A new year means new vacations and new vacations mean…something different than they used to. Best laid plans from last fall now look like anything but. The ongoing pandemic, freshly re-accelerated by the omicron variant, is scorching the workforce. Airlines are cancelling flights because there aren’t enough uninfected workers to make them fly. On the ground, every possible public-facing business is wilting from the same heat. And that includes tourist attractions. Fewer and fewer employees are left to tell more and more guests to enjoy the rest of their day at Fill-in-the-Blank Park. It’s an unprecedented burnout too often ignored by consumers expecting a precedented vacation.
For the foreseeable future, some patience and a little compromise is going to have to cover the difference. There’s more to Central Florida than the clashing titans. Now that one of them has ended airport-to-resort transportation, there’s more reason than ever to see what else is out there, emphasis on the out. For anyone whose plane is still scheduled and hotel still booked, or even locals in the market for fresh air, here are six outdoor activities to beat the crowds and support small businesses at the same time.
Showcase of Citrus
All the way west on 192 and a little north lies a buried treasure, at least by Central Florida attraction standards. It’s not hard to spot the Showcase of Citrus – watch for King Kong on the north side and a tiger-striped monster truck schoolbus on the south – it’s just slightly outside the Kissimmee tourist ecosystem, 15 minutes from Walt Disney World and 35 from Universal Orlando. Not a bad drive and, ultimately, the seclusion is part of the appeal.
The Old Time Country Store, dignified with a corrugated roof marked “CITRUS,” belongs to a dying breed of gift shop. No mice in sight. No conspicuously familiar cauldrons for your coffee. There are plenty of tchotchkes for visitors of all ages to mess with on the drive home, but the selection is refreshingly local. Grow-your-own palm tree kits. Gator-foot backscratchers. Locally sourced snacks for every appetite – salsas, honey sticks, wines, etc. Every wall provides its own rusting history lesson, of antique orange juice advertisements and painted alligators spitting fire (a side effect of the house-brand hot sauce, of course). But shopping is only the tip of this folksy iceberg.
The Country Store doubles as a gateway to the Showcase’s 2,500-acre expanse. Just past it, visitors will find a gem mining operation, a petting zoo, a playground, a music stage, and a convenient means of climbing onto those aforementioned tiger-striped monster truck buses. Those brave enough to board can enjoy a surprisingly lengthy open-air tour of the grounds. The presentable view from US-27 quickly gives way to primordial swamp and cow-tended savannah. Drivers provide live entertainment with old Florida lore and Showcase trivia – if you’ve ever wondered what Disney’s Animal Kingdom does with all that manure, look no further.
And then, of course, there’s the citrus.
The Showcase grows over 50 varieties, all of them available for the picking. Lemons, tangerines, grapefruits, limes, sugar belles, and more types of orange than you could possibly name. No matter your pleasure, fruit is paid for by the pre-sized bag so any combination counts.
But if a 10-pound bag of navels is too daunting for your hotel room fridge, Showcase of Citrus offers a more convenient taste of Florida – the fresh-squeezed orange juice slushie. Not orange flavored. Not even orange juice flavored. It preserves that breakfast-table tang of the real deal because it is the real deal. And if you want to give Dole Whip a run for its money, spring for the creamsicle version, which mixes the slush with frozen yogurt. Are they world-famous as so many stickers around the property claim? Hard to say, but they certainly should be more famous.
Consider Showcase of Citrus a backwards oasis, a living, breathing place in a town full of places exhaustively made to appear living and breathing.
Krush Brau Park
Check back in a few months and this recommendation should be more obvious. For now, Krush Brau Park is an intentionally kept secret.
Recent passersby on the east end of 192 might’ve noticed a conspicuously large parking lot full of shipping containers in front of a conspicuously large building adorned with a dry waterfall. More seasoned travelers might remember that waterfall, just past the Dollar Tree and just shy of Medieval Times, as the former entrance of Jungleland Zoo. Since the 1970s, when it opened as Alligatorland Safari Zoo, that conspicuously large parking lot was occupied by the largest man-made alligator in the world. Though another concrete crocodilian eventually took that crown, the Jungleland gator remained, eventually reasserting its might with a crushed Jeep in its jaws. That sight likely inspired more warm memories than the attraction behind it, which crumbled amid allegations of animal mistreatment and repeated inspection failures. The park, cages and all, was left intact after its 2002 closure, another highway ghost.
