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Gatorland Review
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Gatorland
- Address: 14501 S. Orange Blossom Trail, between Orlando and Kissimmee, Kissimmee, FL
- Phone: 407/855-5496; 800/393-5297
- www.gatorland.com
- Category: Amusement Parks
- Location: Kissimmee
Fodor's Review:
Long before Walt Disney World, there was. This campy attraction near the Orlando-Kissimmee border on U.S. 441 has endured since 1949 without much change, despite competition from the major parks. In November 2006, however, a fire destroyed the park's main entrance and gift shop, though its monstrous aqua gator-jaw icon remained standing. And the park's thousands of alligators and crocodiles swimming and basking in the Florida sun remained unscathed. The park reopened a month later, with a temporary in-park gift shop and a rustic admission gate built as a stopgap until the main entrance is reconstructed. Its bounce-back spirit intact, Gatorland opened the Gator Gulley Splash Park in Spring 2007, complete with giant "egrets" spilling water from their beaks, dueling water guns mounted atop giant "gators," and other themed splash areas. There's also a small petting zoo and an aviary. A free train ride provides an overview of the park, taking you through an alligator breeding marsh and a natural swamp setting where you can spot gators, birds, and turtles. A three-story observation tower overlooks the breeding marsh, swamped with gator grunts, especially come sundown during mating season.
For a glimpse of 37 giant rare and deadly crocodiles, check out the exhibit called Jungle Crocs of the World. To see eager gators leaping out of the water to catch their food, see the Gator Jumparoo Show. The most thrilling is the first one in the morning, when the gators are hungriest. There's also a Gator Wrestlin' Show, and although there's no doubt who's going to win the match, it's still fun to see the handlers take on those tough guys with the beady eyes. In the educational Up Close Animal Encounters Show, 30 to 40 rattlesnakes fill a pit around the show's host. This is a real Florida experience, and you leave knowing the difference between a gator and a croc.
- Cost: $19.95 adults, $12.95 children 3-12; discount coupons online
- Open: Daily 9-5
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