Snakes at Saratoga Springs

[dmperry134]

I just thought I would ask to see whether any you guys had seen any snakes at any of the resorts. Whilst we were staying at Saratoga last year (october) I saw a dark brown snake slithering across the road near Congress Park towards the lake opposite. As we are from the UK and we never see any, I thought I would pop into Bell services to find out what kind of snake it was and whether it was venemous. I was informed that it was a rat snake and there are loads in and around the bushes and there was also a small alligator in the large lake that has the bridge going across it. I asked why we were never informed of this on arrival or there should be some signs, especially as young children run around on the grass. They just said that there was a sign to say there was a fine of $500 if you feed the alligator, but I never saw one.

I realise that Disney was built on a swamp but I am somewhat surprised that there are no signs warning of the dangers.

Regards
Dave
:veryconfu:veryconfu:veryconfu

 

[TwoTigersMom]

Sureeeeee, mostly.

Visitors to central Florida can enjoy seeing these suckers come out in the fall (September-November). They build massive webs in and across trees. North of Daytona on the Ormond Beach "loop" you can see them building huge webs across the road. Last year was the biggest crop I've seen yet, hundreds of them along (or rather over) Old Dixie Highway.

This fellow made the garden behind our back door "home" for a few months late last year:

I love watching those spiders! They build the most ornate webs.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Stop!! Make it Stop!!! I beg you!!

 

[bsandersjr]

We saw a rather big snake at Magic Kingdom....

 

[wdwmomof3]

Unfortunately, if we have another summer like 2007 this statement may not be true. Snakes looking for water, don't care how populated an area is. We live in a rural area, but the snake that bit my son was 20 feet from our house, near his swing set. My mother lives in town and has seen venomous snakes in her neighborhood. There were several articles on our local paper last year about people finding various venomous snakes in their front yards.

You're less likely to find them at your resort, but the possibility is
there.

I live in Alabama too and this past summer was bad for snakes. We live in a neighborhood with large wooded lots and we have a lot of wildlife around us. We also have a pool in our backyard. This past summer, I was walking by the fence toward the deep end where the children were swimming when a 4ft black racer slithered toward me and went into a hole under the cement. I freaked out!! I get small snakes out of the pool every summer but this one freaked me out.

I called animal control b/c DH wouldn't come home to get it out and the kids wouldn't get back in the pool. They couldn't get it out. We saw it several times for a couple of weeks but it finally got tired of being chopped at by a hoe and moved on but no one walks on that side of the pool at night just in case. :lol:

DH still has not filled that hole up. The snake may be back this year. :hammer:

 

[miles1]

On one of our Disney trips we took a side trip to the space center. I was driving along and tried to change lanes to go around a truck tire casing on the highway. Then the tire casing got up and ran out in front of me. It was actually a medium sized gator. Thank God it was a rental car. Ew. :lol:

 

[Kamikaze]

Unfortunately, if we have another summer like 2007 this statement may not be true. Snakes looking for water, don't care how populated an area is. We live in a rural area, but the snake that bit my son was 20 feet from our house, near his swing set. My mother lives in town and has seen venomous snakes in her neighborhood. There were several articles on our local paper last year about people finding various venomous snakes in their front yards.

You're less likely to find them at your resort, but the possibility is there.

Contrary to what the media thinks, the reason that wildlife like snakes (or things like bears up here) are encroaching is twofold.

First, we are building further and further out. Encroaching on their ground.
Second, the areas that ARE protected are getting to be very dense. Up here, 100 years ago, the land was damn near clearcut. Its gone from something like 20% forested to near 80% forested in the last 80 years. And that is due to conservation efforts. Now don't get me wrong, conservation is great and should be done, but some bads come with the goods.

Water (or lack of it) may play a little part in it, but in FL with the high water table, water isn't that far away. Animals don't care that the water isn't perfectly clean like we do.

 

[cemeb4dk]

Kind of off topic but on topic with wildlife at disney. I was glofing at the Palms golf course last week, and the GPS screen on the golf cart said "watch out for raccoons" My partner and I got a laugh out of it. BUt two holes later while we where putting guess what was ravaging our golf cart. Two raccoons, had his nose in my beer and stole my snickers.....

 

[wdwmomof3]

Kind of off topic but on topic with wildlife at disney. I was glofing at the Palms golf course last week, and the GPS screen on the golf cart said "watch out for raccoons" My partner and I got a laugh out of it. BUt two holes later while we where putting guess what was ravaging our golf cart. Two raccoons, had his nose in my beer and stole my snickers.....

:ROFLOL:

We have them here too! They are everywhere and they get into everything.

Back to Disney...

