Myers Miracle Baseball

Gamble Mansion

Gatorland

GWIZ

Historic Boca Grande

Historic Spanish Point

Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida

Imaginarium Museum

Islands of Adventure

Kennedy Space Center

Key West Express

Kidstar Fun Park, Port Charlotte

Lion Country Safari

Lowry Park Zoo

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

Marineland

Miami Seaquarium

MOSI-Museum of Science and Industry

Mote Marine

Naples Botanical Garden

Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens

Orange Blossom Balloon Rides

Ostego Bay Marine Science Center

Punta Gorda Trolley Tour

Ringling Museum

Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Museum

Sarasota Children's Garden

Sarasota Jungle Gardens

Sarasota Red Sox

Sea World

Seminole Gaming Palace

Silver Springs

Solomon’s Castle

South Florida & Bishop Planetarium

South Florida Museum

Sunken Gardens

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

The Shell Factory & Nature Park

Universal Studios

Warm Mineral Springs
Cypress Gardens is closed, and will remain so for approximately 2 years. It's being turned into Legoland.
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Old 01-24-2010, 04:21 PM
 
26 posts, read 90,712 times
Reputation: 33
Those are some great suggestions. I love the history thing with St Augustine. I've been wondering about the Space Center, though . . . do you really think today's kids care much about it? I don't think they know or care much about space . . . not like my generation (I was 5 when they landed on the moon). Maybe being there in person is impressive enough to get them interested?
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Old 01-24-2010, 04:44 PM
 
Location: Niceville, FL
13,258 posts, read 22,836,872 times
Reputation: 16416
IMO, the group that manages the tourist side of Kennedy Space Center does a good job of making the experience exciting and accessible to non-geeks.
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Old 01-24-2010, 05:02 PM
 
1,216 posts, read 1,463,862 times
Reputation: 2680
We had a dream vacation in Florida last year. We are not into touristy things at all, and don't like crowds. I will tell you some of the stuff we loved. If you like laid back, slow vacas you might like these things. We stayed at a place in Deland Florida called Tropical resort and Marina. It was a huge three bedroom place (we were with my parents and sister, neice, and our family. Everymorning we drank our coffee at the big outdoor table watching the sun rise. We were lucky, it was very warm the week we went. The marina has pontoon/party boats for rent (it is on a lake that feeds into the river). We spent a couple of nice days cruising around the water looking at alligators in their natural environment. I will never go back to an alligator zoo again, it is way more exciting to bump one with your boat. You can take your boat to the springs place and see manitees swim, very cool. Deland is about 25 minutes from Daytona Beach. We spent a few days over there. I loved the flea market, it was fun to bargain. I was shocked at how huge it was! You can't miss the flea market, it is on the main road between Deland and Daytona Beach. Orlando was about 45 minutes away. We didn't have as much fun their. I hated Old Town, way overpriced and boring. We ended our trip with a day at WDW. We had a horrible experience two years prior at Universal, I will never go back there. We were kind of dreading Disney, expecting another money grab. I am so glad we saved it for the last day, it was phenomanal! They really have it together at Disney and make the experience very enjoyable. My daughter and neice were both five and it was such an amazing day. I cried like a baby at the fireworks. Next year we are thinking of taking a month there. It is great to just sit and relax, cruise around the river on the boat and see the Florida wildlife. Deland is small and easy to get around but still big enough to have a Super walmart and restaurants. I know I am gushing but it really was the best week of our lives. Don't go just cause I say it was great, make sure this is stuff you are intersted in and like to do. If you like theme parks and big crowds and nightlife then I wouldn't even consider it, stick with the bigger places.
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Old 01-24-2010, 06:13 PM
 
Location: Palm Bay, FL
334 posts, read 1,151,590 times
Reputation: 297
My first thought was Kennedy Space Center. I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one!
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Old 01-24-2010, 08:36 PM
 
574 posts, read 2,045,135 times
Reputation: 474
Your kids will love the Orlando Science Center, and so will you! Come to see us over in Daytona Beach. Its a bit tourisy, but a cool beach and you can drive on it. If you like Nascar we have a Nascar museum too,and a cool children's museum. Be sure to take a look at St. Augustine. Kennedy Space Center is interesting too. If any of you are baseball fans, try to take in a Tampa Bay Rays game!

Nancy
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Old 03-28-2010, 11:14 AM
 
Location: yuma
8 posts, read 17,275 times
Reputation: 11
Go to the 2 Gettys in Venice in the late afternoon or sunset....when the ships come in, so do the dolphins by the hundreds.....I still cannot get over the sight ...Also on Sundays go to Siesta Key in Sarasota. But go real early so you can get a parking spot......Also, in Sarasota is the marine aquarium, it is definitely worth going.
Disney World is like its own little town..It has its own sheriffs Dept. and crime in the park is like in a big town..If you go never let your kids out of your site and if they go to the bathroom have an adult go with them.....Go to Arcadia Fl and take a canoe trip down the Peace River you can get 1 hour trips to overnight trips.....In Sebring, you can go to an Alligator farm and try Alligator meat..You can also charter a boat pretty much anywhere in Fl and go deep sea fishing or on a 1 day cruise.
It will be summer so make sure you buy alot of mosquito spray or limit your outside your activities to early evening.
Either way have fun and don't limit yourselves to the major cities. They are tourist traps and can be very expensive.
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Old 03-28-2010, 08:49 PM
 
8,289 posts, read 13,563,668 times
Reputation: 5018
Quote:
Originally Posted by cookiedough View Post
Those are some great suggestions. I love the history thing with St Augustine. I've been wondering about the Space Center, though . . . do you really think today's kids care much about it? I don't think they know or care much about space . . . not like my generation (I was 5 when they landed on the moon). Maybe being there in person is impressive enough to get them interested?
I had never been to St. Augustine until last year when a relative got married there and spent a weekend. There is a lot of history with the Fort and the city is historic being the oldest settlement in the US I believe. Fantastic restuarants too! The beach areas were very nice with lots of dunes but were mostly ungarded so watch for that. I will be going back!
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