You’re looking at (or should I say reading from) the newest member of the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Sanford! I personally think the Central Florida Zoo is one of the best things to do with kids in Sanford FL 🙂

Things to Do with Kids in Sanford FL

This morning I decided that Nicolas is old enough now to appreciate all the wonderful things to do at the Zoo here in Sanford, so it made total sense to finally get the annual pass.

I met a friend with her son and got her in for free as a guest (one of the many perks of the Sanford Zoo annual pass). N and his friend Paul had so much fun and while they don’t fully understand everything they soon will and it is so great to see them exploring everything and recognizing the animals they otherwise just see in their books.

Things to do with kids in Sanford FL - Hawk at Sanford ZooWhat is great is that you will also find animals being presented to visitors outside of their cages. So today we got to see a hawk up close.

The kids really enjoyed running around freely and that’s great since you don’t have to worry about cars and street traffic. It feels like a very safe place. The zoo there also has a few rest areas with benches and tables were you can sit and enjoy a snack (keep in mind though that no outside food is allowed in the Zoo, however I doubt this rule applies for toddlers who need snacks throughout the day that might be hard to find at the zoo).

N also loved the coin operated children’s rides, even though he was still too scared to hop on the firetruck…

Things to do with kids in Sanford FL - Splash Pad Sanford Zoo

Furthermore the Sanford FL Zoo has an awesome splash pad (I took N there for some water fun last summer) and a great playground with several slides (surrounded by trees so there’s enough shadow in the Florida sun).

Another favorite for kids is the Little Florida Coastline Train that starts its 5 minute rides just outside the main entrance of the zoo. It passes through lots of the property of the Zoo and you get to see lots of trees and plants. At some spots it almost feels like you’re taking a train ride through the jungle. With a $20 pass you get 20 rides (so it’s $1 per ride).

Next to the train station there is also a carrousel which adds even more fun for the little ones.

Also at the Zoo – More Things to do With Kids in Sanford FL

The Sanford Zoo also offers a free story time at the Rainforest Pavilion outside the Zoo entrance on most Wednesdays from 10-10:30am (check the events schedule here). What makes this story time really special is that each week an animal is introduced and shown to the kids.

For older kids there is also laser tag and zip lining. Jose and I went zip lining last year (post and video will follow soon) and had a blast, so I can only imagine how exciting this experience will be for kids!

The Central Florida Zoo has fun events for the whole family throughout the whole year, there’s Brews around the Zoo in April, Fiesta del Coqui in September, Zooloween in October, Breakfast/Brunch with Santa in December as well as several opportunities to spend a night at the Zoo (Snooze at the Zoo) or at least part of the night (Zoo After Dark).

So without further ado, check out the pictures I took of our Zoo experience below and let me know if you would like to add anything to this article that I might have omitted. Do you agree that a visit at the Sanford Zoo is one of the most fun things to do with kids in Sanford FL?

[portfolio_slideshow size=custom width=600 height=400 autoplay=false random=false centered=false carousel=false navstyle=graphical navpos=top pagerstyle=thumbs pagerpos=bottom]

Watch Sanford FL Zoo Videos

[tubepress mode=”user” userValue=”CentralFloridaZoo” theme=”youtube” resultsPerPage=”15″]

Central Florida Zoological Park & Botanical Gardens and ZOOmAir Adventures
3755 N.W. Highway 17-92 – Sanford, Florida 32771

Click here to find more things to do with kids in Sanford FL