We saw a bunny at Disney just outside of our room. We saw a deer on the way to MK one night. Do you think it was Bambi & Thumper? :lol:

 

[TwoTigersMom]

On one of our Disney trips we took a side trip to the space center. I was driving along and tried to change lanes to go around a truck tire casing on the highway. Then the tire casing got up and ran out in front of me. It was actually a medium sized gator. Thank God it was a rental car. Ew. :lol:

Eww is right!

Kind of off topic but on topic with wildlife at disney. I was glofing at the Palms golf course last week, and the GPS screen on the golf cart said "watch out for raccoons" My partner and I got a laugh out of it. BUt two holes later while we where putting guess what was ravaging our golf cart. Two raccoons, had his nose in my beer and stole my snickers.....

That's pretty funny! Our GPS just kept telling us we were behind pace to catch up :ROFLOL: We only saw the gator and a bunch of wild turkeys while we were there.

 

[DisneyAnole]

Yep Laura's right

Copperhead
Cottonmouth
Timber or Canebrake Rattlesnake
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Pigmy Rattlesnake
Eastern Coral Snake

The only reason I know these is because the Toxicologist that handled my son's case while he was in the hospital, gave him a poster with the 6 venomous snakes in Alabama :lol:

Just to follow this up about the venomous snakes of central Florida...

Some poisonous snakes found in the panhandle aren't found as far south as Orlando.

I believe the only venomous snakes in central Florida are

1. Cottonmouth
2. Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
3. Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake
4. Coral Snake

 

[The Mom]

My son's school is a somewhat sprawling campus on the river. There is a retention pond next to the cafeteria building, and also the auditorium/chapel center building, so a major, heavily travelled walkway goes around it.

During last spring's major drought, the water level dropped enough that the morning announcement included "Be careful of snakes on the walkway. Please do not approach or try to pick up any you see."

I have saw a snake on that walkway a couple of years ago, but it wasn't venomous. I also picked up and moved a nonvenomous snake from the driveway at the school's Boat House last year. The kids were impressed. :lol:

 

[UKHelen]

I really wish I hadn't read this thread but it just sort of pulled me in :animwink:.......I always knew about the snakes/bugs/gators in Orlando but think I'll be checking all the more now especially as we are staying in a house next visit..........

 

[eagles]

those beautiful banana spiders don't bother me, at least you know where they are. its those ugly brown hairy house spiders that are as big as serving platters that i can't take.

 

[figmentisgreat]

When we went years and years ago, we stayed off property.
It was my mother, cousin, other cousin, aunt and I. Earlier at the pool, we overheard a couple saying that someone broke in and stole stuff from their room. My mom, being the paranoid person she is, baricaded the door, and was incredibly worried. We are both also arachnophobic. So, later that night, we are sleeping (including my aunt with her sleep apnea machine attatched to her nose like an elephant's trunk attatched to a base) and then my cousin wakes up and starts yelling. My aunt jumps up, the machine disconnected from the base, and the elephant trunk was just flapping away. She started yelling "They're here! They're here!" Finally my mom and I wake up to see spiders. Not any old spiders, JUMPING spiders, jumping as high as the bed. We all were shrieking and hollering and throwing the phone book.

We switched hotels the next day.:ROFLOL:

 

[happymom52003]

Finally my mom and I wake up to see spiders. Not any old spiders, JUMPING spiders, jumping as high as the bed.

I live in the Texas hill country so I am used to all sorts of critters, but I have an intense fear of spiders. I think if I ever saw a JUMPING spider in my bedroom I would have a heart attack.

 

[HiddenMinnie]

Last summer we were leaving Blizzard Beach right after lunch and came across a black snake making his way across the sidewalk right in front of the entrance. The crowd of people trying to enter was stopped on one side of him and the crowd of people trying to leave were stopped on the other side of him! We all just stood there and watched as he leasurely slithered across the walkway. Once he got into the bushes we all just went about our business. No big deal.

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Four in Central Fla.
....luckily we only have two in NJ...Timber Rattlesnake and Copperhead....and we're not even tropical!

 

[Gorjus]

I have 4 words for you all:

Typhoon Lagoon
Blizzard Beach

Multiple snakes on a daily basis. Have a magical day.

 

[Eyekimore]

We've seen a snake while we were lounging by the pool at WL. We were sitting at a table near where the stream runs into the pool. We look over to the rocks/brush in between where we were sitting and the walkway- and there it was slithering along. It was a long black snake. We notified the pool staff - who then located the staff that would relocate it farther away than from the pool. No more shut-eye by the pool on that trip!

 

[celticdog]

The snakes and gators don't bother me. It's the little creepy crawlies that are waiting in crevices, dangling from a branch or waiting to drop from a leaf. I would rather battle a gator than a Black Widow or Brown Recluse spider. Their distant blood s u c k i n g cousins also will give me the shivers: ticks, fleas and bedbugs.

Are you ready to come to Florida yet?:lol: