Welcome to Orlando! As a local mom, I wanted to share some of our family’s favorite activities outside of the theme parks that I think your family would enjoy as well. We are home to so many wonderful theme parks and I know that is the reason many people visit our area. But I want to encourage you to get out of the theme park area and explore at least one other activity we have to offer if you can.
Central Florida has so many family-friendly activities to choose from. With these activities, I kept in mind that most people would probably be staying down by the parks, so I kept everything within 45 minutes from Disney.
In this post, we will be covering these family-friendly activities:
1) Southern Hill Farms
Distance from Disney: About 30 minutes
Website: https://southernhillfarms.com/
Cost: Free to get in unless it is for one of their events like the Fall Festival, then you will need to purchase a ticket in advance. U-Pick and the Fun Zone cost extra. Fun Zone is $25 for kids 42” and taller and $21 for kids under 42”.
My family and I love Southern Hill Farms and go here as much as we can. They have really grown over the years, and I love to see that they are supported by the community and able to continue to grow. At the farm, you can pick seasonal fruit, ride the rides in the Fun Zone, take a tractor ride around the farm, eat, and listen to live music.
Most families with small kids bring either a wagon or stroller because the farm is big. You will be doing lots of walking. They have now paved walking paths, which makes having a stroller so much easier. I used to prefer a wagon or a stroller with large tires because small tires didn’t move very easily through the dirt. Now, that is not an issue. You can also rent a wagon from SHF if you prefer. There will be a stand at the very front, where you arrive, and that is where you can rent the wagon. I don’t remember the exact cost, but it is no more than $10.
SHF grows blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, peaches, sunflowers, other flowers, and vegetables. What you would have the option to pick will depend on the season. I would recommend going to their website to see what is in season now or will be in season when you go. I know that strawberries are in the winter because we love to go in January or February when it is not too hot yet and pick strawberries. We have also one on Mother’s Day before and at that time we were able to pick blueberries and sunflowers. As of today (May 21st) the in-season crops are blueberries, blackberries, sunflowers, other flowers, and vegetables. My kids love picking strawberries and blueberries. And if you do this at the beginning of your trip, you could bring these back to where you are staying and enjoy them during your trip.
If you spend the day at the farm, you are going to get hungry, and they have some great options to choose from. There is a huge, covered pavilion with food trucks under it. This allows you to get a break from the sun while also being able to get something to eat. If you walk into the pavilion and go to the side that is facing the fields, you will most likely see a line that has formed and it is going towards an ordering window. Do yourself a favor and jump in that line. And you are going to order their doughnuts and lemonade. The doughnuts are freshly baked sugar covered doughnuts with either strawberries or blueberries in them that come from the farm (I assume which is based on seasonality). And their blueberry lemonade they make also uses fruit from the farm. As soon as we decide to go to SHF for the day, doughnuts and lemonade are the first things I start thinking of.
After we have grabbed our doughnuts and lemonade, we walk over to the picnic tables and grab one. There are a lot of picnic tables but on busy days (especially hot busy days), they will fill up. I then go order lunch while my husband stays back with the kids at the picnic table. This method has always worked for us. Yes, the kids eat their doughnut before their food this way, but it has never stopped them from eating their lunch. I’m sure all of the walking makes them very hungry. We typically get pizza from the pizza truck, which is the first one you will see when you come from the side of the main entrance. But they also have other food trucks, such as tacos. And they have a spot where you can get drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic.
Depending on the day and time of day, they may also have live music set up by the picnic tables. I love sitting there, listening to the music, eating good food, and watching the kids dance. If you’re lucky enough to get a table on the edge of the pavilion, closest to the live music stage, there are a few lawn games right there. The kids like to play these after eating and getting one of those tables allows us to stay seated and watch them.
