Gators!

[jacesmommy]

A friend of mine just got back from SSR and posted a pic of a 4' gator in the 'pond' behind The Springs!! She said animal control also came and removed a good 7' one. When they came the 4' one was nowhere to be found! Has anyone else ever seen this before. That worries me! I know it's Florida but in WDW???

 

[erionm]

it's Florida

You said it with this. We are invading on their home turf. A large portion of WDW property is swamp land.

 

[fishermouse]

Saw the 7foot gator in June life guards at nearby pool did not seem concerned.

 

[drusba]

In all the years (which is many) I have gone to WDW I have seen about 30 alligators. Most often I have seen them in or near the ponds/lakes on the golf courses and that includes a number of large ones (including a large one just last year that was laying on a hill next to a pond that was only about 30 feet from one of the greens at the Palm). Those golf course sightings include some in the ponds on the Lake Buena Vista golf course which runs through OKW and SSR and thus they would also be near those resorts.

My sightings elsewhere have been rare, a couple near Fort Wilderness and one once near GF but those were many years ago. Generally, as long you just avoid going near them, nothing of moment happens. When spotted and captured near resorts, Disney just moves them to unpopulated areas on its site and their return is not out of the question.

 

[jacesmommy]

Hmmmmmmmm......I wonder if THIS is why they use those remote controlled lawn mowers around the ponds???

 

[disneynutz]

The gators I don't mind, it's the poisonous snakes that I think about.

Stay on lighted paths and out of the ponds and you don't have anything to be concerned with.

Bill

 

[JimMIA]

Saw the 7foot gator in June life guards at nearby pool did not seem concerned.

No reason to worry. Alligators almost never attack lifeguards.

 

[CruznLexi]

They taste like chicken

 

[rusafee1183]

They taste like chicken

They think the same about us

 

[MinnieGi]

Yep, have seen gators several times while on vacation....as you say it is FL!

 

[Captain Block]

Well I recall that a few years ago there were bear sightings. Really. Not cartoon characters.

 

[tb1972]

I've seen a few at WDW. As others say, need ponds and lakes mostly. Once I stayed at CSR and guests dining outside were feeding a baby gator by throwing food in the water.

 

[JimMIA]

They taste like chicken

No...lifeguards taste like hamburger.

Tourists taste like filet mignon.

Wild alligators taste like mud.

Farm-raised alligators taste like chicken (sorta...not really...more like muddy chicken).

 

[JimMIA]

Just for a little reality check here -- a 4-foot alligator is a juvenile, still several (3-4) years from maturity.

A 7-foot alligator is probably an adult (barely).

A LARGE alligator is any alligator bigger than 10 feet.

 

[JimMIA]

I've seen a few at WDW. As others say, need ponds and lakes mostly. Once I stayed at CSR and guests dining outside were feeding a baby gator by throwing food in the water.

That's nice. Best way to kill any wild animal (if you don't have the nerve to aim a rifle and pull the trigger) is to feed them.

A fed critter is a dead critter...pure and simple.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

I have also seen alligators at WDW several times, including in MK twice, once beneath the bridge near Splash Mtn, the one further back, not the one you stand on to watch them drop and get splashed. The guard was watching it while the "relocation crew" was assembling and doing stuff. All the comotion and people watching, talking, pointing of course drew our attention. They take it in stride, as it is a reality they deal with without causing negative PR. (Like the relocating vultures negative PR.) WDW is a hopping place. Lots to deal with and keep quiet.

 

[Sammie]

I agree with Bill the pigmy rattlers and water mocassins concern me more than the Gators.

I will say though that recent photo of one in Florida, at someone's door was scary.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Every time I've gone to a golf course with DH, we've seen gators. Other than that, I've only seen one in 34 trips to WDW, swimming under the bridge to Dinoland at AK.

 

[Shazzasmd]

We live on a swamp in South Florida - see gators all the time. Only once have we seen one anywhere near our back door. Almost always see them on the golf course. Kind of creepy - yes. But by using common sense and normal safety precautions - don't let kids play at the water's edge, stick to the lighted paths, etc., you should be okay. Like others have said, the snakes creep me out more.

The largest gators I've ever seen were on some of the undeveloped WDW property many years ago. We were driving through on dirt roads checking out some ongoing construction and there were many prehistoric monsters - well over 10 ft long and big around as logs. We were told they would be transported to more remote areas as construction developed.

 

[JimMIA]

There's a sad story in the news this AM about a boy who was attacked while swimming in the Caloosahatchee River, just west of Lake Okeechobee. He lost part of his arm below the elbow. The forearm was recovered, but the medical staff was not able to re-attach it. He's recovering at Lee Memorial Hospital in Ft. Myers