Until now.
Krush Brau Park is paying its respects. All around the Festplatz tent, animatronic animals make their noises. When the new attraction is complete, there will be a petting zoo to complete the homage.
For now, Krush Brau is an easy, breezy German night out.
Oom-pah music beckons from the back left corner of the unmarked lot. Only on approach do the roars and growls join in with the band. Follow the party and you’ll find a little piece of Bavaria carved out of a sub-tropical swamp. Drink windows offer an impressive array of lagers, dunkels, and pilsners, with or without a boot to drink them out of. Food windows, serving an abbreviated menu for now, sell German favorites to-go. Enormous pretzels. Three kinds of sausage. Pita-wrapped schitnizel. Oversized slices of Black Forest and German Chocolate cake.
There’s no better soundtrack to savor it by than a live German band. Cowbells. Accordions. Mile-long alphorns. Thunderous cries for “Prost!” Regulars of Epcot’s Biergarten buffet will recognize some of the performers and know some of the sing-alongs by heart. It’s a good time made great with the right crowd. There’s even a gift shop for any sudden cravings for lederhosen.
Right now, the Festplatz is open daily, with special events on specific nights. Check their website – KrushBrauPark.com – for a proper schedule.
It’s also worth checking to keep an eye on the transformation. When finished, Krush Brau Park will include a family-style restaurant, outbuilding eateries, live entertainment in outdoor theaters, playgrounds, and real, live animals in addition to the robotic kind. There’s no date for completion yet – global pandemics tend to get in the way – but it’s moving right along and already a neat way to spend an evening.
Miniature Golf
Orlando has its own version of the Ben Franklin line: Nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and miniature golf. Wherever you go, wherever you stay, there will be a course no farther than a five-minute drive away and coupons, a five-minute walk. On account of that convenience, most tourists stick to whichever plaster mountain is closest. That’s a fair strategy – you can’t go too far wrong with any of the options currently renting putters – but this list is all about getting out and seeing the world beyond the World. Theme Park Tourist has already narrowed down some of the greatest hits, so consider these the CliffsNotes.
Both Disney and Universal have their own courses. Both are built to the quality you’d expect and have greens fees to match. Because of their proximity, they’re also routinely the busiest golf courses in town so plan your afternoon accordingly.
On the International Drive end of Orlando, the most popular course is a geographic tie between Congo River to the north and Pirates Cove to the south. Between the two, Pirates Cove wins on grandeur alone. That Congo outpost isn’t a bad 18, just cramped. Pirates, by contrast, includes a full galleon. Easy choice. Discerning tastes should seek out Lost Caverns Adventure Golf, now shrinking in the shadow of Universal’s Endless Summer complex. It used to be a Congo River so the style and difficulty should seem familiar, but time has given it a rugged charm all its own.
On the 192 end of Orlando, there’s a course for all seasons. This Congo River, just past Target on the east side, is the one to beat. 36 holes. Baby gators for the feeding. A river for swanboats woven into the faux jungle. Everything you could want out of miniature golf. A quieter, simpler time can be had farther east at Pirates Island, the last surviving spinoff of Pirates Cove. Speaking of, although the best Cove around just shuttered with the rest of the Crossroads shopping center, the runner-up still stands behind Old Town and Fun Spot. Those neighbors make parking on weekend nights an endurance test so plan your time on the links accordingly. Golfers in search of a truly singular experience should look west, toward the unnaturally orange peak marked “GOLF.” Bonanza Golf and Gifts remains the most affordable and unusual course in town. It may not have the interactivity of the theme park holes or the lush environs of Pirates or Congo, but it makes up for it in character, elevation, and variety. You never know what each hole might bring and, for $5.99 with coupon, that’s a hard deal to beat.
Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures
Even if you haven’t gone, if you’ve been to Orlando, you’ve probably seen an ad for Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures. That cartoon alligator piloting a cartoon airboat shows up in every tourist magazine and coupon book, and more than a few billboards. And yet, as much airboating is a pillar of Central Florida tourism, most visitors never climb aboard. But there’s no better time to enjoy some fresh, swamp air, a lot of fresh, swamp air, at approximately 45 miles-per-hour.
Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures is located about an hour south of the 192 corridor, but you could be seconds away and still miss it. Most of the complex hides behind a natural disguise of Spanish moss. Save for the semi-regular scream of propellers, it’s just as hard to hear. That’s the beauty of Boggy Creek.
In addition to the promised transportation, there are alligators to feed, precious minerals to mine, Boggy Bottom BBQ to savor, and views of Lake Tohopekaliga to view. The most unique entertainment, however, is the Jororo Native Village. Across several demonstrations and discussions with the Big Mountain Family, visitors can learn how the Jororo tribe lived, played, and even hunted alligators. There’s nothing else like the GoNativeNow program in Orlando and it makes for a refreshing change of pace between the roller coasters and autograph books.
And you can always chase the education with an airboat ride if you’re still craving a thrill.
Boggy Creek’s tours come in all intervals and intimacies. The standard half-hour ride is available for walk-ins. Longer tours, private parties, and any trips past 5 PM require advanced booking. There’s no exhilaration quite like it. That said, if you burn easily and wear shorts often, bring sunblock for the top of your knees. Just trust me.
Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens
On the other side of the tourist bubble, an hour and change northeast, lies another detour treasure, the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens.
First thing’s first – the Botanical Gardens are the Zoo. That might sound like a fast one until you see the sign in front of an impenetrable thicket of foliage. Sure, there are dedicated patches of local flora in appropriate bloom, but for all intents and purposes, the park is one big, lush jungle. Don’t worry, though – the predators are well-fed.
A cock-eyed trail through the wilderness leads explorers past dozens of animals, only a handful of them native – black bears, alligators, lizards and the like. The rest are impressively exotic. Giraffes. Warthogs. A rare Indian rhino. Big birds. Bigger cats. The works.
For a relatively small outfit, the Central Florida Zoo boasts an impressive herd, some of it record-breaking – visitors can study the southeast’s largest collection of reptiles at their own peril.
But there’s more to it than fur and scales. A miniature train circles the grounds. A zipline course zig-zags between its tallest trees. A water playground, a necessity for most of the year, provides cool respite for the tiniest guests.
Which is a bit of a clue. Given the scale of the zoo, it’s best suited for family trips. Couples or lonesome travelers might want to wait for one of its seasonal overlays before making the drive. Then again, it’s minutes from the rest of Sanford, an eminently walkable town. Might be difficult to make a full day out of the Central Florida Zoo, but it’s a lot easier with a walk along the Lake Monroe marina and an outdoor dinner at Hollerbach’s, one of the best German restaurants in the state.
Gatorland
Even among the heaviest hitters, Gatorland is the only long-standing Central Florida attraction that feels like an institution. It opened four years after World War II ended. The park’s original train, dubbed the Ol’ Iron Horse Express, was the area’s first ride. The iconic, 15-foot-tall, concrete jaws out front, though no longer doubling as the entrance, have announced the attraction to Orange Blossom Trail traffic for 60 years and counting.
It is Central Florida tourism primordial, immortal, and no trip can be complete without pitching some gator chow to an attentive, toothy audience.
Even with decades of renovations, the 110-acre park feels like Old Florida. The boards along the boardwalk still creak. The gators still jump. The flamingos still strut. That rustic ambiance is worth the price of admission alone, but fortunately there’s more to do than just wax nostalgic.
“The Alligator Capital of the World” houses over 2,000 American Alligators, many of them rescued, across various lagoons and enclosures. They range in size from six-inch infants to adults the length of compact cars. The Breeding Marsh, the biggest habitat, is criss-crossed by ziplines and staked out with an observation tower for a bird’s-eye view of the action. Crocodiles hang out in the back with a chatty kookaburra. A centenarian tortoise poses patiently for photos. Birds of every description bath themselves in the polite company of capybaras. Panthers, bobcats, and servals – oh my.
A bone-soaking play area keeps kids cool and a peaceful swamp walk keeps adults meditative. For additional fees, visitors can ride those wheelchair-accessible ziplines over gator-infested waters, ride the Gatorland Express, or take a Stompin’ Gator Off-Road Adventure into the brush.
The word “authentic” gets thrown around too often in general, but Gatorland more than earns it. This is what Central Florida is all about in a convenient, day-long package. And just like the radio spots say, you can get in for less than the price of parking at those new-fangled theme parks.
