Snake at OKW!!

[MPLsDad]

Last July at the GF resort my DW, 3yo DS and I were walking back to our room from the pool. Since it was cool outside, I was walking in front when I saw a long black snake across the sidewalk right where it forked ahead. I took off down the path leading to the room screaming "SNAKE! SNAKE!" and left my family behind in a panic. My wife teased me about how brave I was!

Two nights later we were in the slide pool and my DW was sitting submerged all but her head against the side of the pool while my DS and I son played around in front of her when a frog jumped into her hair! She screamed and scared everyone in the pool while my DS and I just about drowned because we were laughing so hard!

We certainly weren't prepared to deal with reptiles and amphibians on our vacation!

 

[nisiemouse]

Last summer we saw a snake about two feet from my son at International Gateway. My daughter was the first to see it. Luckily it quickly went away.

 

[greenban]

Uhhh....King snakes are not indiginous to Florida, I though if they were large and black they were a King Cobra, and venomous!! if they are red,yellow and black striped they are a king snake. You know, "red touches black, no friend to Jack, black touches yellow, friend to a fellow"?

But I have been wrong before. Could have sworn that's what Animal Planet taught me.

QUOTE IS REVERSED!

'If red touches yellow, it can kill a fellow' (coral snake) 'If red touches black, it is a friend of Jack' (scarlet kingsnake or scarlet snake)

source: http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/CR 541.pdf

Coral Snake (above) IS Poisonous (VENOMOUS)
.
.
.

Scarlet Snake (above) is NON-VENOMOUS

Because of their bright colors, and small size, Coral snakes are a real risk to toddlers who pick them up!

Be Careful Out There!

-Tony

 

[Minnie&Nana]

It took me yrs to get used to the little lizards and not jump ten feet when I saw them (everywhere) at WDW, then I saw the rats at a few resorts - which shocked me at first, but now I understand they come with the territory and I just give a call to the front desk (makes me feel better to report the rat sighting!)...but I had not given any thought to the possiblity of seeing a snake unless we stayed at Ft Wilderness, where I would never stay due the likely possiblity of seeing all kinds of creatures!

But to think I could see one at GF...I will never walk around a Disney resort as freely as in the past!

Even when tempted I remind myself why I truly would not want to live in Florida - snakes! This would get to me way more than bugs!

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Forget about the snakes. I once saw a bunny rabbit at the WL and had to go straight back to my room to calm down!!! Those bunny's will take you down if they sense fear!

 

[Sleuth]

Forget about the snakes. I once saw a bunny rabbit at the WL and had to go straight back to my room to calm down!!! Those bunny's will take you down if they sense fear!

You're kidding about the bunnies, right? We have all over in Northern Michigan and they are so cute and timid! Never heard of them being violent...

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Last July at the GF resort my DW, 3yo DS and I were walking back to our room from the pool. Since it was cool outside, I was walking in front when I saw a long black snake across the sidewalk right where it forked ahead. I took off down the path leading to the room screaming "SNAKE! SNAKE!" and left my family behind in a panic. My wife teased me about how brave I was!

Two nights later we were in the slide pool and my DW was sitting submerged all but her head against the side of the pool while my DS and I son played around in front of her when a frog jumped into her hair! She screamed and scared everyone in the pool while my DS and I just about drowned because we were laughing so hard!

We certainly weren't prepared to deal with reptiles and amphibians on our vacation!

We were at GF from July 18-26 last summer. I am deathly afraid of snakes (I know they're there but I hope I never see one). Were you there at the same time?

 

[magicmouse2]

The kids and I saw lots of them in the shrubbery at POFQ last April. I caught one so the kids could have a good look at it. They are totally harmless and are encouraged at the resorts to eat the rats and mice. I have also seen one at AK, and we found a skin shed of what I think was a corn snake at OKW. I have only previously read one report of a Cottonmouth at Tom Sawyer island, and it was removed by the CMs. Coralsnakes tend to keep right out of the way in deep forests under logs and things. I have read about a snake at Wilderness lodge eating a Hare but I dont know what kind of snake it was.

 

[mom_rules]

A friend's daughter killed a scorpion in their room at ASMu last easter.

The CM's told them that scorpions weren't indigenous to Florida either but they have the photos to prove it.

 

[magicmouse2]

Maybe the Scorpion Hitched a ride in someones suitcase!
I am sure a spider did this to us - I have never seen such a huge spider where we live!!

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

You're kidding about the bunnies, right? We have all over in Northern Michigan and they are so cute and timid! Never heard of them being violent...

Uh..yeah. I thought the sarcasm was applied pretty thick. Bunnys...I have no problem with...but those squirrels...now THERE'S a threatening woodland creature! ...

 

[Pinnie]

In August, we were returning coming back to FW via boats from the MK in the late evening. There weren't a lot of people around and I saw a ton of "scurrying" things. later on my friends told me those were ROACHES. They are so lucky they kept quiet because had they told me when I saw them, I would have been arrested for disturbing the peace and waking the entire campsite up!

pinnie

 

[MPLsDad]

We were at GF from July 18-26 last summer. I am deathly afraid of snakes (I know they're there but I hope I never see one). Were you there at the same time?

