Real bats flying inside wilderness lodge lobby

[bumbershoot]

Bats can get through very tiny cracks and generally don't attack people, they eat bugs. They have very poor eye sight and use ecolocation to navigate. I would imagine they are very disoriented being in the Lodge and can't find their way out.

I agree. They aren't coming after anyone...they are probably just confused. And I figure whenever you have high high ceilings and doors that are opening nearly constantly, you're going to get flying things in there. On our way to Orlando we changed plans in Vegas, and there were ALL sorts of birds flying and perching and scavenging at our gate at McCann Airport...


But you definitely need to talk to management. I don't know what CMs you're talking to, but you should go up up and up the chain. They really shouldn't be taking the risk, just in case someone does get bitten.

 

[dntd]

In a few years bats will be all gone anyways. They are dying of a fungus. They are quite important that if they disapear we will know it. What do you think disney could do? I'm sure animal control of some sorts deals with them but really how would you catch a bat? CDC says bats should never be handled by untrained and unvaccinated persons. Did you know cats can carry the plague?

 

[Sammie]

Birds carry histoplasmosis, I find them nastier than bats.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Umm, I'm calling B.S. about needing rabies shots just because you find one in your room. I grew up camping and going to cottages and lakehouses up north and almost every year we would find a bat in our cottage. Never once did we get a rabies shot -- or even consider getting one. Bats in houses are not an unusual occurance.

As far as a health hazard -- I would be much more concerned about the birds pooping all over and around the various eating establishments. I'm not worried about a couple of bats.

All that being said, I think it would be in WL's best interest to get them out of the lobby if they are really harassing guests.

Agree with you there, tartemis. Wouldn't necessarily need rabies shot if you found one in your room. However, if you even touched a bat (that got away so it couldn't be tested); the current guidelines are that you receive the shot.
And this bat was clearly confused and demented. Normally bats don't fly into your house through a screen door - they have a highly refined sense of direction and would be able to echolalate around same.

Now to another story about bats:

Years ago in our area of Western New York, older houses had 3 holes purposely drilled in the bottom of the windows (the actual windows themselves - where the wooden frame surrounded the glass). They were maybe 1 inch or so in diameter and all in a row across the bottom of the window. I have no idea why this was the case - but it just was...
My brothers, being the lazy slobs boys can be, used to pee out those holes at night - probably more for fun than laziness...
You guessed it - one night one of my brothers got the scare of his life just as soon as he started whizzing! He scared the $#!+ out of the bat and then the bat flew right at/passed him! Don't know who was more scared - but no one peed out that window for a long time after that!!! Also don't know what the bat was doing in the window. Just know the story is true - and my brother has yet to live it down.

And you're right, we didn't worry about rabies in bats back then.

 

[walkdmc]

Umm, I'm calling B.S. about needing rabies shots just because you find one in your room.

I suggest you do some research before you call BS. You should also know I'm a physician who works in ERs and am very familiar with indications for rabies shots. Listing the fact that you didn't receive shots after finding bats in your sleeping quarters as a reason that no one should, is just stupid.

And as a nurse, you should know that if you awaken and find a bat in your room, you need shots. period. If you are awake and a bat flies in while you are awake and aware, then no, you do not need shots. Again, if you awaken to a bat in the room, if you were drunk and passed out and find a bat, if you walk into your sleeping child's room and see a bat, see a bat in a mentally disabled person's room .....all indications for shots. There are other reasons that can easily be found by doing some research.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

I suggest you do some research before you call BS. You should also know I'm a physician who works in ERs and am very familiar with indications for rabies shots. Listing the fact that you didn't receive shots after finding bats in your sleeping quarters as a reason that no one should, is just stupid.

And as a nurse, you should know that if you awaken and find a bat in your room, you need shots. period. If you are awake and a bat flies in while you are awake and aware, then no, you do not need shots. Again, if you awaken to a bat in the room, if you were drunk and passed out and find a bat, if you walk into your sleeping child's room and see a bat, see a bat in a mentally disabled person's room .....all indications for shots. There are other reasons that can easily be found by doing some research.

Hey Doc - this happened MANY years ago... Wasn't even a nurse then.
Am now an SICU RN - and agree the statement was unwise. Was typing on the fly...

What's important here is that OP raised a concern about bats in WL - and people in this day and age don't seem to take it seriously. Think there's a serious issue here. Can't believe WDW is aware there are bats flying around the WL and CM's say "There's nothing we can do about it".

 

[navyblue8]

That? Is gross. I have the willies now.

 

[sophie832]

Huh...we were there a couple of weeks ago and didn't see any bats, but I didn't look up very much, either. We were staying on the ground floor. I guess it's possible, and if it's true, then you'd think Disney would be able to handle it. Depending on how close the bats got to us, or if we encountered any "droppings", that would dictate whether it would bother us. I sincerely hope the OP still has a good vacation.

 

[Schotz]

I've been going to disney world almost every year for the past 20+ years and there have always been at least one place where birds got into a building on WDW property. I've never seen bats, that would scare me too. To be honest, the wilderness lodge scares me a little bit.

 

[walkdmc]

Hey Doc - this happened MANY years ago... Wasn't even a nurse then.
Am now an SICU RN - and agree the statement was unwise. Was typing on the fly...

