For this week's daytrip, my photojournalist Jason Sill and I tapped into our adventurous side for sure as we journeyed into the gator hole with actual, LIVE ALLIGATORS! Of course we had the skilled professionals of Gatorama by our side the entire time, lurking just off camera.

Gatorama, in Glades County, is one of only a few roadside attractions in Florida that existed before Disney and are still here today. Owner Patty Register says, "We look at ourselves as kind of the keeper of a piece of Americana." Gatorama is an olde Florida adventure site offering up good old fashioned, family entertainment. You can watch the owners feed the alligators and crocodiles from the edge of the dock. You can even feed them yourselves. It's illegal to feed gators in the wild, but here at Gatorama, it is encouraged.

Gatorama is a family run business, now in its third generation. Allen and Patty Register bought the farm from her father just a couple of years ago. Their son Ben is now the leading trainer and performer with the gators and crocs. Gatorama has been in the family for two decades but some of the gators have been around even longer. "Rambo's one of the original alligators," Allen tells us. "He was here in 1957 and he's probably in his early sixties."

Allen walks freely through the park everyday, but you will want to stay on the walkway. As you move along the path, you'll see about two thousand gators, all relaxing in the Florida sunshine. Allen knows the setting of Gatorama helps. "We've got all of our trees and we like to keep our big animals in their natural habitat."

"It's almost like walking into a living museum when you come to Gatorama," Patty adds.

Gatorama is also home to the only breeding colony of American crocodiles in the country and you don't want to end up on the wrong side of the fence. Allen says they "have signs before you go out, that you're not supposed to stick your arms through the fence or over. Once they see the alligators and crocodiles jump up, they realize why we have the signs there."

Allen has no choice though. He and Ben are constantly petting the alligators and even sticking their hands inside the mouth of the reptiles. Allen admits he has made one mistake as he shows us his left hand. One finger is shorter than the rest!

One animal you don't want to make a mistake with is Goliath, a 14-foot, 1 1/2 ton American crocodile. "He was a bully in the front pond and we had to move him because he was killing all of our other crocodiles." Allen jokes that Goliath is in "permanent timeout or solitary confinement."

You have to see the video to believe it, but the jaw pop from this crocodile is so loud, you can hear it ring throughout the park. Jason decided he was brave enough to get a closer look. Following Allen's lead, he swung a small hand towel into Goliath's mouth, yanking it back a millisecond before the crocodile's jaw came crashing shut.

We also both climbed into the enclosed pen with Mighty Mike. This 14-footer is a nuisance alligator that Ben tells us is pretty tame. Ben called Mike out of the water and led him around the pool. When Mike finally settled on dry land I worked up the courage to pet him on the tail. After touching the alligator, I decided to test my courage a bit more. Allen told me it was OK to jump into the pen and grab a gator on my own. So I did it! The gators, about 20 of them scattered as I jumped into the water. But I channeled my inner Steve Irwin and reached out to grab the closest alligator. OK, OK, so this was only a 3 to 4 foot baby gator, but it was still a little scary since Allen told me even these small gators could take my finger off.

When you go to Gatorama, you can hold a baby gator too. But they won't make you get in and get it yourself. They'll also tape the mouth closed so even the little kids can hold one too. Test your own sense of adventure and get enjoy one of Florida's original roadside attractions on your daytrip to Gatorama.


To get there:
Gatorama is in Palmdale.
The easiest way to get there is probably to head to LaBelle on State Road 80. Then head north on State Road 29 for 15 miles until you hit US Highway 27. Turn right and drive south about 2 miles and you'll see Gatorama on the left.

The park is open everday from 10:00 a.m. To 5:00 p.m.
Admission is $11.95 for adults (Big Kids) and for little kids it is only $6.95.