If you’re taking an extended trip to Disney World, you may be looking for things to do outside of the parks. While the list of opportunities is long, make sure to visit the Wild Florida, alligator and wildlife park in Kenansville.
Often referred to as Wild Florida Airboats and Gator Park, this adventure is less than an hour drive from Disney World resorts and offers multiple opportunities for wildlife viewing, including a chance to pet a capybara.
What Is Wild Florida Airboats and Gator Park?
Before heading out, you’ll need to know that Wild Florida Airboats and Gator Park in Kenansville, Florida has been officially christened Wild Florida. However, you’ll find the company website under Wildfloridairboats.com, and there is a good reason for that. Providing airboat rides along the headwaters of the Florida Everglades was one of the first excursions offered at Wild Florida.
Today, Wild Florida continues to provide airboat tours from their Lake Cyprus location, preserving one of the pristine and beautiful waterways in the Everglades ecosystem. Guests have the chance to glimpse native Florida animal species in their natural habitat while enjoying a new and unique thrill aboard an airboat.
If you haven’t seen enough animals by the time you’re done, head back down the road a bit to the Wild Florida Gator Park. Acting as a sanctuary, the environs are home to more than 200 native and exotic species. One highlight particularly appealing to younger children is the petting zoo, where goats and other docile animals are waiting for guests to visit and maybe offer a snack. The Gator Park is also the one place at Wild Florida where you can pet a capybara, but we’ll have more on that in a minute.
To experience more exotic species, including giraffes, zebra and antelope, you can add admission to the Wild Florida Drive-Thru Safari Park. With 150 animals on display, it’s hard to pick a favorite attraction within this section of the Wild Florida alligator and wildlife park, but we’d have to say the giraffe viewing platform takes top honors with us.
The chance to pet a capybara and feed giraffes. Who could resist?
Wildlife Florida Animal Encounters – The Chance to Pet a Capybara
The Wild Florida alligator and wildlife park first entered our radar when my youngest daughter decided she wanted to pet a capybara. Wild Florida offers a 15 minute capybara encounter for a very reasonable rate, and the cost of the experience includes admission to the Wild Florida Gator Park.
We were checking out of Old Key West at Disney World on Saturday morning to start our stay at Universal Orlando on Sunday. Since we had a day before we could start park hopping again, we took a drive down to Wild Florida.
Reaching the alligator and wildlife park was an easy and enjoyable drive. We drove mostly backroads to take in the scenery. After spending several days in the palm shaded bliss of Old Key West, it was equally as nice to enter the canopy of native trees as we rolled through acres of central Florida farmland.
Soon enough, we reached the Wild Florida alligator and wildlife park. Checking in was easy since we reserved our spots online before arrival.
With wristbands securely fastened, we made our way to the checkpoint for the capybara experience. Our guide met us promptly and escorted us to the capybara enclosure. We had a brief “safety” chat and learned the important tips for interacting with capybaras. Then, we were let inside the enclosure
It was an exciting day at Wild Florida as baby capybaras had just joined the family a few days before. Since capybaras are born fully formed and able as any adult, seeing the babies was included as part of the experience.
Capybaras are very friendly, particularly when you’re armed with romaine lettuce, their favorite treat. Upon entering the capybara habitat, we were quickly surrounded. We chatted with the animal specialist as we fed and pet capybaras, learning a host of facts about life for these docile creatures.
As capybara bellies grew full of lettuce, they started to get a little dozy. Many stretched out on their sides to politely request belly rubs, as they soaked up the sun on a beautiful November day.
As the encounter ended, we all agreed it had been worth the drive to Wild Florida for the chance to pet a capybara, but we hadn’t yet experienced all that the park had to offer yet. Since our Capybara Encounter included admission to the gator park, we spent another couple of hours wandering the pathways, where we saw and learned about many animal species beyond the lovable capeys, including gators.
Animal Encounters at Wild Florida Alligator and Wildlife Park
We only had one regret after visiting the Wild Florida Alligator and wildlife park: We didn’t book one of the other available animal encounters. In addition to the chance to pet a capybara and visit with a host of animal species on a walking or drive-thru tour, guests can also join wildlife experts in the following encounters:
- Sloth Encounter: Guests can pet and take photos with a resident sloth. If you want to see the sloth, this may be your best option. Sloths sleep a large portion of the day and can be pretty well camouflaged in their enclosures when doing so.
- VIP Sloth Experience: Take the Sloth Encounter to a whole new level by booking a VIP experience. You’ll get to hold and feed a sloth during this 30 minute experience. To avoid stressing the animals, sloth encounters are limited to 4 guests a day and are offered only 3 days a week.
- African Crested Porcupine Encounter: Feed and pet an African Crested Porcupine in this wild encounter. Rumor has it, they love armpit scratches and are quite sweet and lovable.
- Ring-Tailed Lemur Encounter: Young children today are too young to remember Zaboomafoo from the PBS children’s series, but if you’re a child of the 90s who was a fan of the ring-tailed lemur, this is the encounter for you. Join Wild Florida animal experts and meet one of the park’s lemurs.
- VIP Safari Tour: Help feed the animals on a safari tour. Guests can experience the drive-thru safari park like none other and visit with the alligators in the gator park, before enjoying lunch at the Chomp House Grill.
- Giraffe Painting Experience: If you ever wanted to own a novel piece of art painted by a giraffe, here is your chance. This encounter is also a great opportunity to feed and interact with the tallest residents at Wild Florida, and the chance to support an animal cause, as a portion of your ticket price is donated to the Giraffe Conservation Fund.
- Gator Feeding Encounter: Reptile enthusiasts will love this chance to feed multiple very hungry gators. Through food incentives, alligators will be lured from the water for closer viewing, while guests stay safely elevated on a secure platform.
- Albino Gator Training Encounter: Wild Florida is home to rare albino gators. In this encounter you’ll learn about these creatures and how animal handlers use cues to train them.
- VIP Reptile Encounter: If gators alone aren’t enough to satisfy the interest of your reptile enthusiasts, book the VIP encounter. You’ll visit with and learn about monitor lizards, a Rhino Iguana, and venomous snakes, to name a few, before experiencing the unforgettable opportunity to meet Crusher, a 1,000 pound alligator. The VIP Reptile Encounter includes admission to the Gator Park and the Albino Alligator Encounter.
Final Thoughts on Visiting Wild Florida
If you’re visiting the Orlando area or want an outside excursion during your trip to Disney World, Wild Florida provides unique animal encounters, as well as a chance to view native species during an airboat ride through the headwaters of the Florida Everglades. Located less than an hour from Disney World, the park is easy to reach and will offer animal lovers a prime experience, with the chance to pet capybaras a well as other non-native species.
Just remember to wear closed toed shoes for animal encounters and clothes you don’t mind getting a little dirty.
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