alligators

[jann1033]

ok i know some in FL just pretend these are as harmless as frogs...went to Blue springs state park and saw young and old swimming right beside the gators but i just saw a show where a woman died ( think maybe on Sanabel Is. ) after an alligator came out of a canal behind her house, grabbed and severly bit her. she died due to the infection caused by the massive wound but i do remember hearing things in the past about gator attacks at WDW so having never done it since i prefer a pool to a lake anytime, but now wondering, how safe are the beaches at WDW??? is swimming allowed... like at the Poly or FW beach or just sunbathing?? and if so it seems like a lot of water to keep gator free....

 

[WedwayRocks]

Im not sure that it's the gators you should be concerned with. The lake water here in Florida is not exactly the cleanest lakes in the world. A lot of germs and bacterias that could be potentially harmful are found in our lakes. I would recommend sticking to the pools or waterparks if you want to swim. As for gators, I think that disney lakes are pretty much secluded from other lakes, so I dont see gators being a problem.

 

[ZIPBAGS]

I did see a gator hanging with a bear over by Splash Mountain.

 

[Feralpeg]

We saw a gator a few years ago while do the Ft. Wilderness Hayride. The CM says they have them along this one area quite often. If they think they will be a problem, they move them.

Anyway, I don't believe swimming is aloud in the lake at all for the reasons stated by the previous poster.

 

[jann1033]

i know they are at wdw( been told that by CMs plus a little boy was grabbed but not severly hurt right around the time we were there once , he was by a canal in FW) but i thought there were swimming bouys at the Poly beach last time we were there which got me wondering...maybe that isn't what they were for. i was thinking also of kids just playing in the sand( in the case with the woman they think she was working in her yard and it came up put of the canal 15 ft or so to grab her) they did say the bacteria laden water caused the infection but it looked like it ripped most of her hip area off so if that were a little kid , hate to even think of it.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I think it's the golfers at WDW that should be most afraid of alligators. Although I've never seen an alligator at WDW, DH has seen them several times over at Magnolia and Palm golf courses.

 

[Sammy]

There is no swimming at any of the WDW beaches. I have seen the BCV alligator (in the canal) and have seen one or two on the golf courses. I believe they keep a close eye on any gators and remove them when they reach a certain size (although any size to me would be a "certain size"!)

 

[JMD]

I saw an alligator at CBR several years back. And also saw a gator trap at POR. I know that when I worked at Disney, there were gator problems in the river that runs through the magic kingdom. They had issues with the ferry ride as well as the Jungle cruise.

And I don't even want to tell you whats in the water at the Pirates of the Caribbean....

 

[dbenlee]

We saw an alligator in the river around Ton Sawyer Island at the first of the summer. I've also heard about other sightings in other areas.

I do know that WDW no longer allows swimming on the beaches.

 

[goofy4tink]

Oh man...you couldn't pay me to get into any of those lakes. I can't imagine parasailing or water-skiing on them. Yuck. But be that as it may...previous posters are correct in saying that swimming is just not allowed in the lakes in WDW...stick to the pools. That being said...I have seen about 5 alligators in the times we have gone. And the funniest story we have heard to date is the one told by our Mears driver on the way back to MCO yesterday....he tells of the 16' gator that was trapped and subsequently killed at MCO. Seems they get onto the runway and it becomes a problem for the planes. According to the driver, there are actually people that drive around the runways, clearing any gators with electric prods!!! When someone said they thought it was mean to kill that gator, his response was "Well, mam..if a plane had hit that gator it would have had the same effect as hitting a small tank!!! Don't think you would want to be on that plane."

 

[safetymom]

There is a fresh water amoeba that prevents people from swimming in lakes in FL. It could kill you. If there is water around chances are so is an alligator or two.

 

[poochie]

And I don't even want to tell you whats in the water at the Pirates of the Caribbean....

????? You cannot possibly keep us hanging on that one??????

 

[funshipm174]

????? You cannot possibly keep us hanging on that one??????

I agree! Tell us, please!

 

[DVCconvert]

i prefer a pool to a lake anytime, but now wondering, how safe are the beaches at WDW??? is swimming allowed... like at the Poly or FW beach or just sunbathing??

You are not allowed to "swim" in any water-way at WDW exept pools. This is not only due to gators -- but also gas from boats, naturally occurring baterica, etc.

If you restrict your water-based activities to the pools, you'll have no problems. Sun 'bathring' (despite the skin cancer issues) on beaches is 100% safe from gators.

HTH

 

[DVCconvert]

Originally Posted by poochie
????? You cannot possibly keep us hanging on that one??????

Nothing "odd" or harmful is in any of the closed systems found in WDW attraction floatation water-ways. Any suggestion to the contray is not rational and is uninformed.

 

[riu girl]

Regarding Blue Springs State park we were there Christmas day and DH and DD swam with the manatees. Yikes, I never considered the possibility of gators. There were a lot of people in the water as well as scuba divers.
This year we will be visiting Myakka State Park and will not be in the water there. I have read that there are tons of gators there. But we are hoping to go on the airboat tour.

 

[Beauty]

And I don't even want to tell you whats in the water at the Pirates of the Caribbean....

I still want to know!! TELL US PLEASE!!!!!

 

[SugarMomma]

when we were at WDW in 2003 we saw a gator under the bridge close the steamboat and TSI. There was a CM there keeping a eye on it. ug:

 

[michellejed]

WOW!!! We have booked times for parasail and wake boards, never thought of a gator or germs!

Maybe we should rethink it!

 

[MELSMICE]

Last few times we have been there we have seen a gator right across from FW. It is in the canal on the street that has the entrance to FW. If you make a left out of FW, heading towards Port Orleans the canal is on your right. Looks like a pretty big guy too!

We have also seen them in the little creek/canal next to the Shades of Green walkway. When we were there last March/April we saw quite a few of them in there. They CM's from Shades pointed them out to us. A little freaky being that close!