Family Adventures in Central Florida
After living in Orlando for a few years, I decided that my kids needed a break from Universal Studios and Walt Disney World, so we decided to explore some of the surrounding attractions in Central Florida. My kids love animals and flowers, so you will see we visit a lot of Gardens and Zoos when traveling. It turns out Central Florida is the perfect family destination for outdoor adventures. During a three-day weekend getaway (like ours) or an extended Orlando vacation, you can experience a lot of cool attractions, including the beautiful Bok Tower Gardens, the adventurous Safari Wilderness Ranch, several really fun parks and the creative LEGOLAND theme park. And if you are looking for more things to do in Central Florida to fill up your itinerary then check out this list of 42+ Unique things to do beyond Disney.
Day one in Central Florida with kids
Take a drive to Lake Wales for a few hours exploring Bok Tower Gardens and the Pine Estate. History buffs like my husband will enjoy the Pine Estate Tour and young kids (or kids at heart like myself) will enjoy Hammock Hollow, a 2.7-acre outdoor creative space included in your General Admission to Bok Tower Gardens. During our visit, we arrived mid day and my kids saw the entry garden and were ecstatic. Exploring all of Bok Tower Gardens was a blast for all of us.
This attraction was so much fun I decided it needed a post all on it’s own to showcase all it has to offer. In this post I show all the parts of Hammock Hollow, a walk through the Pine Estate, the beauty of the tower and plus learn about history in the museum.
TIP –> You will want to spend a couple of hours playing in the gardens. Bring a picnic lunch or plan to dine in the cafe. We spent about two hours in the children’s garden alone before we set off to see the rest of Bok Tower Gardens and tour the historic Pine Estate.
Run off some energy at Uncommon Grounds Playground. This is by far the best playground I have every been to. We had to drag our kids away kicking and screaming. Not really but there were tears involved. The playground is set up into areas marked by a level of difficulty for play. My five-year-old son managed all areas fine on his own. And our two-year-old daughter tried everything but needed some help from time to time. The hills to slide down and rocks to climb on were the biggest hit.
Take in a first-run movie the old fashion way at Silvermoon Drive-In. This is a fun way to relax after a busy day while also sharing a new experience with the kids. You can bring in food; we opted to get there early for a good spot and order a pizza from their snack bar.
TIP–>You can tune into the sound on your vehicles am radio but if you are like us and want to sit in the bed of your truck you will want to come prepared with a portable radio or make sure your phone has a good radio app on it.
Day Two in Central Florida with kids
Spend a full day of fun at LEGOLAND Florida. My kids are pros at theme park days and LEGOLAND is on their favorites list. LEGOLAND is a perfect theme park experience for little ones because there is so much for them to actively do. So many rides designed for their comfort level. You could easily spend a couple of days here but if you only have a few days in Central Florida here are great tips for making the most of a one-day visit.
Day three in Central Florida
We decided to take a morning walk around Lake Mirror. This beautiful lake in downtown Lakeland is the perfect backdrop for a walk before grabbing coffee and beignets at the Poor Porker; such an eclectic restaurant. After breakfast, you can stroll over to Hollis Garden to see all the patterned flower beds and ornamental fountains. Before we started our drive out to Central Florida’s Green Swamp, we let the kids pay at another cool playground at Barnett Family Park.
Explore wildlife on an up close adventure at Safari Wilderness Ranch. This is a unique opportunity allowing you to have personal encounters with exotic animals on a guided tour of the property. Safari Wilderness was named by Fodor’s as one of the top 10 best safaris in the country and I can now see why!
We loved the Vehicle Safari tour! Still not convinced, here I shared 5 Reasons to Take Your Kids to Safari Wilderness and showed off our favorite family moments at Safari Wilderness Ranch.
Where to stay in Central Florida with kids
The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Lakeland North is a great budget-friendly hotel in Central Florida. We stayed here and found the rooms are pleasant and spacious, and suites come with small kitchenettes — a convenient touch. Hot breakfast is complimentary, and cribs and high chairs are available from the front desk.
If you are planning a day or two at LEGOLAND and have some room in your budget for a fabulous hotel experience then you will want to stay at the LEGOLAND Hotel or the new LEGOLAND Beach Retreat opening in April.
Central Florida is a family destination
With so much to do in Polk County, it’s a no brainer to check it out for a few days whether you live in Florida or are vacationing. Central Florida is fun for kids and adults alike because there is something for everyone.
Have you been to Central Florida? I would love to hear about your favorite attraction in the comments.
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A note from Mandy at ACupful: Visit Central Florida coordinated some details of our family’s media trip for the purpose of sharing family destinations for our readers. As always, all opinions and fun are my own.
