The immediate surrounding areas of the

Walt Disney World Resort in Central

Florida are known for all kinds of good

and bad attractions, many of which are

desperately trying to capture guests

already in town going to the big theme

parks. One of these roadside

attractions, which opened in the 1970s,

grew to become a relatively well-known

Orlando park. One which entertained

many, but was also surrounded by

controversy and eventually became better

known for its very public failure,

ultimately being left completely

abandoned. What's up, guys? My name is

Jake and in this 104th episode of

Abandoned, let's take a look at the

infamous JungleLand Zoo in Central

Florida.

>> [music]

>> It started with a man named Cecil

Browning, an entrepreneur who purchased

a relatively small plot of land in

Kissimmee, Florida. He opened up what he

called the AlligatorLand Zoo in 1977.

This small, cheaply built roadside

attraction was constructed along Highway

192, a major thoroughfare which ran the

southern border of the relatively newly

opened Walt Disney World property. Since

this small attraction was right along

this major tourist corridor, the

10-minute drive away from Disney made it

a prime location. Bordered by dense

forest on either side, the relatively

skinny 7-acre site was home to around

1,600 different animals. Guests would

walk down wide-open winding paths with

animals roaming free amongst the

enclosures. These included all types of

goats, pigs, peacocks, and deer. Of

course, the more thrilling animals, like

the marquee alligators, were all behind

cages. There were even small show areas

where trainers could show off the

animals. A small gift shop located at

the front of the park would accompany

the experience. One which wasn't very

well documented, as I have found out in

the making of this video. This was

certainly a pretty obscure attraction.

After a few years in business, Cecil had

invested money to acquire even more

animals, purchasing two leopards and two

baboons in 1979. He had also added up to

300 alligators to their impressive

roster. The cages for the larger cats

were brought closer to the front of the

park, increasing their roadside appeal,

all while the gift shop was also being

expanded. This apparently brought the

owners even more business, up from the

pretty slow start that they'd originally

had. However, as the park grew in

notoriety, the very name that they were

going by was also bringing with it a

lawsuit. One filed by another Central

Florida alligator park, Gatorland. They

claimed that the name was just too

similar to theirs, a park which was

already well-established in the area.

Ultimately, Gatorland would win the

complaints and the judge ordered the

name to be adjusted slightly, which they

eventually did and renamed it as

AlligatorLand Safari Zoo. The legal

troubles wouldn't end there though, as

by the early 1980s, AlligatorLand was

also building a massive open-jawed

alligator in their parking lots, a way

to draw in more tourists. But again,

this was seen as yet another

suspiciously similar infringement to

Gatorland, who would again bring them to

court. Like the first time around, a

judge would side with Gatorland, who

ordered Cecil and his park to

differentiate the gator. Cecil would

ultimately do this by building out his

gator, this one with a closed jaw. This

didn't deter the family from expanding

though, as by 1983, now with a completed

concrete alligator in the parking lot,

they'd also opened up the Gator Motel, a

small 40-room lodge which in some ways

served as sort of a cheap on-property

hotel. AlligatorLand was basically a

resort at this point. The park, however,

was still a very small operation. One

which was growing in popularity, but was

still being operated by a family with

basically no prior experience in zoos.

This began to spawn some criticism.

After a visit to the property from the

Humane Society of the United States in

1985, the organization deemed

AlligatorLand as one of the worst animal

parks in the country. They argued that

the lax regulations had led to the

animals under their care suffering and

that the park offered little educational

value. Cecil's wife and the park's

co-owner, Dolores Browning, responded by

telling the Orlando Sentinel that the

Humane Society individual was, quote,

told off after claiming that they were

rude. Dolores refuted the claims,

telling the paper that all of their

animals were well cared for. The

statement didn't seem to hold up very

well though, as just a few years later,

between 1990 and 1991, another surprise

inspection was held at the park. This

time, it was the United States

Department of Agriculture, which cited

the facility for inadequate bookkeeping,

poor sanitation, and veterinarian care.

