Before You Come
There is no pressing need to do in-depth research prior to a visit, but if you’d like to check prices or hours you can call Gatorland at (800) 393-5297 or (407) 855-5496. The web site is www.gatorland.com. On the web site, you will find a chat Forum where you can ask questions about the park and join in “discussions about crocodilians in general.”
When’s the Best Time to Come?
Even at the height of the tourist seasons, Gatorland will be far less mobbed than the larger attractions. The best time to visit, then, is dictated more by the patterns of the animals than those of the people who come to see them.
Alligators are cold blooded and derive their warmth from the sun and surrounding atmosphere. Thus, in the winter they tend to be slow moving and sluggish, not that they’re particularly lively in the best of circumstances. April and May is breeding time and if you visit then you will be entertained by the bellowing of amorous males attracting their mates. It sounds a bit like a lovesick Harley if you can imagine such a thing. Alligators lay hard-shelled eggs in nests on the ground. So by June you may be able to see nests in the Alligator Breeding Marsh. The hatchlings emerge in late August and early September, when visitors will be treated with dozens of joyous events in the Gator Grunts Nursery. Birds have their own migratory and mating patterns. Nesting in the Breeding Marsh begins in January or February, hits its peak in April and May, and continues through the summer, as various species arrive to hatch and raise their young. Regardless of when you come, don’t arrive too late in the day. If you arrive mid-afternoon, you may miss some of the shows.
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