Wild Florida: Drive Through the Wild (and Paint with Giraffes)!
Calling all animal lovers! There’s an attraction in Orlando you may just want to add to your vacation itinerary: Wild Florida. This fantastic drive-thru safari allows you to travel alongside free-roaming herds of American bison, zebra, antelope, and more!
While the safari alone would be incredible enough, Wild Florida also boasts a Gator Park, animal shows, airboat tours, and – my favorite part – animal encounters. You can get to know amazing Florida natives as well as exotic species from around the world! With so many unique ways to meet and greet these critters, Wild Florida provides a full day of memorable fun.
From sloths to porcupines to ring-tailed lemurs, animal enthusiasts of all ages will find themselves enchanted by each creature as they journey through the wilds of this one-of-a-kind adventure!
Wild Florida Drive Thru Safari Park
Perhaps Wild Florida’s biggest claim to fame is its drive-thru safari. With over 150 animals (both exotic and native) roaming across an expansive 170 acres of land, you’ll have the chance to see giraffes, scimitar oryx, mouflon sheep, and more simply out and about, living their best lives.
It’s incredibly fun getting to see these animals in an unrestricted habitat – especially since that means they can come right up to your car! You can get closer to the wildebeest and deer here than you ever could in a traditional zoo.
We also love that for just $5.00, you can participate in giraffe feeding! Getting to hand-feed a giraffe is a heart-warming and unforgettable experience – as well as a trust exercise! Their size, when up close, can be pretty intimidating, but they, indeed, are gentle giants. The opportunity to experience their sweet (and hungry) nature firsthand is extraordinary.
When you come to the drive-thru safari, you simply drive your own car along the gravel trails and enjoy the sights!
Wild Florida tickets are $34 for adults and $24 for children. Florida residents receive discounted prices of $24 per adult and $19 per child. Reservations can be booked online through Wild Florida’s website! The safari is open from 9:00 am to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
Gallivant Through the Gator Park
Included in the price of a Wild Florida safari admissions ticket is a visit to their Gator Park!
The Gator Park is home to more than 200 native and exotic animals – not just gators (although, gators are stinkin’ rad). More akin to a regular zoo, you can walk through the park and explore the different habitats of bobcats, lemurs, sloths, owls, and even an endangered Florida panther named Nala! Whether taking a stroll along the canopy-shaded boardwalk or feeding baby animals in the petting zoo, you’ll find many enjoyable moments throughout your self-guided stroll.
While in the Gator Park, be sure to catch one of the exotic animal shows (held at various times throughout the day), gator feedings, or a show with Crusher the gator!
Snap a “Slothie”
If it wasn’t obvious, Wild Florida is home to some real cuties! With that in mind and with the goal of creating lasting connections between animals and people, Wild Florida offers exclusive animal encounters!
Animal encounters may be booked in addition to admission, ranging from $20 to $230, depending on the experience and animal. One of the most popular encounters is meeting, petting, and taking selfies – aka “slothies” – with a two-toed sloth! (Or you can upgrade to the VIP sloth experience, where you get to hold the sloth, too!)
An incredibly unique encounter is the giraffe painting experience. You’ll sit on the raised feeding platform – eye level with a giraffe – and work together to turn a blank canvas into a masterpiece! During this time, you’ll also be allowed to reward the giraffe’s artistic endeavors with giraffe feed and even pet your new friend!
Another once-in-a-lifetime encounter is “Dine with Crusher,” where you get to eat lunch with Crusher – a 1,000+ pound alligator – and his trainer. As you enjoy your meal, Crusher’s trainer will tell you all about this amazing gator, and you’ll get to feed Crusher, too!
Other encounters include meeting a ring-tailed lemur (I met one and thought its feet felt like gummy bears!), meeting a capybara, meeting a porcupine, feeding gators, training the albino gators Snowflake and Blizzard, or taking a VIP reptile tour!
When it comes to animal encounters, you really can’t go wrong because each one is bound to be unforgettable!
Hop Aboard an Airboat
Prefer traveling by water instead of land? Another adventure option is taking an airboat tour! Airboat tour admission begins at $35 for adults for a half-hour tour or $62 for an hour. (There are also private and nighttime tour options!) As with the drive-thru safari, admission to the Wild Florida Gator Park is included with these tickets! (Reservations can be made online.)
Explore the headwaters of the Everglades and keep your eyes peeled for wild gators, ospreys, and eagles! Gliding through these waters is a true taste of being in the Florida wilderness.
Have a Wild Day!
While you can opt for a regular safari or airboat tour (plus Gator Park) ticket deal, the wildest animal fans might want to consider Wild Florida’s adventure packages.
The Half Day Adventure Package ($90) includes a one-hour airboat tour, the Gator Park, an animal encounter and family photo with Fluffy the alligator, gator feeding, as well as lunch for yourself from the Chomp House Grill.
Suppose you like to keep your feet firmly planted on terra firma. In that case, you might prefer the VIP safari experience ($175), which includes feeding Walter and Leroy the giraffes, an hour-long private tour of the safari, time in the Gator Park, a photo with Fluffy, gator feeding, and lunch from the Chomp House Grill.
Lastly, there’s the Ultimate Adventure Package ($245) which really includes the best of everything at Wild Florida! You’ll get FOUR wild animal encounters (including sloth, lemur, and porcupine), time in Gator Park, an airboat tour, AND a drive-thru safari tour!
Whether you choose to splurge on an adventure package or simply stick to basic admissions, animal lovers will definitely enjoy time spent at Wild Florida!! With integral connections to (and approval from) Florida conservation entities, you can also rest assured your visit is supporting an organization that genuinely cares for and helps animals.
Stay wild, friends!
Have you been to Wild Florida? What was your favorite animal? Let us know in the comments below, and we’ll see you on the next adventure!
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