Heartbreaking news...a big reminder to be aware of wildlife on property

[A Mickeyfan]

I think many people here need to do some research on all of FL and their wildlife. It's amazing, I honestly never realized, how many people truly do not know about our wildlife. Yes, besides gators and poisionious snakes, we do have an abundance of black bears. We do have coyotes, which by the way snatch your small pets. We also have Pythons, not sure if any are in Orlando but most definitely down by me as I am closer to the Everglades.

Bungalows over the water seem like an open invitation to me. I long ago thought they were a bad idea, and this is just one of the reasons why.

I knw several tourist places that allow guests to feed gators, and/or drop fish pellets in the water in Florida.

One of them was right in Orlando.

But I can very easily see folks, at the end of a week at WDW, tossing extra food into the water beside their bungalow, and never thinking it posed a danger to anyone.

Tourst area with contolled gator feedings, fish pellets are not the same as throwing your food over the side for entertainment I do think Disney was dead wrong to build those, all about the money

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I'm a little skeptical on this, but if it is indeed true, it's very unusual. Perhaps there needs to be a sign reminding people that it is illegal to feed alligators in Florida, with what the punishment is. Because if alligators are running onto beaches it's not to be sociable, it's because people are feeding them - and an alligator doesn't know the difference between a man throwing him a sandwich one day and a man stood with a little boy the next, both are food to him.

Ok then. A sign saying WARNING: DON'T FEED THE ALLIGATORS AND OTHER WILDLIFE THAT LIVE HERE might drive the point home.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

WRONG! The signs I have observed, in Australia, and Africa, and numerous "bear territory" areas in the United States, are permanent signs which are, indeed, present every day.

Not the ones on the beach...they are not there every day. ..and I know for a fact that they aren't in FL.

 

[SoarinSC]

Are you saying that's me, I use common sense and others don't? One cannot blame the signage alone. That water is filthy. Stoves are hot, there aren't signs engraved on them to not touch. You just don't do it. Just because something is there, doesn't mean it's ok. Judgment needs to be used, don't rely on others to tell you everything

True, but you don't advertise your stove as a beach..apples and oranges.

 

[Bay_Lake_Tower]

Ok then. A sign saying WARNING: DON'T FEED THE ALLIGATORS AND OTHER WILDLIFE THAT LIVE HERE might drive the point home.

But what's feeding? I mean, I won't physically feed them from my hand but it must be okay to leave food at the edge of the water!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

But what's feeding? I mean, I won't physically feed them from my hand but it must be okay to leave food at the edge of the water!

Look: there's no helping someone who doesn't know what "feeding" means.

 

[FrozenDisney]

WRONG! The signs I have observed, in Australia, and Africa, and numerous "bear territory" areas in the United States, are permanent signs which are, indeed, present every day.

I usually just read, but I felt like adding to this. I live in Europe and there are few or no signs here. We expect people to educate themselves, depending on where you go. If you go wandering the woods, you might see moose, wolves or even bears (depending on where you go). I've literally met moose around the corner of my house, so they also show up in populated areas. If you go boating, you may end up in proximity to a pack of killer whales. We also don't put fences or signs on waterfalls or mountains, people should realize the danger of falling off and keep back from the edge

What I knew of Florida (before I went for the first time) was that they are famous for palm trees, hurricanes, oranges and gators. And what is found in the area around, can presumably be found in Disney too

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I usually just read, but I felt like adding to this. I live in Northern Europe and there are few or no signs here. We expect people to educate themselves, depending on where you go. If you go wandering the woods, you might see moose, wolves or even bears (depending on where you go). I've literally met moose around the corner of my house, so they also show up in populated areas. If you go boating, you may end up in proximity to a pack of killer whales. We also don't put fences or signs on waterfalls or mountains, people should realize the danger of falling off and keep back from the edge

What I knew of Florida (before I went for the first time) was that they are famous for palm trees, hurricanes, oranges and gators. And what is found in the area around, can presumably be found in Disney too

That's terrific! Truly! I'm a huge fan of personal responsibility and common sense -- sadly both not all that common these days.

But people clearly come to WDW from all over the world. Not everyone has your experience.

In this country, though, we tell people not to eat nutshells, and to remove plastic wrap from frozen pizza before placing it in the oven. Crazy? Yes.

Crazy to warn people that there are alligators in a man made lake where family activities are organized by Disney on the "beach" of a luxury resort? Not as crazy, IMHO.

 

[nugov2]

WDW already had a sign warning guests not to enter the water AND many signs telling guests NOT to feed the wildlife.

People do it anyways.

Again, I refer everyone to the recent thread, "Why don't people plan?" That thread is all about bashing people who aren't 'smart' enough to book ADR's at 180 days, despite ALL the information WDW provides.

I partly agree with you, they probably will add warning signs. I am pretty sure they already have guests sign a liability waiver where the parks are concerned. Rides have always been, "Ride at your own risk."

