Birds at Disney and question?

[jaynesherer]

My husband and I and our 5 year old twins just got back from Disney World on February 7, we were there 8 days.

While there I was attacked, and I mean literally attacked by seagulls and ducks, one day at the Magic Kingdom after getting food and carrying it to the eating area.

My question is do you think Disney is responsible for this, or should take responsibility for these birds. We saw this happen to, two other people, once again at the Magic Kingdom and then again at Epcot.

I had over 20 birds swoop in and knock the food out of my hands. They landed on my head and my back and picked at me. I swatted as many away as I could, and the just regrouped and attacked me again. My kids and myself were terrified and I must say it put a huge damper on our vacation. My kids were constantly afraid of any bird and cried a lot about it.

I am mad at Disney because they have no warnings, and the vendors who are handing out the food should be trained to warn people. They should also be putting the food in protective carriers so the birds cant get to it. They really need to do something about these birds.

I sent them a written complaint and gave suggestions. I am anxious to see what their response will be.

I guess my tip is more of a warning than a tip, but please be careful when getting food. Keep it covered and go to an area away from the birds.

 

[edcrbnsoul]

There are signs out telling people not to feed the birds, its too bad people don't heed the warning its a learned behavior on the birds part and from what I understand they are only agressive like that during a certain times of the year.

 

[katallo]

We saw this happen last year. The man was actually scratched and bleeding. Since then, we only purchase drinks in the parks. I know it's crazy, but it scared me. You also have to be careful around the Bakery on the Boardwalk. It's such a shame because it could be so relaxing to enjoy a snack outside.

 

[perdidochas]

My husband and I and our 5 year old twins just got back from Disney World on February 7, we were there 8 days.

While there I was attacked, and I mean literally attacked by seagulls and ducks, one day at the Magic Kingdom after getting food and carrying it to the eating area.

My question is do you think Disney is responsible for this, or should take responsibility for these birds. We saw this happen to, two other people, once again at the Magic Kingdom and then again at Epcot.

I had over 20 birds swoop in and knock the food out of my hands. They landed on my head and my back and picked at me. I swatted as many away as I could, and the just regrouped and attacked me again. My kids and myself were terrified and I must say it put a huge damper on our vacation. My kids were constantly afraid of any bird and cried a lot about it.

I am mad at Disney because they have no warnings, and the vendors who are handing out the food should be trained to warn people. They should also be putting the food in protective carriers so the birds cant get to it. They really need to do something about these birds.

I sent them a written complaint and gave suggestions. I am anxious to see what their response will be.

I guess my tip is more of a warning than a tip, but please be careful when getting food. Keep it covered and go to an area away from the birds.

There is little that Disney can legally do to stop the birds. Seagulls are protected by federal law. The best they can do is try to educate people.

 

[mozzman]

i hope they dont attack us next month or they might bite off more than they can chew with our family

 

[Feralpeg]

No, I don't think Disney is responsible. There are signs that say not to feed the birds in many locations near outside restaurant seating. People ignore the warnings and the birds become very aggressive.

This is seagull season. Seagulls come inland during the cooler months. They tend to hang out near vendor carts and areas with food. For instance, they are bad near the hub of MK and by the McDonalds cart in Frontierland. They are very bad by the McDonalds stand near Canada at Epcot. Seagulls love french fries.

People need to stop feeding the birds. Yes, they can be cute, but they can also be a menace. It isn't just the birds either. I've had squirrels run up my leg before on Disney property. People feed them and they want more.

Disney cannot keep all wildlife away from the parks, nor should they.

 

[BubblPopElectrc]

No, I don't think Disney is responsible. They are *wild* birds.. they come and go. What would you expect Disney to do about it?

 

[starrzone]

I'm so sorry this happened to you! I'm someone who dislikes birds, and truth be told, I'm a bit scared of gulls! One of my biggest pet peeves about the beach is on a sunny, hot, crowded day when some kid thinks it would be nice to offer his chips to a gull. Suddenly, 1000000 more appear and everyone's experience is ruined.

As long as the idiots keep feeding the birds, they will keep attacking. Short of banning food from the parks altogether, I don't think there's much Disney can do. I think they are trying with the "Do not feed the birds" signs, but apparently many people can't read simple English.

jmho,

starrzone

 

[I heart the mouse]

Perhaps it was my family you saw getting attacked as well in the MK?? We were there 2 weeks ago and decided on Churros after riding HM..We no sooner paid and started walking, when we were attacked by seagulls. They landed on my scalp, flew into my kids faces, so very close to their eyes, landed on my husbands head and scratched his scalp, and aggressively stole our churros! We were really scared! Only my daughter "saved" her churro. She put her hoodie over her head like a blanket, and kept her head and churro under it as she walked.

