It’s no secret that I am a Mama who is addicted to travel. My family has been very blessed and we’ve been to Florida many times over the past ten years. Each year we try and do something different, a little out of the box, but often it is the same kind of thing. A new shopping mall, a new fabulous attraction. This year we went WAY outside our comfort zone and went exploring parts of Florida I’ve only seen on TV. Shameful that it took this long!
On this last adventure into Florida we had the opportunity to go on an AirBoat ride with Boggy Creek Air Boats. I really didn’t know what to expect, but on a coolish Wednesday morning I packed up my family and my camera, and we headed out to see what was out there in them there swamps!
Before I dive into my story I am going to give you a very important tip; when you book your Boggy Creek AirBoat Adventure, and you will because it is AWESOME, double check the location you are supposed to go to!! They have two busy and thriving locations about half an hour apart. Only a blonde and directionally challenged over confident Mama of two would go to the Boggy Creek Facebook page, pull up the first map she see’s, punch in the directions into her Traverse and head out on the road without realizing she was headed to the wrong spot. Not that this every happened to me. Pft
Anyhoo…as we drove to our wrong location, I already knew we had made the right decision to go to BoggyCreek. Once you get outside of Kissimmee you get to see some of the real Florida. The big beautiful mossy trees, the orange groves, just the landscape and the people! So much pretty. We pulled into the bustling parking lot, headed into the quaint office and received our assignment to tour with Captain Kirk. For reals. Awesome. (my kids didn’t get it, poor Star Trek deprived babies)
Boggy Creek Air Boats had an entire fleet of boats at the ready.
They were huge, powerful, noisy and as we were about to find out, fast! We climbed into our boat, front row seats baby, and were ready to go!
The tour of the swamp was about half an hour long, and my family had the opportunity to see things we have only seen in petting farms or zoos. It was kind of incredible! We saw four different alligator’s in their natural habitat. This guy was huge!
We saw a Bald Eagle, actually birds of all kinds, lush vegetation, and a very long, very scary long black snake! How Captain Kirk ever spotted these creatures as we whipped through the swampy marsh was beyond me.
All too soon is was time to head back to the dock.
One last opportunity to get up and close with a little three year old alligator, and a chance to ask questions.
The Boggy Creek Airboat tour was unlike anything I have ever tried before, and I am so glad we did! It was refreshing to take a few hours away from the theme parks, shopping or pool and get out there and see something my babies will never forget. Thanks for the memories Boggy Creek! You can find Boggy Creek Airboats on twitter and Facebook.
Pst Did you hear about the AMAZING giveaway I’m hosting? A week long stay at a Global Resort Homes in Orlando Florida including 4 passes to Boggy Creek Airboat Rides! Open to both US and Canada so be sure to enter!
I am *so* glad you got to see some Real Florida while you were here. We have beautiful natural lands and plenty of interesting wildlife – as you found out. Next time, kayaks. Promise me. You’ll love it even more. (And e-mail me; I’ll make recommendations!)
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So amazing! We have to do this next time we’re in Florida, especially because my five year old is croc and gator obsessed! Luckily we have a reptile zoo here that we freqently visit so he can get his fix! We also had them come ot our house for his birthday! We had an alligator, a caimen, and a croc in our house! HUGE MASSIVE ONES! He loved it. I was freaked.
We are doing this in may thanks to Tara, really looking forward to it!
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My friend would be so jealous, she wanted to see a gator so badly when we were there!
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I’ve only seen alligators through a really high glass wall at the zoo, so I don’t know how I would handle seeing them so open and close by, i.e. I don’t know how your little one got so close to the baby alligator, I would have freaked! YET despite that, I would love to see the real swampy and boggy Florida, so the airboat ride sounds like a wonderful opportunity to do so. All that vegetation and fauna! It would be a thrill.
This year we went WAY outside our comfort zone and everglades private airboat tours went exploring parts of Florida I’ve only seen on TV. Shameful that it took this long!
I had no idea you could do this so close to Disney World? You were close right! Cool!
i would love to do this! too bad they dont have it in az!
You know, we have been going to Florida for years and have NEVER seen a ‘gator’. Sounds like something we must try!!
oh what a wicked cool adventure…and def one to create memories…had to do a double take at that picture…did not see the tape at first….