Click any of the links below to read more on Gatorland history. Each of the timeline links spans twenty years or more of Gatorland history.
1930-1949 | 1950-1965 | 1970-1989 | Today
1930-1949 [Back to Top]
1930's
Owen Godwin, Sr., builds an alligator pit in the backyard of his Rattlesnake Hammock home, just south of Sebring, Fla. The pit is a sideline to Godwin's other jobs as butcher and postmaster. His wife, Pearl, sells gator products -- key chains, belts and the like - out of her kitchen. After making their purchases, customers step outside and stare in amazement at a gator mom with her babies. Watching them, Godwin dreams of an attraction that would showcase Florida wildlife.
1947
After World War II, he buys a parcel of land off 17/92 and 441 in nearby Kissimmee. Tourists were just beginning to travel to Florida. The road, then the state's second most traveled highway, would be a good place for an attraction, he reasons. Years later, the area in the heart of Central Florida's tourist district is home, not only to Gatorland, but also to Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World.
Godwin's 16-acre plot is actually a "borrow pit," having supplied dirt for the new highway. Three people invest $100 each in Godwin's attraction. Most think it is a crazy notion. No one will pay to view Florida wildlife in a "borrow pit," they say. If people want to see alligators, they can just walk outside.
1948
Godwin and his wife and four children dig up palmettos and plant pine trees. His attraction would allow a rare, close-up view of animals in their native habitat.
1949
Florida Wildlife Institute opens featuring alligators and snakes. What was to become Central Florida's first major attraction, houses its gift shop in a stockade-style building with dirt floor cover with sawdust. The shop's thatched roof is made by Seminole Indians, who live on the property and wrestle gators as part of the attraction's entertainment.
1950-1965 [Back to Top]
1950's
Believing the Institute sounded more like a government sponsored organization than a tourist attraction, Godwin changes the name to Snake Village and Alligator Farm. Upon entering the park, visitors are greeted by a huge display of snakes. The park also has alligator pools and an Indian village. Godwin notices cars speed up as they pass his sign. When families do stop, women often stay in the parking lot, while husbands and children go inside to view the snakes.
In an effort to raise more money for park improvements, as well as to promote his attraction and the City of Kissimmee, Godwin equips a special trailer with a fan, heater and bathtub for a huge 13-ft. alligator, Cannibal Jake. During the summer off-season, man and beast travel to northern states. Working with Mason Lodges, Godwin sets up displays in the town centers. People pay a dime each to view the mysterious creature. Godwin and Jake spend several summers on the New Jersey Boardwalk, too. The former, clad in jodhpurs with cowboy boots and hat, regale passersby with wildlife tales. These tours and the piles of dimes collected from children marveling at the giant reptile keep Gatorland® going in the early years.
Success comes in the form of Bonecrusher, a huge crocodile Godwin aquires. Known as Bone Crusher, the leathery giant is approximately 15 ft. long and weighs 1,080 lbs. Godwin bills him as the world's largest captive crocodile, offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who could prove him wrong. No one rises to the occasion. Bone Crusher remains a major attraction for years.
1954
Snake Village gets a new name: Gatorland®
1956
The gift shop is renovated. Thatch roof and stockade-style structure gives way to a modern building housing, not only the shop, but Godwin's home as well.
1960's
As the tourism industry grows, so do the crowds at Gatorland. The attraction adds exhibits, one of the first of which is Coon House. The Godwin children had found an enormous, 25-ft. log on their property. They put a spectacular house on top, with screen door and spiral staircase, then set the log upright. The resident, a raccoon, presents Godwin with a new obstacle to his dream of showing animal life native to Florida. The nocturnal critter sleeps inside all day, venturing out only in the dark of night.
During the off-season, Pearl and the children run the business. Godwin goes on safaris worldwide - Africa, India, Honduras, Alaska - searching for animals for the Gatorland® zoo.
1962
The park's new attraction are zebras from Africa, the only ones in Central Florida. Godwin's youngest son, Frank, designs a unique entrance in the form of a gaping gator jaw in his father's favorite color scheme - Florida aqua and white. In coming years, that signature mouth would be featured in movies, newspapers and magazines worldwide, beckoning tourists to take a walk on Florida's wild side. The gift shop expands in response to growing demand for the park's keepsakes.
1965
The Gatorland® Train makes its maiden run. Children and adults enjoy tours of the park aboard the miniature, open-air locomotive. For pedestrians, new aqua, tin rooftops afford shade along exhibit walkways.
1970-1989 [Back to Top]
1970
Gatorland® incorporates as a family corporation.
1975
Owen Godwin, Sr., dies.
Frank Godwin becomes president. He begins Gatorland's® first major expansion with a snack bar renovation, including three kiosks in Florida design, with cypress boards and palm tree posts.
1978
Swamp Walk premiers. Its 2,000-ft. boardwalk cuts through exquisite Florida wetlands much as they existed thousands of years ago. In the tranquil preserve, visitors view hundreds of plants - hyacinth, magnolia trees, centuries old Cypress trees, and a marsh that serves as the headwaters to the Florida Everglades.
Gift shop best sellers are Orange Blossom perfume, "I love Mom" toothpick holders, and "crystal" flamingo necklaces, all priced at less than $2.00.
1979
Gatorland® starts research in alligator farming with the University of Florida (UF) and the Florida Wildlife Commission. Although alligators had been on the endangered species list, worldwide demand for gator products remained high. Gatorland gives UF a $20,000 grant to study alligator reproduction. The resulting pioneer work helps populations in the wild become once more abundant.
