Tampa Orangutan
Am I right about this? One of the joys of living in Southwest Florida is more beaches and fewer mega-rollercoaster attractions. The other joy is that when we do crave all that, we can hop in the car and less than three hours later have all the adventure we can handle – and then come home to serenity. Take, for example, Tampa:
Do the drop
My first question would be, “why?” but apparently tons of kids (48” tall and over) and a gazillion grownups are lining up to check out the brand new Vanish Point experience at Adventure Island, adjacent to Busch Gardens. You go zooming down in these slide things called skyboxes, through 425 feet of spiraling tubes, and then ... the drop. I’ll pass, thank you very much, but if you plan to go, be sure to invest in the extra 12 bucks for the Quick Queue and skip those lines. There’s a huge park full of other splashy water and land action for the little ones, too. adventureisland.com
Be Tarzan. Be Jane. Be a Ninja.
A brand new TreeUmph Adventure Course, tucked into a dense pine forest covering 40 acres, has 130 adventure games: something for every Tarzan, Jane, and Ninja wannabe. Besides ropes and zip lines, here’s what you get: wobbly footbridges, suspended logs, cable walkways, swinging rings, and gladiator nets. TreeUmph’s original location is in Bradenton. The brand new one, just north of Tampa, added a special course called Little Ninja for kids age 5-8. There are ninja slants, a ninja bridge, hanging barrels and rock walls, and a mini zip line. treeumph.com
Meet a pygmy hippo and 1,299 of its closest friends
Visit ZooTampa at Lowry Park now, and you’ll get the rest of 2018 free, including the zoo’s super-spooky after dark weekends in October called Creatures of the Night. Among the 1,300 animals at ZooTampa (formerly Lowry Park Zoo) is a humongous land tortoise waiting for a kid-size hug, and lots of new babies, like a southern white rhino, a Malayan tiger, a Bornean orangutan, some tiny African penguins, and … aww … Holly Berry, the pygmy hippo. The zoo is wheelchair accessible and autism-friendly. zootampa.org
Count the suckers
Tampa Octopus
No, not that kind! I’m talking about those funky looking suckers on the tentacles of a giant Pacific octopus. Fair warning: there can be more than 2,000 of them. Because of all its hands-on experiences, The Florida Aquarium in Tampa is considered one of the best family-friendly aquariums in the country. For example, at an extra charge, you can get a backstage pass to the penguin habitat, where you get up close and can even touch those cute, tail-shaking, waddling, South African birds. Kids as young as six can Swim With the Fishes, a scuba-like experience designed to simulate a coral reef dive while you’re floating on top of the water. It’s a bit pricey at $85 but beats the cost of a trip to the Dry Tortugas. Plus, you get a video. There also are different age-appropriate levels of Dive with the Sharks experiences.
Among the habitats in the aquarium is the No Bones Zone, home of creatures that have no backbones, like anemones, sea cucumbers and sea stars. In Dragons Down Under, you can get a close-up look at the freaky-looking sea dragons that resemble bunches of seaweed with fearsome, meat-eating snouts. Pack the swimsuits, as the admission price includes the Splash Pad, an outdoor wet and dry play zone. flaquarium.org
Fly
If you’re between the ages of three and 103, how about some nice indoor skydiving to round out your weekend adventure? The idea is to simulate the feeling of free-fall through the use of wind tunnels. You gear up in a flight suit, get your training, and then float on a cushion of air; no parachute needed! IflyTampa is part of a chain attraction with three Florida locations. Check out the All Abilities Nights, exclusively designed for those with physical and cognitive challenges. Iflyworld.com
A streetcar named TECO
Tampa Electric Company runs a cute electric streetcar, reminiscent of those in the 1800s, between Tampa and Ybor City. A modest fee gets you an all-day on-off family pass. tecolinestreetcar.org