I took Jana's DS Gus here ( http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/florida/preserves/art5523.html ) yesterday and had a very nice time. It's Disney's Wilderness Preserve and it's only about 30-40 minutes drive from Disney, it's right behind Poinciana's town centre shopping area and easy to find.
We took the short hike which took about 45 minutes, there is a longer ( 2.5 mile ) hike that takes about 90-120 minutes to complete. We also went on their organised swamp buggy trip. IMHO well worth the money ( $12 an adult, $6 for kids, ages 6-18 I think). This took a couple of hours to complete. A short movie on their aims and hopes followed by a drive around the reserve in an open 10 foot high 25 seater swamp buggy. Interesting wild animals we saw were armadillos (dead), aligators (alive), vultures,storks,red shouldered kite, jays, butcher birds plus loads more I don't know what they were. We were also lucky to spot a coyote and some deer. We saw some tracks of bobcats, wild hogs ( boar) , turkeys (keeping a low profile at this time of year
), apparantly they also get otters, racoons, foxes, rattlesnakes, loads of lizards, a number of different snakes and seasonally a Florida Panther mother brings her cubs into the park for a month or so (not much chance of spotting her though 
) , I'd say that would give you a bit of a start on your hike though if you did get up close and personal :O . Very educational trip and something I plan to visit quite a lot more with a decent pair of binoculars.
While the airboat rides are fun, I think this is a better option for those of you that would like to see a bit of Florida's natural state, in an area that they are trying to get back to a pristine wetlands condition.
We took the short hike which took about 45 minutes, there is a longer ( 2.5 mile ) hike that takes about 90-120 minutes to complete. We also went on their organised swamp buggy trip. IMHO well worth the money ( $12 an adult, $6 for kids, ages 6-18 I think). This took a couple of hours to complete. A short movie on their aims and hopes followed by a drive around the reserve in an open 10 foot high 25 seater swamp buggy. Interesting wild animals we saw were armadillos (dead), aligators (alive), vultures,storks,red shouldered kite, jays, butcher birds plus loads more I don't know what they were. We were also lucky to spot a coyote and some deer. We saw some tracks of bobcats, wild hogs ( boar) , turkeys (keeping a low profile at this time of year
), apparantly they also get otters, racoons, foxes, rattlesnakes, loads of lizards, a number of different snakes and seasonally a Florida Panther mother brings her cubs into the park for a month or so (not much chance of spotting her though ) , I'd say that would give you a bit of a start on your hike though if you did get up close and personal :O . Very educational trip and something I plan to visit quite a lot more with a decent pair of binoculars. While the airboat rides are fun, I think this is a better option for those of you that would like to see a bit of Florida's natural state, in an area that they are trying to get back to a pristine wetlands condition.
