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While FantasyWorld allows pets up to 40 pounds in their fantastic villas in Kissimmee, if you’re looking for a different kind of animal experience on your vacation, there’s plenty to see and do. Kissimmee isn’t just a convenient home base to explore the theme parks and the rest of Central Florida, it’s a fun and fascinating place in its own right, especially if you’re interested in learning about and getting up close with some fantastic animals.

It’s not a trip to Florida without the sighting of at least one gator. At the iconic Gatorland, which has been around for decades, you can learn all about alligators and crocodiles and the differences between them. You could also get a chance to get up close and personal with some of them by taking part in the Trainer for a Day experience they offer. Being a trainer and carer for these amazing animals is a unique experience which provides plenty of fun and interesting information. But it’s not just a lecture — you have the chance to actually hand-feed them lunch! From the big gator to the baby gators, along with birds, snakes, turtles, and spiders, you’ll learn and interact with a range of some truly incredible creatures. To top it all off, you also get a backstage look at how the trainers put on their daily shows with the animals.

If you’re looking for something a bit more laid back, then you can’t get more relaxed than Wild Florida’s Sloth Encounter. Here you’ll really get to chill with some two-toed South American sloths as they hang about, not to mention some lizards and beautiful birds. While they’re fun to watch, even doing next to nothing, you’ll also get to learn about these animals, including fun facts such as they can lift their whole body weight from the day they’re born! Useful for all of that hanging around. You can take in the regular experience, just viewing the animals, or you can go for the VIP Sloth Experience and actually get to hold one of these animals and have a “slothie” (sloth selfie) taken with one.

If you are going to be visiting some of the theme parks, Disney’s Animal Kingdom has an amazing safari you can take across the plains, forests, and wetlands of the Harambe Wildlife Reserve, which is home to nearly three dozen unique species. Just like a real safari, you never know what you’re going to see, but among the possibilities are lions, hippos, a herd of elephants, a super-fast cheetah, baboons, and so much more. Always have your camera at the ready and don’t forget to take in the interesting info the guides share with you about the animals you see.

Finally, a dream experience for a lot of people is swimming with dolphins, and you can do just that at Discovery Cove. You’ll get to engage with the curious and intelligent bottlenose dolphins in the Dolphin Lagoon. A dolphin care specialist will be on hand to teach you everything you need to know about dolphins, including their behaviors and habits, and they’ll also let you have a one-on-one experience with these amazing animals. You may even get to have a conversation with these chatty creatures who often squeak, whistle, and click to communicate. Plus, if you’re really brave, you can swim with sharks, or you can take a milder route and don a deep-sea helmet to walk along the floor of the Grand Reef, home to a variety of fish and rays.

These are just some of the animal experiences you can have in Kissimmee. There are also horseback riding options, and airboat tours, where you may see some local wildlife. Animal enthusiasts will love the range of opportunities to learn more about the local wildlife, as well as other animals. So make your reservations at the FantasyWorld villas in Kissimmee and explore the wonderful world of animals this area has to offer.

This post was written by FantasyWorld Resort.