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Lion Country Safari, West Palm Beach, Florida

Posted by The Travelling Travel Agent · 2 Comments 

This is an excellent place to see animals in a natural setting. It is a drive through zoo/safari in West Palm Beach. Upon entering the park, you will receive a CD to listen to as you drive through gated sections, animals being different per section. There is plenty of room on the road for tourists to pull over and take pictures. It takes about 30 minutes to drive through, but at the end of your driving, (and returning the CD) you will end up in a parking lot where you can get out and go explore more of the zoo.

Me chimpanzee; Me thirsty

They have a few rides for the kids, a small petting zoo where you can feed sheep, goats, and giraffes. They have a few slides and a small little boat ride as well where you can see monkeys. The monkeys we saw on the safari part had water bottles. They would go down to the dock, climb down the steps, and fill up the water bottle. They would then go back to their little house, sit in it, and drink the water. I do have a photo of this, but it is hard to see as I had a different camera than I have now. When I return, I will get a closer picture of that as it happens everyday. If you would like to go see a neat drive through Safari, please email me at info@thetravellingtravelagent.com.

January 30, 2010 · Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Educational Travel, Florida, Home blog page, Where to take the Kids, Zoos

Gatorama, Palmdale, Florida

Posted by The Travelling Travel Agent · Leave a Comment 

Gatorama is a small zoo in Palmdale. At first, the owners didn’t even want it to be a zoo, but you should read their story on their website. The great things about this place are that you can hold a baby alligator and an excellent alligator feeding. They have so many alligators, they always have babies and they have plenty over 12 ft long. I have been here a few times since it is so close to home. The first time I saw them feeding gators, they fed them chickens from the dock. The gators would use their tail to project themselves out of the water to eat the chickens. The second time I saw the feeding, a guy just fed one alligator. At one point, he was speaking to the audience and left his hand over the wall. He quickly realized it. The only thing I don’t like about the place is that they have tubes to feed some of the animals. I agree with this because of insurance purposes, but I was spoiled by being able to feed the deer, raccoon, and a monkey. The monkey threw the food back at me when I turned my back. The raccoon could turn on his water faucet when he was thirsty, then back off. The deer they had killed another one and I was told the story as the deer was licking me threw the fence. I believe they still have the biggest albino crocodile. His name is Goliath. I just checked their website and it is a lot better than their previous one. You can view it at www.gatorama.com.

January 30, 2010 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Florida, Home blog page, Where to take the Kids, Zoos

Silver Springs, Ocala

Posted by The Travelling Travel Agent · Leave a Comment 

I have been to this attraction / zoo 3 times in the past year. The first time I was there, the guides that I had seemed a little more knowledgeable about the place than the second time I was there. I must admit, I do enjoy this place. It has a variety of animals, a petting zoo, and you can feed some of the animals. It also has a jeep ride, which is really neat if you have a good driver. The first time I rode this, it was hillarious as the driver stopped so the llama could approach. The llama kept trying to lick this guys face as he dodged. Finally, the driver continued. The second time I was there, it rained about 3:30 and it only rained for about 30 minutes. During the rain, with the exception of a few gift shops, they closed the entire place and did not re-open. I was upset about that. I did stay in a hotel nearby where we were able to return in the morning. If you are a Florida resident, the paying for one day and get the rest of the year free is definitely worth it. They give you some discounts upon entering as well. They have a few decent shows, my favorite being the bird show. Last time I was there, they had a panther and cougar in the same fenced area and they were mating. It was kinda funny because there was some serious growling going on. A canberra can be seen, too. What is it? It’s the largest rodent in the world. It looks somehwhat like a groundhog. Silver Springs is a very interesting place and can be fun. Last April I believe, they just opened up a new water park. It looks ok from the outside. I will check it out before my pass expires.

