Kids Will Love These Five Fun Places in Daytona Beach
Once you move to a pre-eminent vacation destination like Daytona Beach, realizations you might’ve shoved back-of-mind in the hubris of home-selling and buying, suddenly crystallize.
Like, you now can do the fun things you’d normally reserve for vacation, all the time!
That’s definitely true for kids’ activities. The same distractions that entertained youngsters on rainy beach days now make great year-round options for birthday parties, achievement rewards, sleepovers and more.
So if you’re happily ensconced in your new ICI Homes community and pondering how to occupy the kids, we’ll get you started.
Here’s a look at five fun places for kids in Daytona Beach.
Daytona Beach Boardwalk
This is a conglomeration of family-owned eateries, arcades and mini-attractions that long have been a staple of beachside entertainment. The Boardwalk opened in 1938, near the neighboring, circa-1925 Daytona Beach Pier, and some cluster of fun and games has been present on the current site since its beginnings.
Just south of the Boardwalk is Screamer’s Park, featuring the daredevil Slingshot! Start there, then gobble up all the cotton candy, icy juices, hot dogs and so on, once you’re touring the Boardwalk.
Done with fun and games? Step right onto the “World’s Most Famous Beach” in the heart of it.
Daytona Arcade Museum
The perfect, different birthday-party site and solution to rainy-day-itis is on North Beach Street in Daytona Beach’s historic waterfront district, on the mainland side of the Intracoastal Waterway. A relatively new addition, the Daytona Arcade Museum is full of vintage arcade games, pinball machines and some early video games.
It’s a sweet deal because you don’t have to amass rolls of quarters before you go. One daily admission charge allows you play everything, all day.
Daytona Lagoon
“DAB’s” signature water park is right in the heart of the action, slightly north of the Boardwalk, Pier and Screamer’s Park. One million gallons of water = twelve water rides, a four-lane slide, a huge wave pool and a floatable river.
Oh yeah, there’s a climbing wall, go-kart track, goofy golf, laser tag and more to discover and explore!
Daytona Tortugas
Minor-league baseball is a home run with family entertainment. The Daytona Tortugas — a Class A affiliate of the major-league Cincinnati Reds, deliver both on-field and grandstands fun. The Tortugas play 70 home games each summer. Expect giveaways, contests and photo ops with Shelldon, the mascot. Of course there’s classic ballpark concession food and plenty of free promotional goodies.
But a Tortugas game is special for another reason. The team plays in historic Jackie Robinson Ballpark, which opened in 1914. Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson broke the game’s color barrier at the major-league level on April 15, 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was also the first African American to play in a minor-league game. He did so in 1946, on the Daytona Beach field now named in his honor.
A bronze statue of Robinson, historical monuments and a museum commemorates the occasion.
