Picture it: 75 years of Gatorland history

For 75 years, Gatorland has welcomed visitors to see its reptile residents and a slice of real Florida. The South Orange Blossom Trail attraction opened during the era of roadside attractions and survived Orlando’s surge of tourism with giant theme parks, not to mention hurricanes, fires, recessions and a pandemic. Here are Gatorland highlights taken from the park’s official history and Orlando Sentinel archives.

• 1947: Owen Godwin buys 16 acres of land off Highway 17-92 and 441 near Kissimmee. It’s a borrow pit, where dirt was taken away for highway construction.

• 1949: Godwin’s Florida Wildlife Institute opens, complete with a gift shop. Members of the Seminole tribe live on the property and wrestle alligators as part of the attraction’s entertainment.

• 1951: New name of Snake Village and Alligator Farm first appears in a classified ad in Orlando Sentinel.

• 1952: Godwin tells Orlando Sentinel-Star newspaper that the attraction has free admission “so visitors can see a good slice of Florida without having to pay.” He estimates 5,000-10,000 people visit monthly.

• 1956: Another name change. According to an Orlando Sentinel brief reporting on the attraction’s new $25,000 headquarters building, “the name of the attraction has been changed to Gatorland to coincide with the open house and dedication.”

• Late 1950s/early 1960s: Godwin travels to Africa, India and Alaska to purchase more animals. Additions range from pythons to zebras.

• 1960: Bonecrusher, described as “a repulsive crocodile with an evil, toothy grin” and said to be 100 years old, first appears in Sentinel. Godwin says he paid $2,500 for him. At 15 feet, Bonecrusher is billed as the world’s largest captive crocodile, and Godwin offers $1,000 to anyone who can prove him wrong. No one can.

• 1962: Frank Godwin, youngest son of Owen, designs the wide-open gator mouth entrance.

• 1965: Gatorland Train debuts.

• 1970: For the first time, Gatorland charges admission. It’s $1 for adults, 50 cents for kids.

• 1975: Owen Godwin Sr. dies. Frank Godwin becomes president and begins the park’s first major expansion.

• 1978: Swamp Walk, a 2,000-foot boardwalk through wetlands, debuts.

• 1980s: Gatorland becomes the first place where alligators are artificially inseminated.

• 1983: Gatorland Jumparoo, a show that features reptiles leaping for store-bought chicken, premieres. It is still performed.

• 1989: Judy the Florida black bear, a gift from the Florida Game Commission, moves in.

• 1991: Additions include 800-seat Gator Stadium, 10-acre alligator breeding marsh and Pearl’s Smokehouse restaurant.

• 1992: Snakes of Florida awareness program debuts.

• 1996: Former SeaWorld animal trainer Mark McHugh is named CEO and president of Gatorland. His wife, Diane Godwin McHugh, is the granddaughter of founder Owen Godwin and daughter of Frank Godwin, who remains on the board of directors.

• 1997: Alligator Alley debuts with educational exhibits for children plus a baby animal petting zoo and aviary.

• 1998: Jungle Crocs of the World area opens.

• 2000: Iron Horse Steam Engine retires, having hauled 7.5 million guests for 200,000 miles. A new locomotive starts the next year.

• 2006: A dramatic fire destroys the gift shop and executive offices, and a dwarf crocodile, two pythons and two hatchling alligators are casualties on Nov. 6. Gatorland reopens 18 days later.

• 2007: Gator Gully Splash Park opens.

• 2008: New gift shop and admission complex completed with 19,000 square feet of retail, meeting and office space.

• 2009: An exhibit featuring four rare, blue-eyed, leucistic alligators opens.

• 2011: Screamin’ Gator Zip Line, which travels over animals and the breeding marsh at 30 mph, debuts.

• 2013: Panther Springs opens with brother-sister big cats Lucy and Nieko.

• 2017: Baby Gator Swamp opens, giving juvenile alligators a dedicated home and pond. Stompin’ Gator Off-Road Adventure debuts with trucks representing former reptile residents such as Bonecrusher.

• 2018: Gatorland Global, a conservation program for alligators and crocodiles, is established.

• 2019: Gatorland adds annual events in May (Gatorpalooza) and October (Gators, Ghosts and Goblins).

• 2020: Attraction is closed for two months as the world deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. In the meantime, Gatorland’s “School of Croc” videos get 1 million views online and upon reopening, a new walkaround character is introduced: the Social Distancing Skunk Ape. Gatorland’s Holiday Ho Ho Ho-Down marks the Christmas season for the first time.

• 2022: Chester, the attraction’s first rescue gator, dies. He was notoriously large, grumpy and a reformed enemy of Tampa dogs.

• 2023: Mystic, the first leucistic alligator ever “born in the care of man,” hatches at Gatorland. An alligator missing her upper jaw is taken in by the attraction, named Jawlene and gains international attention. Croc Rock, a combination rock climbing-zipline-swing bridge experience, opens.

• 2024: Gatorland celebrates its 75th anniversary.