GATORLAND, the alligator capital of the world, opened in Orlando, Florida, in 1949. We both visited this unique animal park separately in the 1990s and 2000s at the height of the Florida vacation boom and in summer 2022 we decided to revisit to see if Gatorland still its snappy charm!
I first visited Gatorland as a child in 1994 and made successive visits over the years until June 2004 when the taxi fare from the International Drive tourist area became prohibitively high at over $75. On this visit on August 8th 2022, the Uber ride was an impressive $13 while admission into Gatorland was a reasonable $32.99 per adult! You could pay on the gate to ‘upgrade your adventure’ for packages called ‘Wrangler’s Pick’ and ‘Greater Gator’, or buy an all-day ticket for the Gatorland Express Train ($3 each), but we were happy with the general admission ticket.
Arriving at 10.00 am, we spent a fun and leisurely 6 hours enjoying the family-owned attraction which had originated as a roadside attraction in 1949. Built by Owen Godwin and his wife Pearl, Gatorland had grown in size over the years, surviving storms, a fire and all the erratic ups and downs of the tourist trade of the last few years.
We passed some time wandering around the boardwalks, looking down into the murky waters of the gator pens and that sign:
W A R N I N G !
TRESPASSERS WILL BE EATEN!
The alligators must have known it was time to get moving as they became very animated at 10.45 am when the famous ‘Gatorland Jumparoo Show’ got underway. We cheered on as two hillbilly types competed against each other at getting the gators to jump out of the water to reach pieces of chicken hung high above them. The show was full of humour and made for a brilliant welcome to Gatorland.
We enjoyed strolling around taking in many of the animals and exhibits, all of which seemed to be of a high standard of animal husbandry. We got to see:
🐊Wild black vultures
🐊Alligators
🐊Macaws
🐊White gators
🐊Emus
🐊Breeding alligators
🐊Goats
🐊Baby alligators
🐊Giant tortoises (mating noisily)
🐊A fake gator (brill photo opp)
🐊Snakes of all kinds
🐊More alligators
🐊A miniature Indian cow
🐊Even more alligators
We timed everything perfectly and ended up having great seats for the 11.30 am ‘Upclose Encounters’ show. Featuring guest participation, boxes were opened up to reveal the scary creatures inside, including a python (or boa) and a tarantula. We decided to sit a “safe” three rows back, but less than 2 minutes into the show, one of us was picked to go up and hold a giant spider - in front of the laughing crowds! For a small fee, you could line up at the end and have your photograph taken with the snake (on your own phone).
A storm came over at noon and we took shelter from the rain and whiled away the time enjoying the covered animal enclosures again until it was time for the 12.30 pm ‘Meet-a-Gator’ show. Gatorland’s trained professionals showed us how to handle alligators “safely”, as they posed with some mean looking gators on a sandy enclosure in the middle of the arena. The informative and entertaining show was perfectly located next to Gatorland’s main eatery, ‘Pearl’s Gooood Eats’ which is named after the park founder’s wife.
After a busy morning of watching the three shows, we were ready for a “bite” to eat!
We were looking forward to trying Gatorland’s signature Gator Bites - battered alligator meat - but sadly on our visit it was off the menu owing to “supply chain issues”. We asked our server if she would pull an alligator out the swamp and cook it, but she replied,
“We do not eat our friends!”
‘Pearl’s Gooood Eats’ operates a simple and slick serving system: you line up and order your food at the window, grab a table then wait for your order number to be called. During our busy visit we were served the hot food within 15 minutes. How’s that for “snappy” service?
We ordered:
🍔 Hamburger ($7.99) with fries (+$0.99)
🌭 Footlong hot dog with housemade chips ($9.79)
🌭 Gatorland’s Famous Chesterdog hot dog, topped with chilli, nacho cheese, jalapeños and mac n cheese ($10.49) plus fries (+$0.99)
🍺 Bud Light x 2 ($15.98)
🥤 Gatorade - the only gator we could digest today ($3.25)
☹️ Tax = $3.25
💰 Total = $53.22
The burger, which looked average, was actually very good. The foot-long hotdogs were huge and tasted great! The housemade chips were tasty and it was good to try something unique to the place. For a $53 meal, everyone was well fed and satisfied.
A visit to Pearl’s is highly recommended when you visit Gatorland! You will get more than a “snack”!
Our visit to Gatorland gave us respite from the hustle and bustle and heat and exhaustion of Orlando’s theme parks and was a welcome break to our busy schedule.
Like every good attraction, you exit through the gift shop. We picked up a little ‘GATOR XING’ road sign magnet for $7.99 to add to our growing collection of magnets for U.S. States, cities and attractions.
As we stepped outside, our encounter with the native Floridian wildlife wasn’t over - a swarm of bees was flying around a trash can, giving us plenty of entertainment as we had a lengthy wait for an Uber home. We also used our time in the parking lot to get plenty of photographs with the famous Gatorland jaws!
📌 GATORLAND, 14501 S. Orange Blossom Trl., Orlando, FL 32837
See all our Gatorland photographs in a special album on our Facebook page >>> P&K USA
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