I was directing my "do your research" advice to the poster who called "BS". If it were not such a serious issue, I would find it funny. However, in this case, I was annoyed with a poster who apparently has very little knowledge of rabies, calling "BS" on a clearly listed CDC indication for the shots (immunization and immunoglobulin).

 

[DaniB]

Umm, I'm calling B.S. about needing rabies shots just because you find one in your room. I grew up camping and going to cottages and lakehouses up north and almost every year we would find a bat in our cottage. Never once did we get a rabies shot -- or even consider getting one. Bats in houses are not an unusual occurance.

WRONG! I worked for the Wildlife Department, Ministry of Natural Resources in Canada.

If people wake up to discover a bat has been in the same room with them, while they were SLEEPING, rabies shots is recommended!

Bats do not leave large bite marks. Very tiny in fact. Most people will not even realize they have been bitten.

Sure, not every bat has rabies so most people will be fine. HOWEVER, it only takes the one bat with rabies (and you can NOT tell by looking at the bat) and the bitten person is in deep trouble... By the time symptions show up - it's too late...

Bats in the lobby of a Disney resort worry me in that they may sneak into a guest's toom. And CM's ignoring that is just wrong...

 

[SorcererDonald16]

...
Bats in the lobby of a Disney resort worry me in that they may sneak into a guest's toom. And CM's ignoring that is just wrong...

Yep. I am more than mildly freaked out about this, and I'm not even supposed to be going there for another few months! Sure, bats and such are in Florida, but that doesn't mean they belong in a hotel!

Beyond the rabies potential, for me, I'm scared of bats. Largely irrational, yes, but we all have things that freak us out. The only living creatures (a few insects aside) that scare me are bats and snakes. I expect to see bats in AK, so I avoid that part of the Maharajah Jungle Trek. I do not expect to see bats in my resort's lobby and hallways. If a bat swooped down and almost hit me in WL, you would probably hear my scream all the way in AKL's lobby.

If I were there and the CMs didn't listen to me, and the manager gave me the same nonsense about "Nothing they can do," I think I'd be placing a phone call to the local animal control or someone similar. And demanding a resort switch. Sparrows hopping around in the Contemporary is gross to me too, but this is a whole other situation that should be handled quickly.

 

[MMrules]

I was there last weekend and didn't see any bats or birds flying in the lobby. As a mater of fact I was in the lobby every evening to read in front of the fireplace and never saw a bat swooping down.

I did see black birds outside on my balcony, but that was it for wildlife.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Don't feed the troll.

 

[blackacex2]

As the OP I am realizing a few things now, mostly from this board. Thank goodness I'm not the only one who thinks having bats fly around the lobby is unacceptable.

We had reservations at artist point for my wife's bday which we cancelled because we literally were too freaked out to sit in the lobby and wait for. My wife was in the hallway by roaring fork and ran outside just in time to see the bats slam into the glass door right in front of us on the other side.

CMs explain they do call animal control to try to catch them but I saw nobody doing that and the conceirge desk says to basically expect to see them every night anyway. They are a protected species and if you know how huge the WL lobby is you would know how hard it could be to catch then. My guess is they are living in the resort now somewhere.

I get the impression this is a new phenomenon happening here and I'm not sure how other guests react. I asked a little girl in the elevator if she was afraid of the bats she said one flew within six inches of her but she didn't seem upset about it?

Anyway, tonight is our last night here. I feel like we should compensated for this but I don't know what they will do seeing as how this issue is affecting everyone who stays here and uses the lobby or restaraunts.

 

[Sugar Jones]

Time to call Billy!!

"Billy you gotta get out there, they got kids Billy!"

 

[DaniB]

I don't think asking a little girl if she's afraid of the bats is appropriate... If she's not, she might start thinking she should be. Why would you ask a little girl? Talk to her parents or another adult.

From the photos I have seen, the Wilderness Lodge lobby looks enormous! Unless a guest wakes up to find a bat in their room, I don't see Disney giving any compenstation.

 

[n2mm]

I'm not a fan of bats, but they can get in anywhere. Heck a couple of years ago one got in my HOUSE and my DH had to catch it. Keep in mind that anyone who uses the pool at night better keep an eye out too as they love to swoop down around pools (we use to have a pool, and it pretty much kept me from using it at night). It does give me the chills to see them, whether on vacation or at home. I'm sure WL can try to control them the best they can, but with all of the trees in the area, it's no wonder -- heck, the bats were there long before the WL was built. I'm sure the folks who love Ft. Wilderness can probably share a few stories.

 

[blackacex2]

This is some crap. Those of you who didn't pay good money to take a Disney vacation at a deluxe resort can say what you want. Until you are paying for club level accommodations on the one vacation you get a year you don't understand how upsetting it is when you can't enjoy your resort because rabies infected rodents are swooping in front of your face and terrifying children. And what, I can't ask an 8 year old girl I'd bats frighten her? Come on, if she wasn't afraid of the fanged rodents already I dont think asking her would make any difference.

Guys... would you like it when you arrange a romantic getaway with your wife for her birthday and valentines day only to learn bats are upsetting her so you can't sit by the fire place, sit at the resorts restaurants, visit the gift shop, and are freaked out just to walk through the lobby to the door? This is a deluxe 4 star resort not a bleeping camp ground.

 

[Snape]

Where does he get such wonderful toyyyyysssssss?