Get swamped
Orlando's Gatorland makes for a charming half-day
visit
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
by Lani Teshima, staff writer
Although many families don't bother making time to visit anything
other than Walt Disney World during their trip to Orlando, there are numerous
things to do off-property that provide a good change of pace.
A huge alligator portal serves as the entrance to Gatorland. Photo by
Lani Teshima.
Located just 15 minutes east of Walt Disney World is Gatorland, where
reptiles—not furry mice—rule the domain. Alex and I knew some
friends who'd visited Gatorland, and who informed us that unlike the tacky
tourist stop that they expected, Gatorland was in fact an interesting,
entertaining and charming little park that was definitely on the list
of recommended attractions. Since we trusted our friends' judgment, we
added Gatorland to our itinerary.
The Gatorland gift shop is deceptive; to the uninitiated, it looks like
the shop is all there is to Gatorland. Photo by Lani Teshima.
History of the park
Gatorland is over 50 years old. It first opened in 1949, when the late
Owen Godwin took an alligator pond and developed it into a park. Since
then, the park has continued to build and add not only reptiles, but birds,
to its collection.
These days, there are over 200 crocodiles and over 1,000 alligators at
Gatorland.
“Orlando's best half-day attraction”
Gatorland makes no bones of the fact that it's neither large nor glitzy.
In fact, after days of the slick commercialization of Disney, Gatorland
may provide a down-to-earth break for you. Its motto, “Orlando's
best half-day attraction” itself tells you that you can easily visit
this park without exhausting the family.
Gatorland is home to over a thousand alligators—and they all like
to sun themselves. Photo by Alex Stroup.
Very little of the actual park can be seen from the road. There are no
cast members directing traffic through one-way parking lots. In fact,
we could only find a single parking lot. It is difficult to tell how large
the park is from the entrance.
To get into the park itself, you must walk through the gift shop. The
entrance is hidden towards the back, and had we not known that there was
a large park behind the store, we might have assumed that the store was
all there was.
Once you enter Gatorland, you are totally separated from the glitzy and
commercialized atmosphere of Walt Disney World. Instead, everything feels
rural and relaxed, the way it must have been in the swamp lands of Florida
before the Mouse arrived.
Alligator Breeding Marsh
The 10-acre Alligator Breeding Marsh looks completely wild and undeveloped,
although it is an important part of the park. Along the marsh is a wooden
walkway, including an three-story observation tower in the middle. Both
the walkway and tower are unobtrusive, and you can walk along the path
without bothering the animals.
There are 100 female and 25 male alligators that make their home in this
marsh. And yes, they are in the marsh for breeding purposes.
Alligator nests are identified and tagged. If you are lucky, you might
see some baby alligators hiding under the marsh vegetation.
The three-story observation tower provides a wonderful vantage point for
looking at alligators in the Alligator Breeding Marsh. Photo by Alex Stroup.
In addition to the breeding alligators, the breeding marsh is home to
countless birds and turtles. It makes one wonder what the alligators eat,
since neither birds nor turtles seemed particularly concerned about being
neighbors with the gators.
Jungle Crocs of the World
One of the featured shows at Gatorland is “Jungle Crocs of the World.”
Three crocodiles, which slowly swam toward the show's handler at the front
of the staging area, are given a command to turn right towards the shore
on the side. Photo by Alex Stroup.
There are three medium-sized crocodiles in this pond, and two show handlers
talk through the crocodiles' behaviors. In the process, the handlers send
out commands for the crocs to move here or there. This is not a Shamu
show, though; the crocodiles do not splash their tails to get the audience
wet in their seats.
Alligator Wrestlin'
Another show in the park is “Alligator Wrestlin',” and the
show is pretty much how it sounds.
During the pre-show period, a handler talks about the history of alligator
wrestling. Photo by Alex Stroup.
The show features a couple of handlers (or “crackers,” so named
from the past because of the sounds their whips made when they were trying
to handle alligators) who show various moves to capture an alligator.
They do not use any weapons as they approach the alligators, and use their
skills and experience to handle alligators that not only weigh as much
as they do, but that have tails several times stronger than any human.
A handler wrestles an alligator and manages to “sit” on it,
and use one hand to hold its mouth shut. Although alligator jaws are extremely
powerful, they are far stronger in snapping them shut, than trying to
open them. Photo by Alex Stroup.
