Who has been to Gatorland?

[mom2-four]

My second oldest has a fascination with alligators, and so we thought it would be fun to go to Gatorland. From the website it looks like fun.

Was it as fun as you anticipated it to be? Is it worth going to? Thanks!!

 

[buzz2400]

I love gators and we finally went back in August. We had been there years before. It has three shows that you can see. We did not take the train to go to the back where it is only accessible by train. I loved it. You can go up in this tree fort kinda of thing and see many, many gators. We ended up paying $10 a piece so that we could each throw two steaks to the gators. I did not know about this, we can across it by accident. A guy was at the front where you pay and he asked if we wanted to do it. They take about 20 people to a closed off place. The guy stands there with a pole and you can get pretty close to the gators. You each throw two steaks out and they have your party pose for a picture. We were there only a few hours so if you plan on going, don't plan on a whole day. You can ask people on the budget board if anyone has any coupons from the entertainment book. Someone sent one to me and it was buy one ticket, get one free.

 

[dpuck1998]

Like the previous poster said, only plan on 1/2 day. My boys 7 and 5 at the time LOVED the place. My 5 y/o found the flyer on his own and requested a trip there Its a little "seedy" but everyone is very nice and the atomsphere is friendly. My 7 y/o got his photo taken at the Alligator wresting area with him sitting on the alligator. He was thrilled (the alligators mouth is tape shut for this, btw). If any of your kids are at all intersted I think they will love it. Beware, you might get some negative comments about this place soon....

 

[safetymom]

I have been there and enjoyed it.

 

[Oldironsides]

We had a ball there. So many gators, but a half day is perfect.

 

[loriandmatt]

we went when my DS was 6 and he loved it. it was a half day stint for us as well. We used the discount admission coupon that we got off the Gatorland website. ($2 off per person i think it was)

be sure to take the time to let the kiddies cool off in the water/playground area. that place was hot as a bugger and that area helped cool us all down a bit.

DS still holds the pic of him wrangeling the gator (with his mouth taped shut) in high reguard and was very "bothered" when i finally gave away his "bite me" T shirt with the big gator on the front of it that he simply could not squeeze into anymore.

it's kind of like South of the Border - tacky yes, but ya gotta do it at least once just to say you did.

Oh - if your kids are of an age where they can respect the risk/saftey precautions involved.....try an airboat ride. Gators in the wild and lots of other wild life. it was like stepping back in time. cool and creepy. We went to one down near the Space Coast.

 

[Aidensmom]

We have been there a couple of times, DS5 really enjoys it.

 

[buzz2400]

I forgot to mention one thing. They have free samples of italian ice. Don't sample them. While we were standing in line to try it, I watched the girl take the spoon fromthe person sampling (after he had sampled one flavor) and get another sample with the same spoon. I thought it was just wrong. I said something to my son and he agreed.

 

[madcoco]

Your son will love it. You can usually find discounts on line and at the hotels. Have a coupon for $3.00 off Adult admission up to 6 people or 50% off after 3PM No expiration date. Would gladly mail it to you.

 

[Ed J]

I'll add this:

There is a place in the front where you can buy hotdogs to feed the gators (or there was last time I was there). The gators near where you purchase the dogs have been getting feed from all the others buying dogs. Take a few minutes to walk further back and the gators are much more active as they are looking for an easy meal.

Another tip is to bring a change of clothes if you are going to get your photo with a gator, they are more nervous than you are when you handle them and frequently poop due to the excitement.

Good place to spend half a day on your way to the airport .

 

[isla bonita]

My guys have been twice me once. They loved it and I really think my husband liked it more then the kids. He also took my 2 nephews and they also loved it.

 

[Mtnman44]

I guess I will posts something a little negative. Before I do I just want to say that we had fun and I'm glad we did it and I was SHOCKED at how many alligators they have there. It's a good half day activity and the admission is very reasonable and free parking.

Now, my gripes. I REALLY got sick and tired of them asking for more money for everything. There was a very lame, short show in a little outdoor theater where they showed a few animals. At the end, they invited people to come up for a closer look at whatever it was they were holding....but you had to bring $2 with you....dumb.

The shows were really, really bad. I was so excited to see the big "Alligator Feeding" show. Pictures of this are splashed all over their marketing. This is where they have a chicken on the end of a rope and the gators are jumping up and grabbing it. Well, the show was sort of a comedy show set up like a competition between two "contestants" (gatorland employees). I guess the idea is that they were trying to see who could get a gator to bite first. Well they finally got some interested gators in the area and finally one gator sprang up a little and took a nible at one of the chickens and....that was it. Contest over! Show over! There were tons of gators around and they had lots of chickens but that was it. One lousy nible on one chicken from one gator. Very dissapointing.

Finally, unless something has changed, SKIP the train. Totally waste of time and you see NOTHING, no special areas, animals, nothing. Of course, they charge extra for the train too.

If you enjoy animals, zoos, or have kids that will like alligators, this is still a very good thing to try. Unless you've been there I don't think you can fully understand just how many gators are actually there. It's pretty incredible and they have an awesome observation structure right in the middle.

 

[noodleknitter]

We love the place...but skip the train! They nickle and dime you, but it is all in good fun! We love the photos we've paid for...they are classics!

 

[dpuck1998]

I guess I will posts something a little negative. Before I do I just want to say that we had fun and I'm glad we did it and I was SHOCKED at how many alligators they have there. It's a good half day activity and the admission is very reasonable and free parking.

Now, my gripes. I REALLY got sick and tired of them asking for more money for everything. There was a very lame, short show in a little outdoor theater where they showed a few animals. At the end, they invited people to come up for a closer look at whatever it was they were holding....but you had to bring $2 with you....dumb.

The shows were really, really bad. I was so excited to see the big "Alligator Feeding" show. Pictures of this are splashed all over their marketing. This is where they have a chicken on the end of a rope and the gators are jumping up and grabbing it. Well, the show was sort of a comedy show set up like a competition between two "contestants" (gatorland employees). I guess the idea is that they were trying to see who could get a gator to bite first. Well they finally got some interested gators in the area and finally one gator sprang up a little and took a nible at one of the chickens and....that was it. Contest over! Show over! There were tons of gators around and they had lots of chickens but that was it. One lousy nible on one chicken from one gator. Very dissapointing.

Finally, unless something has changed, SKIP the train. Totally waste of time and you see NOTHING, no special areas, animals, nothing. Of course, they charge extra for the train too.

If you enjoy animals, zoos, or have kids that will like alligators, this is still a very good thing to try. Unless you've been there I don't think you can fully understand just how many gators are actually there. It's pretty incredible and they have an awesome observation structure right in the middle.

Agree! We do love the place, but they do attempt to squeeze more money out of you. But you can always so no. The train is pretty lame, unless you kids are really into trains and want to ride I would also skip it.

 

[cinjam]

DH & I spent a half day there back in July. We really enjoyed it. It was actually more fun than I anticipated.

We bought some kind of package when we entered, which included a picture on a gator, the train ride & something else I cannot remember. As other have said, it's got a "family owned" kind of look. It's not all bright, slick & shiney; but it was still great. Can't wait to take the kids next September!

 

[matthew_hull]

Gatorland also has a rookery in back. See my photos of egrets.

-- Matthew

 

[scammermom]

My 2006 Entertainment book (Orlando) had a Buy 1 get 1 free admission good for up to 2 admissions. Don't know about the 2007 book.

Really saved us!!

It's relaxing, more down to earth entertainment. You'll enjoy it.

 

[madcoco]

matthew hull Excellent pics!