WDW SNAKE BITE - pics of my son's "adventure

[bored]

I've never saw a snake on our property until Sunday afternoon. We've lived here for 20+ years. They are always around you might just not see them so be careful. At least I got to use my new shotgun for the first time!

 

[goodferry]

I am so glad your DS was OK and sorry that he had to go through what he did, and thank you for reposting this story. It is easy to forget that you are in the real world at Disney, this is a good reminder!

 

[Friendly Frog]

Glad your son is ok and thank you for reposting.

I don't know if Florida has them, but Texas has black snakes. Now I am as afraid of snakes as the next person ( really! ) but I would not kill a black snake ( I would run like heck from it.)

Black snakes are non-posionious and they kill copperheads and other posinious snakes. I was very upset when my neighbor killed the black snake in our firewood stack. The snake even had a baby copperhead in it's mouth. Now I have to worry about even more about copperheads.

 

[megan926]

Glad to know your son is doing well.

Thanks for sharing your story.

I explained it (best I could) to my DD4. And she was very cautious on our last trip to stay away from the grassy areas. Your story helped a lot!

Thanks!

 

[disneysuncat]

I have read the story when you posted it before, and now. It still gives me shivers. I am so glad that your precious son made it through that ordeal! I cannot imagine the horror that your family went through, and my heart goes out to you.

I absolutely love his "revenge" photos! What a great sense of humor!

I live in Kentucky, where there are many snakes. Once we found a baby Copperhead in the garage at my Mom's old house. It was so small, it had actually gotten stuck on a bunch of duct tape that had been on some shipping boxes. I screamed bloody murder and ran out in the yard while my mother disposed of it. (and this was just a a few years ago.) If I saw a snake at Disney, I'd lose it so badly that they'd probably hear me back here in Kentucky.

Again, I am so glad that your son is okay, and thank you for telling your story. I know that we will be more vigilant when we return to Disney.

 

[Enter User Name]

Thanks for sharing your story. I had no idea there were poisonous snakes in the WDW area. My DD loves snakes and would likely try to catch one if she had the chance. Where we live the snakes are harmless so this is a really good reminder.

 

[flicx]

Not true, though that's a common perception. A cottonmouth isn't going to strike unless it feels threatened. It doesn't go looking for trouble. It will try to retreat. But as with any snake, if you surprise it, it will strike as a defense. One thing you never do when hiking here in KY is step over a log without first waving a stick or something similar on the other side. Lots of copperhead bites come from people startling them. Same with cottonmouths. Just don't want people getting the idea that cottonmouths are lying in wait next to sidewalks and in landscaping. Be careful, but not paranoid.

This post is very very accurate,these snakes aren't the villians everyone makes them out to be.There was a very good show on discovery and national geographic about cottonmouths/water moccasins.The water snakes that inhabit the south (which are nonvenomous) are far more aggressive.Cottonmouth and copperhead bites rarely ever kill.Bee stings take far more lives!People just need to walk away from snakes and leave them alone,the ones in Florida will not chase you down and bite you!
I deal with and handle snakes all the time, just respect them.I am glad to see this boy is doing well now!It was an unfortunate accident and I'm happy to see he can make light of it now.I have told this story before and will here again, snakes are everywhere,I personally removed one on the way in to goofy's barnstormer in toon town.Just a baby but this is the last place I would have expected to see one.

 

[mickey family]

Thanks again to everyone for your concern and well wishes. He loves seeing this thread and the various posts. His older sister has told him he is a "legend"

Disneysuncat, where in Ky do you live? We are from Northern KY, just about 12 miles south of Cincy. It's a small world after all.........

 

[atsolomon]

Yikes. That really is scary. I'm very glad your son was OK.

