Alligator in the water around tom sawyers island....

[MeTa]

Two weeks ago on my family trip to disney we went on the ferry boat that circles tom sawyer island. Before we were ready to depart we noticed something moving in the water. It was a alligator which looked to be about 6 feet in length. We couldnt beleive it because it was pretty close to people not to mention that it is the water that is connected to splash mountain. When we got off the boat we told a CM and he told us that there was two in the lake not too long ago and they already caught one but the one we saw was hard to catch. he said we were lucky to see it becuase it tends to stay near the back of the island.

I have a pic that I will post.

 

[General Grizz]

Ah, if they're the same gators that were removed in December (but happened to make it back. . . ), their names are Skippy, Bunny, and Beulah.

The Rivers of America aren't "supposed" to be connected to other rivers, but oh well. WDW's on a swamp, anyway.

 

[doombuggie]

I have a picture opf one from last year(june) it was no way 6 feet long but..I will post the pic when I get home from work.

-B

 

[MeTa]

The one I have a pic of is from two weeks ago, and the CM said there were only 2 so I'm sure this is a re-occuring thing for them. Alligators are known to be able to walk long ways away from water.

 

[TimeTrip]

Originally posted by MeTa
We couldnt beleive it because it was pretty close to people not to mention that it is the water that is connected to splash mountain.

Well I wouldn't say the water is connected to splash mountain. There is a wall that separates the water of splash mountain from the river. What is odd about it is that the water level of the splash mountain water looks lower than the level of the river water. Definitely looks strange .

 

[MeTa]

Re: Re: Alligator in the water around tom sawyers island....

Originally posted by TimeTrip
Well I wouldn't say the water is connected to splash mountain. There is a wall that separates the water of splash mountain from the river. What is odd about it is that the water level of the splash mountain water looks lower than the level of the river water. Definitely looks strange .

This much is true, however the water level that the alligator was in was about 5-6 inches from the top of the wall that separates it. It could easily climb over into the less deep part of splash. We noticed this when we walked over the bridge that was directly next to the end of splash mountain.

 

[Stitchfan712]

That's pretty scary actually, with all the people and little kids around that area.

Isn't there a way they can build some kind of fence around WDW to keep gators out? A gator shouldn't be able to just walk into the park whenever it pleases...there should be something to prevent them from getting in at all. Gators can't crawl over tall fences.



_________________________________

 

[cloudboy]

Is the water in Spalsh (and other water rides) chlorinated? I can't imagine it would be that appealing (especially with all the sloshing around it does) to an alligator. I mean, tourists aren't on their main deitary list, are they?

 

[Stitchfan712]

Originally posted by cloudboy
I mean, tourists aren't on their main deitary list, are they?

Gators will eat children or even adults. Children are the most at risk though. Especially if they're playing near the water on Tom Sawyer island. That's why these need to be taken care of ASAP.


I dont get why there isn't a fence up around the park to keep them out. NO gator should ever make it into WDW, that's a huge safety risk. All it'll take is one child killed to change the mood of the park forever. I sure hope Disney doesn't have to learn this one the hard way as well.


_________________________________

 

[MeTa]

Originally posted by cloudboy
Is the water in Spalsh (and other water rides) chlorinated? I can't imagine it would be that appealing (especially with all the sloshing around it does) to an alligator. I mean, tourists aren't on their main deitary list, are they?

yes the water is chlorinated but the barrier I was talking about earlier actually separates the two bodies of water. The river is not chlorinated but the ride is. There is just a little ledge separating the two.

 

[Punkss]

Ok lets not get all panicky! No "OMG!!!111! the gators will eat all the kiids on Splash!" OK? :lol:

I am sure if it was a problem then Disney would have moved the alligators away, definitley if it was a danger! I'm no nature expert but i remember soebody saying that alligators only really like still (ish) water not rapids. Also i don't think they'd like chlorinated water, even i don't like water heavily chlorinated!

 

[BrerPete]

The last time I was down in Orlando someon told me that any area of water that was a certain size, like three feet deep or five feet wide, you could find at least one gator. They're all over the place. I'm sure Disney is certain of the risk and while gators do attack at times, the occurence rate is probably very low considereing the total number of gators in Florida.

 

[lamarvenoy]

CALM DOWN!!!!!! Gators are lazy opportunistic feeders. They don't "hunt" people. Most attacks are accidents in the sense that people threaten the nest of a mother or a person literally steps on one. The only risk would be a small child and the chances of the child drowning are MUCH higher than being eaten by a gator. There have been posts on this topic before. Crocs are dangerous, gators are pretty docile. I've swam with them dozens of time,I have friends who would jump out of the boat to "wrestle" a 3 to 4 footer,I even had a baby as a pet years ago. There are only a few attacks each year and most are caused by stupid people. Now, that being said I wouldn't want my dog playing around them, they have been known to eat dogs,cats, racoons and other small animals.They have been known to climb a chain link fence to get to a chained down dog.

 

[Buzz Lightyear]

OK, but where are the pictures? I wanna see some gator!!!:sohappy:

 

[Trishnh]

LOL..I was just going to say the same thing..Lets see some pics!! I love gators and I will be on the lookout for them when I am in the World in 23 Days!!!!:lol: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[tomm4004]

he said we were lucky to see it

Did you feel lucky? That reminds of spring skiing at Whistler. There were signs that said:

"Black Bears are coming out of hibernation. If you're lucky you might see one."

Yeah, and if I'm really lucky I won't!

 

[MeTa]

Hey now, everyone is acting like I started this because I was like.....OH NO GATORS. I thought it was the coolest thing when I saw that thing floating there.

 

[roysta123]

I can also confirm seeing an alligator in the Rivers of America. It had to be at least 6ft long, maybe more. I am pretty sure I saw it last summer.

 

[Journey]

Dang! Where is that Aussie guy when you need him!

I hope I don't get attacked by the killer peacocks over in Fort Wilderness!!:lol:

:nana: :nana:

 

[civileng68]

chill

Everyone,

These are small gators at the park. They are not large enough to "eat" someone.

I live in South Florida in the same county as the Everglades and we see them all the time, even in parking lots.

As someone said, Alligators are very lazy and have no interest in humans unless you approach a nest. Plus, once they eat they become even lazier and there's nothing but food floating in that area at Disney. Rest Assured, those gators are small and lazy.