This forum was great help over 4 years ago when I headed to NE FL with kids for spring break. If things are open enough to travel in the late summer, I hope to drive down I-95 to FL for a longer trip. I need ideas of places to see and things to do with kids. If the big attractions aren't open in FL, we'll probably wait for next summer.

The kids are teenagers, and like history and museums, and some outdoor activities. Here is what I have so far:

1. St. Augustine for one day and one night. We were here before and I think I know what we want to do and where to eat.
2. Kennedy Space Center. One day and one night.
3. Orlando 4-5 days, mostly with the Mouse (if Mouse is open)
4. Miami-Miami Beach. 1-2 days and nights.
5. The Keys and Key West. 2 days and nights.
6. The Everglades. 1-2 days and nights.
7. SW Florida--Ft. Myers. 1-2 days and nights.  

Any other parts of Florida we should see? We can't make it to the Panhandle on this trip. Any good things to see in Miami/Keys/Ft. Meyers besides the beach and ocean?

1. St. Augustine for one day and one night. We were here before and I think I know what we want to do and where to eat.
2. Kennedy Space Center. One day and one night. Excellent choice
3. Orlando 4-5 days, mostly with the Mouse (if Mouse is open) No comment.
4. Miami-Miami Beach. 1-2 days and nights.
5. The Keys and Key West. 2 days and nights. It's like a full day of driving from Homestead to Key West and back on a good day. In KW, Hemingway house, Fort Jefferson in the Tortugas is awesome (but that's a day trip by boat or fly-in), feed the Tarpon @ Robbie's in Lower Matecumbe
6. The Everglades. 1-2 days and nights.
7. SW Florida--Ft. Myers. 1-2 days and nights.  If you're coming from SE FL, use US41 instead of I-75; more scenic drive. Visit the Edison and Ford Estates in Ft Myers

If you want to get away from the coast, check out Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales (Polk County), Silver Springs or any of the Central FL Springs between Jax and Orlando (Blue, Alexander, DeLeon, Wekiwa), Lots to to around Tampa/St. Pete, and there is Weeki Wachee, Homossassa, Crystal River area north of Tampa

I'm pretty sure right now the counties around Miami are still in lock down and key West is completely closed to anyone that doesn't live there

This will be in 60-80 days from now so I hope south Florida and Key West are getting back to normal by then. If not, we might cancel the trip.

Thanks! A springs visit was on my list of musts for summer in Florida but I doubt the kids would tolerate more than a couple of hours.

I'd love to get to Ft. Jefferson but the cost is huge. This will be somewhat of a poors vacation because WDW costs so much.

We would all love seeing Manatees in the wild.

I've been to Tampa recently and I'm starting to be familiar with the area. I really like the Tampa area. I'm not sure the kids would enjoy it as much as I do, and we might be able to get there on a separate trip during the winter.

You could always consider Sanibel and Captiva Island, which is off the coast of Ft. Myers.  As a lifelong Florida resident I have always enjoyed that place, even as a small child.  Mind you, there is zero night life but that’s not what Sanibel and Captiva are about.  Think unspoiled (for the most part) Florida island beaches with the best sea shelling in the world- the beach is literally covered in sea shells which can keep the family occupied.  Restaurants are very good but they roll up the streets by about 9pm.  

In my opinion, especially if some of the other areas in the state end up being inaccessible for any reason, you and the family could hang out on Sanibel and Captiva for a couple of nights with no distractions (again, no night life or beach bar scene) and enjoy quiet Florida beach life.

I'd shave a 1/2 day off of WDW and stop by here for an afternoon on the way further south.

Plenty of great seafood restaurants in Ft Pierce too.

https://www.navysealmuseum.org

Itchetuknee Springs is a nice, relaxing float. Depending on where you put in it's a couple of hours to a full day on the river and the water is a steady 70 deg.

Tampa has the Lowrey Park Zoo (spelling?), a nice aquarium, and the museum of science and industry.

Another recommendation on hitting the springs.  I'd head over to Gilchrist/Levy county and do Gilchrist Blue (there are 3 "Blue Springs" in Florida - reference 'em by county), Ginnie, Poe (all three of these are within a few miles of each other), Manatee, the Itchetucknee river, or the Rainbow river.

I'll also point out that Santa Fe College in Gainesville has one of the 3 teaching zoos in the country, and UF has the Natural History Museum and the Butterfly Rainforest.  There is also the Cade Museum (named after Dr Cade, the guy that invented Gatorade). Ocala has the Appleton art museum.

I'm in the Orlando area and I get it. If you have kids they wanna do Disney. Try and have fun if you do. If you can manage try and take the family to a springs. Silver Glen springs is about 45mins from Orlando and it is stunning.

Tampa zoo (formerly known as lowery Park zoo) and the Brevard zoo are Orlando's closest zoos

ZooTampa at Lowry Park is a good experience. The fam loves zoos but we hadn't been to this one despite visiting Tampa several times. We loved the African painted dogs. They've got a number of endangered species. It's a little small but worth a visit. We knocked it out by lunch which leaves you time to do something else. The Florida Aquarium is also very good. We've visited it several times and it's always enjoyable.

I tried to convince the fam to do Science and Industry but I lost. It looked pretty cool to me.

Food
If you want a good meal, I recommend Villaggio Ristorante for Italian and Mekenita Cantina for Mexican. Both look like you're pulling into a hole in the wall or residential area. If you like escargot, it's very good at Villaggio. And they have live harp music.

Northeast of Ocala is Salt Springs. A state park with a nice picnic area, and the springs set up for swimming and wading, and with a mineral content that supports a large population of blue crabs.

Payne’s Prairie south of Gainesville has a nice nature walk, with a population of wild horses and buffalo. Just need to be careful of the occasional alligator on the trail.

By the Florida Aquarium in Tampa is a moored WW2 Liberty ship open to the public. The ship is not set up with good ventilation, so may not be the best summer museum activity.

For St Augustine take the Olde Town Trolley. Can see the whole city without walking yourself to death or constantly looking for parking.

Key West, the Mel Fisher treasure museum.

As many times as we've been to the aquarium, I'd never noticed it until our last trip. Unfortunately, we were walking out and had a long drive home ahead of us so I couldn't convince the fam to check it out with me.