 

[Sofia's Dad]

Shame you and your son had to go through this. I am glad it did not turn out for the worse and that he is doing fine. I agree that snakes are everywhere. I also agree that we have to respect all animals in there living environment. Do I think they should be in one of the most populated play lands in the USA? No. If not controlled most species will continue to increase in numbers. We can say stay away from bushes, grass, and make sure you see where you are walking all you want. Most of us are with kids, and they drop things, and walk on grass and step near bushes. I don't want to see or hear nor experience something related to a more serious injury. Animal control should be expected in any area where there is a large population of people. If a child got bitten by a poisonous snake something has to be done. Again I respect animals of all kinds. But not where there is a large number of people especially children. Animal control should be established and nothing against the animal they are doing what they know best, which is to control there territory.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

What an ordeal & I'm glad to hear your son is okay. Good for you to have the presence of mind to insist on the trip to the ER, so glad there was a happy ending.

Your story gave me the willies. We stayed at CBR years ago & was stuck there during hurricane Francis. I was remembering my walk from Jamica over to the themed area during & after the storm & how all the landscaping on the little island was all over the place & I just hiked over it in my sandles Never again!

 

[kaligal]

The poor kid!!

Is he now afraid of bushes? I sure wouldn't blame him!

It's so sad and scary.

Thanks for the heads up! I really appreciated it when a DISer friend reminded me not to wade in the water and that if I couldn't see to the bottom of the water, I should assume a croc was in there.

Now this. I, for one, will never shortcut through the grass at hotels again. Jeepers.

So much Floridian stuff I never even thought about.

I'm so glad that - if he had to get bitten - at least it worked out okay in the end and was happy to see the "back in the room" picture.

Poor, poor kid!!!

 

[flicx]

I am kind of curious,has anyone heard of a black widow bite in disney? I know these spiders also inhabit florida and could easily avoid detection,I also understand they are highly venomous? Don't wish to cause anyone nightmares just curious.

 

[diz74]

Thanks for posting this! So glad your son is OK!! We are going to
Disney next month and will definitely be passing this story along to my family.

 

[ciera321]

I'm so glad your DS is doing fine!!! Thanks for reposting this - It's something I never would have even thought about. I grew up on the Mississippi River, going up every weekend to our cabin, and water moccasins were what we all feared...Nasty and dangerous!!!

 

[WeluvE.Y.]

Thank you for the reminder to watch where we are putting our feet or hands. Glad your son is ok.

 

[DISNEYNV]

That is my whole reason to repost the story, just to make people aware. We should be aware at all times, but the magic of Disney sometimes causes us to let our guard down. WDW is a wonderful place and our family will not hesitate to return as soon as we are able. Little guy doesn't want to stay at CBR, not becuase he feels unsafe there, but just because of the memories.

He was a real trooper. The only time he cried was when the venom started to spread, of course the poor boy was in shock. I hear the pain is excruciating.

How horrible!!!! I dont know what I would do if my child got bit by anything like that. I have a very active two year old who likes to run around in bushes and grassy areas. I will definately be watching him VERY closely in December when we visit Disney World. THanks and I hope he has had a full recovery since the horrible ordeal.

 

[stephd219]

Thanks for sharing your story. I am so thankful that you DS was able to remain in such good spirits. He is a beautiful child!

We're from New England, and it would never have occurred to me that I might come in contact with a venomous snake. I know it's naive, but it is just not something that is even on my radar. I can totally see this as something that could happen with one of my little guys. Thanks for the warning.

 

[Tink561]

I confronted a water moccasin in front of my house in south Florida a few months ago. Scary!

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

We just returned tonight from a stay at Pop. Thanks to this thread my kids were very conscious of staying out of the landscaping. In fact I think they were a little too scared! They would not get near the edge of the sidewalk and often commented on the "snakes in the bushes"!

We did actually see a snake on hole #2 of the summer side of Winter Summerland Mini-golf. It was slithering around. It was black and about 3-4 ft long and maybe 3" diameter. I told the lady working and she laughed it off as no big deal. Not sure what kind it was. We were up above on the walkway bridge so a safe distance. From there the kids thought it was cool to see!

Off to google and see what it was!

ETA: I looked up water moccasin and black racer. The snake I saw was more black and looked like it could have been the racer. Only thing was it was slithering around kind of slowly, not fast at all but it wasn't being bothered either so maybe it was just out for a leisurely afternoon hunt!