Alligators – A Walk With The Mouse

Walt Disney World is known for being the epitome of magical experiences and joyful memories.

Amongst the magical day-to-day, it’s easy for tourists to forget that the sprawling resort actually sits right in the heart of what used to be swampland, and many of its residents, including the American Alligator, avoided evictions when Mickey Mouse came to town.

Florida’s sub-tropical climate, high humidity, and beautifully designed landscapes make it the perfect place for exciting amphibious reptiles to take up shelter.

As Central Florida, where Walt Disney World is located, acts as a gateway to one of the last wild frontiers of the state, the Florida Everglades, it isn’t uncommon to have run-ins with wildlife all over Disney World, including Magic Kingdom and its numerous resort locations.

Sadly, most memorable, a fateful incident in 2016 brought attention to the presence of alligators in the vicinity of one of these resorts.

Since that day, savvy guests have had the presence of dangerous reptiles seared into the back of their minds, and Disney has taken steps along with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission to create a more sustainable future for tourism to live in harmony with the abundant wildlife that calls Walt Disney World home.

In June 2016, tragedy struck when two-year-old Lane Graves was attacked and killed by an alligator near Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort.

This unfortunate incident sent shockwaves through the community and prompted Disney to embark on several initiatives to enhance safety protocols and prevent such incidents in the future.

After the incident, Walt Disney World took immediate action to prioritize the safety of its guests while maintaining the enchanting atmosphere that has made it beloved worldwide. The resort implemented the following safety measures:

Perimeter ropes:
Disney erected permanent rope fixtures and barriers around the water bodies within the resort to restrict access to guests and wild animals, reducing the chances of accidental encounters.

louis, the trumpet-playing alligator from "The Princess and the Frog"

Clear and visible signage was placed throughout the resort, reminding guests of the potential presence of wildlife in the area and providing safety guidelines to follow.

Disney established a dedicated team of wildlife specialists responsible for monitoring the wildlife population within the resort and ensuring the safety of both animals and guests. They work closely with local authorities and experts to remain updated on wildlife behavior and implement necessary precautions.

Disney World followers got to see this team in action recently when a black bear, another common Florida species that can be dangerous, was spotted in the Frontierland area of Magic Kingdom, prompting an entire shutdown of most of the park for around half a day.

Walt Disney World has a longstanding commitment to wildlife conservation and environmental stewardship. They actively engage in several initiatives to safeguard the natural habitat and promote biodiversity. Here are some examples:

animal kingdom tiger, walt disney world,

The Walt Disney Company supports various conservation and research programs dedicated to protecting and preserving wildlife. These initiatives aim to understand animal behavior better, promote habitat restoration, and raise awareness about the importance of conservation.

Disney incorporates educational elements into its theme parks and resorts to raise awareness among guests about the importance of wildlife conservation and the need to respect natural habitats. Through informative displays and interactive experiences, visitors understand the interconnectedness between humans and wildlife.

Despite exhaustive efforts to educate guests regarding the potential dangers lurking in waterways around Walt Disney World, like Seven Seas Lagoon, where the Lane Grave incident occurred, some guests ignore the danger and enter bodies of water around the property anyhow.

Most recently, a guest to Magic Kingdom reportedly jumped from the rafts that carry visitors to Tom Sawyer Island, while another at EPCOT jumped from one of the bridges in the World Showcase.

A quick search online, specifically on YouTube, reveals several videos of Walt Disney World guests fishing dangerously close to the lakes and ponds that scatter around the property, while some even show daring visitors swimming.

It’s hard to imagine anyone willing to enter a body of water that could have a 920-lb alligator lurking below. However, whether it be stupidity or ignorance, it does still happen around Walt Disney World.

If you’ve been to Walt Disney World enough, chances are you’ve had your fair share of wildlife encounters. It isn’t uncommon for Grand Floridian Resort guests to run across a variety of slithering serpents or for guests aboard the Disney Skyliner, boat service, or even the Monorail to spot alligators from their high vantage point.

Fort Wilderness Disney World Resort new florida law

Although it certainly isn’t news that the American Alligator calls Florida home, it’s never a bad idea to continue educating the public, especially travelers unfamiliar with the state of Florida and its wildlife, when it comes to a possible encounter with an alligator at Walt Disney World.

It seems that some people are convinced that gators (affectionately nicknamed by locals) are more myth and reality for some guests. Still, one image shared to Reddit recently suggests that they are certainly out and about at Disney, reinforcing to guests that they should adhere to Disney’s rules about entering their waterways.

User u/daveoski posted a clear photo to the Walt Disney World subreddit, a beautifully captured one of a scaly lizard hunting the surface near the campgrounds at Fort Wilderness Resort.

Gator at the campgrounds
byu/daveoski inWaltDisneyWorld

“Took the boat from MK to the campgrounds for a hoop dee doo reservation and was able to capture some pictures.”

This particular alligator was spotted hanging around the Fort Wilderness Campground area, a very popular resort that many Disney World guests enjoy during the holiday season in Florida.

Fort Wilderness, although not a monorail resort like Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, is close to Magic Kingdom, a place full of small children and families enjoying magical experiences throughout their day.

The gator attack incident at Walt Disney World in 2016 was a tragic event that led to increased safety measures and a renewed focus on wildlife conservation.

Ultimately changing the lives of Melissa Graves and Matt Graves forever, the loss of their young son, Lane Thomas Graves, should serve as a reminder that although Disney World is a magical place, it is not immune to accidents and danger.

Massive 920 LB Florida Alligator Captured Outside of Disney World

Walt Disney World remains committed to providing guests with a safe and magical experience while demonstrating responsible stewardship of the environment.