My kids favorite thing to do at SFH is the Fun Zone. The Fun Zone is an additional cost of $25 for kids 42” and taller and $21 for kids under 42”. To purchase the Fun Zone wristband (needed to get on any of the rides), you will go to a trailer that you will see as soon as you walk out of the food truck pavilion. It is right next to giant letters that spell out Fun Zone, so you can’t miss it. They will have you fill out a waiver and then purchase the wrist bands. If there is a line, I recommend filling out the waiver while you are standing in line. This will make it go so much faster once you get to the front. There is a QR code that you will be able to scan and then fill it out.
There are so many rides for the kids to choose from and SHF has done a great job of adding shaded areas near each ride so parents can stand and watch without having to stand in the sun. And there are rides for kids of all ages. We recently went and my youngest was 3 but I know he has been going on some of the rides for the last year or two.
They have two different sets of swings, one for little kids (they won’t let you on it once you reach a certain height) and one for bigger kids (you must meet the height requirement to go on this one). One of my kids favorite things to do is the giant blob where you can jump around. They have two of them and they are based on age. But the people working there do let my kids stay together and will let the older two go with their little brother. The nice part about the blobs (honestly, I don’t know their official name) is that they are shaded and there are benches for the parents to be able to sit down.
SHF also has seasonal activities. They have a big fall festival that is so much fun. The festival does require a separate ticket so make sure to go online and purchase in advance. And they have Christmas on the Farm with lots of lights and Christmas activities.
You have heard me talk about shade a few times and that is because it is so important. It gets HOT in Central Florida, especially during the summer. So, make sure you bring anything that would make you and your family comfortable. Hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, portable fans, neck fans, stroller or wagon with a canopy, etc. As I’ve mentioned, there are places for you to get out of the sun but there will still be plenty of places you are in the sun.
2) Crayola Experience
Distance from Disney: 25 Minutes
Website: https://www.crayolaexperience.com/orlando
Cost: From $30.99 for ages 3+. You can get $3 off when purchasing your ticket in advance online. There is a family package that is $142.95 and includes 4 tickets and a family meal. If you live in the area, I recommend looking into the annual pass. If you think you would go at least twice during the year, the annual pass is worth it.
I took my kids to Crayola experience for the first time last summer when they were ages 6, 5, and 2. All of them had a great time and we ended up staying for 4-5 hours and had lunch while we were there. This is a great option to do if you want to keep the kids entertained while being inside, either due to heat or storms. Both of which are a big factor for Central Floridians in the summer.
When we arrived, I was surprised by how many things there were to do. The place feels like a manageable size, it is not too big. And yet, they packed it full of things to do. I want to note that while many of the activities are included in the cost of your ticket, there are some that require a token or are an additional fee. You are given two tokens per ticket but if you want more tokens then you will have to purchase them, they are 50 cents each.
Let’s talk through the things to do.
- Wrap It Up: You can customize the label to create your own personalized Crayola Crayon. Your child gets to pick the color and then design the label and then it creates it for them. This activity does require a token.
- Activity Studio: Here you can cut, color, and craft themed projects and the theme varies
- Color Playground: This was a favorite of my kids. This is a playground that is designated for ages 5+.
- Toddler Town: They have another playground geared for younger kids as well as a giant bright light board.
- Be a Star: Kids can take a picture (they get to pick what the scene is) and it prints into a coloring page for them to color.
- Cartoon Creator: The CrayolaBot will take a picture of you and sketch you into a cartoon character that you can then color.
- Character Appearances: We got to meet the yellow crayon while we were there and take a picture.
- Drip Art: We loved this! The kids can drip melted wax on to spinning paper and create a work of art.
- Melt & Mold: You choose what mold you want and then they melt the wax into that mold. My kids chose a shark. So essentially, they left with a shark shaped crayon.
- Stomp & Play: A huge hit with my kids! It is an interactive floor and it kept my kids entertained for 30 minutes. I had to drag them away from it. And best of all, it is surrounded by benches so there is plenty of space for the parents to sit while the kids play.
- Colossal Caddy: This is a huge coloring station.
- Scribble Scrubbie: You get one free scribble scrubbie included in your ticket. And at this station you can color, scurb, and play with them.
