{"id":352005,"date":"2026-07-25T07:08:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T07:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/352005\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T07:08:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T07:08:20","slug":"gatorama-brings-guests-face-to-face-with-florida-alligators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/352005\/","title":{"rendered":"Gatorama brings guests face-to-face with Florida alligators"},"content":{"rendered":"

PALMDALE, Fla. \u2014 For nearly seven decades, Gatorama<\/a> has been giving visitors an unforgettable look at one of Florida\u2019s most iconic animals.<\/p>\n

The Palmdale attraction, which opened in 1957, is one of the state\u2019s oldest surviving roadside attractions and is home to about 2,000 alligators and crocodiles.<\/p>\n

One of the park\u2019s most unique experiences begins with an unusual request \u2014 take off your shoes.<\/p>\n

Guests step into warm, shallow water alongside a handful of young alligators, creating what co-owner Alan Register calls \u201cthe most awesome event that anybody will do with an alligator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Customers walk among the reptiles as they swim around them, with trained staff explaining their behavior and helping guests safely hold the animals.<\/p>\n

Before anyone picks up a gator, employees carefully secure the animal\u2019s mouth with veterinary wrap instead of tape, which can damage the alligator\u2019s mouth.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so, we always wrap their mouths. Now, we\u2019re not using tape. Tape can harm the animal\u2019s mouth. So, we use a vet wrap. And so, it doesn\u2019t stick or anything like that. But they can never ever do this in the wild,\u201d Register said.<\/p>\n

The experience is designed to create lasting memories while teaching an important lesson: admire alligators up close in a controlled setting but always keep your distance from them in the wild.<\/p>\n

Young visitors often come away with a new appreciation for the reptiles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI liked that they were calm and stuff like that. They were nice,\u201d said Parker Lindimore, who was visiting from Ohio.<\/p>\n

Alan and Patty Register have owned and operated Gatorama since the 1980s after first meeting in middle school.<\/p>\n

Patty Register says the attraction is one of the few remaining reminders of Florida\u2019s roadside tourism boom.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the heyday of roadside tourist attractions, there were 72 other roadside attractions in Florida,\u201d Patty Register said.<\/p>\n

Another popular attraction is Gatorama\u2019s Face-to-Face Adventure<\/a>, where guests stand just a few feet away from massive alligators while learning about the apex predators and the important role they play in Florida\u2019s ecosystem.<\/p>\n

The park\u2019s staff has trained the alligators to respond to commands, allowing visitors to safely observe and photograph the animals from remarkably close distances.<\/p>\n

Some of the park\u2019s largest residents have been there since the attraction first opened.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the big alligators we have in the park here are some of the original alligators that were brought in to get them in 1957,\u201d Alan Register said.<\/p>\n

Beyond the close encounters, Gatorama offers a variety of educational experiences that allow visitors to observe both alligators and crocodiles while learning about their biology, behavior, and conservation.<\/p>\n

Visitors who make the trip in August can take part in one of the park\u2019s signature traditions\u2014the annual Hatching Festival, where guests have the chance to hold an alligator egg as a baby gator hatches with guidance from Gatorama\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to show people what Florida actually is and was,\u201d Patty Register said.<\/p>\n

This August, Gatorama will celebrate its 25th annual Hatching Festival<\/a>, giving visitors the rare opportunity to witness one of nature\u2019s most memorable moments up close.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PALMDALE, Fla. \u2014 For nearly seven decades, Gatorama has been giving visitors an unforgettable look at one of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352006,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1595,7150,8274,274,28,30,29,7151,2200,2204,115,139,11881,135,278,2032,20871,835],"class_list":["post-352005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-app-arts-entertainment","tag-app-florida-on-a-tankful","tag-app-latest-entertainment-stories","tag-app-top-stories","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-florida-on-a-tankful","tag-instagram-bn9","tag-instagram-n13","tag-news","tag-orlando","tag-randy-rauch","tag-tampa","tag-top-stories","tag-trending-topics","tag-trip-on-a-tankful","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}