Beach Swimming

[sapdaddy]

I have been told that you can not swim from the beach at Fort Wilderness
Is this true?

 

[John VN]

Swimming is not allowed in Bay Lake, however, there are no guards there to prevent some person who is intent on going in from doing so. There is a sandy beach and the sand does extend into the water for some distance but it is only meant for getting your feet wet.

John

 

[Kingzoo]

It is not uncommon for alligators to be seen in the canals/lakes throughout the Disney World area...one was removed from the vicinity if the beacg club last year. They eat people. They tend to feed in the pre-dawn/early morning hours - that would be the worst time to sneak in....this is good advice for all the fresh water ponds/lakes in Florida.

 

[duranfan]

I remember growing up, the beaches at Ft W were open and life guard patrolled. They had such a clean white sand beach. They had a roping system to prevent swimmers from going out to far. They also had a floating barge out there.
Its been closed for several years probably since the 1980s. Thus, they stopped taking AS good care of the beach, way down it has grass growing up on the sand and the bottom of the lake is not longer scraped or whatever they use to do to keep it crystal clear.

I have seen once or twice a small gator at FT W. (watch out pet loops, they were seen on the canal banks where you walk your dogs and doggies are a gator fav meal and easy pray. However, I think Dis had done an excellent job keeping them out of there, havent seen one in YEARS.

Back to the lake. Yeah, you can go down and sun and I do see mainly kids wading/swimming upclose. Definately not to far out. They do have signs posted.
I kind of feel its partially because in the Florida hot heat bacterias can breed in the lakes and they can infect you. I know of a kid who went swimming in a (non-Disney) lake in the hot summer and ended up with a serious kidney infection from it.
So between the potential liabilty and probably cost cutting of life guards thats probably why they 'closed' the beach for swimming. Plus, theres lots more boats now than were there when they opened.

(I been to Ft W 1000Xs since it opened when I was a small kid)

 

[LMC]

We tried the beach and it was absolutely gross! The water is nasty and I wouldn't let my kids get in past their knees. The sand has alot of debris in it too. We are just use to the sugar sands of NW Florida and the Alabama coast. We won't go to the beach area again unless it is to catch the boat to MK.

 

[duranfan]

yeah, its really not a good idea to let the kiddies get into the water past their knees. The lake is not raked and cleaned like it use to be, plus with all the boats there has to be some pollution.
I live in Florida, and I'm not into swimming in any lakes down here.

 

[sapdaddy]

Thank you for the info.

I think I will keep our swimming to the pools.

 

[veruka]

I was told a couple of weeks ago by a CM at the GF that there weren't any alligators in the lake....

but a boat driver told me that we could see the gators if we were out really early in the a.m.... and

Another CM told me that Disney has "nets" by the resorts to prevent any alligators from coming on shore to the resorts and the reason swimming isn't allowed is because of boat traffic.

hmmm.....

 

[duranfan]

Honestly, I spent thousands of days over the past 30 years at Ft W and I only have seen a small gator there years ago. He was on the bank opposite the 300 loop canal bank and he was removed,
Its my understanding IF any of these animals appear they relocate them.

If gators some how DID make it to any areas, sadly I'd bet they would probably prefer to hang out in the canal by the dog loops. Its not uncommon to here of a gator attacking/eating dogs that go near natural lakes.

Between liabilty and the boats that has to be the primary reason of the no swimming signs. (They could clean the lake like they use to far as making it clean. The lake use to be as clean as bahama waters/crystal clear sand and clear water.) Water recreation 'parks' have to be SO careful now in this lawsuit crazy world. Theres probably not a water park that hasn't had lawsuits about water born bacteria illness.

 

[Briarprincess]

The gators are everywhere actually. We've seen them by the Poly before as well around Tom Sawyer Island. They don't relocate ANY of the gators until they're about 4-5ft long. Otherwise, they're allowed to roam in the water, and on some portions of land (where there are nets to stop going any further.) Swimming is prohibited in any of the lakes because of this reason, plus of the bacteria, boat traffic and no lifeguards. Just because there isn't anyone there when you want to sneak in, doesn't mean they won't find out. And trust me, they will. My advice is stick in the swimming pools, and if you really feel like swimming in a lake, go to a water park. The last thing you need on a Disney vacation is getting caught swimming in a lake that isn't even worth it.

 

[auntie]

Isn't that swimming in many of the man made shallow water in florida have the same problem with the amoebas...I know you hear something on the news every so often about someone getting terribly ill or dying if they get into the body..they attack the brain.
After seeing snakes in the water at the Wilderness Lodge..I have no desire to swim in it anyway. They even had one right near the pool in some of the shuberry there..and the poor kids they sent to remove it..I don't know who was more scared the snake or the kids! They didn't exactly look like the professional snake patrol that I invisioned they'd have at Disney..more like two guys who got the short straw! Along with pole and a pillow case!

We did also see an aligator years ago on the golf course at the former Disney Inn..a castmember mentioned that it wasn't uncommon to find them there.