This trip was an interesting combination of things to do and see! We spent day 1 driving to my cousin's house in Orlando.
Day 3 was a trip to Gatorland! I was so thankful we added this to our list at the last minute. We got to pet and feed capybaras and a 110-year-old tortoise! You have to get tickets for the capybaras at the start of the day (buy tickets at the petting zoo). It fills up fast, so don't hesitate! They take photos for purchase online, or you can take your own. This experience was only $12 per person! The tortoise feeding is less busy, and you can just walk up to the enclosure when you're ready. There were two tortoises being fed, and the handler was happy to answer any questions. You can pay $5 to enter the enclosure and another $5 to feed ($10 total for me while my husband took pictures outside the enclosure). There were so many different animals to see here: alligators, crocodiles, caimans, snakes, turtles, tortoises, capybara, flamingos, foxes, bobcats, etc. There are lots of bathrooms and snack areas throughout the park. There is also a swamp nature trail. If you go slower or have kids, I would definitely recommend a full day here. Next we headed towards Icon Park for some sightseeing and a trip to Hulk Hogan’s Beach Shop. We parked at a nearby parking garage. We didn't do much shopping in the area (our feet were killing us). We did end up doing some souvenir shopping closer to my cousin's house. We went to a couple different Disney outlet stores. We ate at an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet, Boston Lobster Feast, for Evan’s birthday dinner. It was around $70 per person (most places like this are), but we for sure got our money's worth! We ate 4 lobsters, two platefuls of crawfish, and then some!
Day 4 we got up bright and early for the rope drop at Animal Kingdom. We were able to ride some of our favorites multiple times, see the shows we wanted, and I got to introduce Evan to Pandora. We decided to start towards Dinosaur land and take our time going around, and I feel like this was less stressful than trying to run to the high demand rides right away. We got to ride most of the big rides twice. We also got to see Bug's Life for one of its last performances.
Day 5 we spent at Hollywood Studios. Evan was so excited to see the Star Wars area. The gift shops didn't quite do it for us heavy collectors, but they had many different items. We didn't build our own light saber (we have 3 already), but the experience looked so neat! Rise of the Resistance was such an amazing ride! I was not expecting such an immersive experience. We got to see the new Toy Story area. This area got super crowded in the middle of the day, so I would recommend trying to go here earlier or later in the day. The Slinky Coaster was definitely more of a kid coaster, but it was still nostalgic for us. We got to squeeze in the Beauty and the Beast show, but there are limited show times, so I recommend taking a picture of the bulletin board at the start of the day. We ended the day with the amazingly wonderful show, Fantasmic. We got here an hour before start time, and we sat fairly close and in the middle section. They seat people in order of arrival, so you cannot pick anywhere to sit. There is also an extra paid dinner show with pre-assigned seating if wanted. This show is so amazing, and we a bonus was getting to see the fireworks show at Epcot as we were walking out of the Fantasmic area.
Day 6 Aaron drove us through the graffiti district of Miami. There was so much construction, we didn't stop anywhere else, although I really wanted to try some Cuban food. We drove to Biscayne National Park. There was a wildfire in the area, so we were thankful to be able to get in. This park is 95% water, but we just stuck to a small hike at the Visitor Center. We walked the Convoy Point Jetty Trail. We got to see lots of wildlife: birds, fishes, lizards, etc. We watched some fisherman on the docks. It was a short visit, but we aren't big into water activities. Maybe next visit we can do a glass bottom boat tour. The lighthouse is also an iconic sight here, but it was under construction. We stayed the two nights at Holiday Inn in Florida City as a central location for our next few stops.
Day 7 we drove to Key West. We saw the Southernmost Point, Ernest Hemingway Home, Kapok Tree, Mile Marker 0, Little White House, Mallory Square, Fort Zachary Taylor (with many sunbathing iguanas), and many other things! We got sunburned from driving around in the topless jeep!
Day 8 we drove to Everglades National Park. Did you know that Everglades is NOT a swamp but actually a very slow moving river? We started at the Ernest Coe Visitor Center. In the Royal Palm area, we did the Gumbo Limbo Trail (0.5 miles, less than half an hour hike) where we saw unique Gumbo-Limbo trees, Anhinga Trail (0.8 miles, less than half an hour hike) where we saw several alligators, anhinga, and double-crested cormorants, and the Mahogany Hammock Trail (0.4 miles, less than half an hour hike) where we saw a barred owl and the largest mahogany tree in the US! We drove more into the park to hike the Snake Bight Trail (3 miles total for an out and back trail, about an hour hike). A bight is an inlet of water. Unfortunately, the area was very dry when we visited. My cousin was definitely on high alert for dangerous snakes, jumping quickly out of the way when he almost stepped on one! Thankfully it wasn't a venomous one. We were joking about Florida panther and alligators in the area until we came across a bird who had a violent death based on the feather pattern. We were a little more vigilant after that. Next we drove into the Shark Valley area. We decided to skip the tram tour because we weren't confident on our timing, so we just walked the tram road. First we walked the Bobcat Boardwalk Trail (0.4 miles) and the Otter Cave Hammock Trail (0.3 miles). The Bobcat Boardwalk was a very easy walk. The Otter Cave Trail was slightly more challenging due to recent flooding, the otter holes in the ground, and low hanging branches; however, this trail was still very easy to hike. The tram road is 15 miles, so we only walked far enough for our hikes. We saw so much wildlife in this park, but I was excited for each and every alligator we saw! There are so many along the tram road, so be mindful when you're walking/biking, especially for nesting mothers. We drove towards Orlando, getting to see some beautiful sunsets near Lake Okeechobee.
Day 9 was our drive back home to Indiana! We were hoping to stop to see President Jimmy Carter's burial site, but they are working on opening the house for museum tours, so it won't be available until all of the grounds are complete. The last half of this trip would be very easy to do with a flight into Miami. This was such a blend of places to go to, making it a truly unique trip for us!
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