Though many people have shown that no swimming is not universal for not entering. I'm not saying it would be fool proof, but this is a resort area presented as a family beach. In this situation I see where based on just my simple google search if I was planning to stay there and the way wdw advertises it and sets it up that swimming restrictions were not related to wildlife safety and were related to body submerging safety due to boats being run in the water. People are saying a sign stating danger alligator habitat wouldn't have made a difference and we will never know the answer, but I know enough to know many view the restrictions differently and many viewed the safety level differently because it was man made and presented as a beach. I believe in my heart the vast majority of parents would not put their child in water that had a gator attack warning. That isn't even close to violating a do not feed wildlife warning. That isn't putting anyone's child in immediate danger. People will always think the rules don't apply to them, but they are less likely to do something when they know the risk can be death or significant injury to their child. I truly believe hundreds if not thousands dip their toes...walked through the shallows of that water never realizing that gators are almost always present in that water.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I believe in my heart the vast majority of parents would not put their child in water that had a gator attack warning.
...
I truly believe hundreds if not thousands dip their toes...walked through the shallows of that water never realizing that gators are almost always present in that water.

Exactly. Whether or not they "should" know.

 

[TheSweetestThing]

This is why you never feed wildlife. This gator has been trained by guests who think it's cute to feed wild animals.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

This is why you never feed wildlife. This gator has been trained by guests who think it's cute to feed wild animals.

All the more reason to have a sign WARNING people IF this is what's happening on your property.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Tourism is a huge part of Florida and Orlando's economy (as well as providing massive tax revenue). People can say all they want that out-of staters or international visitors should know about gator risks before they come and perhaps they should. But many don't.

At the end of the day, this attack is not good for Orlando, or Florida, from a business and tax perspective along with being heartbreaking on a human level.

I'm sure the government and tourism businesses in Orlando, including WDW, are working hard to make sure this never happens again. Florida needs tourism more than tourists need Florida.

 

[kellyjeanie]

What I knew of Florida (before I went for the first time) was that they are famous for palm trees, hurricanes, oranges and gators. And what is found in the area around, can presumably be found in Disney too

That's the thing, if I was camping or hiking or cruising around in the Everglades in Florida I would expect to worry about the wildlife, but as Disney is a built up area that millions of people visit every year, it doesn't seem like something I would need to take into consideration. Not because of the bubble, but just because I picture it more like a city than wilderness. I didn't realize Florida is different when it comes to alligators. Of course now I know.

I grew up in Milwaukee in Wisconsin. There are ponds with frogs and fish, we'd see raccoons in backyards, but that's about it. Because it's a city. If you were visiting Milwaukee I wouldn't expect you to know about bears or snakes or anything else you might see if you were hunting or camping in Wisconsin's forests or fishing in Wisconsin's lakes. It's city vs wilderness.

 

[maxiesmom]

I would do both. There is a great deal of advertising effort put forth to educate people on the things that Disney wants people to be aware of. They are very good at consumer education.

Any many guests are very good at ignoring the info Disney does put out there.

 

[Indecisive]

Not the ones on the beach...they are not there every day. ..and I know for a fact that they aren't in FL.

Excuse me, but I did not mention anything about beaches in Florida. I mentioned signs I have personally observed in Australia, Africa, and bear country USA. Please do not tell me what I have or have not seen. Also, ocean beaches in FL are rather beside the point. In this thread already, there are numerous examples of "permanent" signs in Florida warning of gators in ponds. Obviously, there are a great many resorts and property owners who do not think it ridiculous to warn people that there may be gators in a body of water, presumably because they would rather be safe than sorry and don't take a self-righteous attitude that anyone stepping foot in Florida ought to know better.

 

[Bay_Lake_Tower]

Any many guests are very good at ignoring the info Disney does put out there.

You might even say some do it deliberately.

In the end people will do what they physically can, so I really hope that doesn't mean impossible to scale fences or removal of the beach areas completely.

 

[FrozenDisney]

That's the thing, if I was camping or hiking or cruising around in the Everglades in Florida I would expect to worry about the wildlife, but as Disney is a built up area that millions of people visit every year, it doesn't seem like something I would need to take into consideration. Not because of the bubble, but just because I picture it more like a city than wilderness. I didn't realize Florida is different when it comes to alligators. Of course now I know.

I grew up in Milwaukee in Wisconsin. There are ponds with frogs and fish, we'd see raccoons in backyards, but that's about it. Because it's a city. If you were visiting Milwaukee I wouldn't expect you to know about bears or snakes or anything else you might see if you were hunting or camping in Wisconsin's forests or fishing in Wisconsin's lakes. It's city vs wilderness.

But that's just it. Animals don't always know where they can or can't go. That bear may just end up in the suburb one day, all confused and scared because it's unfamiliar to it. We get moose into the city, even though it's not something we usually see and then people just needs to be careful until it hopefully find its way back out.

 

[Dismama2boys]

And do you think everyone knows that?

In this day and age, outdated and incorrect information is everywhere, readily available via Google. As is current information. At some point, the onus has to be on the traveler to make sure information is coming from a reliable source and is current. No entity, not even Disney, has the power to comb the Internet and remove all information regarding old rules and policies. Honestly, it's ridiculous to suggest otherwise. I am not having the debate about who is at fault here - in my opinion no one was, and it was a tragic accident. But your point that a very obviously old and now obscure picture has some sort of bearing here is some serious reaching.

 

[kellyjeanie]

But that's just it. Animals don't always know where they can or can't go. That bear may just end up in the suburb one day, all confused and scared because it's unfamiliar to it. We get moose into the city, even though it's not something we usually see and then people just needs to be careful until it hopefully find its way back out.

It's not a matter of whether or not animals can go where they will. Of course they do. My point was if a tourist from out of state visiting Milwaukee was shocked to find a bear behind his hotel, would he be chastised for not reading up on Wisconsin's wildlife?