OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Just south of Ocala, a now-unassuming stretch of roadside once played host to two of Marion County’s quirkiest lost attractions: John Hamlet’s Birds of Prey and its successor, Florida Adventureland. What began as a serious wildlife aviary founded by a noted conservationist morphed into a carnival-style theme park complete with Old West towns, exotic animals and a towering painted bull.
Altruistic origins
The story begins in the early 1950s, when Hamlet opened Birds of Prey just north of SE 80th Street. As a former wildlife control officer and military consultant, Hamlet envisioned the park as both an educational sanctuary a public-facing conservation effort. The faculty featured large aviaries housing falcons, hawks, owls and vultures, and Hamlet regularly conducted live demonstrations of falconry–a rare spectacle in mid-century Florida.
Visitors paid just over a dollar to watch birds soar overhead or witness Hamlet’s unusual cheetah-training routines. His scientific background lent the park an air of legitimacy in an era otherwise dominated by kitschier roadside fare. According to accounts preserved by local historians and collectors, Hamlet promoted the park as a place to “change the public perception” of misunderstood animals.
The almighty dollar
But as the tourism landscape shifted during the 1960s, so did the park. Under new management, Birds of Prey was rebranded as Florida Adventureland, embracing the roadside attraction boom that spread across Central Florida in the shadow of Silver Springs and the emerging Disney empire to the south.
Gone were the educational signs and scientific programming, replaced by a petting zoo, an Old West town, a staged Indian Village and a peculiar “Swiss Village” exhibit. A now-iconic mural of “Big Sam, the world’s largest bull” was painted on a long outer wall to attract passing traffic. Inside, themed walkways took visitors past novelty shops, costumed performers and even a man allegedly buried alive with snakes–a staple of old-school sideshow flair.
The end of an era
Despite its creativity, Florida Adventureland struggled to compete with the more polished offerings of nearby parks like Silver Springs, Six Gun Territory and eventually Walt Disney World. The remote location and lack of major highway visibility proved fatal.
By the mid-1970s, attendance had sharply declined. The park closed quietly, its remnants left to fade into the Florida humidity. Today, the former site is home to an RV dealership, with few clues remaining that the area was once home to exotic birds, stunt riders and faux alpine chalets.
Though it has largely vanished from memory and public records, the dual legacy of Birds of Prey and Florida Adventureland reflects a unique chapter in Ocala’s tourism past–one rooted in both conservation and carnival. And at its heart was a man who saw potential in the wild, long before Florida’s roads were lined with billboards and theme parks.