There are additional activities you can do but are an additional cost. They include gem mining, glitter tattoos, sand art, slime lab, and arcade games. My kids love arcade games, so we did do those and they earned tickets.
Crayola Experience does have a place to get food inside as well as snacks and drinks. Crayola Experience is inside the Florida Mall so if you want to wait to eat until after you leave, there are plenty of places to choose from at the mall.
There is a Crayola store on your way out that has lots of Crayola items you can purchase if you are interested.
Crayola Experience is a great place for families, especially if you want to find a fun option indoors to beat the heat or the rain.
3) Bonnet Springs Park
Distance from Disney: 45 Minutes
Website: https://bonnetspringspark.com/
Cost: The park is free
Ok, this is in Lakeland so it is not the Orlando area. BUT I cannot say enough great things about this park and it is 45 minutes from Disney. We live over an hour from this park and with theme park traffic, it always takes more like an hour and a half. And it is worth every minute that it takes to get there. There is also a Children’s Museum there so if you want to combine the two, this could really be an all-day adventure. Or if the weather starts to get bad while you are there, you could head inside to the Children’s Museum.
Here is an interactive map of the park to better understand the layout of everything. We always park at the welcome center and inside they have Roundhouse Coffee Shop. Here you can grab a coffee, pastry, or breakfast sandwich before you start your adventure. After parking, we walk towards the Train Playground, which as you can guess, is a playground shaped like a train.
After that, we usually head to the canopy walk. This is a really pretty walkway through the trees.
From there, we head to the treehouse. The kids like to play in this and there is a slide so they can slide down from the top floor of it.
By the treehouse is a creek that my boys, and so many other kids, will spend a lot of time playing in. This is one of my favorite parts of the whole park. I take their shoes off and let them run and splash and play while I sit down on the side and watch. It’s so peaceful. This area also has snacks, drinks, and restrooms nearby.
Once I finally pull my kids away from the creek, we walk towards the Mable the Owl playground. There is also a Butterfly House nearby that we have not gone to but if you are interested, I would head that way before then walking towards Mable the Owl.
On the way to the Mable the Owl playground, you will pass these things that the kids can climb inside of or on top of and you spin them. This is a big hit in our family.
Shortly after the Mable the Owl playground, you will come to another playground area that has a lot for the kids to do. There is a water play spot, which is great when it’s hot outside. There are slides, a sandy area, and places for them to climb and play. This spot also has water fountains, a place to refill water bottles if you brought those, and restrooms.
Shortly after this playground is The Depot and Children’s Museum. Inside The Depot you can find food and ice cream. They have indoor and outdoor seating so if you need to escape the heat, this is a good spot to relax.
If you plan to head to Bonnet Springs Park, I would check their events page to see what they may have going on while you are there (https://bonnetspringspark.com/events/). One time when we were there, they were teaching kids to fish down at the lagoon and even handing out free fishing poles while supplies lasted. Another time we were there, they had a bunch of kids activities set up close to the Nature Center. They included archery, “fishing” on the lawn, axe throwing, and several others.
Overall, our whole family loves Bonnet Springs Park. I would plan to spend lots of time there. You can either bring a picnic to have while you are there or get food in The Depot. It is a lot of walking so I would plan to bring a stroller, wagon, scooter, or bike if you think your kids will need it or there is a tram option that will bring you around the park. We bring scooters for our older two and a stroller for our youngest. The walking paths are wide and smooth so they’re perfect for whatever you bring. There is lots of shade at the park but there is also lots of sun so bring sunscreen and any other essentials you may want for your family.
4) Wekiwa Springs State Park
Distance from Disney: 45 Minutes
Website: https://wekiwaspringsadventures.com/
The state of Florida is home to over 1,000 springs and Wekiwa Springs State Park is one of the top 10. Located in Apopka, FL, it is about a 45 minute drive from Disney World. Wekiwa Springs has been a popular destination since the 1860s, drawing people into Florida’s natural beauty while also providing recreational activities for the whole family.
At Wekiwa Springs you can rent a canoe or paddleboard, camp, go swimming, hike the trails, enjoy a picnic, or play on the playground.
