These places are fun and not expensive. Kelly Park Springs, Wekiva Springs, King’s Landing, Wekiva Falls, Homosassa Springs, Tarpon Springs where they dive for sponges, and Weeki Wachi, Bach Singing Towers, St Augustine, Ghost Hill, The Yearling’s Cross Creek, caverns a little north of Ocala. These are all places that cost little money.
Search for the websites for the suggestions below:
~Homosassa Springs Wlidlife State Park (about an hour)
~Wild Bills Airboat Tours (about 1/2 hour)
~GatorWorld Park/Wildwood (about 20 min)
~Carson Springs Wildlife Sanctuary (Gainsville/1 1/2 hours)
Crystal River has kayak & canoe rental, lots of fun. Also gator land was a lot of fun for our grandsons. He is too old for legoland.
I take most of my out of town guests to Crystal River to canoe or kayak. We have seen manatee, huge gators and monkeys. In January, there were many baby monkeys.
I've heard of an attraction down near Orlando that's called "Swim With the Alligators". It may be for extremely difficult grandchildren though. Not sure.
Gatorland, Orlando, is fantastic. You see tons of gators, some huge. Your can feed the gators. You can wrestle a gator (perfectly safe and a great picture for the kids). You can see several entertainingly hilarious and educational shows and there is a splash park that the kids love when the weather is warm. All of this at reasonable prices. Their upgraded "Grunt" package is less than $40 for adults, $30 for kids.
Winter the Dolphin - Clearwater Marine Aquarium. We just took our 11 year grand son to this aquarium and marina rescue. It was very interesting. Also did a boat trip into Bay Area to do dolphin sighting and other wild life.