Anyone else notice bird problem at WDW??

[NHAnn]

DH and I spent a few days at my favorite place on earth last week

While at MK, we were shocked and kind of "grossed out" by the HUGE numbers of birds, particularly Frontierland and Adventureland. The seagulls were literally dive-bombing us (and others) as we walked through Frontierland...not carrying food of any kind BTW. There were large flocks of egrets perched on the ground in some of the landscaped areas...I mean dozens of them!
The ground and roofs were covered with droppings......it was really "icky" for lack of a better word!

Anyone else notice this lately? I did not notice this problem on my trip last summer or the summer before........... I know in all areas if the birds are fed they tend to be annoying, like at the Boardwalk and around the WorldShowcase lagoon in Epcot...........but this was really LARGE flocks of birds and it kind of creeped me out besides being gross.

 

[inaminute]

I guess all the birds from the north (and the coasts) migrate to WDW in the winter months! I always wondered where they go!

 

[Deb & Bill]

With all the food being carried about, and all the people who think it is cute to feed the birds, the bird population is becoming a bigger and bigger nuisance. It's not just in the winter.

 

[CrzyforPiglet]

Okay - here's our story of "behind the birds" DH & I were in Epcot enjoying one of our favorite treats - Beaver Tails from Canada. I found us a nice bench to sit on by the water where it curves around. About 15 feet away I saw a man who had purchased a big box of popcorn and was purposefully baiting birds to come to him. He thought it was great and tried to get them to eat out of his hand and such. Needless to say once the birds caught on flocks of them came and started dive bombing any poor soul who had food - including us. I started yelling at the birds to get them away and drive them off - only temporarily though and the "birdman" just laughed and kept on at it. Eventually anyone in the area was forced out! I said something smug - not that he cared but I was hoping a CM would have asked him to stop but nothing.

I assumed they had security mingling through the crowds - I wish they would stop people from feeding the birds and put a damper on this growing problem. People could get seriously injured by this!

 

[Dana30]

We were there last week as well. In Epcot by Canada a bird flew in to me. It is the water that attracts the segulls, add in the popcorn and other foods, it was a nightmare. The CM by BTMRR said that in the winter it worsens.

I thought it was awful too.

Dana

 

[Simba's Mom]

Recently there was a thread about this problem, and there were a lot of people reporting problems with flocks of birds pooping, being overly agressive, etc. I admit that I was one person who used to love to feed the birds, only from the Disney-supplied food machines which charge 25 cents and are liberally scattered around to encourage guests to feed the birds. Well, after reading all the complaints (including when a seagull pooped on my backpack), I know I won't feed the birds anymore. Much as I loved to, it's not worth it in the long run. And I really think it would be best if Disney removed those (what I now think of as) dumb machines which encourage guests to feed the birds and make them more comfortable/agressive around people.

 

[NLK]

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE!!!!! Frontierland is out of control! We could barely walk from one end to the other. We had to walk through the stores to avoid the birds. My family and I were ducking left and right until we decided to head across to Adventureland to go to the castle.
I saw bird droppings everywhere. One time they left a dropping on my daughters stroller as well as the table we were eating at. After that, we were done with that lunch! One time my husband was hit with a duck dropping. YUK! He spent 2 1/2 hours cleaning his brand new shorts that he had just bought that morning. The worst part according to my husband is that he had to stand in the bathroom of Liberty Tavern in his underware while cleaning his shorts. People were looking at him like he was a child molester. He had to explain to each person what happened. He was so embarrassed. I was busy trying to buy him a new pair of shorts When CM found out what happened they were very good and they gave him another pair for free. But, it was still an awful experience.
It was so bad that I wrote a letter about it. I simply asked them if there was some humane way to solve the problem with the birds. I told them that it makes the trip unenjoyable when you can't eat your lunch without having to swat the birds away. Or you can't even walk around in some areas. They wrote back and said "Sorry, the mix of water and food makes it almost impossible to solve the problem ". I guess it doesn't help that I hate birds anyway.

 

[NHAnn]

I was thinking of writing a letter too. Bird droppings can carry NASTY stuff and make you ill.........and in a busy place (more people=more people germs) I'm begining to wonder if the people that get sick from what they think is the water are just sick from germs....people germs and the bird-germs. It's definitely out of control in Frontierland.
I carry one of those small bottles of waterless hand sanitizer gels in my fanny pack now so I can keep my hands clean but that doesn't help with the problem of being dive-bombed and pooped upon!

