Stay Out of the Damn Lakes

[DisneyKingpin]

So... I saw an alligator at the Magic Kingdom near area of Splash Mountain where the ride goes outdoors (right after the main drop near the end of the ride). It was in that giant lake near the shortcut boardwalk in Frontier Land.

It wasn't a big alligator but could chomp you pretty good, I'm sure. And some people there were saying it's not that uncommon to see them in that area. In fact, it seemed to be hanging out like a pigeon or seagull, just waiting for someone to throw it a French fry or turkey leg. Almost like the alligator had a daily habit of this.

Anyway, so anybody know how Disney deals with these beasts? Do they just peacefully coexist with park guests? Or is Disney always on the lookout, waiting to wrangle them Steve Irwin Crocodile-hunter style? Just curious how such a dangerous monster can live in the parks and nobody seemed to give a damn.

 

[samsteele]

No doubt that WDW knows it is there and is keeping a very watchful eye. In all likelihood, it has already been removed. I'm not certain of WDWs policy, but most residential communities in the area that have eg a man-made lake feature and golf course, will have their maintenance staff keep a daily eye on the gator and once it gets to be a certain size, they will call in a wrangler company that will catch it and take it off property.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Never saw or heard of one in the parks before. But I know friends and I saw one at OKW years ago, and told the front desk - they said they would have the "Disney crocodile guy" go look/keep an eye out for it. Don't know if it's true or not, bu they told us there is (or was then) 1 full time "crocodile guy" on staff, and depending on the age/size/agressiveness of the croc, he would determine what to do about him.

 

[dvc at last !]

We saw one at the canal at BCV last week. Told the CMs. They did say thank you, but it was there every day.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Gators are just a thing here. I'm sure Disney does their best to keep them away from park guests, but at the end of the day, if people leave them alone, they're not a huge problem.

I'm reminded of the tour I took at Kennedy Space Center where we stopped briefly at a water-side launch viewing area, and we were warned that if any alligators came out of the water, we should proceed calmly back to the bus and do not under any circumstances attempt to take a selfie with them.

 

[dvc at last !]

Gators are just a thing here. I'm sure Disney does their best to keep them away from park guests, but at the end of the day, if people leave them alone, they're not a huge problem.

I'm reminded of the tour I took at Kennedy Space Center where we stopped briefly at a water-side launch viewing area, and we were warned that if any alligators came out of the water, we should proceed calmly back to the bus and do not under any circumstances attempt to take a selfie with them.

We decided a selfie was not a good idea !

 

[samsteele]

Gators are just a thing here. I'm sure Disney does their best to keep them away from park guests, but at the end of the day, if people leave them alone, they're not a huge problem.

I'm reminded of the tour I took at Kennedy Space Center where we stopped briefly at a water-side launch viewing area, and we were warned that if any alligators came out of the water, we should proceed calmly back to the bus and do not under any circumstances attempt to take a selfie with them.

I took the bus tour at Kennedy Space Center a few years ago and was amazed at the size and number of some of the gators in the ditches. Clearly, they must have been an active and effective part of America's in situ security force during the Cold War. The unsung heroes of the Space Coast. Any spies or saboteurs skulking around in the swamp at o'dark-thirty would have had a very rough reception at Cape Canaveral.

 

[jcb]

Was it this guy?





He was wanting to be present for the first MK 24 hour event.

 

[pjweaver]

I remember playing the Magnolia golf corse and being warned of a gator on a certain hole. The instructions were clear, don't go into the ruff on the right, and if you see him to stay in your cart and move along.
We've also have seen animal control remove one from the final splash basin at Splash Mountain. I assume it was both a danger to riders and to the gator for being hit by a ride boat because they shut the ride down completely. That drew a bigger crowd than the parade.

 

[Plaid Princess]

Animal Care will remove them to less accessible areas of property if they are particularly large or in easily accessible areas. They wander up into the parking lots quite often, particularly at Epcot and Hollywood Studios. I had one under my car when I got off work one evening.

 

[Princess Jes]

I remember playing the Magnolia golf corse and being warned of a gator on a certain hole. The instructions were clear, don't go into the ruff on the right, and if you see him to stay in your cart and move along.
We've also have seen animal control remove one from the final splash basin at Splash Mountain. I assume it was both a danger to riders and to the gator for being hit by a ride boat because they shut the ride down completely. That drew a bigger crowd than the parade.

Hubby was told the same thing when playing Magnolia.
"There are 5 crocs on course this morning sir"
He nearly died... And he is a greens keeper on a golf course. We have lots of snakes that can kill you almost just by looking at you down under, most of which love the rough of a golf course, but the croc shook him a bit.

