Gatorland

Sure, everyone would probably find a reason to love a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth-- aka Orlando's Walt Disney World, the gold standard of theme parks. But it's also fun to take a day off from lunch with Mickey, flying elephants, and the spinning teacups to experience another Orlando theme park that's embracing a totally different vibe: Gatorland. Gatorland bills itself as the "real" Florida, embracing the state's scariest but most fascinating residents: alligators. I highly doubt that your trip to Disney would give you the chance to wrestle a real, live gator or to incite a feeding frenzy with a few hot dogs-- the night tour is especially chilling; imagine just seeing hundreds of glowing eyes peering up at you from the swamp. You can watch as professionals handle and feed the toothy critters, and it's one of the few places that will let you get up close and personal with an alligator. Once you've experienced rookie gator wrestling (which is a can't miss photo op) and the Gator Chow show where you can feed the creatures, then you might feel brave enough to take on the Screamin' Gator Zipline. You'll be seven stories up, above the trees, soaring over the park... which means that when you look down, you'll see lots and lots of gators looking back up at you-- be especially careful going over the alligator breeding marsh, home to 130 of the park's stars. Once you've worked up a sweat getting a little too close to the gators, you can grab a snack (they actually sell smoked gator) or cool off with a stroll through the swamp and take a dip in the Gator Gully Splash Park. Who knows-- you might not even want to go back to the Happiest Place on Earth after visiting the Most Exciting Place in Florida! -Roadtrippers Gatorland is so much more than just alligators at a price that doesn't put a strain on your vacation experience! At 110- acres, Gatorland provides affordable-priced family fun with thousands of alligators & crocodiles to see, an aviary, breeding marsh with observation tower, petting zoo, nature walk, award-winning gift shop and one-of-a-kind reptilian shows including the Gator Wrestlin' Show, Gator Jumparoo and the Up-close Encounters Show. Take a ride on the Gatorland Express train and then head on over to Gator Gully Splash Park where kids of all ages can enjoy a good ol' fashion squirtfest! Don't miss the new rare white alligators on display for a limited engagement at Gatorland's newest exhibit, White Gator Swamp. Featuring four of the world's largest white leucistic alligators known to roam the planet, these giant Ivory colored reptiles are each ten to twelve feet in length and weigh over 800 pounds. Their piercing blue eyes are believed to have the ability to command good fortune to those lucky enough to make eye contact with the blue eyed beauties.