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West Central Florida
Homosassa Springs/Crystal River
ExtraordinaryMommy, Tiffani King shares her favorites with us!
One of our favorite places in this area is the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. In this place you will find Lucifer the Hippopotamus who is really cool and quite the ham for the cameras and the families. You can see the Manatees in their home environment with along with otters,
alligators, many birds, the Florida panther, a lot different reptiles and much more. It is perfect for a family outing and there is plenty of room for the kids get their wiggles out and see some interesting animals in their natural habitat. One of our favorite exhibits is the underwater viewing area right next to Homosassa Spring that you down into and see the Manatees swimming and the fish too!
In either Crystal River or Homossassa Springs you will find tour guides that will actually take you in the rivers to swim next to the Manatee and be able to touch them. This is an awesome adventure for kids and parents alike.
Our favorite restaurant in Homosassa is called Charlie Brown's (5297 S. Cherokee Way, Homossassa, 34448) it is on the Homosassa River. It is kid friendly and the windows face Monkey Island, which is named for the real life monkeys that live there. They are fed by the locals but no one actually goes on the island. During your dinning experience you all will be able to see the monkeys playing and moving about the island.
In Crystal River another good restaurant is called Gabby's Kitchen (
1801 Northwest Us Highway 19, Crystal River , FL 34428
(352) 563-5666 ) which is attached to Crystal River mall. It is good food and VERY kid friendly!
Another good thing about this area is that it is an hour and 15 minutes to Orlando and 1 hour to Tampa (Busch Gardens, Adventure Island, the beach, and many sporting events).
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South Florida
Boca Raton Area
Extraordinary Mommy Ann-Marie Augutis shares her favorite places to take daughter, Aubrey
One is called Sugar Sand Park. It has a very large playground, a carousel and a children's museum.
We also like to go to nature centers. We go to Gumbo Limbo a lot.It has large outdoor salt water tanks with sea turtles, fish, sharks, etc. There is also a walking path and a look out tower.
During the summertime we like to go to Splash Adventure. It's a children's water park located at Quietwaters Park. It's $4 per person and they have 1 hour and 50 minute sessions four times per day.
(401 S Powerline Rd, Deerfield Beach FL
954-360-1315 )
Another suggestion from a different Florida ExtraordinaryMommys:
Butterfly World - the Largest Butterfly House in the world. Located in Tradewinds Park: 3600 W. Sample Road Coconut Creek, FL 33073, 954-977-4400
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Ft. Lauderdale Area
Museum of Discovery and Science - There are more than 200 interactive exhibits inside and it includes an IMAX Theater!
Young At Art Children's Museum - Talk about hands on...they want kids to create, imagine and explore!
C.B. Smith Park - this park has it all: playgrounds, picnic areas, a water park and lots of beautiful space to roam and play! (
900 N. Flamingo Road
Pembroke Pines, FL 33028
954-437-2650 )
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Miami
Parrot Jungle - Started by a Nature Lover in the early 1900's, Parrot Jungle is now home to over 1,100 birds (many who fly free) and over 2,000 varities of plants and flowers. Parrot Jungle is now home to many other animals including a Bengal Tiger, a white Tiger, pot bellied pigs, kangaroos, llamas and African pygmy goats. And don't forget about the Hippo Water Slide!
Miami MetroZoo - Over 700 acres of Zoo with more than 80 different exhibits
Shipwreck Cove - Activity pool with lots of water friendly activities including slides and an 8-lane competition pool. The Aquatic Center also offers swim lessons for 6 months to adults
Miami Seaquarium - a haven for ocean creatures. Kids of all ages will love the dolphins, killer whales, sea turtles, manatees and sea lions.
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If you have a restaurant, park, play place or boutique that you love in Florida, please share it with us~ contactus@extraordinarymommy.com~ We would love to share your special finds with other ExtraordinaryMommys.