 

[WishTree]

Back in 2001 I saw them removing a really large gator out of the lake at the Caribbean resort. I asked a cast member about it and was told that aggressive animals and ones that get to large are re-homed.

 

[rolltide13]

When we were at CSR just three weeks ago, there was a small gator in the Lago Dorado in the middle of the resort. It would swim right up to the area where there were tables right outside the El Centro near the outdoor bar. It would sit there and wait for people to throw food at it (which amazingly enough PEOPLE WERE DOING). We informed the front desk, and they told us "We are aware of it, sometimes baby ones end up there, and when they get big enough to be a danger to guests, we remove them"

It's not shocking that the are there, just kind of weird that they would allow it, thinking it wasn't a danger. What if a baby/toddler wandered too close to the water? It has to have a nest somewhere. That lake doesn't connect to anything else.

 

[kbelle8995]

We have alligators in the water. You get used to them and learn to say away from them. If they get too large or aggressive, they remove them. Also you do things to protect children and pets like not letting them to close to fresh water in Florida.

 

[nkereina]

When we were at CSR just three weeks ago, there was a small gator in the Lago Dorado in the middle of the resort. It would swim right up to the area where there were tables right outside the El Centro near the outdoor bar. It would sit there and wait for people to throw food at it (which amazingly enough PEOPLE WERE DOING). We informed the front desk, and they told us "We are aware of it, sometimes baby ones end up there, and when they get big enough to be a danger to guests, we remove them"

We saw three baby ones in the same spot when we were at CSR in 2013! They also hung out by the bridge connecting the Cabanas section to the main pool area.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

When we were at CSR just three weeks ago, there was a small gator in the Lago Dorado in the middle of the resort. It would swim right up to the area where there were tables right outside the El Centro near the outdoor bar. It would sit there and wait for people to throw food at it (which amazingly enough PEOPLE WERE DOING). We informed the front desk, and they told us "We are aware of it, sometimes baby ones end up there, and when they get big enough to be a danger to guests, we remove them"

It's not shocking that the are there, just kind of weird that they would allow it, thinking it wasn't a danger. What if a baby/toddler wandered too close to the water? It has to have a nest somewhere. That lake doesn't connect to anything else.

Sorry - but people are such JERKS for feeding them!!! Just like how they feed the seagulls, and then get mad when they get "divebmbed", or pooped on, or have Mickey bars or whatever snatched out of their hands - the animals are only doing what you're TRAINING them to do, morons!! (Sorry - TOTAL pet peeve of mine, I feel like doing a "Pete rant" on it!)

 

[SoCalTrojanSkip]

So... I saw an alligator at the Magic Kingdom near area of Splash Mountain where the ride goes outdoors (right after the main drop near the end of the ride). It was in that giant lake near the shortcut boardwalk in Frontier Land.

It wasn't a big alligator but could chomp you pretty good, I'm sure. And some people there were saying it's not that uncommon to see them in that area. In fact, it seemed to be hanging out like a pigeon or seagull, just waiting for someone to throw it a French fry or turkey leg. Almost like the alligator had a daily habit of this.

Anyway, so anybody know how Disney deals with these beasts? Do they just peacefully coexist with park guests? Or is Disney always on the lookout, waiting to wrangle them Steve Irwin Crocodile-hunter style? Just curious how such a dangerous monster can live in the parks and nobody seemed to give a damn.

That's impressive....!
I think that this is definitely his turf, as we saw (what I assume to be) the exact same alligator in the exact same spot when we were out there around the middle of October. I didn't get a picture because we kind of just saw him as we were pulling away from the Tom Sawyer dock and it took us by surprise.

We mentioned this to another CM (one of the boat drivers) later in our trip and he mentioned that a lot of the waterways were interconnected with some of the waterways outside of the parks and that often, an alligator or two will just make their way into the parks. It's Florida...it's their turf.

 

[KingLlama]

THANKS FOR THE UPDATES EVERYONE I'M NEVER GOING TO DISNEY WORLD AGAIN

 

[DisneyKingpin]

Maybe Disney could make this a new thrill ride or attraction. Put a gator in the catch basin of Splash Mountain and all of a sudden the real screams come after the big drop. And maybe they could serve fried alligator at Epcot Food and Wine Festival - freshly caught from the World Showcase Lagoon. Or maybe this could be some sort of new character meet-and-greet in Animal Kingdom.

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

When I used to work at Disney one of my close friends was part of animal control. Animal control does a loop and is keeping an eye on the gators etc. If there is a concern any cm will just call Animal Control to assess the situation and remove the animal if its harmful. Florida has very strict gator laws that have to be followed as far as when to relocate them based on length etc. But do not fair Disney is keeping a watchful eye.