1980's
Gatorland® is the only place worldwide where alligators have been artificially inseminated successfully. Previously, gators in captivity had been plagued by disease, infertility and embryonic death. Gatorland® and UF develop state-of-the-art techniques for breeding alligators, incubating eggs and providing the diet and disease-free environment hatchlings need to thrive.
1983
The Gator Jumparoo debuts starring hungry reptiles lunging for their lunch: chickens of the store-bought variety suspended on wire a few feet above water. The famed wildlife show has been seen on television worldwide.
The attraction introduces the now-famous photo op: snapshots of tourists holding a gator and wrapped by the park's pet boa constrictor.
1988
With the addition of adjoining property, Gatorland® becomes a 37-acre tourist attraction and wildlife preserve.
1989
The park is home to Judy, Florida Black Bear which is a gift from the Florida Game Commission. The Commission had confiscated Judy after finding her in an illegal enclosure. In Gatorland's more spacious quarters, she lounges by a private pool with sun deck.
Today [Back to Top]
1991
Gatorland® breaks ground on a major expansion to recapture a wilder, more natural Florida. Included in the expansion are: the Gator Wrestling Stadium; Alligator Breeding Marsh; larger train tour, and Pearl's Smokehouse, serving up smoked gator ribs, gator nuggets, burgers, hot dogs and more.
The 800-seat Gator Wrestling Stadium has a huge stage with surrounding moat. During 20-minute shows, a wrangler jumps into the reptile-infested waters and hauls a thrashing gator onto the stage. The audience is regaled with little-known facts about the real-life, armored dragons.
The Breeding Marsh brings new depth to Owen Godwin's vision, when it opens as home to more than 100 alligators. The ten-acre wildlife refuge provides the spacious, stress-free environment gators find conducive to starting families. From the adjoining boardwalk and observation tower, visitors watch in wonderment as the creatures swim and sun in their natural habitat.
As a bonus, Gatorland® becomes a vast rookery, with thousands of aquatic birds nesting above the Marsh. Alligators protect nests from natural predators, like raccoons and opossums. Today, the rookery is considered one of the largest in Central Florida. The theme park is one of the few places worldwide where visitors can watch endangered wading birds build nests and feed their young, all just an arm's reach away.
1992-93
Snakes of Florida debuts near the new Piney Woods classroom behind the Marsh. The snake awareness program is for children and adults, including firefighters, police, emergency medical service professionals and environmentalists. It is part of Gatorland's® newly expanded education program.
Snakes of Florida exhibit opens, as well, bringing Rattlesnakes, Rat Snakes, Cottonmouth Moccasins and more into the limelight. The show from the snake pit entertains and educates tourists more about Florida wildlife.
1995
Hawkeye, a giant red tail hawk, makes Gatorland® his home. The bird, with 48-in. wing span, was rehabilitated and presented as a gift by the Florida Audubon Society.
Gatorland® launches "Gator Nights," an "awesome Florida Cracker experience." The two-hour gala begins at 8:00 with a miniature train ride to Pearl's Smokehouse. Cracker delicacies include smoked barbecue chicken and gator snacks. After dinner comes gator-wrestling entertainment. The finale is a boardwalk tour, where everyone can feast their eyes in wonder at hundreds of beady red gator eyes in surrounding waters. A fiddler and banjo picker entertain, Cracker-style, at the nighttime swamp party.
Gatorland's® gift shop expands. The award winning Florida-themed shop features a dazzling array of keepsakes and elegant, handcrafted alligator leather goods.
1996
Mark McHugh is named chief executive officer. McHugh comes to Gatorland® from Sea World, where he was a curator and animal trainer. He is son-in-law of predecessor, Frank Godwin, who remains on the board of directors.
1997
Gatorland® creates "real" kid fun with the debut of Alligator Alley, more than a quarter-mile of interactive and educational exhibits for children of all ages. Alligator Alley includes:
- Lilly's Pad, a children's play area offering fun and relaxation with water jets, waterfalls, jungle gym and more.
- "Allie's Barnyard", a baby animal petting zoo, with llamas, goats, lambs, ducks, chickens and bunnies.
- Very Merry Aviary, home to free-flying, rainbow-colored lorikeets. The lories are so friendly they land on the hands and shoulders of visitors who feed them.
- Gadzilla, providing a rare photo op: snapshots of tourists perched inside a giant gator jaw (of the plastic variety naturally).
Workers remove antiquated concrete block pools to make way for more natural surroundings. Now, gators swim in the main lake, parrots fly to open-air perches and pythons slither about a large enclosure.
1998
Jungle Crocs of the World premiers. The two-acre display houses one of the world's largest exhibits of giant crocodiles in captivity. The Jungle Crocs' design reflects natural settings, where the beasts can grow to be more than 20 ft. long and weigh more than a ton. While people seldom get to see crocodiles move, this unprecedented exhibit features the word's most ferocious predators exploding from the water and chasing their prey onto land with startling speed.
Children enjoy the new camel rides, an iguana exhibit, quails and turtle pond.
1999
Gatorland® becomes a 110-acre classroom with the newly expanded education program. Children and adults take to the field for classes on Crocodilians, Wading Birds, Snakes and Florida Swamplands.
A new Gator Jumparoo showcases younger, faster reptiles lunging for lunch in the famous, action-packed Florida wildlife show.