I went on a free tour of Sally Dark Rides and left feeling like my mind was blown. First of all - I…read morehad no idea this was a huge warehouse in Downtown Jacksonville. Nor did I realize most of the dark rides across the whole world are created and developed here! It was amazing!! Our tour guide led us through the building while showing us all of the stages of creating an epic dark ride. This made me think about amusement parks in a whole different way. The tour was about an hour and was very informative. We asked lots of questions and met people from different departments along the way. Highly recommend booking a free tour and checking this out. It would be great for kids as well!

I need to start b my saying that this part of our trip to Florida was not planned! My 11 yo LOVES…read moreanimatronics, most especially, Five Nights at Freddy's (FNAF). He originally wanted to visit a much smaller place in Orlando, which is a one man operation charging $375. It was a bit too far and too expensive for what it was so I decided to do my own research of places he would love, Sally Corporation became the place. I filled out the reservation form online and was told there were no spots available during our time in Florida. I couldn't take no for an answer. I emailed back explaining how much my son wants to be a Robotics Engineer and that we would wait as long as we needed to snag a spot. We got an email back the next day that two spots opened up!!! We made our way downtown and parked for free in the back. We entered to learn that the tour was also FREE...FREE! This facility is HUGE! They are arguably the largest producer of Dark Ride Amusements in the US and don't just make the robotic aspect of the animatronics, but they handle EVERY aspect of the creation and completion. From make up, costumes, design, voices, all of that! We were thrilled to see they had a...yep...FIVE NIGHTS OF FREDDY'S attraction! If you've ever been to he Ripley's in San Antonio, you will see one of their biggest sellers there, a ginormous T-Rex, that's their baby that sells for $90,000! The tour takes you to each department and you are truly immersed in their production. It is an working operation so you get to see the people behind the scenes at work, which was SO DAMN INSPIRING for my 11 yo who has told me for 4 TM years that this is what he wants to do in life. He got to see what his future could be like, which is absolutely priceless. The staff, facilities, location, displays, animatronics, all were 5 stars! Hands down a MUST when in Jacksonville! Come for a 10 or 11am tour and then take the FREE Skyway (Tram) to Hemming Park and Check our Sweet Peet's. Your kids will have the best day ever!

A great tour. Rae was our guide and she has a great knowledge of the cities dark history. This is…read morea great way to get to know the city's connections to monsters and bootleggers and other more monstrous citizens while exploring the downtown. This is a great experience for visitors but also for native residence; most people never explore their own backyard.

This spot is a jewel! Right off the road but tucked away. Lovely river access with sweet white…read moresugar sand beaches. Great for kids with fun stuff to keep them occupied. A really cool cypress glade with knees galore if you are willing to explore. Our night was shared with a large group of folks gathering for fun, and we still felt we had privacy. We would go back in a heartbeat and recommend that you check it out!

I have never been on a car ferry and now I can check that off of my list ;)…read more You drive up and get in line as you are being loaded onto the ferry in the order you lined up. Try to get in first couple of lines as the ferry is small and can fit only the first fifteen cars. We paid $8 for a truck on a Saturday.

Taking the ferry is a wonderful alternative to additional highway driving. The staff are efficient…read moreand the ferry has run right on time each time I have been on it. The actual ride is only ~5 minutes, with 15 minutes between each trip to accommodate time to load and unload the ferry. The only downside for me is if the wait is crowded and I can't tell if I will make the ferry or have to wait for the next one, but it's a beautiful spot to be stuck in.

Spent Mother's Day weekend with family here, rented a 6 person cabin. The cabin was lovely but I'll…read moreprobably rent 2 next time, 6 people and 1 bathroom is challenging. The beds were supposed to be queen but they were smaller than my queen at home. Plenty of cooking supplies, full size fridge is very nice. Really enjoyed the 11th Hour band on Saturday night, and bingo on Sunday night. A great place for families, if a little expensive. It's very clean, both inside the cabin and everyplace else. I suggest a rug or mat for the front door, it was pouring down rain when we checked in, we used a bedroom rug. So nice to have a place where pets are welcome. Thanks for a great time, we will be back. Ingrid Wright

