The Ringling is one of Sarasota’s main attractions, a sprawling waterfront compound that includes the Circus collections, the Ca’d Zan mansion, the Museum of Art, with gardens, ponds and trees in between.
I explored it with my 2 little boys, so we skipped the art museum since a few hours for them outside is enough. Probably their favorite part is the Miniatures collection, a large build-up of models of Ringling Bros’ circus. It’s one of the biggest such layout I’ve seen, and as you go around the dazzling display it’s telling you a story. It starts with the trains that carry the circus (what kid doesn’t love model trains?), then you see the staging area, various circus attractions highlighted as practice areas (animal training, acrobats, clowns, etc). Going around you’re approaching the public tent, with the parking, lines, concessions and finally the huge 3-Ring circus under the big top, where there are dozens of things happening at the same time! Some of the models are animated, increasing their appeal.
It’s hard to describe it in words, so here are a few snapshots of the Ringling miniatures:
On the second level of the same building, you can explore even more miniatures, some real-life circus costumes, as well as plenty of memorabilia from the Ringling history.
The next building houses the historic collections, mainly a few actual circus wagons including the human cannon launcher, and a very accurately furnished train car. It’s like going from the mini version to the circus to the larger than life vestiges of Ringling Bros’ history.
From here, we followed the path through the lush vegetation of the banyan trees towards the mansion. Kids really enjoy getting lost through the many trunks of the huge trees, and of course looking for the “hidden” statue that was engulfed by one of these sprawling trees. It all leads to the waterfront and the dazzling facade of the mansion. If you’re lucky, you’re going to see dolphins jumping through the bay just a few dozen yards from you. We saw three of them on one occasion.
The Ca’d Zan mansion is the centerpiece of The Ringling: John Ringling’s venetian-style residence, decorated in the style of Italian Rennaissance palaces. The self-guided tour leads you like a maze through the artsy rooms of the building. You can see almost every section of the house (except the bedrooms on the second floor), all placed around the grand hall facing the bay.
One the way out, the kids can explore more of the shaded paths through the banyans, and stop at the challenging playground. Soon we’ll have to try the art museum as well and post my thoughts!
Florida Vacation Reviews 