By now, you’ve read about my adventures at Gatorland getting an up-close-and-personal meeting with a variety of creatures and taking a thrill ride on the Screamin’ Gator Zip Line. But there is so much more to Gatorland than these activities – in addition, the facility boast a large, mostly-outdoor zoo that treats the visitor to some of the native landscape.
As you stroll along the paths facing swampy habitat, you can see a plethora of birds, gators, and other local wildlife. This observation tower provided a neat panoramic view:
Here’s a closeup of the nesting bird seen briefly in the video:
As a avian lover, I really enjoyed seeing all of the different birds on the property!
It was interesting to see how nonchalant these birds were about the alligators:
And of course, what would a trip to Florida be without pink flamingos?
Naturally, at a park called “Gatorland”, you will find plenty of alligators:
But there are many other animals to see, like this cool cat:
This 175-pound cat is the offspring of a Western Cougar father and a Florida Panther mother. Florida Panthers are smaller than the cougars we get here in the Pacific Northwest, but clearly get much larger when bred with a typical mountain lion!
I also saw this very funny and bizarre looking goat, which we all agreed looks like one of the creatures from Star Wars!
At the end of our visit, we were presented with these gift bags of “Gator Goodies” to remember our trip by – isn’t that the cutest? I love my plushie gator and think of my fun trip every time I sip coffee from my new mug. I saw these “Coconut Patties” everywhere when I was in Florida so it must be some sort of local tradition; they were indeed tasty!
There is so much on the Gatorland property to explore that I feel we barely even scratched the surface during our rush tour, from these zoo areas with local wildlife to shows to zip lines and even a small waterpark area! As someone visiting Florida for the first time, I loved the beautiful swampy landscape and could have easily spent a whole day just at Gatorland exploring all of the zoo attractions and other displays and experiences. It’s a great place to visit, especially for a tourist from out-of-state to get their jaws sunk into the Florida experience – alligator pun fully intended!
For More Information:
Gatorland
14501 South Orange Blossom Trail
Orlando, FL 32837
1-800-393-5297
Hours: 10 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Sunday
Admission: $26.99 for adults; $18.99 for children ages 3-12; children under 3 admit free.
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