They also took issue with the structural

integrity of their cages. The agency

claimed that they were running the risk

of endangering the public if an animal

escaped, since the park didn't have a

perimeter fence. They were therefore

ordered to construct one and pay a

$2,000 fine. Darrin Browning, the son

who was now in charge of operations,

refused. He said that the agency had no

authority over his private business,

even though they definitely did, and he

refused to build the fence and took them

to court. There's a great melodramatic

photo of Darrin Browning in front of the

comically oversized concrete alligator

with a huge stack of legal documents.

AlligatorLand would ultimately lose this

court case with the judge ordering the

park to build a fence as well as to

close the property for 30 days. The

Brownings said that if they did so, it

would cost them over $20,000

along with the now $60,000 penalty they

claimed they would lose out of missed

business. As a result, the family just

opted to sell their park in 1995. A man

named Robert Gorman from New York would

ultimately purchase the property from

them. He had a whole new vision for the

site. When it reopened in April of 1995,

it did so under the brand new name

JungleLand Zoo. With a bold new sign out

front over the former gift shop,

JungleLand brought a host of new

upgrades to the park, transitioning it

from a small walk-through exhibits into

a 3-to-4-hour exotic animal experience.

Included in this new experience was the

new alligator boardwalk area near the

front of the park along with a small

amphitheater where live animal

demonstrations and even alligator

wrestling events would be held. While

the overall number of animals had been

reduced, quite significantly in fact,

there were still the thrilling wildcat

exhibits and a central exotic cat show

with its own set of flanking

grandstands. This new renovation would

prove to be much more popular than the

original park had ever been. Even out

front, the massive alligator had been

spruced up with new paint and a

half-eaten jeep. This just further

cemented it as pure roadside schlock.

However, its notoriety would only

escalate from here, though probably not

in the ways they'd hoped. A year after

their 1995 opening, a small family of

primates had apparently been kidnapped

from the park. While a few of them were

later found, this was only the prelude

of what was about to happen. During a

stormy December afternoon in 1997, one

of JungleLand's lions, Nala, had ripped

open her cage while staff were trying to

elevate her during some spotted

flooding. The 450-lb lioness had escaped

the facility and the news story of it

had spread across the country. In doing

so, we got some truly classic headlines,

one of which reading, "Lion Loose Near

Disney." Of course, this was a pretty

serious and slightly terrifying

situation. Armed agents had swept

Highway 192 and the surrounding areas.

Helicopters flew above trying to search

for the animal, all while local

residents were scared to leave their

homes. Incredibly, just 2 days after she

escaped, Nala was found hiding in a

swamp a short distance away from the

park. After she was tranquilized, she

was successfully brought back to

JungleLand. While the park received a

fine of around $8,300, the press the

attraction had received probably

certainly made up for it with tourists

and locals alike all stopping by to see

Nala in person. However, things would

begin to turn for the park come the new

millennium. Following 9/11, visitors to

the park had dropped. Most of

JungleLand's attendance came from runoff

guests going to Disney and Universal.

So, with a dramatic decline in

attendance at the major attractions,

JungleLand suffered as a result. They

tried slashing their ticket prices by

33% and while that did attract some, it

didn't do enough. It didn't help that

people were also reading in the press

and noticed in person that the living

conditions within just didn't seem like

a healthy environment. Ultimately, in

late October 2002, JungleLand had

officially shut down permanently. The

park claimed that on average, around 300

visitors a day were needed to break even

and since the tourism crash, they were

welcoming in closer to just 50. It,

however, was also revealed that the park

was actively under investigation again

with allegations of mistreatment of

animals and poor containment conditions.

