Gatorland Is So Much More Than Gators

Gatorland Is So Much More Than Gators

Disclosure: My family was invited to a Gatorland media event and had the opportunity to get up close with gators at Adventure Hour, enjoy complimentary food & beverage, and explore the park. All thoughts are my own. 

Have you been to Gatorland yet? If not, what are you waiting for?!?! I have always been a Gatorland fan, but my recent visit was a reminder of just how awesome the park is! Gatorland is a 110-acre theme park and wildlife preserve and has been around for more than 60 years!

My 5 year old son was beyond excited about our Gatorland visit. Before entering the park, we took his photo inside the infamous gator mouth. The last time he visited Gatorland, he was less than a year old and we snapped a photo of him balancing against the large teeth!

GatorlandEntrance.jpg

Gatorland is known as the Alligator Capital of the World! Once you walk through the breeding marsh, you’ll know why! There are thousands of alligators and crocodiles! They even have really cool white alligators which are extremely rare!

Gators and Croc.jpg

In addition to crocodiles and gators, Gatorland also has MANY other animals. Here’s a photo collage of some of the animals we saw.

Animals at Gatorland

THIS lady has the best job in the world! While we were admiring the brother and sister panthers at Panther Springs, we noticed her playing hide and seek outside of the fence with Lucy (one of the panthers). Afterwards, Lucy enjoyed being rubbed and massaged. Check out these photos! These two have a very special bond!

FloridaPanther

Don’t miss the special tours and adventures, the line-up is quite impressive: Adventure HourScreamin’ Gator Zip LineTrainer for the DayRookie WrestlingNight Shine and Nighttime Zip Lining. We experienced Adventure Hour and had the chance to be face-to-face with alligators. Literally, we were steps away from their enormous jaws and tossed meat to the hungry creatures. Don’t let their size fool you, those jaws are lightning fast!

During our feeding session, we learned it takes 9,000 lbs of meat monthly to feed all the animals at Gatorland (108,000 lbs per year)! That’s a LOT of food.

Adventure Hour.jpg

As we walked around the park, there were people ziplining! I have to admit, I was a little jealous. Soaring above the park would be an amazing experience.

We worked up an appetite and stopped by Pearl’s Smokehouse for lunch. The gator nuggets were so delicious, we went back for a second order! My son couldn’t get them in his mouth fast enough!

GatorNuggets

Afterwards, we took a stroll in the swamp walk, which actually is the headwaters for the Everglades! While exploring the swamp, we saw a few wild creatures (skink and a gar)! We also took advantage of the many photo opportunities!

SwampWalkCollage

Gatorland Shows: The shows were amazing, too! Gator Jumparoo has always been our favorite. It is crazy to see those enormous creatures jump for chickens! My son laughed so hard, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Not only was he entertained, but he also learned the difference between the two animals!

Up Close Encounters is a little too “up close” for me. Snakes and creepy crawlies scare me, but not my kid of course. I was happy to sit far away from the stage for this show!

Gator Wrestin’ always makes my pulse race! One false move and the trainer could lose a hand (or his life)! This show was my son’s all-time favorite and next visit he wants to sit on a live alligator (with the mouth taped shut of course)!

GatorlandShows

Gator Gully is an awesome splash park and a great way to cool off after exploring the park. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to play since a storm was approaching. We are already planning our next visit and it will definitely include Gator Gully!

GatorGullySplashPark

Kids of ALL ages will enjoy Gatorland, there’s so much to see and do! Do not forget your camera, you will want to capture all the special family memories!

Fun At Gatoralnd

Lastly, I have to say Gatorland has the best signs! Here are a few of my favorites…

Signs

All in all, Gatorland is a fun, family-friendly park that is FILLED with adventures. It’s also extremely affordable, low prices for admission AND food & beverage! Keep an eye on their website for specials and coupons. Florida resident tickets are just $9.99, seriously that is NOT a typo…$9.99! We now have annual passes and we’ll be back frequently to visit our favorite animals, play in the splash park and nibble on gator nuggets!

Make sure to like Gatorland on Facebook and follow on Twitter!

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