One important item to note is that Wekiwa Springs State Park has now implemented a reservation system. You must make a reservation ahead of time for day-use entry guests (those who are not camping overnight there). This was implemented to help reduce entrance lines and traffic disruptions both in the park and outside of it. As someone who lives near the park, I can confirm that the traffic was causing significant disruptions to people needing to get by on that road without trying to go to the park. There is also an entrance fee that you pay when you make the reservation. You can go here for more information and to make a reservation.
Wekiwa Springs offers a large swimming area where you can swim, snorkel, or float (bring a float with you if you can!) in the crystal-clear waters. The water is a consistent 72 degrees all year round. For me, that is chilly no matter the time of year. But you get used to it and in the summer, it feels good to be able to cool down. By the spring, there is plenty of space to be able to set up a blanket, towel, or chairs to relax in the sun while you are not swimming. I recommend bringing a picnic with you to enjoy as well.
If you want to explore the park a little more, jump on one of the hiking trails that range from 0.8 to 13.5 miles. There are lots of options depending on your family’s preference or ages of your kids. On these trails, you will be able to explore Florida’s natural beauty and encounter native wildlife. I do want to note that we have black bears in Florida and they love Wekiwa Springs. I live right by the springs, and we get plenty of bears in our backyard. They do not typically bother anyone, but they are wild animals so keep your distance and follow any guidelines that the park provides. We have never seen any on our hikes in the park.
If it is something your family would enjoy, I do recommend getting out on a canoe, kayak, or paddleboard to explore the Wekiva River. It is beautiful out there and you will see lots of native plants and animals. If you are wondering, yes, there are alligators. This is Florida and most bodies of water, especially natural parks, will have alligators. But stay inside your canoe and keep your distance. You most likely will not see one, they do not want to come near the noise and people.
If you are interested, there is also an option for a guided kayak tour on the Wekiva River. It is two hours long and costs $65. You can find more information here.
You may have noticed that the park is called Wekiwa Springs but the river is called Wekiva River. Florida State Parks provides a helpful explanation. Wekiwa (the spring) is the authentic Creek and Seminole Native American word meaning “a spring of water” or “bubbling water”. The spring itself, as well as Wekiwa Springs State Park, retain the original “w” spelling to reflect its native heritage. While the Wekiva River and the surrounding area use the “v”. Early mappers sometimes misheard the soft “w” sound and used the word with a “v” instead. In the 1900s, local land developers preferred the “v” sound because it was viewed as easier to market. This eventually resulted in the Wekiva River and many Seminole County roads using the “v” spelling. See additional information here.
Orlando Science Center & Southern Live Oak
Distance from Disney: 30 Minutes
Website: https://www.osc.org/
Cost: The general admission cost is $22 for children ages 2-12, $27 for teens ages 13-17, and $29 for adults ages 18+. Parking in the garage is also $4/hour and the address to the garage is 782 Princeton St, Orlando, FL if you would like to be able to map it.
First, let me start by talking about the Southern Live Oak. This is not part of the Science Center, but I love to bring the kids to it whenever we go there. It is located right next to the Science Center (no need to cross the street) so you can walk to it either before or after. This tree is hundreds of years old and there is a plaque where The National Arborist Association and The International Society of Arboriculture certify that the tree has lived there since the signing of our constitution. The tree is huge and its limbs are so cool, they come down to the ground, creating lots of natural shade (good for a picnic) and a perfect climbing tree. The kids and I read the plaque when we go so they understand its history and the importance of being kind and respectful to this tree.
The Orlando Science Center is a perfect indoor activity for the kids so keep it in your back pocket if it is a rainy day or you need a day filled with air conditioning. We love the Science Center, and we are passholders, so we go here often. We typically spend a few hours there, even though we have been there several times. The kids are always discovering something new.
There are so many activities for the kids to do inside. They always have an exhibit that rotates as well so check their website to see what they have there currently.
The Science Center has food and drinks available for purchase so you are able to have lunch there if you would like to.
