it's best to get to gatorland just at opening time, to beat the crowds (although they are much lighter than at WDW)
The shows also start pretty early, and gatorland gets pretty hot with very little shade (exept on the covered walkways just beyond the entrance)
Taking the bus is an option, but you'll need to start quite early, and it's a long long ride
Taking a cab is more expensive (roughly $35 one way from DTD, fares might be higher from hotels further down the property like AKL or ASx) but the ride is much shorter (20 minutes or so)