Wild Florida Safari Drive Thru Park Is Our St. Cloud FL Business Spotlight

Wild Florida Safari Drive Thru Park Owner Sam Haught IsOur St. Cloud FL Business Spotlight This Month

Jeanine Corcoran broker of Corcoran Connect interviews Sam inthis month’s episode. Welcome to the 30th episode of DiscoverSt. Cloud Florida. Kristin asked Jeanine todescribe her experience with Sam Haught with Wild Florida. Jeaninesaid did you know they have been in business for 13 years?

Kristin said she didn’t realize that. She also loved thefact that what Sam went through is a “rags to riches”type of story that was born out of hardship.

Jeanine stated that Wild Florida is so close to where she livesyet it is in Kenansville. It is literally right across the linefrom Saint Cloud. Kristin added how great it is to be able to go toa wild animal park in Florida and enjoy the sights from the comfortof your own vehicle with the air conditioning on during thesummer.

WildFlorida Safari Drive Thru Park is located at 3301 Lake CypressRd Kenansville, FL 34739. Kristin shared their website addresswhich is WildFloridaAirBoats.com. They have so much to offerfamilies, especially kids. Here is the interview with Sam Haughtfrom Wild Florida.

Jeanine’s first question of Sam was how long has WildFlorida been in business? Sam replied that they have been inbusiness for 13 years and he couldn’t believe it has beenthat long. Jeanine followed up and asked him why he decided to dothis business. Sam said that it started with real estate.

Their Real Estate Development Business Purchased TheLand That Is Now Wild Florida

He continued that they were in the real estate developmentbusiness, and they were buying up properties and titling them andconverting them or selling them. Then the real estate market fellapart in 2008 and they had all this property that they owned. Hestated that they were okay sitting on it, but we said whydon’t we figure out something we can do on this property thatwe own.

Sam continued and said that they started dreaming up these ideasto do with attraction and started with a dude ranch. He said it wasborn out of their love for the outdoors. Whenever we have peoplecome into town, they would take them out on the airboats and havesome fun. They knew that this was where their heart and passionwere and wanted to build on it.

Jeanine asked Sam if it was the airboats that started everythingthat is now called Wild Florida. Sam said yes, the airboats startedeverything. Jeanine then followed up and asked what came next. Samsaid they bought the property. It was 15 acres, and it had anairboat operator on it when we first bought the fish camp. Wecontinued to let him operate the airboats for a couple of yearsuntil we were ready and then we took that over. Then, he said,eventually the park over time developed into what it is today.

Osceola County Is The Place Sam Haught AlwaysEnvisioned For Wild Florida

Jeanine shared with Sam that she had thought that Wild Floridawas a part of Saint Cloud Florida. She was surprised when she foundout it was located in Kenansville. Sam said that Wild Florida isactually right on the border of Saint Cloud and Kenansville. Theyare literally 100 yards away from being in St Cloud zip codes. Hesaid they promote their business as being from Saint Cloud.

Jeanine asked Sam if he was a resident of St. Cloud and heanswered that he was. He lives on Lake Lizzie and loves it. Samsaid he loves everything about Saint Cloud. He continued thatOsceola County is where they wanted to start their business. Hesaid they looked all over Central Florida and decided on this areafor their airboat business as it doesn’t get any prettierthan this.

For people out there who don’t know who Sam Haught is canyou tell us about yourself Jeanine asked. Sam said he was born inArizona and went to school in Utah and started working for a bigcompany called Goldman Sachs and then met his wife who wasoriginally from St. Cloud Florida. What Sam learned from his wifewas that “southern girls go home”. About six monthsafter Sam and his wife were married, they came back out to SaintCloud.

Wild Florida’s Largest Attraction Is The DriveThru Safari

Sam said he then quit his job with Goldman Sachs when they movedto Central Florida and started working with his wife’s familyand doing real estate development. They developed Lizzie Reserveand Nova Bay and other properties and then eventually landed on theland that is currently Wild Florida.

Sam said that it has been a wild ride but, in the process, henow has 5 kids. He said they grade every grade level in OsceolaCounty schools. He continued that if they have an open weekend,that they are on the water somewhere. Whether it be scalping,fishing, lobstering, spearfishing, or hunting, we are all aboutit.

Jeanine asked Sam out of the different pieces that make up WildFlorida, which one has the larger audience. Sam replied that it isthe Drive Thru Safari. He says it is the easiest adventure you willever go on. Sam said that he would say it is the most comfortableoutdoor adventure you could go on in Central Florida. He is notaware of any other outdoor park that you can enjoy from yourclimate-controlled air-conditioned car.

Sam said that their airboats are limited by the number of peoplethey can take on a 17-passenger boat on a schedule and having todeal with the weather. It’s really complicated. He said thepeople we have in our store running the airboat rides arescientists.

The Crown Jewel Of Central Florida Is The AlligatorChain Of Lakes

Sam said on a typical Saturday in the Drive Thru Safari theywill have 2,000 vehicles come through. In comparison, there will be500 people doing the airboat rides. Jeanine said her grandson likesstanding up in her SUV through the sunroof so he can see all theanimals. She said feeding the giraffes is one of her favorites. Samsaid he loves seeing herds of animals like the Wildebeest asopposed to a single animal in a cage somewhere.

Jeanine then asked Sam to share why someone should considermoving to Saint Cloud Florida. Sam replied that it still has thatsmall-town feeling. It is starting to get more developed, but it ismaintaining the small-town character. He said it still feels like asmall town and you know the people as you're driving down theroad.

It also has beautiful Florida landscaping everywhere you lookalong with the Lakes and the Waterways he said. It also has theundiscovered crown jewel of Central Florida in the Alligator Chainof Lakes. Sam loves how accessible the outdoors is here in SaintCloud. Also, he added that people don’t realize that theEverglades start here. It is in our own backyard. People think youhave to drive down to Ft. Lauderdale or Miami to experience that,but it is right here.

Jeanine asked Sam what one place he would recommend for afirst-time visitor of course aside from Wild Florida. Sam said TheCatfish Place. He said it is his favorite spot whenever people cometo town.

We hope you enjoyed Jeanine interviewing Sam Haught of WildFlorida Safari Drive Thru Park as our featured St. Cloud FLbusiness spotlight. This will continue to be a monthly focus forthe Discover St. Cloud Florida podcast.