We were there from July 12-20! It was wonderful except for the snake! The poem I was taught went something like this..."If you see a snake, kill it with a rake!"

 

[dreamflight99]

I've seen numerous snakes in WDW over the past 15 years! We travel in the summer, and they are out all over the place. I LOVE seeing them, and have even had the pleasure of taking a photo or two. I believe the snake the OP witnessed, was the BLACK RACER. It's a friendly, common, and VERY FAST moving snake (hence the name!).

Beautiful Florida BLACK RACER...(or rat snake)! It's a Colubrid, which means a "constrictor" as opposed to a viper (w/venom..)

Beautiful Florida KING snake!Color varies, but always includes some other distinctive pattern or color (against the black background).

My #1 FAVORITE of all the snakes...and the MOST GENTLE (besides the KING), is the threatened Eastern "INDIGO" snake. It is protected under the Endangered Species Act and Chapter 39 of 1978, (added to Florida threatened list in 1971). It's only the third snake to receive such protection. Sadly, numbers continue to decline. To date, the Endangered Species Act has been ineffective in protecting eastern indigos against the greatest threat: the loss, fragmentation, and degradation of their habitats. This gorgeous creature is the largest non-venomous snakes in all of North America. This beauty...can grow to a length of more than "8" FEET! They are also presumed to have a natural immunity to the toxins of poisonous snakes. It derives its name from the dark BLUE iridescence of its large smooth scales. It has a very calm and friendly nature, and is not aggressive towards people (Of course, if threatened, it will act accordingly). Consider yourself fortunate, if you ever come across this rare reptile.

*IN THE END, WE WILL PROTECT ONLY WHAT WE LOVE, LOVE ONLY WHAT WE UNDERSTAND, UNDERSTAND ONLY WHAT WE ARE TAUGHT."

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

When we lived in Jacksonville there was a rattlesnake in our back yard. My mother called 911 and a police officer came out and shot it. (This was in 1980 or so.) My dad and the neighbors killed LOTS of snakes with shovels and other garden tools after that. Very creepy.

In Tampa we didn't have many snakes, but we had the giant flying palmetto bugs who could crawl in through a closed sliding glass door then fly across the room. There were also giant, furry brown spiders (wolf spiders?) that were so big you could hear them run across the wall in the dark.

Lizards and frogs are fine. Snakes and bugs are not. And rats? SHIVERS! I despise rats! I don't know if a rat is worse than a snake or not! I think I've only seen one snake is Dallas - it was in the road. We had a scorpion in our living room one night (and I have seen several others). DH caught it in a glass and put it back outside. I have seen a couple of rats. We were setting up for a 5K race downtown and there was a rat walking across the plaza. They are just too icky!

I hope our trip is free from vermin! One more thing to worry about... LOL

 

[dreamflight99]

Without the help of the amazing and incredible snakes we share this planet with... the world would have a terrible problem with RATS...(and on, and on...in the great circle of life).

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Uh..yeah. I thought the sarcasm was applied pretty thick. Bunnys...I have no problem with...but those squirrels...now THERE'S a threatening woodland creature! ...

In your first post I thought you were referring to the Killer Bunny in Monty Python's "The Search for the Holy Grail"

 

[colleen costello]

OKW is so lush and beaautiful that there MUST be lots of snakes there... I Just hope they are not getting too many of the tame bunnies that live there too! There was a post on the DVC board a while back about a family who came back into their OKW room and found a snake INSIDE the living/kitchen area! They had left the door to the deck open and he came in while they were out, perhaps to enjoy the air conditioning!

My kids LOVE snakes and as long as we know they are not venomous, they can visit with us any time! When we used to camp at Ft. Wilderness, they always warned you at check-in about the snakes in Florida -- it's part of the territory! Luckily snakes (even venomous ones) are shy and would rather flee than fight.

 

[dreamflight99]

My kids LOVE snakes and as long as we know they are not venomous, they can visit with us any time! Luckily snakes (even venomous ones) are shy and would rather flee than fight.

How wonderful to read! You DEARHEART...you've made my eve!!! Your children are in good company, and you deserve kudos for educating your children properly with regards to these reptiles. Maybe one will pursue the field of herpetology!

You are also absolutely correct. They do try to retreat whenever possible. Just think if you were on the ground, without arms and legs...and the only protection you had was a small precious dose of venom you had been saving for a small rodent (AND that's if you are a viper...the poor constrictors have no defense against humans!). Vipers do not have unlimited venom, and once it is used on a victim (either in defense or an attack), it takes a while to replace it. This is why they refrain from striking in most cases, and either retract and hiss, flatten their heads and shake their tails...etc. They try to do EVERYTHING to make the threat go away.

Our family loves every creature on this earth. God created them all...large and small. They are all precious, have purpose...and deserve respect. LIVE and LET LIVE.

TTFN...DF99

 

[Mymatisse]

Snakes are good! They control the rodents. I would rather see snakes than mice. Snakes won't chew their way into your picnic basket!

We see lots of lizards at WDW, too!

I agree.. We saw a big RAT at the POLY in front of the GCH. I know they are everywhere, but when you are paying that much for a hotel you just don't want to see it.