The best place to see alligators with kids in Florida

It’s easy to get overstimulated in Orlando—I should know.  I recently spent a whirlwind 72 hours running from park to park, laughing, cheering, squealing, and screaming my face off. Was it fun? Yeah, but it was exhausting too. And you know what the highlight was? Gatorland.

I hadn’t heard of it either.

But what Florida’s oldest theme park lacks in marketing budget, it more than makes up for in old Florida charm and tongue-in-cheek fun. Gatorland is a great place to take your family if you need a breather from the thrills and flash for which Orlando is justifiably famous.

Gatorland is human scaled and the pace is nice and lazy.  You can wander aimlessly (and maplessly) and not miss a thing.  I would probably still be there if we hadn’t been on such a tight itinerary.

The Alligator Capital of the World

From the kitschy walk-through gator mouth entrance and the pools full of adorable juveniles to the cranky wild-caught Chester—a 13-foot, 1,000-pounder nicknamed “the dog eater”, there are thousands of gators everywhere you look (except, you know, in the children’s waterplay area).

On “The Mile of Monsters” you’ll come face to face with Lockjaw, Mania, Toxic, and Big Mack.  It’s surprisingly peaceful, but it makes perfect sense when you think about it: cold-blooded animals really can’t be bothered to move for very much besides meals.

There are also snakes (tastefully concealed behind a privacy screen for the comfort of snakeophobic visitors), crocodiles, turtles, peacocks, and parrots, and a petting zoo with goats, llamas, and Florida Cracker Cattle.

Family Friendly Animal Shows

In the Gator Wrestlin’ Show, a park employee who is either very brave or very dumb hauls an 8-foot gator out of a pool by the tail, wrangles it into position, and sits on its back and sort of hypnotizes it. Then park guests get a chance to get up close and personal with the gators (once their jaws had been secured with electrical tape).

I also enjoyed the Up Close Encounters show, despite the fact that the host Bret kicked it off by asking who was afraid of creepy critters and then picking me out of the audience to personally interact with tarantulas when I raised my hand.

Real funny Bret.  I don’t know how or when, but I’ll get you for that.  You better watch your spider-loving back.

The Swamp Walk

Beyond all the reptile and arachnid goodness, Gatorland is also a beautiful 110-acre wildlife preserve including a 10-acre breeding marsh that’s home to 130 gators and thousands of birds. It might seem like an odd combination, but alligators are nature’s guard dogs. Raccoons and other predators tend to steer clear.

Crossing through the marsh on the elevated wooden walkway, we saw nesting Egrets, Herons, and Spoonbills. The proud parents tended their sky blue eggs and fluffy chicks just an arm’s reach from us with dozens of gators dozing in the water below.

But Wait There’s More

We didn’t have time for the Jumping Gator show (picture chicken on a rope and a hungry alligator exploding from below to eat it), the petting zoo, or the children’s water play area, though they all looked like a lot of fun. There are also opportunities to hold a baby gator, ride a train, and participate in their ranger–for-a-day program. You can also sample deep-fried gator nuggets at the snack bar, but frankly it seems like bad manners under the circumstances.

If you’re planning to go to Gatorland, click over to this site and print off a free Orlando Magicard which gets you a free train ride with each paid admission (and lots of other good Orlando discounts too).

Gatorland is open daily from 9am–6pm and is located at 14501 South Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 32837. 1-800-393-JAWS.

April 10th, 2010 | by Jamie Pearson 9 comments