Don't Stop - the Florida road trip section UPDATED 3/16 - Page 27 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Great pictures as usual Cheryl! My parents went on one of these tours last year and loved theirs too - I do remember them commenting on the low water levels as well. You could also have gone golfing and got up close and personal with the gators - my dad said the one course he played was full of them
__________________
Stacey
Why do these kids look so pathetic?
Find out in: A New Grade, A New House, and A Surprise!Final Thoughts 01/30
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Thursday 17 December – part three: not a trick I’m ever sure I’ll need
We had just missed one of the alligator shows, so we had a 15 minute wait for the next one, so we spent our time getting some photos.
There was something very sick, but very funny, about this shot – the alligator isn’t real by the way!
I went to get a fridge magnet and some chocolate bars to keep us going. When I saw Twix and Kit Kat, I figured that couldn’t be too different to what we get at home and they weren’t.
Finally we were able to get into our show, although it took forever for everyone to fill out from the previous show, as they were all having their photos taken with an alligator, something I knew that I wouldn’t be doing. :
The show was very interesting. First we met a baby alligator, which we were allowed to photograph, but were told not to touch it, as he has the same number of teeth as an adult, 88.
We learnt that eggs that are incubated in low temperatures will be female, while those incubated at higher temperatures will be male. We also learnt that it can take between seven and 25 years for an alligator to become fully grown and the largest male found so far was 19 feet long, although the females are much smaller. It was all really interesting.
Then we were introduced to Norman, the real star of the show, who was dragged by his tail over to see us. We were assured that this didn’t hurt him, but equally he didn’t like it, as he hissed.
Then he got him to show us all 88 of his teeth and explained that alligators go through something like 3,000 – 4,000 teeth in a lifetime. Wow.
Ty, who was doing the show, then showed us how to sit on an alligator, a skill that I’m not sure I’m ever going to want to use in the future, but it was neat, all the same.
When it came to getting off, Ty explained that what you may have seen in the movies about tickling their backs was not going to do, as it could harm the animals, as it cuts off their blood supply. Instead, you apparently cover their eyes until they relax and, first checking that he was relaxed, he got off Norman with no difficulty. Fascinating.
And back down again!
The show ended with the appearance of another smaller alligator, Larry, I think and it was him that you could get your photos taken with, but we passed. I was happy getting a photo of him in someone else’s arms and wasn’t going to pay $2 to pick him up myself.
We walked back through the shop and assumed that we would get back on the bus, but the driver had other ideas, telling us very firmly that we had to wait for the others. His attitude was almost rude and I had already decided that there was no way that he was going to get a tip from me and that just confirmed my view.
We sat there for a while and finally Mark noticed that two other couples were sitting on the bus, so off we went. The drive back was in heavy rain. Boy, I was glad that started after we got on the bus, as that was worse than when we came out this morning. That continued when we got back to Miami and it was still raining.
Just to let you know, I'm not sure when the next update will be, as we're pretty busy over the weekend - you may have to wait until sometime on Sunday for it.
Great update! I would not have cared to hold the alligator either. Sorry about the rude driver. Looking forward to more updates when you can, Have a great weekend!
Norman.. you may be a handsome fellow but there would be no way in this ever loving earth I would ever sit on you or your buddy larry. Wow. Great photos!
What a fun tour!! Those few people who stepped into the water sure are brave. Interesting facts about gators, that's for sure. Thanks for sharing it! Have a fun weekend!!!
__________________
Tanya
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Norman.. you may be a handsome fellow but there would be no way in this ever loving earth I would ever sit on you or your buddy larry. Wow. Great photos!
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. Looking forward to more updates when you can, Have a great weekend!
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