Gatorland?

[poohteacher]

Anyone been to Gatorland recently? Is it worth the admission?

 

[inkkognito]

Definitely worth it. Here's my full report: http://bit.ly/EzGpW

It's really only a half day park tho', especially if you get there early. We went a few weeks ago and were there at opening, and it was literally only us and a couple of other families at first. Now that summer is coming, it will get more crowded.

 

[reelmom]

We went in April. My family really enjoyed it. Like the PP stated, get there early and you can enjoy an empty park.

 

[trnorbrn]

It is an experience. We bought discounted tickets from Undercover Tourist. We didn't have enough for another day of WDW and Gatorland fit our budget that trip. It was the first family trip to FL and I thought we couldn't go home without seeing WDW and alligators.

Gatorland was not crowded and most of the time you can be in the shade. It was definately a tourist trap but we found that funny. On top of the ticket price you will be asked to buy all kinds of things. We were able to take our own drinks and snacks inside but no coolers. Take hot dogs to feed the gators. They sell them there for about $4 a package. Beware of the pictures with the gators. We passed one booth where they wanted about $10 for a picture with a fake gator and then shortly after there was a play area with fake gators and we took our own pictures for free.

The shows are really lame but in a funny sort of way. It all feels like you are back in the fifties or something. There is a small splash area for the kids and some changing rooms. My kids liked that.

They have extruder machines that make plastic gators to take home. That was entertaining. I guess ours got stuck since it popped out three at a time instead of one.

 

[inkkognito]

They have extruder machines that make plastic gators to take home. That was entertaining. I guess ours got stuck since it popped out three at a time instead of one.

That would be Mold-A-Rama, one of my favorite things at tourist traps. I'm from Chicago, so the smell of those things instantly transports my mind to Brookfield Zoo or the Museum of Science and Industry. For Mold-A-Rama fans, I have photos in the trip report that I linked in my previous post. They also have Mold-A-Rama machines at the Central Florida Zoo.

 

[samily]

The Orlando Visiors Bureau usually offers discounted tickets to Gatorland - we got kids tickets free with adult purchase. I think their website is www.orlandoinfo.com .

My kids enjoyed it - it wasn't crowded & was a less hectic way to spend a few hours.

 

[VegasMike21]

Was to Gatorland years ago in the early 90's. Not a bad place, there's plenty to see and do besides the Gators. You can spend a good 3-4 hours here and have fun. Be sure to try the Gator Nuggets. They taste similar to chicken nuggets but a different texture.

 

[KJMAX1]

So I see the Mold a Roma but what does the toy look like??

Also when you mentioned in your article to bring money, do we bring cash or do they take credit/debit for the train etc?

 

[inkkognito]

It was probably hard to see the toy in the photos because it is small, but it's a little plastic gator by itself or a little plastic gator with a wrestler, depending on which machine you buy it from.

They will take a credit card for most everything, including train passes. The only thing I can't remember is if they took it for the gator food (hot dogs) since that's only like $4. You'll need quarters if you want to buy animal food from the machines.

 

[digskat]

two seperate families that we went to FLa in March both highly reccommend it. They went at 2:30pm and were charged 1/2 price but still seen all of the park...only missing one show..the snake one....we may check it out in Nov

 

[kathy884]

My family always enjoys going here. Think old time Florida attraction vs. world class theme park, though and a little cheesy, but a great time.

 

[safetymom]

Here is my report about Gatorland
http://www.disunplugged.com/2010/02/27/gatorland-the-alligator-capital-of-the-world/

 

[megthewonderful]

We're planning to go for the first time in a few weeks. My boys might actually decided they would rather go to Gatorland than the AK. I'm hoping it's a lot of fun! We bought discounted tickets from Undercover Tourist.

 

[loveysbydesign]

I'm thinking of checking out Gatorland for our trip in Nov. I have a few ?'s!

Where is the cheapest place to buy tix??
Also is the splash area included in the reg. tix or do you have to pay extra?
How far of a drive is it?
Thanks!

 

[2girlsmommy]

If any of you are going at the end of August, there is another Gator place called Gatorama and at the end of august they have a hatching festival where you can watch and help hatch baby gators from their eggs it is amazing!!!! Their website is www.gatorama.com. We went there a few years ago and it is about an hour and a half south of disney, but it was so fun and my kids are still talking about it! just thought I would pass it on!

 

[hsmamato2]

it's a corny peice of 'old Florida tourist traps' lots of fun for a 1/2 day trip not worth the regular admission,IMO...but you can get an Orlando entertainment book (usually on sale) and we used BOGO free coupons for our family of 4,so it was well worth the discount price!

 

[LadySiren]

If you're a member of the Tropicana Juicy Rewards program (you earn points by putting in product codes the same way you do with the Coke Rewards program), they have a BOGO coupon that only costs two points. I got a great deal on Tropicana juice recently so I've got a ton of rewards points saved up. I may have to take the family down for some Gator fun.

 

[loveysbydesign]

If you're a member of the Tropicana Juicy Rewards program (you earn points by putting in product codes the same way you do with the Coke Rewards program), they have a BOGO coupon that only costs two points. I got a great deal on Tropicana juice recently so I've got a ton of rewards points saved up. I may have to take the family down for some Gator fun.

Thanks for that tip! I have more than enough points! Does the q expire? we're not going til Nov.

 

[LadySiren]

I checked it today and it expires 14 days after you get the coupon. You might want to check with the Juicy Rewards folks to see if the coupon will be around until then. I'm guessing it will likely be one of their long-term rewards.

Thanks for that tip! I have more than enough points! Does the q expire? we're not going til Nov.

 

[GetGlowing]

We visited the St. Augustine Alligator Farm a couple years ago. From the Gatorland website, it seems like the two are quite similar, but Gatorland has a train. Is that the case?