 

[BonnieA]

I saw some birds pecking through the plastic wrap that they put over the condiment bar. This happened in MGM before the outdoor stand was opened. The birds would then steal the bags of ketchup and mayo.
I was attacked by a bird in Tomorrowland. I was walking and something touched my shoulder, I thought it was a person. When I turned around no one was there. I kept walking and it happened again. This time I noticed a bird on the ground walking away. Guess I was walking in his spot!

 

[Belle5]

January seems to be the worst. A few January's ago bird stole my sons entire lunch right out of his hand! February is bad, too. On our honeymoon 18 years ago we were sitting at one of those outdoor cafe seating areas in the nations of Epcot and DH got his head pooped on as we were eating and staring dreamily into each other's eyes...

 

[mikifan]

To add to this story..a few years ago I was walking with my daughter, carrying our lunch on a tray, when a seagull flew down and grabbed a frenchfries off of my tray in seconds. This week at MK, talked to a cast member who said seagulls have attacked kids with food. It does seem to be worse in different parts of the parks and during parade times.

Jeff

 

[Jen D]

Paging Tippi Hedren....

 

[Debozo]

We just got back and really noticed the birds this trip. I don't recall it being an issue at all in the past. I was dive-bombed repeatedly walking across the bridge from Tomorrowland to the center square ( feathers brushed my hair ) and at lunch in Adventureland, the birds were EVERYWHERE. My family was curious about this "new to us" phenomenon. Is it seasonal? I didn't notice it in any of the other parks we went to....just the MK.

 

[kaabost]

Ok come on.....it seems as though there is quite a bit of exaggeration going on here. Well, I will find out for myself in a couple of weeks. Am I the only person who finds bird behavior fascinating, amusing, funny,etc.? They are remarkable animals.....so smart. If the little poopies bother you so much, take a couple of "Shout" wipes in case you get bombed. If you are worried about the germs, I would suggest that you do not touch any handrails or board any rides or sit in any theater, etc. as they are FULL of "people" germs which affect people more than "bird" germs. It's always a good idea to wash your hands and/or carry hand sanitizer anyway, especially to use before eating, to reducr the "people" and "bird" germs. Just thought I'd throw in a little contraversy

 

[fa mulan]

This thread is just what I want to read for my first trip to Disney! LOL.

Birds are ok, but not their droppings - we've had Canadian geese that hang around and leave big green glorps everywhere. I can't wait to see the Seagulls....

Kaabost, you might be on your own.

 

[Debozo]

Kaabost ... to each his(her) own ... but there was no fiction in our experiences ... a seagull brushed my hair as he cruised past my right shoulder from behind on the way to my ice cream bar as I was walking ... my husband just missed grabbing its legs (which certainly would have solved at least 1 bird problem at MK that day!) ... also while eating lunch at a covered pavillion the grackles and sparrows were walking right up beside the table and sitting on the backs of empty chairs at adjacent tables ... one landed on our table while my son got up to throw something away! The cleanliness issues involved with this number of birds were apparant everywhere in the MK.

 

[wdwnutze]

We noticed the bird problem when we were there in Aug of 2001. I hate birds and to see so many of them and know people are feeding them grossed me out, especially when people are feeding them in the outdoor eating areas. It does make it tricky to get through the park without getting pooped on.

 

[Mamu]

OK I just added to my list #1 thing to pack HATS for everyone. I know they are a problem but it sounds if it's gotten out of hand. Thanks for the tip.

 

[suzywindy]

My family has been hit in various trips and we go mostly in early December or end of October. All times we have been hit at the MK.

The only time it was a problem for us was when we were waiting to get into our room at the GF RPC. My DH sat on a couch waiting with an obvious huge stain all down the front - he looked terrible and could not wait to change. Stain never ever came out.

With that said, I just tell my family that means lots of good luck coming our way, hopefully in the way of many more disney trips.

 

[DVC-Don]

Been "dumped on" twice in Frontierland.

Once while sitting on the ground waiting for a Christmas parade in 1999. A family next to use was throwing french fries to the birds. I got it on my hat, which splattered on another guest's face and hair sitting next to me on the other side. We asked the family to stop, but they thought it was great fun and threw them out even faster then.

The second time last winter while just walking down the street on my shirt.

I have wittnessed two "robberies" of hot dogs from other guests by birds. One by the Country Bears and another on Main Street.