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Silver Springs-Nature's Theme Park
Categories: Amusement Parks, Tours [Edit]
5656 E Silver Springs BlvdSilver Springs, FL 34488
(352) 236-2121
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
4 reviews for Silver Springs-Nature's Theme Park
I tried coming here a few years ago with my aunt and cousin only to find it closed due to thunderstorm. Since my bf and I were in the Orlando area this time, I decided to give it another try. It's about 90 miles away from Kissimee, Florida. The weather this time around was great but it was so hot/humid.
It wasn't entirely what I was anticipating. I was looking forward to the clear boat tour guide and a more beautiful place. Its close to Silver Springs National Forest and has some great natural springs. The tour guides were very knowledgeable and provided us with some interesting information like how 6 of the 12 Tarzan movies were filmed here. This theme park is like a zoo if anything. There's plenty of animals to see ranging from alligators, flamingoes, monkeys, cougers, panthers, llamas, emus, and the many fishes in the river.
The normal price of admission is around $35 but lucky for us, they had a 2 for 1 special going on.
Overall, it's ok. It was a novel experience for us seeing the swamps, natural springs, and different from most theme parks.
The tour guides there are very friendly.
A nice break from the typical theme park.
Silver Springs is a bit of a drive from southeast Orlando but it's nice to get away from the hustle and bustle once in a while. The drive took roughly 90 minutes and I stopped off for snacks on the way. Upon arrival I noticed the place was not busy at all and was a bit worried. Ya never know if it's dead due to time of year, time of day, or if the place just sucks. In this case, since it got busier as the day progressed, I'll chalk it up to my just arriving a bit earlier than most.
Silver Springs is a theme park I guess, but it's nothing like any of the other parks I've been to. There is only 1 theme park type ride and although that's pretty funny (it's like a Dumbo that goes much higher in the air), the real reason for visiting is the boat rides and the animals.
Silver Springs has three different boat tours. I only did the first two as the weather decided not to cooperate and at around 2 we were ready for lunch. Having passed a Whataburger on the way in, and having not had Whataburgers where we just moved from, my family insisted we go there for lunch which cut our day short. We bought annual passes though so no problems there. We'll be back. But back to the boat tours... we started with the glass bottom boat tour and that was very enjoyable. I had never been on a glass bottom boat before and I was amazed at the view it allows. It's just like diving or snorkeling, from the comfort of your seat.
Was not impressed with the lack variety of things to see under water. A few things have been put down there for viewing, a couple of canoes/boats, and three statues. The fish aren't all that varied and once you've seen a dozen turtles, you've seen them all, but just being able to see into the water like that was very cool. I'm also a fan of boat rides of pretty much any sort so I found the whole thing to be quite enjoyable. If they had some colorful fish it would no longer be authentic but after spending every waking moment at other theme parks since moving to Orlando, I've gotten used to bright colors and fish that look like Nemo.
Second boat tour went farther up the river and was just as enjoyable. Oddly this boat was also a glass bottom boat. Not sure why one tour is called the glass bottom boat tour and the others are not but whatever. Each tour was much fun.
The petting zoo was forgettable. They do have some neat animals but they aren't really setup for kids to be able to touch them. It's possible but not very practical. First, the animals didn't seem interested in being touched. Second, the enclosures while working great for keeping the animals where they belong, weren't the best for touching the animals. It was cool just seeing them though and my daughter still enjoyed it.
The alligator feeding wasn't very remarkable. I was expecting something a bit more exciting but the gators are lethargic this time of year, or so the guy said, so that might be why it wasn't all that cool. On tv I've seen food suspended from a rope and the gators jumping or lunging to get it and that looked very cool. This is what I was expecting here and instead the guy hands the food to the gators with a metal arm thing. Was still cool to see them eat but didn't meet my expectations. I haven't been to Gatorland yet but I'm hoping their feedings are more exciting.
Lastly, the trick-r-treating. It was merely ok. Sea World did it much better but then again, Sea World had a LOT of people there while this place had very few on the day I visited. It's really not fair to compare the two but if you are looking for a fun place to take your kid, visit Silver Springs but don't go for the trick-r-treating. There was a haunted house and some other after dark going ons but we went on Sunday and that had ended the previous night. We'll hit that next year and let you know how it is.
They also do Christmas lights and I'll be checking that out in a couple weeks. I'll update my review with info regarding the festivities at that time.
Overall I like the place. I bought season passes for my family because I knew we'd be going back to see the Christmas lights and I'm happy with that purchase. It's a neat place and a great break from the much busier parks in Orlando.
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There is already an extensive review, so I'll just add some things.
The highlights of this park are the boat tours and the animals. The tour guides are very informative and educational. Guides will tell you to list of movies that where filmed here (including James Bond, and Creature of the Black Lagoon! :) The water is crystal clear!
The admission is kinda high, but luckily we had $10 off coupons!
Current Prices:
General Admission $34.99
Seniors (age 55+) $30.99
Children (age 3-10) $24.99
Children (age 0-2) Free
NOTE: Gator Feeding is only April to October at 2:30PM
=== TIPS ===
- Currently until the end of the year you can get $10 off admission prices
http://www.silversprin...
- The Jeep Ride is _VERY_ bumpy!! It may be uncomfortable to some people. Hold on to your camera and any other loose articles if you plan on riding this!
- The boats stop at 4:55PM, but they are very enjoyable.
- They have holiday festival of lights that starts when the sun goes down.
I'd give it 3.5 stars, but i'll put 4 to up the average.
Definitely off the Beaten Path.
Silver Springs Theme Park in Orlando is kind of like the anti-theme park. There's no wild thrill rides, or goofy characters. Instead it's a quiet and tranquil place that trades the roller coasters for glass bottom boat cruises and the people in costumes for natural wildlife. It's a grat place, but it is not without its problems.
The Good:
Glass Bottom Boats: Sure you've heard of these things before, but Silver Springs pioneered the glass bottom boat. And honestly, they just do these tours right. The guides are always very knowledgeable, and you are guaranteed to see planty of cool fish and wildlife while you're on the boat.
Bears and Birds: Honestly the bear exibit here isawesome. I've actually never seen a bear animal exhibit outside of Silver Springs before, so it was definitely an experience to see.
Albino Aligators!: Now according to them, The White Alligatorsare exclusive to Silver Springs as well, although I could have sworn I saw them somewhere else. But besides that, if you've never seen one, they are a sight to behold. They are a bight white color and look like they're made of clay. That is, of course, until they move!
The Bad:
Price: honestly, I just don;t know how willing I am to pay $30 for admission to a place where I'll probably only spend about 6 hours. I mean the boat tours are nice, and so are the animal exhibits. But you can also go to the Sanford Zoo for a year for that price.
I really love Silver Springs, and would go a lot more often if the price came down a little. But if you are a real nature buff you owe it to yourself to check this place out
Overall 8.0/10= Silver Springs Splendor