I want to inspire you to spend authentic time with your family! From playtime to travel. Whether you explore your city, state or the world, just get out and see, do and eat new things! And I strive to encourage women to pursue their dreams. In addition to my favorite job of being the mother to two crazy little kids, I am the Marketing & Events Director for Housewives In The City South Florida, a freelance travel writer, and manage digital marketing for small businesses. Let’s connect!
My in-laws live in West Palm Beach and we love visiting every year. It’s so much fun when they take us to parks we wouldn’t normally visit.
Oooo so many fun places!!! I lived in central Florida for many years and love going back to some of these places you mentioned when we go back to visit!
This is a great list. My husband and I actually met in Orlando going to UCF and lived there for quite a few years. We always loved the Bok Gardens. If people are looking for theme park-esq things the whole I-drive area with Ripley’s and the Gaylord Palms is also a very cool place.
I’ve never really explored Florida to this level! We always go there for Disney but that’s usually about it. I think it would be awesome to see these other places. The kids will enjoy going here as well.
This is great! I’m planning on a trip to Florida within the next two years. It’s great there are plenty of things to do other than Disney land (: however I’ve never been there so it’s on my bucket list still.
This looks like such a fun trip! Disney is such a big attraction in Florida, I think a lot of people forget about all the other wonderful places that you can visit!
What a great little guide of things to do in Central Florida. I know Orlando with Disney and Universal is the main tourist attraction but its nice that its other things to do that are family friednly.
I remember as a kid when we would drive to Disney, we’d take a day here or there on our trip to do things like this. Great suggestions!
I really hope to make it to florida in the next few years! I have heard such great things about it and I really want my children to experience it before they are too old! Thanks for the tips, hopefully we can use them soon!
We just recently visited Orlando and we did Disney World. Next time we visit, we can definitely visit some of these beautiful places or Legoland!
This looks like a lot of fun. When we get to Florida, all we have time for is Disney World. We need to come more often!
We adore all the attractiveness of the parks – and are so worn out we never have time to fit anything else in – but FL does have a lot to offer
I am born and raised in Central Florida lol. These are all great places. Another fun one is weeki wachee. The mermaid show is amazing!
I have heard about the mermaid show but yet to check it out. It is definitely on my list!
My kids love Legoland. We are also huge fans of Green Meadows Farm. Living in central FL is best when you have kids.
Looks like a great time to spend in Central Florida. The Safari seems wonderful. I would enjoy feeding the lemurs 🙂 And Legoland, oh I would have a blast!
I love the pictures and the trip must have been so fun!!! It certainly looks like it. BTW I’m pinning it to one of my Pinterest boards so that I have the tips ready for our next trip
legoland is totally on one of my must sees! Though I’ll bring my nieces and nephews so I’m not the strange adult playing by herself 🙂
Playing with Lemurs sounds so awesome!
I love Florida, I really do. We go to Disney every year, but we stay on property so that’s all we see. I need to get out and explore more.
We just moved from the west coast to the south east and have been looking forward to exploring Florida! Thanks for all the recommendations!
Welcome to the Southeast!
We just moved from the west coast to the south east and have been looking forward to exploring Florida more! Thanks for all the tips, all great ideas for a family vaca!
I’ve been wanting to explore more around Florida outside of Disney World. These places look like so much fun!
These look like more nature based trips, which I totally dig! I remember going to something called The Monkey Jungle in Florida but I’m not sure which part. Even as a kid, I preferred nature type outings over theme parks.
I am dying to get to a drive in movie theatre. That sounds like such an exciting experience. So cool!
This seems like a great time! We are actually planning to vacation in Florida this summer and this came at the perfect time for my trip planning, thank you!
Every year I say we are going to Florida to do non-disney and every year, Disney sucks us in. I love your list of other options!
I love Central Florida. I’ve been there many times! I wish I could get to Florida more often!
Every time we’ve gone to Florida it is always to visit the house of the mouse. We really need to go off the beaten path like you did!
I used to work for The Mouse so I have had my fair share of visits to his house. There is just so much to do around Disney it is insane.
Central Florida is so much fun! I will have to bring my daughter to these places when she gets a little older. I used to love lego land as a kid.
It’s awesome that you were able to spend some time exploring nature and checking out some of the local sights. I wouldn’t mind having a low-key vacation in Florida.
Yes, we do so much beach and theme park stuff that it was nice to have a trip for just nature stuff!
I think the kids would enjoy Lego land. What an adorable Lemur!
I love Central Florida. I have family that lives there and I have been many times. I wish I could get to Florida more often.
We have LegoLand on our family bucket list! We love visiting Florida.
These all sound like fun places to go. I have not been to Bok Towers since I was a kid. I will have to plan a day trip and take my son.