| Gatorland | |
|---|---|
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 Gatorland entrance | |
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| 28°21′21″N 81°24′14″W / 28.3557°N 81.404°W | |
| Date opened | 1949, 75 years ago |
| Location | Orlando, Florida |
| Public transit access |   #108 |
| Location | |
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| Website | www |
Gatorland is a 110-acre (45 ha) theme park and wildlife preserve in Florida, located along South Orange Blossom Trail south of Orlando. It was founded in 1949 by Owen Godwin on former cattle land,[1][2] and is privately owned by his family.
Billed as the "Alligator Capital of the World," Gatorland features thousands of alligators (including rare leucistic alligators) and crocodiles, and many other animals. Attractions in the park include a breeding marsh with a boardwalk and observation tower, zip lines, an off-road swamp vehicle tour, a ridable miniature railroad, alligator feeding shows, alligator wrestling shows, an aviary, a petting zoo, and educational programs. The breeding marsh area of the park was used in the filming of the 1984 movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.[3]
The park is known for buying and rescuing nuisance alligators from trappers that would otherwise be killed for their meat and skin. Gatorland also manages the live alligator display at the Gaylord Palms resort in Kissimmee.
- ^ Schneider, Mike (September 12, 1999). "Gatorland still brings in tourists after 50 years". Spartanburg Herald Journal. South Carolina. Associated Press.
- ^ Mays, Dorothy (2009). "Gatorland: Survival of the Fittest among Florida's Mid-Tier Tourist Attractions". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 87 (4): 509–539. ISSN 0015-4113. JSTOR 20700250.
- ^ "REPTILES GET STAR STATUS AT GATORLAND". Orlando Sentinel. October 13, 1985.