Gatorland
Gatorland is a 110-acre theme park and wildlife preserve near Orlando, Florida, located along the South Orange Blossom Trail. It is the state’s largest amusement park and wildlife preserve. It was founded 72 years ago by Owen Godwin on what was formerly cow property in 1949[1] and is still privately owned by the Godwin family today.
Gatorland, which bills itself as the “Alligator Capital of the World,” is home to hundreds of alligators (including rare leucistic alligators) and crocodiles, as well as a wide variety of other creatures. Some of the park’s attractions are a breeding marsh with a boardwalk and observation tower, zip lines, off-road swamp vehicle tour, a ridable miniature railroad, alligator feeding shows, alligator wrestling shows, an aviary, a petting zoo, and educational programs. For more information, visit www.gatorworld.com. The breeding marsh section of the park was used to film the 1984 movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
When it comes to nuisance alligators, the park is well-known for purchasing and rescuing them from trappers who would otherwise kill them for their meat and skin. Gatorland also hosts the live alligator show at the Gaylord Palms resort in Kissimmee.
In the park, the Gatorland Express, formerly known as the Ol’ Iron Horse Express before 2001, is a 2 ft narrow gauge train attraction built by the Allan Herschell Company that initially opened its doors in 1961 and has been in operation since then. The Gatorland Express was the first amusement attraction in Central Florida when it opened.
An entirely new locomotive, built by Custom Locomotive of Chicago, was purchased and put into service the following year, replacing the old locomotive, which was retired in 2000 and placed on static display. According to the manufacturer, the locomotive is identical to one formerly utilized at the defunct Green Meadows Petting Farm in Kissimmee. It is necessary to pay an additional price to ride the train, and it was the only non-animal-related activity in Gatorland until the 2011 installation of the zip line.
White Gator Swamp is an indoor space with a museum feel to it, where customers may watch the albino gators on the other side of a glass wall from the comfort of their seats. There are signs in this fenced area that provide information on these gators, such as the origin of their white color, how they vary from other gators, and when they were originally discovered.
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