My family received complimentary admission to Gatorland to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed here are my own!
Gatorland is Central Florida’s only attraction with Bite and Attitude. Our second day in Orlando for Spring Break lead us to Gatorland, Alligator Capital of The World. As a mom of three boys I am always on the look-out for boy-friendly adventures and my little guys love alligators! The kids had the opportunity to get up-close and personal with alligators, crocodiles, birds, turtles, zebu and so much more at Gatorland.
Upon our arrival we had the opportunity to meet Meeka, she’s a “Southern Blonde”. She is not albino in fact she has color pigment in her fur, eyes and nose. The coloring of a raccoon can range from a light blonde color, to one with shades of reddish-rust and brown, to one composed of a deep, dark gray and black, and every shade in-between these colors. The tail always has dark and light rings of color, and the mask around the eyes is generally the bandit’s darkest feature. I guess it is true that Blondes have more fun!
The baby alligators caught my eight-year-olds attention. The baby gators all huddled together so peacefully. My son kept asking if he could pet them. I told him that they were perfect right where they were and we should simply admire them from afar. Boys will be Boys!
Parrot Playground was my favorite. I absolutely love the beautiful parrots and one even held a conversation with me which was amazing. I love the signs that are posted throughout the playground, serious yet funny. The kids had a blast guessing the name of the parrot.
The boys had a blast in the Very Merry Aviary. I’m sure that this is everyone’s favorite that visits the park. The Aviary allows you to come inside and purchase a stick of bird food for a buck to feed the beautiful birds. We were instructed to slide across the floor instead of stepping for the safety of the birds because the little beauties were walking around with the crowd and flying over as they gathered to eat the bird seed on the sticks.
Who could forget Chester The Dog Eater? You see Chester is a giant! This dude is known for eating dogs. Yes you read correctly. I can only imagine how long it took Chester to adjust to his new diet living at Gatorland. I’m sure he’s on an all chicken diet now.
The kids and I had the opportunity to enjoy a competition show. Check out how that big dude grabbed that chicken right out of Billy’s hand. The crowd went wild. What a great show! I had no idea that we would see so many wonderful exhibits and shows during our visit.
While you’re at Gatorland please make sure that you stop by and meet Feros Zonbi (Cajun Creole Meaning) Fierce Ghost. He is by far the biggest and scariest of all white gators at Gatorland.
Meet Trezo Je (Cajun Creole Meaning) Treasures Eye. One glance at this beauty and you will soon see why he has the name Treasure eyes. Trezo Je has ocean blue eyes. If you look closely you will see them. We watched him sit so peacefully in the exhibit. This was our first time seeing white and albino gators. What a treat!
The kids had the opportunity to feed the goats. This was a different experience. The kids wanted to feed the baby goats but the adults were super aggressive. The goats often stuck their head through the opening on the wooden fence to beg for food. I couldn’t help but think what if one of them got stuck but obviously they are pros because each time they quickly freed themselves and followed as the kids made their way around the petting zoo.
The high light of our day was watching the gator show. Spectators had the opportunity to take a picture on the back of a gator before and after the show. The show was full of tricks and crazy stunts. I was a little afraid for the trainer but I was confident that he was a professional. This dude even opened the gators mouth and placed his head on top of the gators nose. Crazy but Cool! Perhaps the most amazing trick was when he flipped the gator over and put it to sleep. AMAZING! The crowd went crazy!
Our day at Gatorland was awesome sauce. Orlando has so much to offer that’s perfect for the entire family. This was our first adventure at Gatorland but I promise that it will not be our last visit. We have already added this to our destination list for out next trip to Orlando so if you’re looking for family adventure full of education and fun, check out Gatorland.
~Turkesha
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