Second and last time we will come to Island Oaks. The facility itself is nice and clean. However,…read morewe paid $170 a night last weekend 3/6-3/8 and will never go back. One of the main reasons we went was to enjoy the pool. On Friday night the pool and hot tub were full of unsupervised children. The hot tub clearly states 18 and older, yet nobody was out there to enforce this. Also stated kids should not be left at pool alone. Parents were inside at the bar while the kids ran crazy around the place. Saturday was much worse. We got to the pool around 11:00 am and all the chairs were taken up. Most just had a towel thrown on them. Then a large group came in and set their coolers right on the edge of the pool. They also had a very large speaker that they put on full blast with their own music. On top of that, they continued to pull drink after drink from the cooler. Later, they ate sandwiches and chips all while in the pool! At 2:00 pm another group came in and pulled out there large speaker and played on the other end of the pool. Now there was the two groups music plus the resort music playing. The second group also brought a dog in. Turns out both groups were not staying at the resort!!! They were there on day passes. They come in and stay all day and into the evening to watch the band. We were at the pool for four hours before we gave up. During that time, one guy who worked for the resort walked around and never said anything to these obnoxious groups that were obviously breaking the rules. Additionally, nobody came back to the chairs that just had towels lying on them! Other families left because of the swearing and a few mentioned the "F" words on people's hat and t-shirts as something they did not appreciate their kids seeing. It is a shame because this used to be a family friendly resort. Now, they allow the locals to come in and take it over. With the prices they charge for the sites, you should have to be staying there to enjoy the facilities. We will never book there again and ran into at least four other campers that said the same thing.

My boyfriend and I had received gift certificates from my parents for two full moon kayak tours…read more They had met the owner Dennis Thompson while camping at Hanna Park, and since we had been talking about getting outdoors and being more active, they decided to give us these tours. Since the full moon comes only a few times a year, we had to wait a little bit until our schedules lined up and we had a free weekend. Dennis had us meet him at Seminole Park in Ortega, and he provided everything for our tour: kayaks, life jackets, emergency whistles, waterproof bags, flashlights, headlamps, and even snacks and drinks! He was super friendly and very informative. We went with another couple that had signed up, and it was a beautiful tour. Dennis chatted the whole way, giving us interesting facts about the area, talking about how he set up this tour, and what all he has seen in the fifteen years of business. We had so much fun, and the moon was beautiful over the river! The tour lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes, and we didn't feel exherted or tired aftewards. It was relaxing, unique, and one of our best experiences in Jacksonville. If you don't want to do a tour, Dennis has a small spot located at Hanna Park, with rentals there as well. Check him out and tell him I sent you!

Scouting is in my blood- I love nature, kids almost always love me & I am not afraid to get dirty!…read moreI am a new volunteer to this council and this was my first time at one of our local camps, located in Orange Park, this camp had to be here long before any of the neighborhoods! Great waterfront access & there is a pool. A climbing tower! I didn't explore too much- there was a leader training I was popping in to show my support for a friend who was teaching the course. She was set up in campsite 8 and unfortunately the campsites need some serious maintenance- poison ivy is overgrown in most of the sites! Fire pits have not been raked and cleaned. In my old council, our Order of the Arrow helped the Camp Rangers every year to clean up and do service around the camps. I have no idea if that is done here, but it needs some tlc. I can't wait to see more of this camp!

I lived next door for years but today was my first experience at the Boy Scout owned facility…read more Founded in the early 1920's the large parcel of land has 8 huge campsites and several halls. It has a sparling blue pool that is next to the beautiful waterfront area and dock. I saw a a chery area and even a climbing wall. The place was well kept up and the restrooms were clean. Great place for fun activities. For the kids and family.

A group of us decided to rent out Kracken (which I strongly recommend doing, if possible, and I…read morethink that was for the best; as I don't think we would have had as much fun if it was mixed company. There were 16 of us and only 10 or so "pedals"; however, once we learned that there really wasn't a point in pedaling we quickly turned our pedal tavern into a karaoke & bar on the water. Our time was from 6:30-8:30pm, it wasn't too hot and we were able to see the sunset. We all brought our own coolers and cups; however, the boat had their own cups, as well. We also brought a garbage bag, but there was a bucket in the back and a trash can up front near the Captain. Prior to the event, I would just double check where you are set to meet. Originally we were supposed to meet at Met Park and then visit River City Brewing Company during our half-way point, but the day prior our launch location had changed. So we ended up taking off at Friendship Fountain (next to River City Brewing Company) and then this also served as our half-way point - which we took some pre & mid-way shots :) I am glad that I did it and loved the people that joined in on the fun, we would definitely do it again (if we could fill it up) even if only to enjoy a two hour boat cruise on the river. They have CashApp for tips - you just have to make sure the correct sign is up but they also have a jug for cash tips.

We booked the Kraken Peddle Boat for a double birthday party celebration. You can bring your own…read moredrinks and snacks. They provided the ice and cups and music system. Get your playlist ready! Greg and his crew expertly navigated the St Johns River while we reveled in frivolity. It was an awesome time had by all. One house keeping note: the boat launch site is now at Friendship Fountain near MOSH.