swimming at the beach at FW?

[kjetjl]

I have a friend who is looking into camping at FW with her family. We were talking today and she mentioned how excited they were about the beach. I said I don't think you can swim but she thought so. I have googled and have not found anything that specifically says no swimming at the beach. I cannot imagine swimming in the water but I have never been to FW and don't want to give her inaccurate info. Can someone help me out?
Thank you.

 

[2goofycampers]

No swimming in the lake.

 

[LONE-STAR]

I swam there when I was a kid but somewhere in the 80's I thank is when the no swimming sing went up.

 

[parmtoo]

I swam there when I was a kid! It must have been the 80s when they put a stop to swimming there because I have a pic of my 2 DDs in the lake with my parent's. They were small, maybe 3 & 1 year old..............They are both in their early 20s now.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

The lake has been there since 1971. For 37 years Disney has used the lake for all it's "drain off",,EVERYTHING at Disney is fertilized, pesticided, feed, sprayed, etc...ALL of this gets washed into the lake.All the beauty that grows at Disney isn't natural,,they helped it get that way.

I wouldn't swim in the lake for health reasons.

 

[bama_ed]

I listened to this week's DisUnplugged MP3 show and they talked about the topic of swimming in the lake. It has to do with an amoeba (sp?) that lives in many freshwater lakes in Florida that becomes active when the water temp gets above 80F which can make you pretty sick. I think this is why River Country closed. Also referenced the point that Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon have a number of gators. The ameoba is not an issue as much when things cool off which is when they have the triathalons, etc.

I believe it is posted "No Swimming" at the Poly, Contemp, GF, and the Fort. But it's a nice beach to watch the boats, nap in a hammock, play in the sand, or watch the fireworks from. Swim in either of the pools at the Fort and you'll have a great time.

Bama ED

 

[kjetjl]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[ntsammy5]

However, the otters still swim there - peacocks don't know how to swim

 

[5stljayhawks]

The biggest issue is prob. the gator, as well as liablity to the WDW is somebody was capt. hooked!!!. The lakes are healthy as they support some MONSTER BASS populations...

 

[tim5055]

The lake has been there since 1971.

Actually, the lake that FW is on is Bay Lake and it has always been there, as it is a naturally occurring lake.

Now, with that said, when DW was built Disney drained Bay Lake, removed the muck/mud bottom and replaced it with sand. Then they filled the lake with clean water.