Guests will use an alternate entrance rather than the park's trademark giant alligator mouth entrance that was charred in the three-alarm fire Nov 6.

"The construction would've been completed, but in order to handle our guests safely and efficiently from the new entrance, I believe we needed another day to work out our operations," said Gatorland President and Chief Executive Officer Mark McHugh.

A crocodile and two pythons were killed in the blaze, but no people were injured. The fire ruined Gatorland's 7,000-square-foot gift shop and some administrative offices, but did not damage food service or stage areas.

A faulty reptile heating device caused the fire, investigators said.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Gatorland is back in business, less than three weeks after a major fire roared through the popular Central Florida attraction.

The park reopened Friday morning, and by noon, there was a line snaking out of its temporary entrance, WESH 2 News reported.

A fire destroyed the park's gift shop and badly burned its trademark alligator mouth entrance, but inside, guests found the Gatorland they all know and love.

Park officials used a small alligator to cut the ribbon to officially reopen the park on Friday. Excited employees clapped, hugged and jumped up and down.

"This is wonderful," said employee Anne Good. "The outpouring of love from everybody here has just been wonderful."

Fans of the park were heartbroken when the accidental fire ripped through the park on Nov. 6.

"You take a lot of things for granted. We grew up with this. We thought it would always be here. What's going to hurt an alligator?" one visitor said.

With a lot of fast work, Gatorland has built a new, temporary entrance. With the exception of the burned out gift shop, guests shouldn't notice much of a difference.

"The inside of our park is the same as it's always been," said Gatorland CEO Mark McHugh. "We took the opportunity to give ourselves a real nice facelift. We did a lot of painting, a lot of new landscaping over the last 2 1/2 weeks, so the park really looks great."

The park said one visitors' favorite traditions is also still available. Guests are allowed to sit on the back of a 135-pound, 7-foot-long gator, with its mouth taped, of course. But be warned, the rangers have a sense of humor, which WESH 2's Amanda Ober learned the hard way.

As Ober sat on the gator's back for the cameras, a staff member tapped the gator's tail, which caused it to start crawling away and give Ober a scare.

If you're not up for wrestling a gator, there's plenty to see, including birds, snakes, crocodiles and the stars of the park -- the alligators.

Even as visitors poured into the park on Friday, employees were still finishing up new painting jobs and other touch-ups. Officials said the landmark alligator entrance was saved. Restorations are planned for the near future.