It's easy to see why people would come

to this conclusion, as obviously this

was a pretty cheaply run park with

chain-link cages over hard concrete

floors. It's not exactly Disney's Animal

Kingdom, which had already opened by

this point and was a place where

families could actually go and see wild

animals with the pedigree of ethically

backed endorsements. Regardless, the

park was already closed by the point

this information was reported by local

Channel 6 News. According to a Roadside

Attractions website though, when

visiting the closed park, they found a

note on the door which denied the claims

and said, in part, "Quote, this

treatment by Channel 6 smacks of an

old-time lynching." Okay. The park

itself, however, would start to fall

behind in maintenance. By June 2004, all

of the animals would be relocated to

other facilities off-site. And the

park's grounds would then slowly start

to decay. While the property was being

somewhat kept up from the outside, with

grass being mowed and a caretaker on

site, the park itself was clearly a

shuttered, decaying mess. Just beyond

the curbside. With a sun-faded sign and

a cracking murky alligator in the

parking lot, the facilities just beyond

the front gate were in increasingly

rough shape. First captured on video by

the late Adam the Woo in 2011, this

video showed the park being overtaken by

nature. While spared from vandalism or

really any human intervention, it looked

as if the dense swamp which surrounded

the property had completely taken the

land back over. Former guest pathways

had now succumbed to the thick foliage.

While plaster rock work was crumbling

among the overgrown cages and rotting

wood. Whiteboards remained in place with

the final working log entries, while the

large amphitheater sat overgrown and

still. As the years went on, this thick

overgrowth would only get worse,

basically becoming a full canopy of

foliage by 2014. This footage documented

by The Proper People. That same year

actually saw the removal of the large

concrete gator out front. The property

had already been listed for sale, and

this removal was likely an attempt to

spruce up the curb appeal. Despite the

insane overgrowth of the property,

Jungleland would actually find a buyer

in 2015. Patrick Clancy, the owner of a

traveling zoo called Jungle Habitat

Incorporated, was the buyer. And his

plan was to reopen the park as an

educational facility for rescued

animals. Through 2015 and into 2016, a

decent amount of work was actually done

on the site. With a small team of

people, much of the overgrown pathways

were cleared and burned off. Some of the

cages had also been cleaned up, and the

former alligator ponds were drained and

refurbished. The front former gift shop

and arcade were also rehabbed. And they

even got the faux waterfall out front

working again. However, this was all a

pretty massive renovation. A financially

demanding one at that. It seemed like

the new owners were completely out of

their element for a job this big, and

began asking for donations on their

Facebook page, even setting up a

GoFundMe. Ultimately, the property

proved to be too expensive and

Jungleland was foreclosed upon by the

bank. Once again, the park was left

dormant and abandoned. Those newly

cleaned up pathways and cages once again

returned to the harsh Central Florida

environments. Foliage was now creeping

back in. Eventually, the site would be

sold again in December 2018. A local

Florida businessman named Arvin Nandu

had purchased the site for around

$550,000.

Though when he did acquire it, it didn't

seem like he had much of a definitive

vision. This was all around the same

time when I explored the property. I do

remember it as a very creepy place. One

which was now totally taken back by

foliage. It was actually really

difficult to traverse because of it. And

clearly, homeless people had taken up

residence in the former gift shop and

amphitheater, with the stage now covered

in vines. Weirdly enough, while we were

there, we actually ran into this new

owner. The whole experience was honestly

really strange. He was very nice to us

and actually allowed us to explore the

property on our own. As we were about to

leave, we actually ran into him inside

the park and did like a whole hour-long

walk-through of it with him. He asked us

our opinions on what it should be and

shared his dream for it, which was sort

of a jungle-themed ropes course. This

would ultimately never come to fruition

though. And while there were reports of

Nandu exploring the possibility of a

storage facility, this too would never

materialize. This new owner would

instead relist the property for sale and

actually sell it for around $1.2

million.

A very healthy profit. This new owner

would have a very different vision for

the park. An Orlando-based tech

entrepreneur and army veteran, Wayland

Crutch, submitted plans shortly after

the purchase in 2020. He wanted to build

a new German-themed entertainment

complex. Apparently, after Crutch had

made millions from selling his

cybersecurity firm, he came up with the

idea to build an Oktoberfest-style

themed experience in Central Florida.