January 20, 2010 · Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Florida, Home blog page, Where to take the Kids, Zoos

Atlanta Zoo, Atlanta, Georgia

Posted by The Travelling Travel Agent · 2 Comments 

On our way back to Florida from Louiville, Ky checking out a laser tag arena, my wife and I wanted to see some animals, so we stopped at the Atlanta Zoo. The zoo was neat, but I believe we stopped on the wrong day as it was scorching hot, plus there was a lot of walking. I don’t remember much about this zoo except that it had two panda bears. One was curled up asleep as the other was eating bamboo, while the audience was looking on. When I took the photo of the panda eating the bamboo, he started using the bathroom and it was number 2. I do have the photo, but I need to scan it as it is in a negative.  They do have other animals like lions, monkeys, birds, tigers, alligators, etc..I believe if you go check them out right now (as of Jan 20, 2010) they have baby lions. They also have a places for kids where they can make crafts, play games and even an educational program to help kids read. Obviously don’t forget to take your camera as you stroll through the Atlanta Zoo where it’s fun for everyone. I do suggest to go when the weather is cooler and animals are active…example…in the Spring.

January 20, 2010 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Florida, Home blog page, Nature, Zoos

Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida

Posted by The Travelling Travel Agent · Leave a Comment 

I didn't expect this when I asked for a longneck

In my opinion, Busch Gardens is the best overall attraction in the state of Florida. They have plenty of rollercoasters, plenty of kiddy rides, and plenty of games. They also have a safari ride where you can feed the giraffes. This is quite expensive, though. Their prices on souvenirs, apparel, and food are much better than other amusement parks around the state. Annual prices are great, too. It is much better to get an annual pass than a day pass. It is only about $15 more and if you come back just once you have saved money. I usually visit Busch Gardens about 3 times per year. I would go more often if I lived closer and had more money. Another thing I like about Busch Gardens is their shows. A few years ago when I went, I bought a binocular digital camera from the Discovery Store. It was a pretty cool camera. I took photos of lost of animals doing silly things. I downloaded them to my computer, but I think they have been deleted because I can’t find them anymore. One was a baby monkey in a circle of monkeys where he peeked behind all of the other monkeys just to look at me. I printed a blow up of this photo, but I have never found the download. If I ever do, I’ll post. In the meantime, I do have other photos as you can see that are integrated in this post. Busch Gardens is definitely a fun-for-all amusement park.

January 18, 2010 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Zoos

Zoos

Posted by The Travelling Travel Agent · 1 Comment 

Atlanta Zoo:

Plenty of different animals including a Panda exhibit. I took a picture of a Panda eating bamboo while it went #2 at the same time. It will eventually be online.

Silver Springs, Ocala, Fl:

They have a variety of animals here, along with a few shows. This place is famous for glass bottom boats and the original Tarzan movies. A Jeep Safari was interesting as well as a llama came right up to the tram. Very cool place. You can also see monkeys on the Silver River here. A small petting zoo lifted spirits as well. There is plenty to do here. I returned here on Aug. 3rd and 4th 2009. It rained the park out the 1st day. The alligator feeding here is not as good as Gatorama or The park in St. Augustine.

 

Lion Country Safari, West Palm Beach, FL:  

 

Please do not mistake him for Melman :)

Please do not mistake him for Melman :)

 

 

 

This is a drive through safari where animals can come right up to your car.

Me chimpanzee; Me thirsty

Me chimpanzee; Me thirsty

There are a variety of exotic animals. After you take yourself on a car ride, there are also small amusements for kids and adults where you can walk and see more animals and feed a few as well. On the safari, there are monkies who have water bottles and they will go down to the creek and fill up their bottles as you can see on your right. You should be able to click on the thumbnails to view the larger picture. I was impressed here.

 

 

 

Gatorama, Palmdale, Florida:

This is a small place with loads of gators on the side of Hwy 27 in Palmdale. It has a few different animals and they do allow you to hold an alligator. The best time to go is when they have an alligator feeding. Alligators can jump.

Alligator Farm and Zoological Park, St. Augustine, Florida:

Excellent education programs. They do have a variety of animals, but mostly a variety of different kinds of alligators and crocodiles. They also have a feeding show.

Of course, I plan to visit many more zoos such as Jacksonville, San Diego, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and some overseas. I have visited a zoo in Lugansk, Ukraine, but I forgot the name of it. It was ok. If you want to take a group to any zoo, please email me at info@thetravellingtravelagent.com or scott.short@cwcruises.com for the cheapest rates.

As I visit new zoos or return to any of these, I will blog about my personal experience more in depth than simply tell you a little bit of information.

July 2, 2009 · Tagged with

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