Central Florida Zoo launches hands-on tortoise encounters in Sanford
The Central Florida Zoo’s new tortoise encounter costs $20 to $25, caps each session at 10 guests and lets visitors enter Angel’s habitat.
Families looking for a summer outing in Sanford now have a smaller, more hands-on option at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens. The zoo launched Tortoise Encounters on Saturday, June 6, with sessions set for Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. and a limit of 10 participants per encounter.
The experience centers on Angel, the zoo’s Aldabra tortoise and its oldest animal. Guests can step inside the tortoise habitat, meet Angel up close, take photos and hear facts from the Animal Care team about her species and tortoise conservation. The zoo says Aldabra tortoises are the second largest tortoise species in the world, behind only Galapagos tortoises, which gives the encounter a clear education angle as well as a novelty factor.
The price is straightforward. Annual passholders pay $20, while non-passholders pay $25. The zoo also says advance online purchase is recommended, and its admission page says online tickets can save up to $5 per ticket when bought ahead of time. With just 10 spots per session, the encounter is set up more like a premium add-on than a walk-up attraction.
That limited capacity may be the biggest factor for families weighing whether the trip is worth it. The hands-on setting, photo access and direct contact with zoo staff make it more interactive than a typical viewing area, but the small group size means availability will be tight, especially as summer crowds build. The zoo is also running summer hours from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, giving visitors an earlier window to fit in the encounter before the heat sets in.
The zoo’s broader summer push includes other animal experiences, including a Barnyard Walkthrough Goat Encounter and a giant-tortoise option. That matters in Seminole County because the zoo, at 3755 W. Seminole Blvd. in Sanford, is one of the county’s most established family attractions, with more than 350 animals representing over 100 species. Founded in 1923 and moved to its current Lake Monroe site in the summer of 1975, the institution is also marking 50 years at the Sanford location in 2025-26, a milestone it is using to highlight new programming and conservation education.
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