After purchasing the adjacent lot with a

former Mexican restaurant on it, work

got underway in creating the new

CrutchBier Park. Seemingly not deterred

by the pandemic, by late 2020, major

work was underway. The former Mexican

restaurant was fully rehabbed and turned

into what they called the Portal

Immersion Center. A multi-use space

which is often used for dining and

entertainment special events. Also

included in the sort of first phase of

the project was the removal of the

former alligator pond. It was now filled

in and turned into the World Event

Center, complete with a large tent for

outdoor events. This connects to the

former alligator amphitheater, which it

looks like they had tried to save with a

new wooden base. However, it too was

ultimately demolished. Again though,

this is all a very expensive project, so

progress on the rest of the site has

been somewhat slow. The renovation of

the former gift shop at the time of

producing this video is underway. This

will be called the Biergarten. The

park's full-time restaurant and bar. So

far, the entire building has been

renovated with a new roof and exterior

Bavarian theming. This will ultimately

be the gateway into the World Adventure,

which if future plans are to be

believed, it will be a quote, "5-acre

global adventure and experience through

art, technology, and cuisine." This will

take the place of the actual former

Jungleland park. No timeline has been

given on just when all of this will be

finished though. And currently, many of

the former Jungleland structures still

stand, with large shipping containers

placed around them, plus a whole bunch

of other junk. It is pretty amazing that

some of those big animal cages still

exist on the property. All of which are

more or less still left abandoned. In

fact, even if you visit the site today,

there's still a decent amount left

behind. Other than the structures left

behind that are currently under

construction, and sharing the parking

lot with this whole new entity is still

the Gator Motel. After all of this time,

despite a widely different theme from

the zoological park that once stood

there, the Gator Motel stands strong

with a lobby that looks just as you

think it would, with equally 1980s

Florida-looking guest rooms. For $55 a

night though, what do you expect? After

thinking about where all of this had

started from, as a sort of small

roadside attraction, it's interesting to

see how much has happened here, yet at

the same time, so little. Jungleland is

best known for what it became, an

abandoned zoo that was a relic of

neglect and 9/11. A weird combination

that brought this somewhat obscure

attraction into the spotlight. It was

one of the best-known Disney offshoot

attractions that stood abandoned on 192.

Though trust me, finding images or

videos of this park when it was

operational was not easy. In its later

life though, I don't think anyone would

have ever thought when walking through

the abandoned park, me included, that it

would ultimately be developed into a

German theme park. It's just so weird.

But I guess if there's anywhere to build

it, it is in Orlando, especially with a

property that is so secluded. Though

even that's not necessarily a guarantee

anymore. If a developer gets their way,

the entire surrounding wetlands will be

developed into low-density residential,

made up of around 630 units. Again, over

the course of nearly 50 years,

Jungleland has certainly seen a lot.

While the classic Florida kitsch of a

big gator and its status as a roadside

attraction is often looked upon with

rose-colored glasses, it's also a park

that never seemed to escape controversy.

Mostly because they allowed animals to

escape them. At the end of the day, this

was a park that probably needed to be

shut down anyway. And really, after

cementing itself as a locally famous

abandoned attraction, I think the future

development plans here are a net

positive. That is, however, under the

assumption that these new developers can

actually get the project across the

line. Since the track record here, well,

it isn't the best.

Thanks for coming down this rabbit hole

of this weird, rather obscure park in

Florida. Sometimes I just like making

abandoned videos on very weird, obscure

things that I may have seen on the side

of the road or maybe you have visiting

the theme parks in Florida. If you did

enjoy it, do consider subscribing to the

channel. And also let me know in the

comments on what you would like me to

cover next on Abandoned. If you want to

support me financially, you can also

find my Patreon on

patreon.com/brightsunfilms.

Anyway, guys, my name is Jake, and thank

you very much

for watching.