Behind the Three Point Line: The Central Florida Zoo

After Xmas we headed back to the Central Florida Zoo. It is a fun place for the kids but it is not really up to par with the other zoos I have been to. I am not too keen on animals in cages at zoos. The weird thing about the CFZ is that only about half of the animals are in cages and the other half roam free in enclosures. I like the enclosure idea, although I grew up going to the Miami Zoo and the National Zoo in Washington. (Stepping down from my soapbox.)

The kids had a great time, they all seem to absolutely love animals. Brother was also happy as they have a choo-choo train that goes through the woods around the zoo. That kid absolutely loves trains, according to him, he is going to be a train conductor again for Halloween this year. We'll see, although I don't think the train fever is going to calm down since we are going to see the "real" Thomas the Train in March. That will send him into an absolute fit. I can't tell you how much I hear about Thomas and the island of Sodor.

Well, back to the zoo. We started off looking at some birds until the Critters apparently noticed the reptile house. They made a beeline to it which absolutely thrilled Rian. Lets just say that she is not a fan (at all) of snakes. She stood with her back against the wall the entire time. I guess kids at their age just don't realize that they are a few centimeters of glass away from a deadly snake. They have a black mamba there and Hadley and Carson were right up, faces pressed against the window. Luckily, the snake wasn't hungry and didn't strike the glass. Off we went to see the alligator. We didn't see it at first until something started to move in the water. Then this huge alligator begins to get up on the land and crawl towards us. Well, the Critters thought that this "friendly" alligator was just coming over to say hi. Carson even wanted me to lift her up to see over the rail better. Its hilarious to me that the Critters see this deadly animal and just think that its just coming over to say hi and give them a big hug.

We were walking around after seeing the alligator and stumbled upon a new exhibit that they are building. You will never guess what it is. An OTTER Exhibit. CarCar just about had a fit. For some reason CarCar is obsessed with otters. What kid do you know that loves otters. Not really a common cuddly animal. I am not really even sure if they are friendly. Our Crittersitter Macy told CarCar that her neighborhood in St. Pete has otters and CarCar nearly stroked out. We are going to have to make sure that CarCar doesn't try to hide in Macy's luggage the next time she goes home.

After some more walking and a trip to the playground we headed over see the cheetahs and kangaroos. To be clear they were in different enclosures. I don't think the kids need a lesson on survival of the fittest just yet. Of coarse Hadley wanted to ride on my shoulders to see the cheetahs better. As usual she wanted down after a minute or two and when I was lifting her down my sunglasses went along with her. Somehow they landed perfectly on the right lens and just shattered it. Perfect, now I don't have sunglasses for the rest of my time in Orlando. Update: no worries the glass have be fixed.

After the zoo we headed to Cracker Barrel, the Critters most recent favorite restaurant. I am not sure if they like the food which is okay or the atmosphere, which is akin to a country circus.

Here are some pics of the zoo: