Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, Florida

When I first heard about Weeki Wachee Springs State Park I knew right away we had to visit.

Sierra has loved Mermaid since she was very little so visiting here was a must.

Posing with a mermaid statue. Sierra was quite
concerned that she wasn't wearing a top.

We arrived just before 11:00 so we hurried into the underwater theatre for their first Mermaid show. There are three shows daily. The 11:00 and 3:00 are the same and the 1:30 is called Fish Tales which we missed.

While everyone was getting seated there is a TV screen to watch the mermaids sing.

When the curtains open it looks as if you are looking into an aquarium. It however is the head water for the springs.

Our 11:00 show was called The Little Mermaid but it was slightly different then the Disney version. Sierra was quick to point out the fact that Ariel had different coloured hair and tail. The show was very good despite this fact and we all enjoyed it a lot. Here are some pictures of the mermaids.

After the show the girls got their picture with a mermaid.

 Next we headed to Discovery Point to see the reptile show.

Family selfie while waiting for the show

We saw a Florida King Snake, a Gopher Tortoise, and I think a red belly cooter.

The girls also got to pet the alligators tail which was pretty cool.

Then we headed to the playground to burn off some steam.

Now everyone was hungry so we headed to the Galley for lunch.

Sierra loved the mermaid lanterns around the restaurant.

After lunch we decided to take the boat tour and on our way there we met many peacocks including an albino one.

We arrived at the Wilderness Cruise Entrance with about 20 minutes to spare so Sierra read about the mermaid legend of Weeki Wachee and they climbed on some rocks while we waited.

Then it was our turn for the boat tour. This tour was included with the price of admission and was a fun 20-25 minute ride on the spring. We didn't see as much wildlife as we saw at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs park HERE, but it was still a fun little trip.

Boat tour selfie

An Anhinga

 I did manage to get a great picture of this Great Blue Heron. The resident alligator was hiding and there were no manatee and only a few birds. There were lots of fish in the water.

And lots of water snakes were seen.

Here another boat awaits a busier day. You can see Buckaneer Bay in the back ground.

Buckaneer Bay is a water park that is included with your price of admission to the park. If it was warmer it would have been a great deal at $13 an adult, $8 for children and 5 and under were free. However with the water park not usable due to the temperatures; which takes up about half the park, we really felt that it was an expensive outing at $42. The park is quite small and without the water park we were finished in less then 3 hours.

That being said we would have no problem paying $42 to come and have use of the water park as well.

You are not permitted to wear any mermaid tails in the lagoon which was disappointing news to Sierra but not so disappointing that she doesn't want to return some day.

In the lagoon area there are many turtles and fish swimming. I'm not sure what Sierra was more excited about...the water park or swimming with the turtles.

Overall we had a fun day. The mermaid show was very good and I highly recommend it. We also enjoyed the rest of the park but we personally would not come back again while the weather is cold unless they were to offer a winter discount. We do look forward to a day in the future where we can return to this park on a warm day and try out the water park.

On our way out we saw this water snake up close. I was happy to be standing up above him on a bridge and out of his reach!