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Deeeeep breath.
OMGYOUGUYS SQUEEEEE!!!
I love Gatorland. To be fair, I had managed expectations. I didn't know much about it other than that it existed. I assumed that there would be alligators to gaze upon. As I had not been able to have a Chance Gator Encounter in the south (florida or anywhere else) I really did want to go see some real Florida Alligators. (Psst: Florida also gets Crocodiles, too.)
I mentioned to the kids that I really did kind of want to go, and after we recovered from Universal the kids said that they were game to Go Gator. The Girl uttered this phrase: "I'll go as long as I don't have to TOUCH THEM." (delivered with the kind of sneering contempt only possible when you're a teen-aged girl.) Remember this phrase.
Now, I should point out that the children are nature lovers, particularly animal lovers. Their grandpa and grandma rescue Big Scary Critters and so the kids have been able to get up-close and personal with lions, tigers, and bears. (Ok, they never did let the kids see the bear.) Also other creatures. The Boy has inherited his father's "tame the savage beast" nature and I swear that if I left him alone in a park I'd find him covered in squirrels or something. The Girl loves animals of all kinds (is currently panda-obsessed) and the kids live in Farmington and have a menagerie of creatures living at their home.
I, too, love all God's creatures, great and small. Ok, there are a few exceptions. Remember this phrase.
So we get to Gatorland and see the big ol' hokey "Gator Jaws" that one must pass through to get into the park. I see the staff in pseudo-safari gear. I see the pricing (VERY reasonable. I paid more for one of our MEALS.) and realize that there's an awful lot do DO here. We had three hours. We packed as much in as we could.
We got the all-access passes (still less expensive than dinner) and that included a train ride, a sit-on-a-gator photo op (physical pictures extra, though you are allowed to take your own shots), feeding the gators, and possibly some other stuff we didn't even do. We were directed to the middle of the park to get our gator chow.
Screw Mickey Mouse, I'm going to Gatorland!
First were the pits with the juvenile gators, most of them probably three feet long or less. They're laying around in big piles with turtles. Turtles! The Girl squealed. "OMG THEY'RE SO CUUUUTE!!" (In the kind of squeal that is peculiar to teen-aged girls, and is usually reserved for Justin Bieber and his ilk.)
Then were the bigger pits with the monstrous gators, lazing about and doing a whole lot of nothing. SQUEE! We discovered signs warning us that the birds hanging around are theivin' Birds who would steal food from the gators. Blink. You know, Gators EAT birds. Why the hell would they put up with that crap? Oh. Yeah. They get fed all day by tourists, and then get to do a show. More on the Moron Show later.
We saw where the gator food was being handed out, and heard the most amusing conversation of the whole day. Mother:(to toddler)Baby, that hot dawg wuz for the gators!
We were just in time for the Gator Wrasslin' Show. (Spelled that way.) A sand pit sat as a lonely island, surrounded by a moat full of six-to-eight foot gators. Our Wrassler (handler) was a handsome fellow: Compact, lean build, bald with a bright red beard. Very glib and entertaining and he really had a way with those critters. He had a sweet little girl come on out to the island and choose a gator for him to wrassle. After she went back to her seat, he pulled one out of the pit. "Is this your gator, honey?" he panted. "Better say yes," he muttered thereafter with perfect timing. We learned a great deal about these awesome creatures, including that they can close up their nostrils (neat trick, that) and have a flap at the back of their throat so they can chomp on stuff underwater without drowning. He put her to sleep (gosh they're CUTE like that) then woke her up. This was also where they would get a particularly docile gator and let the kids sit on it for photo ops. This managed to be safe for both the animals and the kids, somehow, mostly because they would put a securing band around the gator's snout. We kind of missed our window of opportunity for that one, and I hope to do it myself one day if I'm allowed. (I didn't see any adults doing it. There could be a weight limit, or something.)
So then we picked up our Gator Chow (Turkey Hot Dogs) and rode the train. Much like the Zooline Railroad, the train circled the park and gave us an opportunity to meet the various residents in their enclosures and habitats. There's a gorgeous Gator Breeding Pit that doubles as a Rookery. There are saltwater Crocs hanging out there. They have some semi-famous gators, saved from being hunted and killed. They have an actual "New York Sewer Gator" that was rescued by a teacher and spent a good deal of its life in a classroom. They had a Spectacled Caiman, too. The stories are awesome and cool. As we came around, we found the Emu.
