Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of Gatorland.
On this page
A roadside stop, a railroad and a family park
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
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1949
Founded
Owen Godwin opens Gatorland on former cattle land along Orange Blossom Trail.
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1961
The railroad
A two-foot narrow-gauge railroad, built by the Allan Herschell Company, opens inside the park.
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1984
On film
The breeding marsh appears in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
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2001
A new locomotive
A new locomotive goes into service on the railroad, now called the Gatorland Express; the original is kept on display.
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November 2006
Fire
A fire destroys the gift shop; the park reopens less than three weeks later.
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22 May 2008
A new entrance building
The rebuilt gift shop and offices open, with the historic alligator’s mouth repainted at the entrance.
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2011
The zip line
A zip line about 1,200 feet long opens over the alligator pools.
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2016
Open to more riders
The zip line becomes wheelchair accessible.
Follow the stories behind the dates
A timeline is a beginning. The longer history introduces the people and places; the sources below provide further context.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
