Kayla Aimee from kaylaaimee.com attended the Decades Of Kissimmee Memories press trip on behalf of Mommy Musings. She is sharing several posts about the attractions she visited as she experienced Kissimmee firsthand. When she’s not wrangling gators in Florida, she resides just north in Atlanta, where she writes about faith, family and her tendency to be (only slightly) neurotic.
Let's talk about the most important thing here: I held a gator, y'all.
I've wanted to hold an alligator for basically my entire life. Or at least, ever since I started watching Steve Irwin wrangle them on television. He was a good man, Steve Irwin. So basically all of my dreams came true when I found out that part of our trip to Kissimmee, Florida involved going on a Boggy Creek Airboat Ride to see alligators and other native wildlife.
The only slight problem with this plan was that before I could actually hold said alligator, I had to get on a boat. I don't actually like boats (please see: swan boat rides) but how often do you get to see gators? I mean, if you're me and live in the middle of the country. I see a lot of cows and chickens but gators aren't something I come across every day.
So I did it. I got on a boat. A pretty fast, loud boat. They gave me some ear protection gear that looked like a pair of headphones circa 1987. This is what I look like on a boat:
Our boat captain was awesome and he really knew his stuff. He knew just where to find the alligators and maneuvered the boat as close to them as we could get without actually disturbing them.
At first I was all "I don't see any gators so I'll just take pictures of these pretty swamp flowers over by that log"
But then they were like "That's not a log! That's a gator!"
Those things are stealthy, y'all.
Then Mister Boat Captain said "Where there's a mama, there are babies."
And we found these little guys (or girls...I didn't get close enough to find out on account of how mama gator was giving us the eye.)
And if you're wondering if it's worth it to spend the money on an airboat ride, well, it is. Because look:
Plus, it's just a really fun ride in addition to seeing all of the cool wildlife.
One tip I have is to book your trip early in the day, as in the first boat ride of the morning. Our guide told us that the hotter it gets, the further all the wildlife likes to disappear into the brush to stay cool. We went out at about eleven am and he said they were already starting to retreat so the earlier the better. I was pretty impressed that we were able to see so many alligators even though they weren't out in the open water, he really knew what he was doing.
Funny story: on the way back to the dock we saw this random cow in the middle of the swamp. That made me laugh because, well, that doesn't seem like the smartest place for that cow to be wandering.
There are picnic tables available to groups who want to bring a lunch and have a demonstration. We enjoyed some barbecue under these trees, which were beautiful and provided some great shade because it was HOT.
The folks from Boggy Creek Airboats talked a little about what they do and brought out an alligator named Slackjaw for us to hold! Here is when all of my dreams came true and I got to actually hold Slackjaw, the new love of my life:
All in all, Boggy Creek Airboats was my favorite part of our entire trip to Kissimmee. The people there are really passionate about wildlife preservation, you could tell that they really loved what they do and were incredibly knowledgeable about it. It was also just a lot of fun and I would love to go back and do it again.
(Disclosure: Travel and accommodations were provided to me, however, all opinions are my own)
Crystal @ Simply Being Mommy.com
I've been able to experience Boggy Creek Airboat Rides a couple times myself and I absolutely love it. Such a peaceful experience.
Susan
Is it just me or does Slackjaw have a giant smile on his face?!
Penelope (NYC Blogger)
Wow, that does look fun, I would love to do this in Kissimmee
Mellisa
We did this in May and had such a great time.
Colleen
We took an airboat ride at Billie Swamp Safari and it was a lot of fun.
Anne - Mommy Has to Work
You are much braver than me! Not sure I would hold that alligator..
Donna
I'd love to visit Kissimmee and the Boggy Creek airboat rides will be at the top of my must do list!
Becca @ Mama B
I LOVE Boggy Creek airboats! This is literally less than a minute from where I just moved from!
Meghan Cooper
I'm too scared to do one of these!
Lolo
These airboat rides look like a blast!
HilLesha
Sounds like scary fun!
Ty @ Mama of 3 Munchkins
Looks like a fun and scary time!
Tricia @ Night owl mama
I would luv to take my whole family on a trip there. i bet my boys would love it
Angela
My family did this last fall and had so much fun! You got some great pics.
Kathleen
Their airboat rides are so much fun! We never did get to see any babies, but we saw plenty of big gators.
Leilani
I'd be afraid to hold slackjaw!
Robin Gagnon {Mom Foodie}
Nope no way I'd be holding that reptile. No way Jose.
Vanessa: the queen of swag !
I've always wanted to do this.
Jenn- The Rebel Chick
How cool is it that you got to hold a gator!
Rachel @ Following In My Shoes
I have always, always, always wanted to rid one of those! One day .....
Lisa
This looks like so much fun!
Shell Feis
That seems like so much fun! I would be a little scared of the gators but they're so cool!
Marcie W.
This looks like such a fun adventure! I think I would be a little nervous around that alligator but would never miss the opportunity to hold it.
Jenn
Those gators are good at hiding!
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell
That was my favorite thing I've ever done in Kissimmee! Thoroughly enjoyable!
Tammy
Although we've been to the Orlando area dozens of times, we've never done this activity before. Must put it on the list for next time!