Snakes/other critters at Disney World

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Snakes/other critters at Disney World

I don't like asking this question and I'm also not trying to ruin anybody's mood here, but how bad are the snakes/critters at Disney World? I have read some stories from people who went the past decade and they are scary, running from a kid being bit on his ankle just by walking on a path at the hotel he was staying at to the people who supposedly had a snake in their hotel room at Contemporary! Maybe I'm a bit naive but I never really thought that that kind of thing would happen and it apparently has, so I'm asking whether or not this is very unusual or very common.

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They're not bad at all. There are geckos running around (chameleons, little bitty ones, less than the length of a dollar bill), but they really are more scared of you and run quickly for the safety of the foliage. If you're staying at the resorts, unless you're sleeping in the bushes, you will be fine. I've never seen a snake at the resorts. There were some turtles in the Sassagoula River at POR, but unless you fall in, again, shouldn't be a concern.

I HAVE seen crocs (or gators? Can't remember the difference) lounging at the pond at Shades of Green. We would just walk respectfully past them on our way to/from the Polynesian. They never bothered us, we never bothered them.

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Beware the attack Bunnies and killer Ducks Wink other than that nope!

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I find it amazing that there are no mosquitoes at Disney World. We've been there at various times of the year (Jan, Mar, Sep, Nov) and have never encountered one.

As for other critters, I've only noticed things like geckos and such. Never seen a snake or anything potentially harmful.

But, one must always keep in mind that Disney World was basically built in a swamp so who knows what is lurking.

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I'm a Florida native, and the state is over run with lizards, but now that I think of it, I don't remember seeing more than 2 or 3 last time I was at WDW. They are harmless little guys anyway. The geckos come out at night to eat any bugs that swarm around light sources. They are cool, even if at first glance they look a little creepy. I am guessing the only time you would run into a snake is if you were planning on hiking in the wilderness preserve, a really brave one could theoretically make its way into one of the resort areas. I have a feeling as soon as the ground keepers think there might be a snake there are traps set, ready to relocate the little guy. If you see one, just remember that is one less rat or palmetto bug running around.

You should reasonably expect the native wildlife in most areas to be limited to small lizards, maybe some tree frogs, turtles, squirrels, birds, and bugs.

JMUDukz- We mainly have gators down here. The university I attend has a gator as their mascot, and we keep a lake full of them in the middle of campus. They are a pretty mellow bunch Smile

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Yes there are gators, its Florida. anywhere there is a body of water, expect a gator, but no they are not running rampant. we have only seen a couple in all the years we have been going. Now the lizards, they are everywhere, but remember, they are Florida residents, so as soon as the first chill comes around, they run for cover. January we rarely see any, July they are everywhere. Snakes, never saw one down there.

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The lizards are everywhere around the resort but like everyone says they run for cover as soon as they realize you are there. I did see a couple climbing the walls but that's it.

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I did see a small (3 inches) snake backstage studios but it was harmless. That was a couple months ago. Its most likely not there any more. Little lizards are harmless. There are deer and turkey that often hang out on World Drive and Floridan Way but those are pretty harmless. The only dangerous critters are the ones on the Safari where you don't go near them or on the Jungle Cruise where they are fake.

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I am terrified of snakes, and did once we one at the side of the lazy river at blizzard beach. It was very small, however it has put me off.

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no snakes

no gators

and no rats

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You know gators have to go to the bathroom too, so always check before you sit down, it's a real photo but he was found during night time cleanup and he was removed because he did NOT have a valid ticket or pass.

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If I found a gator in one of my restrooms, I would run out like a little girl and get a hold of a coordinator then not go back in until it was out of there. I would close that stall and the ones right next to it.

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The Colonel,
Thank you for those pictures! I loved it. I saw Remy at Chefs De France on my 2nd trip and he was so cute! About the real critters though, I am definitely watching my step whenever I am at the hotel and walking along green areas. Just to be on the safe side. And me and my hunny had already started checking our rooms on the recent trip as well. But everybody, thanks for the responses. I guess you just have to watch where you walk in some areas.

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We've seen heaps of little lizards over the years, particularly last year at Saratoga Springs. They are amazing to watch if you can get close enough, I must have spent a far while sitting on the kerb watching them. My wife thinks I'm mad, she just carried on to the room. We've seen tiny, tiny frogs and a turtle in on of the ponds. Only once seen a snake, but it was quite small and slithered off when we got close.

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Briar Rose wrote:

JMUDukz- We mainly have gators down here. The university I attend has a gator as their mascot, and we keep a lake full of them in the middle of campus. They are a pretty mellow bunch Smile

Lol. I should have known!! My cousin was a Gator!!

Although, I still can never remember the difference between the two. To me, both crocs and gators are just handbags waitin' to happen...

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JMUDukz wrote:
Briar Rose wrote:

JMUDukz- We mainly have gators down here. The university I attend has a gator as their mascot, and we keep a lake full of them in the middle of campus. They are a pretty mellow bunch Smile

Lol. I should have known!! My cousin was a Gator!!

Although, I still can never remember the difference between the two. To me, both crocs and gators are just handbags waitin' to happen...

rolling OMG, that one was priceless JMUDukz!

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muchlove Remy!

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The little geckos are adorable. I'm always happy to see them. They're kind of like chipmunks or squirrels here in the North.

I saw a snake once, on the ramp that goes from the MK monorail stop to the MK proper. It was a small green snake (and by small I mean 1 to 2 feet long) sunning itself right in the middle of the ramp. Of course when it felt the vibrations of the horde of people trampling toward MK, it quickly slithered off into the bushes, no doubt to come right back out once all the people were gone.

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I would consider it a bonus to see an alligator! Or a snake. I'd probably pick it up if it wasn't venomous.

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Vettelover wrote:
You know gators have to go to the bathroom too, so always check before you sit down, it's a real photo but he was found during night time cleanup and he was removed because he did NOT have a valid ticket or pass.

Make a post about snakes, and it is inevitable that this picture will show up. I love it though. Snakes live in Florida, but overall they stay in bushes. They do not attack. Just have a healthy respect for one if you see, and you have nothing to worry about. Saw one in Mousetracks once, and the employees were keeping people away from the area it is one it till the situation was resolved. They take good care of the customers.

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The Wilderness Lodge has a lot of tree frogs too. Even up on the 5th floor we would go back to the room and there was always these little frogs hanging off the windows or up on top of the posts by the bus stop. We only ever noticed them at night though.

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We had an armadillo on the 3rd floor of All Star Movies. I don't know how common they are around Disney but it was very unexpected to see when still half asleep hurrying to get to breakfast early one morning. I thought it might have been stuck up stairs so i was kinda trying to get it to go down the army soldiers bucket stair case, but then i quickly gave up after having a look at it's long sharp nails.

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Ange wrote:
We had an armadillo on the 3rd floor of All Star Movies.

LOL That's funny - what a clever little guy. There are a lot of armadillo at Fort Wilderness. I ran into them frequently as a kids walking from our tent to the restrooms in the dark.

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We found a 2-3 ft black snake laying out in the sun near our rooms at POFQ this June. No one was particularly alarmed; in fact I had to keep my nephews from charging into the bushes to look for it when it went away. Aside from the harmless lizards, I've seen a smallish gator head peaking out from the pond between the fence of the MK and the monorail line by Space Mountain and I've encountered a small group of deer in the farther reaches of the MK parking lot near a stand of trees late one night. So far, I've only run into the human turkey variety.