Great Place for the Family but why a Casino?
…Just got back home to from Billie Swamp Safari yesterday after taking my kid and 11 of her friends (all teenagers) for an overnight stay for my daughters 15th B-day. OUTSTANDING SERVICE!!!!! The employees were great, the park is beautiful, and there were wild animals everywhere!!!! Including a large, beautiful red deer and two alligators that just kept trying to get pass the fence line. But don’t worry, safety was never an issue! From the manager to the cleaning staff – everyone was very polite and went out of their way to accommodate us. The Florida Everglades are beautiful and we should never take them for granted. The airboat rides were great, fast and fun. The day and night buggy rides were AWESOME (specially the night buggy ride) and very educational too. The accommodations were perfect. The place is clean and everything is close by from our dorms. I didn’t have to walk a quarter of a mile to use the bathroom or take a shower. The ceremonial fire and the decorations were also very nice and welcoming!
However, the only thing that is NOT FAMILY ORIENTED and sticks out like a sore thumb is THE CASINO!!! That’s right!!! A CASINO inside Billie Swamp Safari…. a shinny, clean air-condition casino next to the restaurant. This is no place for a casino. It should be build outside park grounds. This casino (although small) will bring in the wrong crowd. The kind of crowd I don’t want my family around. If I wanted to gamble I would have taken these kids to Las Vegas or another gambling establishment not the Everglades. I wish they would have used some of the money they spend on setting up the casino on simple maintenance, making additional airboat trails, adding additional tribal colors to the park or having a tour director dress in traditional clothes walking the park educating tourist and just hanging out.
Overall, Billie Swamp Safari is a great place to visit and stay the night. The people that work there care and believe in what they are doing.
William