We spent Spring Break in Orlando. Most of our time was spent hanging out in DisneyWorld, but we did visit some other attractions in Orlando while we were in town. One of those spots was Gatorland and we loved every minute.
We were amazed at all the fun things to do at Gatorland, and we spent much longer than we had planned. This is a great spot for families to visit, especially families who love animals and the outdoors. There are many reasons to spend a day at Gatorland, but here are our top 5.
1. Feed the Gators
One of the highlights of our visit was feeding the alligators. As you walk in, there are nice workers who will sell you fish on a pole to feed to the gators. You can feed small alligators or large alligators. They give you tips on how to do it, and it’s fun to watch your kids feed these huge lizards. We laughed and had so much fun. If it didn’t cost much, and we could have done it over and over again.
2. See a Show
There were a bunch of different shows to see, but we picked two that fit into our schedule, and we loved them both. One was alligator wrestling. An alligator tamer pulled an alligator out of the water, and then sat on him and put the gator to sleep. It was amazing!
The other show we caught was two silly workers trying to feed alligators, but not get eaten. They threw frozen chickens to the alligators and did other tricks to get the gators to jump out of the water. Our kids thought it was so cool. Get to this show early since seating is trickier and there aren’t as many spots to see.
3. Swamp Walk
There is a section on the far end of Gatorland that is called the Swamp Walk. This area has a boardwalk that walks you along a short trail through the Florida swamp. There are snakes and bugs and swampy plants that I don’t know the names of. It felt like you were exploring the real swamp, but safer. We did see quite a few cottonmouth snakes which are poisonous so we were grateful for the boardwalk. This was right up our alley since we love to be in the wild and explore.
4. Explore the Marsh
Behind most of the exhibits in the front, there is a huge area called the Breeding Marsh. There is a boardwalk that takes you across the water where there are tons of alligators, but we were more impressed by the birds. There were many different kinds of birds including spoonbills, storks, and gallinules. When we were there in April there were also eggs and baby birds. This area is where many birds come to breed and lay their eggs because the alligators don’t really bother them and food is everywhere. We had fun checking out all the animals.
5. Feed the Birds
I know that I mentioned feeding the alligators, but we also fed some birds and this was even more up close and personal than the gator feeding. There is a room filled with small birds and each person has a small stick covered in bird seed. The birds fly all over and land on the sticks, as well as your shoes, hats, arms, and legs. We giggled as the birds ate our bird seed and we loved being so close with these beautiful creatures. It reminded us of the SeaQuest Aquariums.
A few other things
Gatorland also has a splash pad, playground, lots of other animals to see, a train, a Zipline, and other shows and experiences. You really can spend a whole days here. We spent half a day, but could have easily stayed longer.
Parking is free at Gatorland. Tickets are $30/adult, $20/kid, but many of the activities inside cost to participate. There are a few coupons available on their website.