By continuously evaluating and improving safety protocols and actively participating in wildlife conservation efforts, the Resort ensures that the enchanting world of Disney harmoniously coexists with the natural wildlife that calls it home.

crocodile animatronic from rainforest cafe in disney springs

In the event of an alligator sighting, guests are advised to immediately report it to the nearest Disney Cast Member and follow all safety guidelines provided.

As per Disney World rules and regulations, signs are clearly posted showing the immediate dangers of wildlife and the risk they pose to guests. There is a reason that Disney does not allow free-swimming in their waterways, and alligators are big part of that, so, stay dry!

Following a horrific event in June 2016 that took the life of a toddler near Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, Disney continues to be exceedingly proactive in preventing a similar attack from ever happening again.

On June 14, 2016, during a visit to the Walt Disney World Resort with his parents, two-year-old Lane Graves was attacked and killed by an alligator at Seven Seas Lagoon. It was a terrible time in Central Florida, as the City of Orlando was reeling from the shooting at the Pulse nightclub only days earlier, and that shooting came on the heels of the shooting death of singer Christina Grimmie only one night earlier.

Things just weren’t right in Central Florida that June. I remember it well, as my family and I were there visiting the parks that month too. One week earlier, our vacation home in Champions Gate had been ransacked while we were at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and tons of things were stolen. Instead of being in the parks the next day, we were instead in a detective’s office, giving reports and signing papers, and I had a major blowout on my truck while driving along Interstate 4 headed to the detective’s office.

But we experienced nothing like the magnitude of the events experienced by little Lane’s family who was visiting from Elkhorn, Nebraska. As Lane played along the beach at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, an alligator snatched him and drug him into the water, despite his father’s desperate attempts to save him. The adorable little boy drowned as his father, Matt, his mother, Melissa, his four-year-old sister, and several Guests witnessed the event in horror.

This Oct. 2, 2015 photo provided by the Lane Thomas Foundation shows Lane Thomas Graves, in Omaha, Neb. Graves died in 2016 after an alligator attacked him at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. The Lane Thomas Foundation his parents created after his death is moving beyond the small-scale donations it has been making so far to individual families with children undergoing transplants to raise awareness nationally about the need for pediatric organ donation. (Lane Thomas Foundation via AP)

Since that time, Disney has erected signs all across Disney World property. The signs, which read, “Danger: Alligators and Snakes in Area; Stay away from the Water; Do not feed the wildlife.”

Disney Installing Gator Signs, Barriers After Attack on Boy - ABC News

Fences and other barriers have also been placed around Disney’s property where Guest areas and water chance to intermingle. It is now more obvious than ever that a real danger exists within the waters of Seven Seas Lagoon and other bodies of water at Disney World (or anywhere in Florida, for that matter), thanks to the signage and barriers. Sessions about the dangers of the waters, the alligators, and snakes that inhabit the area, and how to keep Guests safe were also implemented in Cast Member training and orientation.

But Disney knew that those were merely the first steps to take in ensuring that no other family would have to face what the Graves family faced on that warm June day in 2016. There was more to be done–much more. And part of that effort involved the very arduous, very dangerous, very time-consuming, and expensive task of removing the very present danger itself: namely, alligators in the area.

Beginning almost immediately after Lane’s death and under the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s statewide alligator harvest program, trappers removed or relocated wildlife at an increased rate within established guidelines.

In 2016, 83 alligators were removed, followed by 57 in 2017, 33 in both 2018 and 2019, and 46 in 2020. Most of the 2020 removals were carried out during the months of March, April, May, and June 2020, during the Walt Disney World Resort’s closure in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The highest number of removals was clearly during the same year in which Lane’s death occurred. But before Lane’s passing, there weren’t nearly as many removals.

Between 2007 and 2015, only 23 alligators per year were removed. Twenty-three is better than zero, but did it take the attack in June of 2016 to get Disney and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to see that more needed to be done? Since Lane’s passing, an average of 45 alligators per year have been removed from the area. Double.

“In keeping with our strong commitment to safety, we continue to reinforce procedures related to reporting sightings and interactions with wildlife, and work closely with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to remove certain wildlife from our property in accordance with state regulations,” a Walt Disney World spokesperson said during an interview.

To address complaints about potentially dangerous alligators, Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) administers the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program or SNAP.

Under the SNAP program, if an alligator at least 4 feet in length is believed to pose a threat to people, pets, or property, the FWC issues a permit to a state-contracted alligator trapper, who then carries out the task of collecting the animal and removing it from the area. Some of the animals are taken to zoos or to animal exhibits, but rather than relocate the reptiles, the majority of trapped alligators in Florida are euthanized. This is because alligators will often attempt to return to the location of their capture, rather than create a new habitat for themselves where they are relocated.

Walt Disney World has been granted permission to have up to 500 of the reptiles removed through April 2023. Each alligator removed must be reported to state authorities, per the agreement, and its size must also be noted.

According to the FWC, there are more than 1.3 million alligators in the state of Florida, which provides the environment in which the reptiles flourish: swampy areas, rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds in a warm climate. Because alligators are cold-blooded animals, they do not like cold environments. This is why most American alligators can be found in the southeastern United States. The map below shows the prevalence of alligators in the state of Florida, by county.

After Lane Graves’s death, a sculpture of a lighthouse was added at the location of the attack, serving as a memorial to his life. The gold and blue lighthouse has two blue stars on it and was erected near the Seven Seas Lagoon beach outside Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa.

The plaque reads, “The Lane Thomas Foundation: A Beacon of Hope, A Light of Love.” His parents founded the organization and say that they used “Lane Thomas” because anytime Lane met someone, he would say, “I’m Lane Thomas. I’m two.”

Tag: Alligators

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