Gatorama

Gatorama is an alligator farm and visitor attraction in Palmdale, Florida. Established by Cecil Clemons in 1957, it is one of Florida's older roadside attractions and combines animal husbandry, wildlife exhibition, visitor entertainment, and specialty food retail. The attraction is centered on American alligators and crocodiles, which are raised at the facility for meat and skins while also being displayed for the public. Its operating model therefore links tourism with the commercial use of farm-raised reptiles, a combination associated with Florida's historic roadside wildlife attractions. The attraction offers close-contact and educational experiences built around reptiles. Visitors can hold baby alligators and pythons, watch a daily feeding presentation from the park's front bridge, and, for participating adults, attempt the Fast Hands Challenge, an activity involving the feeding of an adult alligator. Gatorama also maintains exhibits featuring other Florida wildlife, including Florida panthers, bobcats, raccoons, birds, and snakes. An exhibit devoted to the critically endangered Orinoco crocodile broadens the attraction's scope beyond local alligators and gives the park a conservation and education dimension. Gatorama's animal-management activities include cooperation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program, commonly known as SNAP. Through that relationship, the attraction can help rehome nuisance alligators rather than treating the animals solely as exhibition specimens. The farm has also been associated with captive breeding and raising activities. According to the referenced account, alligators were captured locally during the 1960s, while wild crocodiles were caught in Jamaica in 1967 and 1968. The business changed ownership in 2006, when Allen and Patty Register acquired the property. Under their ownership, Gatorama continued operating as a public attraction while retaining its farm and retail functions. The park sells exotic meat at the attraction and through its online sales channel, although a current official website address is not established in the supplied material. Gatorama also hosts an annual Gator Hatchling Festival in late August. During the festival, visitors may hold an alligator egg while it hatches, making reproduction and animal husbandry part of the visitor program. Gatorama's positioning is rooted in accessible, hands-on Florida wildlife tourism rather than luxury hospitality or a conventional zoological institution. Its distinctive proposition is the opportunity to see, feed, and in limited settings handle reptiles in an environment that combines a working alligator farm with a roadside attraction. The business remains primarily regional and tourism-oriented, serving visitors seeking unusual wildlife experiences in Florida. The available sources do not establish revenue, employee count, corporate structure beyond private ownership, or a separate legal parent company.

Gatorama was established in 1957 by Cecil Clemons in Palmdale, Florida. It developed as an alligator farm and roadside attraction, a business form closely associated with Florida tourism and the state's abundant alligator population. From its beginning, the site combined the raising of reptiles with public visitation, allowing guests to encounter alligators while the farm generated commercial value from meat and skins. During the 1960s, alligators were captured locally for the operation. The farm's crocodile holdings were expanded through the capture of wild crocodiles in Jamaica in 1967 and 1968. These activities reflect the historical development of reptile attractions before modern conservation, transport, and wildlife-management practices became more prominent. The supplied sources do not provide a complete account of the facility's licensing history, breeding records, or changes in its animal collection. Gatorama became known as one of Florida's older roadside attractions. Its public program developed around direct encounters and feeding demonstrations. Guests could hold baby alligators and pythons, observe keepers hand-feed adult alligators from the front bridge, and take part in the Fast Hands Challenge, an adult-oriented feeding activity. These experiences gave the attraction a more participatory character than a conventional display-only exhibit. The attraction also broadened its collection beyond alligators and crocodiles. Exhibits have included native Florida species such as the Florida panther, bobcat, raccoon, birds, and snakes. A dedicated exhibit for the critically endangered Orinoco crocodile added an international conservation subject to the park's primarily Florida-focused wildlife presentation. Gatorama has also worked with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program. This relationship supports the rehoming of nuisance alligators and gives the facility a role in public wildlife management in addition to tourism and commercial farming. Allen and Patty Register acquired the property in 2006. The ownership transition is the clearest documented modern turning point in the attraction's history. Under the Registers, Gatorama continued to operate as a public venue while maintaining its farm-related activities and selling exotic meat both at the attraction and through its online channel. The available material does not identify a parent company, public listing, revenue figures, or a separate corporate group. Gatorama's visitor calendar includes an annual Gator Hatchling Festival held in late August. The event makes the hatching process part of the visitor experience and permits guests to hold an alligator egg while it hatches. Alongside the feeding shows, animal-handling opportunities, wildlife exhibits, and specialty retail, the festival reinforces the attraction's distinctive identity: a working alligator farm presented as an interactive Florida wildlife destination. The supplied references do not establish a closure date or a change from active operation, so the brand is treated as active.

• 2006

  Allen and Patty Register acquire Gatorama

  [1]Gatoramaen.wikipedia.org

  The Registers purchase the property and become its owners.

• 1967

  Crocodiles are captured in Jamaica

  [1]Gatoramaen.wikipedia.org

  Wild crocodiles are caught in Jamaica during 1967–1968 for the attraction's collection.

• 1960

  Local alligators are captured for the farm

  [1]Gatoramaen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1960s, Gatorama's alligator population is supplemented with animals captured locally.

• 1957

  Gatorama is founded

  [1]Gatoramaen.wikipedia.org

  Cecil Clemons opens the alligator farm and visitor attraction in Palmdale, Florida.

• Gator Hatchling Festival becomes an annual event

  [1]Gatoramaen.wikipedia.org

  Gatorama holds a late-August festival focused on alligator hatching and visitor participation.

A hands-on Florida roadside wildlife attraction combining an operating alligator farm, reptile exhibits, feeding demonstrations, conservation-related animal rehoming, and specialty exotic-meat retail.

• Farmed reptile products

  Alligator and crocodile farm products

  Gatorama raises alligators and crocodiles for commercial use, including meat and skins. These activities distinguish the attraction from a display-only wildlife park and connect its visitor operation with a working farm. The supplied sources do not specify product volumes, brands, pricing, or distribution partners.

• Specialty food retail

  Exotic meat

  The attraction sells exotic meat at the park and through its online sales channel. Available references identify the product category but do not provide a current catalog, prices, packaging details, or confirmed website address.

• Wildlife attraction

  Daily Feed Show

  The daily feeding presentation is included with admission. Guests watch keepers hand-feed alligators from the attraction's front bridge, creating a scheduled educational and entertainment experience focused on animal behavior and feeding.

• Interactive animal experience

  Fast Hands Challenge

  The Fast Hands Challenge is an adult-participant activity involving the feeding of an adult alligator. It forms part of Gatorama's hands-on positioning and is distinct from the general feeding show watched by visitors.

• Animal exhibits

  Wildlife exhibits

  Gatorama presents alligators, crocodiles, pythons, and other native Florida wildlife, including Florida panthers, bobcats, raccoons, birds, and snakes. Its Orinoco crocodile exhibit adds a conservation-focused species to the collection.

• Gator Hatchling Festival

  Florida, United States

  An annual late-August visitor event built around alligator hatching. Guests can hold an alligator egg while it hatches, turning the farm's reproductive activity into a public educational and experiential program.

  Outcome. The event remains part of Gatorama's recurring attraction calendar; attendance and financial results are not reported in the supplied sources.

  Source

• 2006

  Property acquisition by Allen and Patty RegisterM&A

  Background

  Gatorama changed ownership after operating for decades as a Florida alligator farm and roadside attraction.

  Action taken

  Allen and Patty Register acquired the property and became its owners.

  Aftermath

  The attraction continued operating under the Registers, retaining its visitor, farming, wildlife-exhibit, and specialty-retail functions. Purchase terms were not disclosed in the supplied material.

  Source

1. 1Gatoramaen.wikipedia.org