ISO Non-Disney Activities for April trip with 3 adults and a teen

[studiojmm]

We are planning a weeklong trip with 4 Disney days with my 80 & 82-year-old parents in April, right after Easter and are building our itinerary now. We are staying off-site and aren't likely to spend much time at the resort pool. Our group tends toward educational-type opportunities and is not interested in water parks or other theme parks. My daughter (16) is a huge animal and natural sciences fan, so that always features heavily in our itineraries. We will want to DO something each day, but we don't need to do something all day, every day.

We know we will spend a full day in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area (Saturday) for the Tampa Zoo and Dali Museum (1/2 day each) and are tentatively planning out 2 other days of non-Disney activities.

We're considering the following:

• Silver Springs - just not sure it's worth the 2 hr drive each way. By April the water activities will have reopened and there will be few or no manatees to see, but village and museum won't be open since we'd be going on a weekday. I don't think kayaking will be of interest to my parents, and they aren't that drawn to swimming or snorkeling, so it would be the glass-bottom boat tour and walking a bit on the trails
• Alt: boat tours near Blue Springs or De Leon Springs (slightly closer, but not glass bottom).
• Gaterland - worth it for folks who've visited St. Augustine Alligator Farm twice? Augustine is an AZA-accredited zoo with no gator wrestling-type demonstrations, purely educational presentations.
• One of the Orlando area's botanic gardens (there seem to be several)
• One of the Orlando area's art museums (same)
• Orlando Sea Life Aquarium - found a mix of reviews that it's really well done, but really expensive for what it is (however, they honor AZA network zoo member discounts, so that makes a difference)
• Airboat tour. How loud are these?

Thoughts? Oh, and though my parents have no real mobility issues, this trip will already be a lot of walking for them, so hiking outings don't really appeal. Strolling along a boardwalk and taking a boat is a better option.

We have previously visited, so are not really considering, the following:

• Orlando Science Center
• Homosassa Springs State Park
• Crystal River (in Feb, so manatees)
• Brevard Zoo
• Central Florida Zoo
• St. Augustine (various attractions)

also not really considering the Kennedy Space Center (I went as a teen and, though we know it's different, have visited Smithsonian Air & Space in DC and out near Dullas airport so many times...)

(BTW - I did do a search, but the threads were so old they referenced a lot of outdated information)

Thanks!

 

[Mommb]

There's a citrus grove attraction about 45 minutes away from Walt Disney World. I haven't been there, but my daughter spent an hour or two and enjoyed it:
https://showcaseofcitrus.com/

 

[Woodview]

Look this up " Blue Heron River Tours "

At Hontoon Landing at 2317 River Ridge Road Deland Florida 32720

Phone 386 873 4843 www.blueheronrivertours.com

Well worth the drive

 

[studiojmm]

Look this up " Blue Heron River Tours "

At Hontoon Landing at 2317 River Ridge Road Deland Florida 32720

Phone 386 873 4843 www.blueheronrivertours.com

Well worth the drive

Sadly, seems to have gone out of business. Website down. Facebook out of date. Google says permanently closed.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

I went on the Blue Springs boat tour last month. It was fun and educational. The driver knew so much and talked throughout most of the tour about the animals there and the area. Highly recommended.

 

[hertamaniac]

Tarpon Springs docks and the boat tour to the island for sponges/shells. Best Greek food in the state and a nice, relaxing getaway.

Also, the Florida Aquarium in Tampa is a great place and is probably 1/2 day.

 

[Upatnoon]

You have already planned a grueling trip with 5 full days of activities.

April can be hot and having a couple days to recuperate would be my plan. Also not fun for me would be driving 4 hours in one day to go somewhere.

Some things I would consider would be going over to Animal Kingdom Lodge to check out the animals, perhaps visiting Disney Springs for Boardwalk for meal and people-watching, and just taking it easy.

The Leu Gardens and Winter Park are nice places to visit as well.

In the end, I would just play by ear and see how everyone is feeling before planning some big activity.