New Dining Experience - Bats at Artist Point?

[DisneyFamily123]

Just saw this posted in a review of Artist Point at Wilderness Lodge...... "......Around dusk, bats started to fly around the restaurant. The server said they wouldn't hurt us--but I think for sanitary reasons they would get a specialist to capture them and place them outside. She did not seem surprise to see the rodents-so I am thinking this is common. ......"

I've heard of birds flying around Chef Mickey's but Bats? Maybe Disney should advertise this new dining experience.... Anyone else experience this?

 

[ajleone]

I''ve been to Artist Point many times and have never seen bats

 

[Jestocost]

Bat removal is difficult, as trapping or killing bats is illegal in Florida. Even doing bat "exclusion" (putting up devices to keep them from returning to places they have inhabited) is illegal during maternity season (mid April to mid August in Florida).

 

[ElizabethB]

I recall a complaint a while back by someone staying at WL that bats were flying around the lobby.

It is hard for me to imagine that bats flying in a restaurant is consistent with health codes. They are rodents (albeit flying ones) and they carry numerous diseases, including rabies. If I saw bats flying in a restaurant where I was eating, I would leave. It strikes me as unbelievably unsanitary and possibly even dangerous (given the rabies risk).

If it is against the law to capture and relocate them, then Disney needs to obtain an exception to the law -- that cannot be hard to get when Disney is the 600 pound gorilla in the Orlando area and owns the municipal governing authority, Reedy Creek Improvement District, where Disneyworld is situated.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Once bats got into the WL lobby, they haven't gotten rid of them.
2) Plus, AP has high ceilings.
3) At first, we thought they were props.
4) But, no, the were real.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

I recall a complaint a while back by someone staying at WL that bats were flying around the lobby.

It is hard for me to imagine that bats flying in a restaurant is consistent with health codes. They are rodents (albeit flying ones) and they carry numerous diseases, including rabies. If I saw bats flying in a restaurant where I was eating, I would leave. It strikes me as unbelievably unsanitary and possibly even dangerous (given the rabies risk).

If it is against the law to capture and relocate them, then Disney needs to obtain an exception to the law -- that cannot be hard to get when Disney is the 600 pound gorilla in the Orlando area and owns the municipal governing authority, Reedy Creek Improvement District, where Disneyworld is situated.

1) Once bats got into the WL lobby, they haven't gotten rid of them.
2) Plus, AP has high ceilings.
3) At first, we thought they were props.
4) But, no, the were real.

Thanks for the information. Bats flying in a restaurant can't be consistent with health codes.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Well, now I'm definitely making an ADR at Artist Point next trip! This will be better than the bat exhibit at Animal Kingdom!

Do you think other Artist Point patrons would get upset if I threw a few small pieces of ripe banana up in the air to see if the bats will detect it and dive down on it? We used to do that at night in the park when we were kids!

Warning, I'll be at Artist Point on Sept. 29 about 5:30pm!!!!

 

[cbg1027]

Bats...putting the 'Wilderness' in Wilderness Lodge! Goes well with the theming!

I live in FL and we had a bat colony nesting in our attic a few years ago. Someone was able to come out and catch them all and relocated them to a large park nearby with lots of bat houses. We then put some mesh wire over the vents to the attic so they couldn't get back in. So it must be legal to trap and remove them. Of course, I have no idea how the guy caught them all without hurting them. He showed us them afterwards...I don't know what breed of bat it was, but they were almost like little mice with wings - kinda cute even. And this was in a place with very low ceilings, so I'm sure that made it easier. I imagine the high ceilings at WL present an issue with trapping them.

 

[skullsplitter]

Too bad Disney owns Marvel instead of DC. Coud be a great Batman character meal.

 

[Jestocost]

Bats...putting the 'Wilderness' in Wilderness Lodge! Goes well with the theming!

I live in FL and we had a bat colony nesting in our attic a few years ago. Someone was able to come out and catch them all and relocated them to a large park nearby with lots of bat houses. We then put some mesh wire over the vents to the attic so they couldn't get back in. So it must be legal to trap and remove them. Of course, I have no idea how the guy caught them all without hurting them. He showed us them afterwards...I don't know what breed of bat it was, but they were almost like little mice with wings - kinda cute even. And this was in a place with very low ceilings, so I'm sure that made it easier. I imagine the high ceilings at WL present an issue with trapping them.

Just because someone is willing to do something doesn't mean it's legal. In general, trapping bats is prohibited in Florida and it never is allowed from April 16 through August 14. Trapping bats is permitted during the rest of the year only when you are installing exclusion devices or making permanent changes to the structure. Putting plain mesh over the vents likely doesn't qualify, however, since by definition an exclusion device has to allow bats to exit the area.

Link to Florida statute on removing nuisance wildlife.

 

[DVC Jen]

that's disgusting. There has to be aaaahhh.. "droppings"

Not exactly the little extra I like to find in my food.

 

[Colleen27]

Bat removal is difficult, as trapping or killing bats is illegal in Florida. Even doing bat "exclusion" (putting up devices to keep them from returning to places they have inhabited) is illegal during maternity season (mid April to mid August in Florida).

Well there's a stellar example of a bad law. Protecting wildlife is one thing, but it shouldn't come at the expense of safe living conditions and there is no safe way for humans to cohabitate with bats. We have large bat populations in our part of Michigan (really creeped me out when we first moved here and I realized those little "birds" diving down after the bugs in our backyard weren't birds at all!) and it is one of those things that comes up in our small town paper every year - the dangers of having bats in the house along with advice on how to keep them out, how to safely get rid of them, low cost/sliding scale removal services.

Can you imagine the lawsuit if a bat were to bite a guest at WL? It is ridiculous for the state to require a property owner open themselves up to that kind of liability because there is no legal way to take action to correct the issue.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

No way, no how will I ever eat at that restaurant. Also, I had just been thinking about staying at WL, but I don't think I could do it now. If I saw a bat flying around inside this would be me I am deathly afraid of those creatures. Won't go near the place in AK that has them either. At dusk when I know they are coming out and flying around, I like to pretend they are just birds returning to their nest home and not bats flying around over my head.