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Beth Kassab and Christopher Boyd
Sentinel Staff Writers
November 6, 2006, 7:17 PM CST
Gatorland, the Central Florida attraction immortalized in countless family snapshots of the giant gator jaws at its entrance, burned nearly beyond recognition Monday -- but the family that founded the park in 1949 vowed it will reopen.
"This ain't our first rodeo," said President Mark McHugh, whose wife is the granddaughter of original owner Owen Godwin Sr. "In 57 years we've had hurricanes, gas crisis, recessions, 9-11. A fire's not going to stop us."
He said it could be several weeks before the icon of old Florida tourism, famous for its Gator Jumparoo and stunt-filled gator wrestling, reopens with a makeshift entrance, potentially missing out on the first part of the critical holiday tourist season.
The gift shop, administrative offices and much of a recent $1 million renovation was destroyed, including wildlife murals on the exterior of the building, landscaping and reinforcement and a fresh paint job for those famous gator jaws.
The boardwalk that winds through the 110 acres of swamp that is home to about 1,000 alligators was left untouched by the blaze. One dwarf crocodile and two python snakes housed in the gift shop are thought to be the only casualties.
Over the years, Gatorland has largely remained a vintage slice of an older Florida when homespun diversions ruled vacation land.
No elaborate rides. No cutting-edge technology.
Abby Horner, 35, of Kissimmee grew up not far from Gatorland and visited the park routinely with her father, who drove a delivery truck that supplied the park with food. Later, her sister found a first job at the park.
"That big gator mouth is really a part of this place," Horner said. "No tourist could pass it without having a picture taken in front of it."
But on Monday morning, McHugh was fixing his coffee about 6 a.m. when he saw an image on the television news that he never imagined: flames spewing from the gator mouth.
He rushed to the park.
"That's why people come here," he said of the landmark entrance.
The State Fire Marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire, which was reported at 5:55 a.m. McHugh said he believes the blaze was accidental, though arson has not been ruled out by the Fire Marshal.
Two employees tried to fight the flames with fire extinguishers before firefighters arrived.
"It did nothing," said Tim Williams, dean of alligator wrestling, of his effort with another employee, Robert Manning, to put the blaze out.
Williams arrived at Gatorland about 5:30 a.m. and said he didn't notice anything unusual. He was preparing to transport a 9-foot alligator along with two smaller reptiles to St. Augustine so they could star in a television commercial for a restaurant.
About 15 minutes later, Manning ran by his office and shouted for him to grab a fire extinguisher. Manning noticed the flames as he returned from a trip to pick up breakfast.
Within hours, the roof collapsed. A large crowd of the park's 95 employees gathered on the street, helplessly looking on as the fire raged.
"It's like watching your house burn up," Williams said.
McHugh said off-duty law enforcement officers will guard the property until a fence is installed around the front perimeter. The gator pens, he said, were not damaged and the reptiles are contained.
Bill Beem, another Central Florida native, said he was shocked to hear about the fire.
"I thought, man, what a bummer," said Beem, an information technology engineer with Lockheed Martin. "This is such a great place for kids. I went there for the first time when I was 4 or 5 years old. I remember riding on the little railroad that took people around."
Beem, 42, said he hadn't visited Gatorland since he was a child, but said he now feels an urgency to go again.
"So many of these old Florida attractions have died off," Beem said. "I started thinking about what if Gatorland went away, too. It's a nostalgic thing."
Tina Malberg of St. Cloud said Gatorland is an oasis in time, a legacy from an era when tourists came to Florida on propeller-driven airplanes or in cars navigating two-lane highways.
"This is one of the few parks that really shows tourists what Florida is all about," Malberg said.
She said word that Gatorland's signature entrance was damaged shook her up.
"I heard about the flames coming out of the gator's mouth, and my fist thought was, 'They have to repair it.'." Malberg said.
McHugh said he will push forward with plans to construct and open a children's water park by April. And he insisted the park's trademark entrance will be restored even if it needs to be built from scratch.
"We'll build it back exactly like it was," he said. "That's our mouse ears."
