My family's favorite hidden gem in Florida is Gatorland, a theme park where 3 tickets cost less than one to Disney World
Terri Peters
- Gatorland is a theme park in Orlando that sits on 110 acres and celebrates all things alligators.
- My family loves it because it's fun to learn about and interact with alligators.
Gatorland is a hidden gem in the state of Florida, and my family's been visiting it since 2016.
The 110-acre Central Florida theme park has beer, alligators, and many activities. It's the kind of place where you could spend an entire day or visit just for a morning or afternoon.
As someone who moved from Maryland to Florida in my mid-30s, the experience has always felt quintessentially Floridian to me, from its nature trail through a swamp to its show where alligators feast on store-bought chicken hung high above water.
As a bonus, single-day tickets are affordable, starting at $33 for adults and kids aged 13 and older. Those prices are less than a third of what you might spend to enter one park at Disney World.
Everything about the attraction feels like home to me now, and it perfectly showcases what a wild, weird, and quirky state Florida can be.
Gatorland has existed for over 70 years.
Gatorland began as a roadside attraction in Orlando in 1949 and was founded by Owen Godwin, whose family still privately owns the theme park today.
The park calls itself "the alligator capital of the world," and with everything from 14-foot gators who live in its breeding marsh area to baby gators on display in a glass enclosure, I can't argue.
Even the entrance to Gatorland is alligator-themed.
One of the most iconic parts of Gatorland is the gigantic open gator jaw that guests can post for photos in before they enter the park.
The mouth is 15 feet wide, 21 feet long, and 14 feet high and was built in 1962 by Godwin's son, Frank.
A total must-do photo opportunity, the structure sets the tone for the park from the moment guests arrive.
Adventurous guests can get up close and personal with large alligators.
During the park's Adventure Hour experience, guests can feed the large gators who call the breeding marsh home, getting up close and personal with the incredible creatures.
At just $12 per person, it's a fun way to get a behind-the-scenes experience at Gatorland.
When you're finished feeding the gators a bucket of store-bought chicken, your guide will happily take a photo of you and your companions kneeling beside them.
Risk-averse guests can toss gator chow from the docks instead.
There are docks throughout the Gatorland property that pass holding areas where gators of different ages and sizes are grouped together.
Plus, there's a kiosk at Gatorland where guests can buy gator chow (starting at $4.25 per bag) to toss to the gators in their pens.
Don't tell the gators, but the park also sells fried alligator bites.
There are snack shacks and a coffee stand at Gatorland, but the real star is Pearl's Good Eats, where guests can order fried alligator bites.
If you'd rather see your gators than eat them, there's plenty of delicious food across the theme park, from burgers to pizza to Frito pie.
One of the best parts of Gatorland is the beer.
At home, I rarely drink beer, but at Gatorland, my inner Bud Light lover always seems to appear.
Walking around a gator park at 10 a.m. with a camouflage-print bottle of Bud Lite in my hand feels very Florida-core to me, and I am here for it.
Gatorland has plenty of entertainment options.
One of my favorite parts of Gatorland used to be its gator-wrestling show, where trainers would teach facts about alligators while occasionally performing some pretty scary-looking moves with the creatures.
In recent years, Gatorland has replaced its gator-wrestling show with "Alligators: Legends of the Swamp," an educational show where trainers still enter the arena with 6- to 8-foot gators, just with less fanfare.
Although it's not known for having roller coasters and other rides, Gatorland has features like a splash pad, playground, zip line, and rock-climbing wall.
There are other animals at Gatorland, too.
During a recent visit to Gatorland, I met Dean, a tortoise who's over 100 years old, as well as some capybaras, tropical birds, snakes, and more.
There's even a petting zoo on the property where guests can feed and interact with farm animals.
Still, the best part of Gatorland is its alligators.
Some of Gatorland's gators are bred in captivity, but many of them are rescues.
When my family did an Adventure Hour gator-feeding session, our knowledgeable tour guide told us stories about many of the big boys we were tossing chicken to.
They told us some have been hurt in boating accidents or shot by hunters and brought to Gatorland for rehabilitation. Others were rehomed after appearing in residential areas or on golf courses.
Our guide greeted the gators by name, from Dilbert to Plague, and taught us what's unique and special about the animals.
Gatorland also has rare alligators.
Gatorland is home to rare types of white alligator, which are worth quite a bit of money, according to our tour guide.
Albino gators, which have an absence of melanin that results in white skin and red eyes, call the White Alligator Swamp area home.
There are also extremely rare leucistic alligators, which have only a partial loss of pigmentation, so their bodies can appear patchy, but their eyes are not affected.
If you're visiting Central Florida, Gatorland is a perfect way to spend a day or a few hours.
With so many attractions in the Orlando area costing parents a great deal, Gatorland is a perfect low-cost way to experience the area and truly feel like you've been in Florida.
It also has one of the best gift shops in town, filled with every type of gator memorabilia imaginable.
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