Ok, so remember that I love all creatures great and small? Emu freak me out a little bit. My first up-close-and-personal encounter with them taught me that these are birds who remember being dinosaurs. The ones I met were in a petting Zoo, and no you couldn't pet them. They were deeply annoyed at being in the petting zoo, and you could hear their thoughts aloud: "AM I BIG ENOUGH TO EAT YOU YET? NO? MAYBE TOMORROW..."
All of the creatures at Gatorland know, on some level, that their lives depend upon being adorable for the tourists. At the Deer enclosure and at the Emu enclosure, there are gumball machines that distribute corn. Both of those enclosures have animals in them that know the word "Quarter" and also know that if they are cute enough the tourists will feed them treats. They also know the sound of the little crank being operated.
So there we are and I announce to the kids that I'm going to face my demons, and say the magic word. A particular Emu poked its head at me with a very obsequious kind of, "Hello! I am cute, yes? You have quarter?" There was some foliage that grew around the dispenser and it kept poking its head through the leaves as I operated the machine to get the corn. "Hello?" "Cute?" "Yesss?"
Gaaah.
What was weird was that this bird had learned not to wonder aloud about whether it could eat people, and had actually figured out some "cute tricks". So, imagine a T-Rex mincing about in its petticoats for a minute and you'll get close to the show this creature was putting on for me.
No, the kids did not want to feed them.
Well, The Boy gave it some random pieces. Be prepared to be poked pretty hard by a pretty hard beak if you are going to feed the emu. At least the ones a Gatorland pretend to be friendly.
We also fed the Gators, or at least we tried to. By the afternoon, those guys get pretty drowsy and the birds are much quicker. However, we managed to annoy two of them into wrassling with each other. Finally, we managed to get a piece of hot dog into a gator's mouth. I have footage, check my Youtube channel to see it.
There was also a petting-zoo of sorts, with goats. This was one of the only times I've been at a petting zoo with full-grown goats. (Goat Squee!!!) One could buy some goat-chow and feed it to them a bit at a time, and those goats would climb each other for the best bites. Some of the goats had no ears, so I suspect that many of them are rescued goats. One had the most gorgeous beard I've ever seen on any living creature. Tri-toned and softer than my hair. Whew!
The deer had a corn dispenser and my favorite photo from the whole trip was the one I snagged while The Girl was feeding the Deer. She was giggling.
We also got to see the Budgie (parakeet) sanctuary and I got to go in and let the birdies land on me.
We missed the creepy-crawly show, which makes me sad now that I know what it was; Gatorland gets a constant stream of random animals dumped on their doorstep. They are, in fact, a nature preserve and wildlife rescue center, so I suppose it makes some sense. Some idiot gets an exotic pet and then gets to a point where they don't know how to care for it, or they move, or their mom finds out and they put the poor critter in a box with holes in it and leave it on Gatorland's Doorstep. Apparently there's a whole procedure for this now, with a vet and three handlers, and a special stick for opening the box. (My frumpy witch alter-ego MUST have a box-opening stick!) Why do they do this routine? Because they never know what's in the box.
Some of those random "donations" get put on display during the creepy-crawlies show. Snakes, spiders, lizards, and other random things.
This isn't even getting into the parrots, the snakes, the white Alligators (No, not Albino. Leucistic) and the baby gators behind glass. (They're SO CUTE when they're babies...)
There was a photo area where you could pay to have your picture taken with a live gator. That little gator was about the size of my cat, and had a band on its snout. We were allowed to pet it, and guess who was first in line? The girl, of course. "OOoooo! I wanna pet it!!!" The rule is "not on the head". I hated to use my Kukla Powers and freak out the handlers, so I did not attempt to touch it on the head. Mwa ha ha. One day I will live in Florida and pet the gators on the head any time I like. But I digress...
The final show was pretty awesome. Two idiots (Bubba and Cooter) were "interviewing for a job" at Gatorland. In twin Overalls and stained T-shirts, Bubba and Cooter were supposed to compete with one another trying to get the Gators to jump into the air to snap at bits of raw chicken. Whatever you are imagining? This was so much more awesome than that. And yes, those Hollywood images of alligators leaping out of the water to snap at potential food? *they do that.* And they do go from being a Gator-Rug to leaping five feet out of the water with very little provocation. Hmm. Maybe I won't pet the gators on the head after all...
Gift Shop means T-shirts. I got three so that we could wear our Gatorland Shirts during a photo op with thesigother. He had specifically said, "Yeah, I'll save some of these pictures for when you come back through wearing your Disneyworld T-Shirts." Heh. Disney, my @ss.