 

[klineyqueen]

About 2 years ago while in Epcot our friend had a bird steal a piece of her funnel cake. She wasn't pecked or scratched but she threw it in the garbage to get them away.

 

[loriandmatt]

question to i heart the mouse:

you say your husband was scratched by one of the birds - did you go to first aide? i have heard way to many stories about birds and the diseases they carry, especially i their droppings. they walk all through their own and other birds droppings. my first reaction when getting scratched by a bird would be to get some disninfectant on it - at the very least soap and water.

did a CM approach you?

 

[reginaastralis]

We were there this past weekend as well, and witnessed "The Birds". Alfred Hithcock would have been proud.

I've grown up here in Florida, and grown up in our beaches and all the theme parks. It's NOT the parks fault at all, it's the morons who see the cute duckie and feed it ... and then laugh when 10 other ducks appear. I've witnessed people getting chastised from workers at Bush Gardens, but never at Disney World.

It seems simple, but maybe it Disney threatened these idiots with getting kicked out of the park, they might just actually listen. Probably not, and I only say this b/c, like I mentioned before, I've grown up in the parks. People don't understand that these are wild animals.

My suggestion is to not buy anything in Frontierland. That's where they were worst this past weekend.

 

[hello kitty]

Just wondering, will Disney replace your stolen food? Or are you just sol?

 

[perdidochas]

Just wondering, will Disney replace your stolen food? Or are you just sol?

One poster on another thread said that Disney sometimes replaced the food. Personally, I don't see how they should be responsible. The gulls are wild animals, and Disney isn't even allowed to shoo them off (they are protected under Federal Migratory Bird Treaties).

 

[The Great Baboo]

there are killer psycho birds in every park you go to at Disney that will come after you whether you feed them or just accidentally drop a kernel of popcorn or one of those tasty fries near the Parade route in the MK -- to me, there seem to be more of them....there are killer squirrels too, particularly at the Beach Club at Hurricane Hannahs -- anyone ever notice those nasty critters -- they even jump up on the table - I mean for God's sakes they are rodents -- we're from NY and here squirrels are rats with bushy tails - YUCK! The birds are crazy -- thank God I've had some close calls but I'm telling you I have a bird phobia - I just go blank and blind with fear when they are swooping in on us ... run for your lives people -- not to mention the bird flu and what's that mosquito borne illness - I forget the name right now but it ain't good --- at least I haven't seen any cockaroaches -- but you know they are out there too -- alright now I'm just freaking myself out

 

[hmp2z]

It's the guests' fault, not Disney's, that the birds and sometimes squirrels are so aggressive. The guests should heed the signs & not feed them.

That being said, I've never, EVER seen a CM approach a guest who is feeding birds and ask them to refrain. Perhaps they are thinking about the short-term magic that would be lost for those guests, but I feel much worse for the innocent guests who do get mauled by the wildlife there.

On a recent trip, we saw a man leaving the McDonald's in Epcot with a tray of chicken nuggets. The seagulls converged on him, ripping the tray out of his hands, divvying up the nuggets before they hit the ground, and then flying off with the opened sauce container. My DH got doused with a good amount of bbq sauce by these birds. On the same trip, we saw a squirrel jump into a stroller and start rooting around, for food I assume.

I do think that Disney needs to realize that, by not enforcing the "don't feed the birds" signs, they are enabling a menace to be created. Sure, the dad trying to catch a seagull for his daughter to pet (we saw that, too!) will be mad, but the family that has done nothing wrong won't be attacked by the same seagull 5 minutes later.

Cheers!
Heather W

 

[Mischa]

To all those who've experienced an attack I am sorry, that's terrible. I've seen gulls attack but haven't seen any ducks attack. If it ever happened to me I know I'd be fearful of any bird.

But I have to say - I don't recall seeing any "don't feed the birds" signs. (Not that I feed these creatures, though I do have a soft spot for ducks, I won't be feeding them on any of our upcoming trips just to be on the safe side).

If there are signs posted, CMs should enforce it, otherwise folks won't "get it".

I agree though it wouldn't be Disney's fault. It's an outdoor park and any bird (or squirrel) could come in and wreck havoc. They are trying to survive by looking for food. If a bird (or more) got into a building and attacked someone then that would be different.

 

[pamjb]

I know there are several "Do Not Feed the Wildlife" signs in AK, especially at Flame Tree BBQ. On our last trip, a family was seated at a table directly next to the sign. One child was happily feeding the ducks, while his sister was screaming because the ducks were coming to close. Mom and Dad thought is was funny. When I pointed out the sign to them (my kids hate when I do that ) they said sorry. While I haven't seen CM's tell the guests to stop feeding the birds, I have seen CM's chase the birds away.
Of course, nobody ever sees the No Smoking signs either. I like to point those out too.