Miami For Kids: Brightline Train Excursions

 
This week’s Miami For Kids activity should be sort of a given. What kid doesn’t love a train ride? I’ve certainly never met one. But South Florida, being South Florida, adds a little panache to a train ride with The Brightline. Now that you can officially take The Brightline from Miami to Orlando in record time and comfort, let’s look at some things that you can do along the way with your kids. You could even make a few day trips out of the train ride with the whole family. It never gets old.

Brightline Entry Downtown Miami

Station 1: MiamiCentral in Downtown Miami

This is the home station to most of our readers, but since we like to introduce the area to newcomers as well, let’s have a look at what is going on around MiamiCentral. Being located in Downtown Miami, there are a host of family-friendly activities nearby.

Of course, the Phillip & Patricia Museum of Science has been named on several of our Kid-friendly-fun lists over recent weeks along with Maurice A Ferre Park and the Perez Art Museum. The Miami Children’s Museum and Jungle Island are a short Uber ride away and have also been featured on our lists.

Very close to the Brightline Station, there is the Miami Library at 101 West Flagler. It is located in a lovely building and hosts many children’s activities from toddlers up to teens. The HistoryMiami Museum is also next door.

In 2024, things will get even more fun. The Museum of Ice Cream is set to open a new, permanent location in Miami Worldcenter. The new spot will encompass 14,000 square feet and is set to open in 2024. To be on the VIP waiting list, you can register here.

Brightline Aventura Station

Station 2: Aventura Station

Granted, the train ride from Miami to Aventura Station is a short one, parents will be pleased at how much more convenient it is than driving and fighting the traffic. Plus, there is a current promotion with fares from just $10. Once you arrive, there is a convenient shuttle to take you from the station to a Brightline Hub in the lower level of Nordstrom at Aventura Mall.

At the mall, the kids will go wild. There is a rooftop pavilion for life-size chess, cornhole-dare, and more… all surrounded by a selfie-inducing mural wall. Inside, you’ll find a Hello Kitty popup truck, Mercedes Benz test drives (for the teens, of course), the AMC24 movie theater, tons of gourmet restaurants and Live Music Fridays.

For the smaller kids, the lower level offers the Rainbow Valley Playground and for the bigger kids, they can be thrilled by the 93-foot Aventura Slide Tower.

Brightline Fort Lauderdale Station

Station 3: Fort Lauderdale Station in Downtown Fort Lauderdale

We discussed going up to Fort Lauderdale to experience the Museum of Discovery and Science when we were going over ideas for rainy day kid activities in Miami, Naturally, the museum is relevant here as well. It is walking distance to the Brightline Station and will offer your kids an entire day of fun.

With a short Uber ride to the East, you will find Las Olas Boulevard with many restaurants and access to the Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk. Continue further and you will be able to visit the International Swimming Hall of Fame, which includes the Aquatic Museum.

Along the canals, there are many opportunities to rent paddleboards and you really have to take a trip on the historic Jungle Queen. This is an open-air riverboat that is Fort Lauderdale’s longest-running tourist attraction. The boat will take you up the river, pointing out notable sites and ending at a jungle park where you can interact with animals. There are also options for dinner cruises, private events and more.

Brightline Boca Raton Station

Station 4: Boca Raton Station

Stopping at Brightline’s Boca Station is going to give your kids an awful lot of diverse fun. For starters, there is the Coconut Cove Waterpark, where you can find two 4-story waterslides, a 1,000-foot lazy river along with interactive water park features all around. The Coconut Cove Waterpark has been a Boca Raton institution for nearly 25 years.

While it is currently under renovation, Sugar Sand Park offers a wide variety of kid-friendly activities. They offer a science garden and nature trails for guided learning about the great outdoors, indoor guided learning for budding scientists, early afternoon explorers, and the Willow Theatre puts on special children’s plays and events such as Rumpelstilskin, Old Macdonald’s Singalong Farm and Sherlock Holmes Opera Mystery.

If you have bigger kids, they will go wild at Boomers Park. They’ll ride go-karts, play in the arcade, run wild with bumper boats, laser tag and more. It’s the type of thing that 10-year-old me would dream about.

Brightline West Palm Beach Station | Photo Credit: SOM | Lucas Blair Simpson

Station 5: West Palm Beach Station

Palm Beach has a reputation of being a playground for the ultra-high net worth crowd, which is great but doesn’t always allude to things for children. But the city is actually quite kid-friendly. If you take the Brightline from Miami to West Palm Beach, you can find a ton of activities for the family.

If your kids are interested in wildlife, there are two main options. The McCarthy’s Wildlife Sanctuary offers over 200 different breeds and species for them to interact with. You could also visit the Palm Beach Zoo, where kids get in free during June and July.

For the kids with a specific interest in manatees (who wouldn’t?!), you can learn all about the gentle giants at the Manatee Lagoon.

Although nearly every community has its own science museum for kids, they enjoy a change of scenery. The Cox Science Center offers its own science museum/learning center with an aquarium and planetarium. This summer, their special series is “Science Fiction, Science Future” and allows kids to learn about scientific discoveries of the past then designing their vision of the future.

We cannot go to West Palm Beach without visiting The Square. On top of the shopping and restaurants, weekly events are offered that are family-friendly. They have Daytime Playtime, Bubble Time Rhythm & Hues, and Bubble Blast in the splash pad. There are also golf lessons for the little ones and live music. It is fun for everyone!

Rendering of Brightline Orlando Train Station

Station 6: Orlando Station

This brings us to the grand finale, the brand new, just opened Brightline Orlando Station. We covered the details of this luxurious and convenient station awhile back, and now it is accessible. You can travel with your family from Miami to Orlando in 3 hours conveniently and in style. No loading the kids into the car and fighting traffic, arriving exhausted, fighting for parking etc.

With Brightline you arrive relaxed and refreshed, are able to call a rideshare or take a shuttle to the hotel. Instead of fighting for parking and arriving at the parks exhausted and annoyed, you can be dropped at the gate to enjoy your day with your family, whichever park you choose. For a handy guide of how to most conveniently use rideshare at Disney, check out this guide at Mousehacking Blog.

After you have had all of the fun you can have with the mouse, you can relax on a soft quilted-leather seat and enjoy the calm and smooth 3-hour ride back to MiamiCentral Station.

We hope you enjoy as many fun days as possible on The Brightline outings. It really opens up a world of new possibilities and experiences for families that we are only able to scratch the surface of here. Until next week!