During our visit to Central Florida, we stayed in Sorrento to be close to family and friends. Sorrento is located just north of Orlando. It is an hour to Disney’s Magic Kingdom, 40 minutes to Universal Studios and only 20 minutes to Wekiwa Springs State Park. Below are the things we did while staying in Sorrento.
Kelly Park
Kelly Park is 13 miles or a 20-minute drive from the Wekiva Falls RV Resort where we were staying. You can read that post here. Kelly Park is a 355-acre, Orange County Park that features a natural spring (Rock Springs) for swimming, tubing, canoeing and kayaking. It also has about 5 miles of hiking trails including the Kelly Loop Trail (1.5 miles) that brings you around the main park.
When we visited, we decided to hike the Kelly Loop Trail. The trail was very well maintained, well-marked, and a beautiful, tranquil stroll through the forest. While on our hike we saw several deer, birds, and a serene, private sight of the crystal-clear Rock Springs.
The trail starts from the swimming and tubing area. The water looked very inviting, but it was a 65-degree day and while the water stays at 68 to 70 degrees year-round, we felt a hike was a better option of us.
The price to get in the park was $5 for a vehicle of 3-8 people. For 1-2 people it’s $3 and if you have more than 8 people you pay a $1 per person over the 8. If you have your own canoe, kayak, or paddleboard, you can launch those from the Camp Joy area for an additional fee. If you’re looking to go tubing, you must get the equipment from outside the park as they don’t not offer rentals. We saw places on the drive in that had rentals available.
Inside the park there was also a picnic grove. Each had a charcoal grill available, but you can bring you own if you’d like. The playground area was close to the picnic grove as well. It seemed like a great place to spend the day in a beautiful, natural setting.
For more information, check out their website. Also, you can watch our full hike on our YouTube video below.
Wekiva Island
Wekiva Island was not on our original itinerary. We originally wanted to go to Wekiwa Springs State Park to rent a canoe and see the Wekiva River by boat. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) we didn’t get there before they stopped renting out canoes (2:30pm). The person at the gate told us about Wekiva Island and was pretty sure they rented out their canoes later into the day.
Wekiva Island was only a mile down the road, and it was still on the Wekiva River. It turned out to be a blessing because not only did they rent their boats out later, but they were also less expensive than the ones in the state park.
Their rates are determined by what time you get there. For rentals before noon, you pay $50 for the day (the same as Wekiwa Springs State Park.) For rentals after noon, the rate was $45 (what we paid) and for rentals after 4, it was $40. All rentals must be back by 6pm.
We canoed about a mile upstream and ended up at the boat launch for the Wekiwa Springs State Park. So, for less money we ended up in the same place and got to let the current take us back down stream when we were done.
Wekiva Island is more than just boat rentals too. They offer cabana rentals along the river for parties of all sizes. They all come with chairs, and some come with a fire pit. They also have first come first served Adirondack chairs on the boardwalk along the river. You can choose to swim in the river from the boardwalk or just relax in the chairs.
Behind the boardwalk is a walk up bar and a restaurant. You can easily spend an entire day at Wekiva Island if you’re looking for a relaxing day near the water. Again, the water is 68 to 70 degrees year-round making it a great swimming hole. We didn’t see any alligators but it’s Florida, so there’s always a possibility. We did see a large snake upstream near the state park though.
We visited in January on a Wednesday, so it was not busy. I’m sure they get very busy during the summer so be sure to check out their website for more information. I do know that boat rentals are first come first served but the cabanas can be reserved. You can check out our video below as well.
Universal Studios
Out of all the amusement parks in Orlando, Universal was the closets to the RV resort. We had also just done a big Disney World trip the year before we started RVing, so we figured we’d do Universal Studios for Jaxon’s first time and Jasmin and I’s first time in over 10 years.
What we weren’t prepared for is the massive price increase that has taken place over the past decade. We didn’t use a discount ticket site, and we did not buy our tickets in advance. As a matter of fact, we tried to buy advanced tickets, but the website wasn’t giving us an option to purchase nonresident tickets.
At the door we paid $260 per person for a two park, 1 day pass. This turned out to be the same price as the online price. We had thought about doing just 1 park, but Harry Potter was an attraction that we really wanted to do. Of course, the full experience encompasses both parks. On top of that, if you want to do the Hogwarts Express, you must have a ticket to both parks as the ride takes you between the two parks.
We thought about doing just one park but when we found out it would save $40 per ticket, we figured mine as well go for it. In the grand scheme of the day, $40 ($120 total) didn’t seem like it was worth having to say, “we can do it another time”. Plus, it’s not like we would only pay $40 per person next time. We would’ve paid $540 twice (this visit and next visit). Also, by the time we made it back there, the prices will most likely have gone up again, seeing as the Epic Park will be opening in May.
I wouldn’t suggest going to Universal or Disney every time you’re in the area. But, if you’ve never been before or it’s been a while, staying in Sorrento provides the opportunity to go. If it’s in the budget, I say go for it. Despite the cost, we still had a great time getting on as many rides as we could and seeing Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.
Kennedy Space Center
The Kennedy Space Center is on Merritt Island along the Atlantic coast. From the RV resort it took us an hour and fifteen minutes to get there. This is a day trip kind of destination. There are closer RV parks, so if you wanted to leave Sorrento with your rig and stay close to Kennedy Space Center, you certainly could.
Since we were staying in Sorrento for a month, a day trip seemed just fine for us. It was really the only thing we wanted to do on the coast anyway (besides the beach but the temperatures were cool.)
The price to get in was hefty as well but not Universal Studios hefty. It cost $75 per adult and $65 for our son. It was a great day of fun learning though. We count places like this as a field trip. Jaxon gets to have a hands-on experience learning about our solar system, our desire to go to Mars, back to the moon, what we’ve learned by having the International Space Station (ISS) in orbit and even what we learned when we went to the moon the first time.
Our visits to the space centers (Johnson and Kennedy) have really sparked his interest in the shuttle program and the ISS. He’s also interested in how and when we will see a human go to Mars. He got to see a full-scale replica of the Hubble Telescope and now knows how we get some of the amazing images of space he’s seen in his books. We also got to see the actual Atlantis shuttle which is still mind boggling to us. Both are in the same building.
What really made the day was seeing SpaceX launch a rocket of Starlink satellites into orbit. We had no idea they had a launch scheduled until we arrived. It was quite the surprise to say the least and it really capped off an amazing day. They have launches there regularly so be sure to check Kennedy Space Center’s and SpaceX’s websites for launch schedules. Keep in mind, weather plays a huge role on the launch schedule.
If you’re looking for a fun, educational attraction, I highly recommend the Kennedy Space Center. Your children won’t even know they are learning because they’ll be having so much fun. Be sure to take the bus tours (free) and see the Saturn V rocket and the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
Conclusion
There are lots of things to do near Sorrento, Florida in addition to the things in this blog. These are just the things we did with our time there. As for next times, I would like to hike Wekiwa Springs State Park, but I do feel we got a good feel for it by hiking Kelly Park and canoeing at Wekiva Island.
I would also like to check out Blue Spring State Park because that is where you can see Manatees in crystal clear water. While there are other opportunities to see Manatee, I believe Blue Spring is one of the closest areas to Sorrento. Unfortunately, for their protection they don’t allowing water activities during the winter months when the Manatee are present. I say unfortunately because it would be really cool to be on a kayak with the gentle giants.
I hope you all enjoyed this post. If you did, please like it below and feel free to leave a comment about your experience in Central Florida.
Until next time, God bless and stay safe!
The Touring Torres’s 
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