Alligators...... paddle boats and beaches ?

[pooh2001]

I read the post about alligators in WDW lakes/ponds.
OK it's Florida.

But to rent a SWAN paddle boat - being so close to the water....
what about alligators ? Do they bother the boats ? Do the alligators get
enough to eat as to not want to eat a human foot paddling a boat ?

How about kids playing on the sand ? Problems with alligators ?

My kids will want to play in the sand and fetch some water in a bucket
from the Swan/Dolphin lake for the sand castle.
Alligator ptoblems ???

Please help

 

[BoyLovesBuzz]

I don't know any specifics about Disney, but alligators are not aggressive creatures, despite what you see on Crocodile Hunter. They are lurkers, not attackers like sharks can be. Also I would think that a gator of a dangerous size would be quickly removed, as the liability would be enormous. Avoid letting your pet frog or hamster play on the beach, but I am sure your kids are fine.

 

[skyhog]

If you want to see a gator you better plan on someplace other than Disney... with all those sharks(aka "lawyers") swimming around in courtrooms, how long do you think Disney would be open... so many posts have to do with I heard this from someone who heard that... some very interesting urban legends are born this way...

I do recommend sunscreen though, and do drink plenty of fluids... real hot!

 

[ducklite]

Disney is very aware of the critters in their waterways. They will close a fresh water area if they even suspect a gator is lurking. Gators are very passive generally. There is plenty of food for them down there that they don't need to eat their way through a paddle boat to get you. I've also never seen them in the area by the S&D. I' sure they're there now and then, but they aren't aggressive.

Anne

 

[Bstanley]

I've been thinking back to our visits and can't remember ever seeing an Alligator - I've got NO doubts that they are there, but in all the times we've rented Water Mice at the Polynesian and 'driven' all the way over to FW I've never seen a pair of Beady Eyes...

Just goes to show ya how 'stealthy' Alligators are!

 

[janetd]

Hi,
On our last Trip, Thanksgiving,1999, we saw an alligator in the Canal? undeer the bridge to the parking lot at the Yacht club. We told the parking attendant and he told us that they usually don't bother with catching any alligator unles it is 4 feet +. This one must have met the criteria because when we returned a short while later, 3 men were on the embankment hauling the alligator out of the water. That same trip, we saw one sunning itself in the grass as we went by on the train in MK.

We'll be at WDW next month and will keep our eyes open for any more gators. We weren't frightened, but they certainly get your atention. Janetd

 

[drusba]

First, I don't believe your kids are going to be able to play on the beach or retrieve water near the S/D. If I am recalling correctly, there is no beach area there--the lake is walled off from the ground that is elevated above it. The only beach area at the Epcot reosrts is at YC/BC. You seldom actually see an alligator in the lakes serving the resorts and even rarer at Crescent Lake where the Epcot resorts are. I have never heard of any problems with the paddle boats. Where you are far more likely to see gators is in or near the ponds and lakes that are at the golf courses and there you can actually see large ones.

 

[disnurse]

there is a beach area at the dolphin. As a matter of fact my kids were playing by the water and someone told them to stay out of the water as there is a high bacteria count or something to that matter and they could get sick. Not sure if he knew what he was talking about but we didn't take any chances

 

[n2mm]

We were at CS the first year it openned and saw an alligator in the water there. It's the water where you paddle around in. I took a picture. It was about 3 feet long. Animal control was taking it out. They mentioned that they knew there were a couple of more, but hadn't caught them yet. Afterall, the alligators were probably there before the resort. Last year my co-worker saw one in the pond behind her building at the All Star Movies resort. I hadn't heard of anyone getting bite, so I guess it's OK. I personally would not let my grandson go too close to the water on the beach. I had a hard enough time being surprised by the armadillos at the All Star Music last summer. It was nothing to come out of our room in the Jazz building and have 2 or 3 walking around on the side walks. I'm sorry, but they are creapy looking things (no offense to the armadillo lovers out there).

 

[tink2dw]

They do occasionally get Graters in the water hazards at the Golf courses though! Someone here posted a pic of one on the course!!
Check out this link
http://198.65.131.237/showthread.ph...15&highlight=photo of Alligators&pagenumber=1

Florida Alligator

 

[CHIEF TONGA]

Its Croc with his tic tock tail waiting for Capt Hook !!!!!

Realy though never new they were there.

Only thing besides squerels, rabits and lizzerds we saw were an
otter family living under the gang way at fultons.

 

[DawnCt]

Why did the chicken cross the road???

To prove to the armadillo that it could be done! You guys forgot the armadillos. We used to see zillions of them at Ft. Wilderness and along the sides of the roads, particularly after dusk.

 

[gannonmbpk]

We saw a Alligator this past summer in the river near Port Orleans Riverside Food Court. When we asked on of the cast members if this was a common thing to see we were told that Alligators are common but Disney has a crew that deals with them and if they are spotted by the cast then they call and a team comes to remove them.
IMHO I thought it was perfect for the theme of the riverside and my kids were very excited to see a gator that was not in a zoo

Matt

-----------------------------------------
PO-R '01
Poly '00
CBR '92

 

[jjskribs]

Skyhog... the "urban legend" that I saw in February was 8-10 feet long. We were at SOG and it was in one of the ponds near the resort. Not only did I see it but I also have it on video tape. One of the groundskeepers told us that they usually remove the alligators when they are about 4 feet long. This alligator was most definitely longer than that.

 

[Jane E.]

The alligator population seems to have grown quite a bit since I was a kid. Several years back I was taking a boat trip (NOT at WDW) and saw fishermen in waders fishing in the water. There were gators around them, very close by. It was creepy to me. The ranger on our boat trip was unconcerned and said that at sundown anything in the river was gator food, but they didn't eat at midday. Also I've heard that gators don't eat when the weather is cold. Last week my teenaged sons & labrador retriever fell out of their fishing boat into a canal. There were gator warnings posted all around & they were in the water for a few minutes (ds lost his glasses, got a rope tangled around his feet, dear dog took off swimming down the canal by herself etc. etc.) but they made it without encountering any gators. Years ago WDW did have swimming in the lake. The beach was close to the campground. Someone must have wised up and closed it down because its not there anymore. When I was a kid I used to waterski and swim in fresh water lakes, but I certainly don't allow my kids to do that. In our county when a gator is removed it is killed. I've heard that they have a strong instinct to return back to the area. When my kids were small I never let them get too close to a lake.

 

[tink2dw]

Did you see on Funniest Videos this Sunday 3/24/'02 the tape of the Gator Eating the Golf Ball???