OMGYOUGUYS SQUEEEEE!!!
I love Gatorland. To be fair, I had managed expectations. I didn't know much about it other than that it existed. I assumed that there would be alligators to gaze upon. As I had not been able to have a Chance Gator Encounter in the south (florida or anywhere else) I really did want to go see some real Florida Alligators. (Psst: Florida also gets Crocodiles, too.)
I mentioned to the kids that I really did kind of want to go, and after we recovered from Universal the kids said that they were game to Go Gator. The Girl uttered this phrase: "I'll go as long as I don't have to TOUCH THEM." (delivered with the kind of sneering contempt only possible when you're a teen-aged girl.) Remember this phrase.
Now, I should point out that the children are nature lovers, particularly animal lovers. Their grandpa and grandma rescue Big Scary Critters and so the kids have been able to get up-close and personal with lions, tigers, and bears. (Ok, they never did let the kids see the bear.) Also other creatures. The Boy has inherited his father's "tame the savage beast" nature and I swear that if I left him alone in a park I'd find him covered in squirrels or something. The Girl loves animals of all kinds (is currently panda-obsessed) and the kids live in Farmington and have a menagerie of creatures living at their home.
I, too, love all God's creatures, great and small. Ok, there are a few exceptions. Remember this phrase.
So we get to Gatorland and see the big ol' hokey "Gator Jaws" that one must pass through to get into the park. I see the staff in pseudo-safari gear. I see the pricing (VERY reasonable. I paid more for one of our MEALS.) and realize that there's an awful lot do DO here. We had three hours. We packed as much in as we could.
We got the all-access passes (still less expensive than dinner) and that included a train ride, a sit-on-a-gator photo op (physical pictures extra, though you are allowed to take your own shots), feeding the gators, and possibly some other stuff we didn't even do. We were directed to the middle of the park to get our gator chow.
Screw Mickey Mouse, I'm going to Gatorland!
First were the pits with the juvenile gators, most of them probably three feet long or less. They're laying around in big piles with turtles. Turtles! The Girl squealed. "OMG THEY'RE SO CUUUUTE!!" (In the kind of squeal that is peculiar to teen-aged girls, and is usually reserved for Justin Bieber and his ilk.)
Then were the bigger pits with the monstrous gators, lazing about and doing a whole lot of nothing. SQUEE! We discovered signs warning us that the birds hanging around are theivin' Birds who would steal food from the gators. Blink. You know, Gators EAT birds. Why the hell would they put up with that crap? Oh. Yeah. They get fed all day by tourists, and then get to do a show. More on the Moron Show later.
We saw where the gator food was being handed out, and heard the most amusing conversation of the whole day. Mother:(to toddler)Baby, that hot dawg wuz for the gators!
We were just in time for the Gator Wrasslin' Show. (Spelled that way.) A sand pit sat as a lonely island, surrounded by a moat full of six-to-eight foot gators. Our Wrassler (handler) was a handsome fellow: Compact, lean build, bald with a bright red beard. Very glib and entertaining and he really had a way with those critters. He had a sweet little girl come on out to the island and choose a gator for him to wrassle. After she went back to her seat, he pulled one out of the pit. "Is this your gator, honey?" he panted. "Better say yes," he muttered thereafter with perfect timing. We learned a great deal about these awesome creatures, including that they can close up their nostrils (neat trick, that) and have a flap at the back of their throat so they can chomp on stuff underwater without drowning. He put her to sleep (gosh they're CUTE like that) then woke her up. This was also where they would get a particularly docile gator and let the kids sit on it for photo ops. This managed to be safe for both the animals and the kids, somehow, mostly because they would put a securing band around the gator's snout. We kind of missed our window of opportunity for that one, and I hope to do it myself one day if I'm allowed. (I didn't see any adults doing it. There could be a weight limit, or something.)
So then we picked up our Gator Chow (Turkey Hot Dogs) and rode the train. Much like the Zooline Railroad, the train circled the park and gave us an opportunity to meet the various residents in their enclosures and habitats. There's a gorgeous Gator Breeding Pit that doubles as a Rookery. There are saltwater Crocs hanging out there. They have some semi-famous gators, saved from being hunted and killed. They have an actual "New York Sewer Gator" that was rescued by a teacher and spent a good deal of its life in a classroom. They had a Spectacled Caiman, too. The stories are awesome and cool. As we came around, we found the Emu.
