The Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Sanford offers a family-oriented stop between Orlando and Daytona Beach, with more than 300 animals, hands-on encounters and a miniature train ride.
Visitors can feed a giraffe, take photos with a tortoise and pet a rhino, according to Islands. The zoo’s Barnyard Buddies area lets children interact with goats, chickens, sheep and a llama.
A one-quarter-scale replica of an Atlantic Coast Line Railroad streamliner travels through areas featuring trees, shrubs and other plants representative of Florida’s subtropical landscape. The attraction also includes botanical gardens, including a pollinator-plant area where visitors may see butterflies or hummingbirds.
The zoo operates year-round and schedules additional events throughout the calendar. Sunset at the Zoo is held on the fourth Friday of each month from May through September, with music, food and refreshments. Select October weekends bring Zoo Boo Bash, featuring games, a dance party, pumpkin decorating and trick-or-treating for costumed families.
Other listed programs can include botanical garden tours and preschool storytime. On select nights from November through January, the Asian Lantern Festival fills the zoo with illuminated lantern scenes rather than live-animal viewing; some dates include Santa appearances, while a few nights are reserved for adults.
The zoo is in Sanford, about 40 minutes from downtown Orlando and roughly 50 minutes from Daytona Beach, according to the source. Visitors should check the attraction’s event calendar before making plans, since seasonal programs run on selected dates.