While manhandling an alligator and holding its mouth closed may be a
maneuver a handler needs to perform during the regular course of his work,
the Alligator Wrestlin' show includes a bit more entertainment. One move
involves the handler placing his jaw on the top of an alligator's snout!
“Look ma, no hands!” A handler, still seated on the alligator,
props his jaw on the top of the alligator's snout. Photo by Alex Stroup.
Walt Disney World isn't the only theme park to catch on to the idea of
selling special photo opportunities. At the end of the Alligator Wrestlin'
show, members of the audience are encouraged to step forward to “sit”
on an alligator for a photo for sale.
In order to make sure the alligator does not try to bite the visitors,
the handlers wrap the alligator's jaws several times with black electrical
tape.
A handler makes sure the alligator doesn't hurt any visitors during the
photo op, by taping its mouth shut. Photo by Alex Stroup.
In the show that we visited, not every audience member who stepped forward
to pose with an alligator covered the tape with their hands when the camera
snapped—let's hope their friends back home don't notice that it's
a “tamed” alligator he's sitting on.
Some audience members, however, might not be comfortable watching the
alligator sitting prone, mouth taped shut, in the wrestling pit while
they are sat upon by tourists.
Gator Jumparoo
A handler talks to the audience as he prepares raw chicken and other goodies
to feed to the alligators at the Gator Jumparoo. Photo by Alex Stroup.
Watch an alligator leap out of the water to eat a whole chicken!
…Well, at least when the weather is warm.
When you visit Gatorland in the winter months, one thing becomes obvious:
Alligators are cold-blooded reptiles, and as such, they spend most of
their day trying to sun themselves to get warm. Apparently, getting warm
is so important that they are little motivated to eat chickens dangling
on a wire right above the water.
During warmer seasons, however, the Gator Jumparoo is a sight to see,
with numerous large alligators fighting to leap out of the water to bite
chicken parts.
After much coaxing, a lone alligator finally moseys over to the feeding
area during the Gator Jumparoo, and makes a halfhearted attempt to "leap"
out of the water (at least its head) to grab the chicken dangling off
of the handler's hand. Photo by Alex Stroup.
Swamp walk, birds, turtles, insects, and more
If you were in Walt Disney World, you would have to go on the Jungle
Cruise to view all that Mother Nature provides in the Florida wild—and
the animals would not be real (much less Floridian).
A turtle hangs out in the Alligator Breeding Marsh. Photo by Alex Stroup.
At Gatorland, everything's for real. In addition to alligators and crocodiles,
Gatorland also houses various birds, reptiles, and even mammals. The park
includes a small petting zoo, an aviary where you can feed lorikeets (a
type of parrot), as well as a self-guided swamp walk.
The swamp walk is a short stroll through “bayou country,” but
the entire path is lined with wooden planks and wooden handrails. Although
it is a nature walk, you do not have to worry about getting lost. If you
are interested in getting a sense of the local vegetation, the swamp walk
is a nice break from the shows and exhibits. Be aware, however, that you
probably want to wear strong bug repellent during the warmer months.
Good eats
Have you ever wondered what alligator meat tastes like? If you feel gastronomically
fearless, Gatorland has a snack bar where you can purchase alligator meat
in various forms, including “gator nuggets.” Nuggets may be
the best way to give this meat a try, since they are cut up into bite-sized
pieces and battered fried to keep you from feeling overwhelmed if you
discover you don't like it. In our experience, the meat was somewhat tough
and a bit gamey—it definitely did not taste like chicken.
If eating alligator is not your bag, you can feed the alligators instead.
Gatorland provides low-fat hot dogs for sale to feed to the alligators.
Next time, add some variety to your Walt Disney World vacation with a
half-day visit to Gatorland. The small and unpretentious park, with its
amusing shows and tons of alligators, makes for a really fun getaway,
especially if you have some young boys or adventuresome girls who are
feeling a bit too overwhelmed at the Mouse parks up the road.
Directions/address
If you know you want to put Gatorland in your itinerary for your next
Orlando visit, take an extra moment to print out a coupon that gives you
$2.50 off of an adult admission ticket.
Tickets: $19.95 ($9.95 children ages 3 to 12)
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Address: 14501 South Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando FL 32837
Phone: 800-393-JAWS (800-393-5297)
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