Disney's Animal Kingdom
Lake Buena Vista, FL · Central Florida
Disney built a whole park around the idea that real animals could share a stage with imagined ones, and the 145-foot Tree of Life at its center carries hundreds of creatures…

Photo: Jared (Flickr: jared422) / CC BY 2.0
Florida's first theme park grew up here as Cypress Gardens, and Lego bricks moved into the old grounds without paving over them. Kids steer their own boats, earn Lego driving licenses, and walk through Miniland USA, where the New York skyline and the Las Vegas Strip stand a few feet tall in plastic studs. Between the rides, the original botanical gardens still wind along the lakeshore, shaded by a banyan tree that has been spreading since 1939.
One Legoland Way, Winter Haven, FL 33884
Legoland is built for kids 2 to 12 and sits in Winter Haven, about 45 minutes from International Drive, so treat the ticket as a day trip. The water park costs extra.
Others worth the drive in this corner of Florida.
Springs
Gardens & wildlife
Gardens & wildlife
Forests
Springs
Springs