We arrived in Miami a day early for a cruise and decided to take the VIP tour of the park. The fun started right from the pick-up at our hotel by Tom in a van festooned with images of gators and Paul Bedard, the Gator boy himself. Tom gave us a warm welcome and a knowledgeable mile-by-mile history of the area that only a local could give.
Once at the park, Tom guided us to the docks for our air-boat ride, which was great, met us when we got off and led us through the park to the animal encounter with Olivia, the gator show with Gabbie, and of course the obligatory stop at the gift shop on the way out.
The animal encounter is geared for families with young children, but we are kids at heart and Olivia did a fantastic job introducing us to alligators, scorpions, skunks, boas, and more. If you never held a skunk or a gator, here's your chance! She was very knowledgeable about the critters, kept the presentation moving and interesting and took great photos of us with each one. She is a gem.
Gabbie is a one of a kind woman and gave a spectacular show with the parks many rescued gators. Both death defying and educational.
These people all work hard to make your experience a fun one!