Gators or Manatees?

[dezagirl]

As a short side trip, my kids would like to see alligators and/or manatees.
We don't really want to spend a whole day anywhere, just kind of a small side trip.
So is there any where in Orlando or on the way to Tampa where we could just stop
for an hour or so to see them? Thanks!!

 

[WebmasterBarry]

Off the top of my head, you can see manatees at:

Lowry Park Zoo (Tampa)
Mote Marine Labortory (Sarasota)
Sea World (Orlando)
Epcot's Living Seas

The best place to see manatees IMHO is Sea World.

If you want to see gators, try Gatorland. By its very name, it's full of gators. The place is kind of cheesy, but you will see plenty of the animals. Busch Gardens has some gators too.

All of these places are at least 1/2 day tours if you want to see more than manatees and alligators. Personally, I would not pay $50 just to look at the manatees at Sea World. There's lots of other things to see.

 

[kellymonaghan]

On the other hand, the manatee exhibit at SeaWorld is beautifully designed and quite moving in its way.

There are aos some places (Blue Springs comes to mind) where you can see manatees in the wild, but I don't believe they are anywhere near your route. I'm not sure when the prime "manatee spotting" season is.

 

[Boots]

I have never been but I have some friends who love to go to Gatorland.

 

[WebmasterBarry]

Sea World's manatee exhibit is the best I've seen, but I'm not sure if I'd pay $50 to go there just for an hour. The Lowry Park Zoo exhibit is pretty good and admission is about $9.50. Actually, if you go to the Lowry Park Zoo, you get to see a manatee that was born in captivity.

 

[CPM]

Originally posted by kellymonaghan [/i
There are aos some places (Blue Springs comes to mind) where you can see manatees in the wild, but I don't believe they are anywhere near your route. I'm not sure when the prime "manatee spotting" season is. [/B]

If there is a power plant somewhere nearby they will hang out in the waters around the plant to keep warm in the winter & you will be able to clearly see them.Maybe someone knows of one in the Orlando area.