I tell you… That Croc was THIS big! (Silver Springs)

Member Name: cazm17

Product:	Silver Springs
Date:	22/03/02 (169 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quiet day away from Disney, Great if you love animals, Reasonably cheap day out

Disadvantages: Quite a hike from the main FLA attractions

While I was writing a comment on someone else's Florida opinion the other day, I suddenly thought "Silver Springs". Don't ask me why – my doctor never could fathom how my mind works. Anyway, I decided to sit and write about one of Florida's lesser known, and in my opinion, fantastic theme parks.

Silver Springs is where you may want to go on a chill-out day. It's for people of all ages, especially if you like wildlife and nature. So what's the big deal?

WHERE IS IT?
Silver Springs is quite a way off the beaten track from the other Orlando attractions. It's about 90 miles away from Orlando, to the north near Ocala. When I went I drove up the Florida Turnpike to get there.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Daily admission is quite reasonable in comparison with the other attractions. At the time of writing, adults can get in for $31.99, children over the age of 2 $22.99, and seniors for $28.99. This doesn't take into account any discounts you may pick up in local magazines or from your tour guide and includes all the attractions and rides within the park. Something my other op on Orlando failed to mention (if you've read it you're probably wondering how I could have missed ANYTHING!) was that in Florida 'seniors' include anyone aged 55 or over, which in UK terms is not that old. If you're over 55, take your passport and press for discounts everywhere you go!

One thing about discounts – when I went I bought tickets through Virgin, only to find a $6 off coupon in the local discount magazine. If this happens, take your tickets back to the tour rep – reputable companies should be able to give you the same price. This is Florida we're talking about – you should NEVER be afraid to haggle!

WHAT CAN I DO THERE?
Anyway, on with the show… The main feature of Silver Springs is their world famous glass bottomed boats. The whole park is based aro
und the Silver River, which on a good day is crystal clear – it really has to be seen to be believed! Unfortunately on the day I went the weather was diabolical by Florida standards – it was only about 50 degrees, and it was wet, thanks to the latest hurricane coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. There were about 20 people in the whole park on this day, which made for a unique experience as you kept bumping into the same people, having a chat with them, and getting personal tours on just about everything!

There is a jeep safari you can go on. This was a personal tour through the 35 acres of wildlife, due to the lack of other customers. Even when they take the full complement of passengers the drivers ensure you have plenty of time to savour the wildlife and take pictures! Since I went they have introduced a feature where you drive through a pool of live alligators, which would have been great in my opinion although it's probably not everyone's cup of tea!

There are a number of shows that are put on throughout the park, featuring various reptiles, birds and other native creatures of Florida. These include birds of prey, birds of the rainforest and Reptiles of the world. I missed this last one, as I am not a great snake fan, despite liking pretty much all other reptiles.

The World of Bears is another great exhibit which is the largest exhibition of its kind in the US. That had only just opened when I went there on that grey drizzly day.

Another claim to fame is 'Sobek', believed to be the world's largest American Crocodile in captivity who is apparently 16 feet long and nearly 2000 pounds in weight. That'd give my cats a run for their money. Well, possibly…

There is also the obligatory kids areas where they can play, although since I don't have kids I can't comment on how good or bad that part of the park was. That said, if your children like animals they'll probably want
to spend as much time looking around the rest of the park as they can.

Of all the things I've done and been to in Florida, I think that my sole visit to Silver Springs was one of the most memorable. Not just because of the weather, but silly things like I got to touch and feed a baby giraffe up close. Unfortunately not all of us are lucky to live with a giraffe and this was a very memorable moment in my life, sad though it may be! On the river cruise we saw a lot of native animals including an island where a whole family of raccoons had lived until they caught a disease and there was only one left. I wonder if that one's still alive?

I can't wait until I go back to Florida – this park will definitely be on my list of places to visit again. And despite the fact that, yes, there will probably be just a few more people there than last time, I think that I would quite like the weather to be a bit nicer than last time. Roll on the next hurricane, FLA here I come!

Official site at: http://www.silversprings.com

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