Ok, so remember that I love all creatures great and small? Emu freak me out a little bit. My first up-close-and-personal encounter with them taught me that these are birds who remember being dinosaurs. The ones I met were in a petting Zoo, and no you couldn't pet them. They were deeply annoyed at being in the petting zoo, and you could hear their thoughts aloud: "AM I BIG ENOUGH TO EAT YOU YET? NO? MAYBE TOMORROW..."
All of the creatures at Gatorland know, on some level, that their lives depend upon being adorable for the tourists. At the Deer enclosure and at the Emu enclosure, there are gumball machines that distribute corn. Both of those enclosures have animals in them that know the word "Quarter" and also know that if they are cute enough the tourists will feed them treats. They also know the sound of the little crank being operated.
So there we are and I announce to the kids that I'm going to face my demons, and say the magic word. A particular Emu poked its head at me with a very obsequious kind of, "Hello! I am cute, yes? You have quarter?" There was some foliage that grew around the dispenser and it kept poking its head through the leaves as I operated the machine to get the corn. "Hello?" "Cute?" "Yesss?"
Gaaah.
What was weird was that this bird had learned not to wonder aloud about whether it could eat people, and had actually figured out some "cute tricks". So, imagine a T-Rex mincing about in its petticoats for a minute and you'll get close to the show this creature was putting on for me.
No, the kids did not want to feed them.
Well, The Boy gave it some random pieces. Be prepared to be poked pretty hard by a pretty hard beak if you are going to feed the emu. At least the ones a Gatorland pretend to be friendly.
We also fed the Gators, or at least we tried to. By the afternoon, those guys get pretty drowsy and the birds are much quicker. However, we managed to annoy two of them into wrassling with each other. Finally, we managed to get a piece of hot dog into a gator's mouth. I have footage, check my Youtube channel to see it.
There was also a petting-zoo of sorts, with goats. This was one of the only times I've been at a petting zoo with full-grown goats. (Goat Squee!!!) One could buy some goat-chow and feed it to them a bit at a time, and those goats would climb each other for the best bites. Some of the goats had no ears, so I suspect that many of them are rescued goats. One had the most gorgeous beard I've ever seen on any living creature. Tri-toned and softer than my hair. Whew!
The deer had a corn dispenser and my favorite photo from the whole trip was the one I snagged while The Girl was feeding the Deer. She was giggling.
We also got to see the Budgie (parakeet) sanctuary and I got to go in and let the birdies land on me.
We missed the creepy-crawly show, which makes me sad now that I know what it was; Gatorland gets a constant stream of random animals dumped on their doorstep. They are, in fact, a nature preserve and wildlife rescue center, so I suppose it makes some sense. Some idiot gets an exotic pet and then gets to a point where they don't know how to care for it, or they move, or their mom finds out and they put the poor critter in a box with holes in it and leave it on Gatorland's Doorstep. Apparently there's a whole procedure for this now, with a vet and three handlers, and a special stick for opening the box. (My frumpy witch alter-ego MUST have a box-opening stick!) Why do they do this routine? Because they never know what's in the box.
Some of those random "donations" get put on display during the creepy-crawlies show. Snakes, spiders, lizards, and other random things.
This isn't even getting into the parrots, the snakes, the white Alligators (No, not Albino. Leucistic) and the baby gators behind glass. (They're SO CUTE when they're babies...)
There was a photo area where you could pay to have your picture taken with a live gator. That little gator was about the size of my cat, and had a band on its snout. We were allowed to pet it, and guess who was first in line? The girl, of course. "OOoooo! I wanna pet it!!!" The rule is "not on the head". I hated to use my Kukla Powers and freak out the handlers, so I did not attempt to touch it on the head. Mwa ha ha. One day I will live in Florida and pet the gators on the head any time I like. But I digress...
The final show was pretty awesome. Two idiots (Bubba and Cooter) were "interviewing for a job" at Gatorland. In twin Overalls and stained T-shirts, Bubba and Cooter were supposed to compete with one another trying to get the Gators to jump into the air to snap at bits of raw chicken. Whatever you are imagining? This was so much more awesome than that. And yes, those Hollywood images of alligators leaping out of the water to snap at potential food? *they do that.* And they do go from being a Gator-Rug to leaping five feet out of the water with very little provocation. Hmm. Maybe I won't pet the gators on the head after all...
Gift Shop means T-shirts. I got three so that we could wear our Gatorland Shirts during a photo op with thesigother. He had specifically said, "Yeah, I'll save some of these pictures for when you come back through wearing your Disneyworld T-Shirts." Heh. Disney, my @ss.
