Thrill seekers, nature lovers, explorers, and anyone who has dreamed of walking on water can find solace in knowing that there are airboat tours in Kissimmee. (Okay, not quite walking on water, but you glide over it and it doesn’t freak out your friends when you do it, either!) Being that I love the outdoors, thrills are a staple, and exploring is a hobby, it was high time I went on my first ever airboat tour. For this I headed to Wild Willy’s Airboat Tours. Willy wasn’t there, but Captain Paul was pretty wild and so was the awesome experience.
First, may I point out that their customer service is not customer service at all. Nope, you are a friend or family member here, not a customer. I brought a fleece jacket and was wearing a long sleeve shirt. Not enough, they lent me a sweatshirt to wear under the fleece. Then they lent me some gloves. Then they lent me some ear protectors. Then they lent me my own boat complete with my very own captain! That was just because everyone else scheduled for the tour wimped out due to the less than Kissimmee normal temperatures. So, I got a personal tour. That made it even more amazing! Captain Paul was a class act captain. Knowledgeable and not afraid to show me what the boat could do (which was awesome, but made me a little queasy- remember? I don’t spin too well. But this was worth it!)
The experience of a lifetime included gliding effortlessly along grass infested waters a whole couple inches deep, beautiful water fowl bursting into flight, deer grazing (and staring at us- Hey, I’m the tourist here!), a newborn calf taking its first steps, a bald eagle scoping the horizon, and numerous wild tangerines spontaneously lunging off trees and falling into my bag.
Well, that’s not exactly how the tangerine thing happened, but sounds cool. The Captain asked if I minded a stop so we could get some tangerines off the trees. Who would mind fresh, free Florida citrus? And the added experience was worth every extra second. The view within this piece of earth hidden by bright, colorful fruit trees and exotic Cyprus trees draped with a shroud of gothic moss was other-worldly. The scent of citrus and fresh earth hung heavy under the green, grey, and orange canopy like a pleasant pastry aroma only nature could bake. That was a brilliant tour unto itself.
The only low point wasn’t really that low. Sadly it was too cold and windy for the family of alligators they have camped out in their waters. But Thunder made up for that. Not weather thunder, it was sunny and beautiful. Thunder is their little gator and my new best friend (I tried to friend him on Facebook, but he’s not there. Little dude needs to get with the times!). I held him, got a picture with him, and even snuggled him a bit. He didn’t even mind me chatting with the staff about the taste of gator while holding him, which in hindsight may not be the smartest thing to do.
Since I am all about thrills, I had to buy some of their gator hot sauce to add to my collection of 30+ hot sauces from around the globe. Aside from endorphin inducing liquids, they have a wonderful assortment of gifts and logo wear that is all priced quite reasonably for such a cool attraction.
Honestly, it was the best boat ride I’ve had around here that didn’t involve pirates shooting and singing. And those pirates never gave me a tangerine, either. While trying not to offend the Mouse, I’d say the experience was actually magical. Thrills, speed, and beauty. This is a piece of Florida everyone must see and an experience that must be added to every conference schedule.
Florida wife, mom and blogger Karla Gore will visit Kissimmee next week! Want to share your Kissimmee story? 
