The birds attack !!!

yodiwan1 · Post by **yodiwan1** » Feb Mon 18, 2008 10:30 pm

We have custodians to clean up the messes we humans make.

I was a custdion at MK a few years ago, and its people like you that p*** me off. If sharonofwindham loves birds, then let her, she has thayt right just as much as you do to hate them. Even after my family was attacked by them I still dont hate them. SWhorn, you sound like some catch!

packwingfn · Post by **packwingfn** » Feb Tue 19, 2008 4:39 pm

I know that as a custodian that birds helped me yet at the same time was a nuisance. The worst area was the McDonalds area near Canada...I was always afraid of getting pooped on as their would be ducks & seagulls everywhere. The worst thing is that people continued to feed these animals encouraging them. Obviously you can't really stop every single person to stop feeding them because they will continue to do it even if there are signs everywhere.

I remember one of my first days on the job, there was some duck poop on the ground and I wasnt sure if I was supposed to clean it so I head to the back, not knowing what to clean it with besides towel and a lot of gloves but I asked one of my managers and they said that you don't really have to clean duck poop but I thought it was pretty disgusting so I tried too anyway. Not the most pleasent thing to do.

I admit though that I hate it with the birds just flying around there and it ruins the show. However I wonder what can be done to stop them from coming...not just the seagulls but the ducks too (and their are a MILLION of ducks in World Showcase area).

ericpabear · Post by **ericpabear** » Feb Tue 19, 2008 10:22 pm

SWHorn wrote:
Take the tree-hugging somewhere else. I don't have to respect birds. I don't like them. We have custodians to clean up the messes we humans make. Thank goodness I live in a country where I am free to complain about birds and, *gasp*, still visit a place that has them.

I like you.

DIAC1987 · Post by **DIAC1987** » Feb Wed 20, 2008 12:10 am

"I admit though that I hate it with the birds just flying around there and it ruins the show. However I wonder what can be done to stop them from coming...not just the seagulls but the ducks too (and their are a MILLION of ducks in World Showcase area)."

While some people find them annoying and troublesome, other guests are quite fond of the wildlife in Epcot (I'll include Magic Kingdom in this as well). You'll see guests taking pictures of not just the scenery and the attractions, but of the animals as well---and they include the seagulls, the storks, the ducks, and squirrels, the rabbits, and even some of the reptiles (I've seen guests approach lizards to take pictures of them). While we Floridians might have gotten used to them, to thousands of others, its something unique, different, and interesting to see.

They'll notice when the animals go missing too. Epcot used to have flamingos before they mysteriously migrated to Animal Kingdom and guests did ask me where those birds went. Like it or not, the wildlife of Disney is part of the show.

Advice to all you buying food and dealing with the birds: don't show fear. Just walk about your business, pretend like they aren't there, and you should be fine

alsirrap · Post by **alsirrap** » Feb Wed 20, 2008 12:45 am

The difficult thing about gulls is that if one person gives them even one piece of food, they get aggressive and will hover over people with food. I've had countless experience with these situations on the beach in Florida. It's especially tough situation to deal with when tourist who have never been to the beach or seen gulls thinks it's fun to feed them, only to find out they then can't get rid of them. But, one trick that restaurants that have outdoor seating on the beach, they simply put a few wires crossing each other overhead at about 4 or 5 feet apart. It's not particularly unattractive and believe it or not, the gulls don't come anywhere near you. It's not that they can't get through the wires, they could if they tried, but they simply don't. Maybe, Disney will learn that trick. It has work for years at the beaches in Florida.

coasterphil · Post by **coasterphil** » Feb Thu 21, 2008 12:10 pm

There isn't anyone to blame but your fellow guests as for why the birds are so daring. I'll watch people feed them constantly, even with the signs that are up in certain areas.

mousemaniacs · Post by **mousemaniacs** » Feb Thu 21, 2008 1:18 pm

how about rice or alka seltzer? too bad that snopes has debunked this: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/birdrice.asp

TheCheshireStitch · Post by **TheCheshireStitch** » Feb Thu 21, 2008 1:49 pm

i hardly think breaking the law and stooping to animal cruelty would be a solution to this....

though i assume this is a joke:P

netslave · Post by **netslave** » Feb Thu 21, 2008 1:49 pm

I was a custdion at MK a few years ago, and its people like you that p*** me off. If sharonofwindham loves birds, then let her, she has thayt right just as much as you do to hate them. Even after my family was attacked by them I still dont hate them. SWhorn, you sound like some catch!

In swhorn's defense, as a custodian, what were you hired to do? Sit around and do nothing? No, you were hired to clean up. Just because somebody recognizes the fact that people are messy and that's why custodians exist, doesn't mean that they are in fact one of those messy people.

The point is, it's unsanitary and unsafe for these birds to be there in these types of numbers. Have you ever walked on the dock in frontierland? It's disgusting! I don't enjoy it either. I don't pay Walt Disney World prices just to get pooped on.

If I want to see a seagull, I'll go to its natural habitat; the beach. If WDW weren't there, the seagulls wouldn't be either so I see no reason why they can't take 'safe and humane' measures to rid the parks of the birds.

SWHorn · Post by **SWHorn** » Feb Thu 21, 2008 9:36 pm

yodiwan1 wrote:
We have custodians to clean up the messes we humans make.
I was a custdion at MK a few years ago, and its people like you that p*** me off. If sharonofwindham loves birds, then let her, she has thayt right just as much as you do to hate them. Even after my family was attacked by them I still dont hate them. SWhorn, you sound like some catch!

I p*** you off because I don't like birds? Why do you care what I like or don't like? I didn't say anything about sharonofwindham's right to like birds. More power to her, seriously. I said I don't like them and I don't appreciate someone telling me not to visit WDW because I have complaints about them.

Or are you saying that I p*** you off because I described your job description? I didn't say I was a big slob that threw trash on the ground and expected people to clean up after me. Talk about taking my statement out of context. What I said was directly in response to her argument that we *need* the birds to clean up our mess. And what I said is true. I apologize if that p***es you off.

yodiwan1 · Post by **yodiwan1** » Feb Thu 21, 2008 10:18 pm

custodians do a lot more than just clean up human messes...do you like how clean the bathrooms are? There is always going to be pieces of popcorn that fall or little things. I am talking about people who deliberatly make a mess. If you buy lunch, throw it away. don't leave food all over a table. If you changed your baby, throw the diaper in the grabage, not in the plants...thats that stuff that upsets me. I once saw a kids look right at me, take his melted ice cream and smile as he dumped it on the ground. Luckily his mother made his clean it up!

Mustanley · Post by **Mustanley** » Feb Fri 22, 2008 9:38 am

During my last three trips to WDW (Jan. 05, Oct. 06, Sept 07) I never had problems with agressive, defecating birds. Every trip was at least a week long and the only wildlife issue we encounted was the annual love bug invasion in Oct. of 06. I'm heading back in May so we'll see if spring fever makes the birds more aggressive.

Nicc513 · Post by **Nicc513** » Feb Fri 22, 2008 10:15 am

stinoi wrote:I wonder how WDW will address this issue. They have some nifty ways of keeping the bugs at bay, but I don't know about birds.

What DO they do to keep away the bugs? I've always wondered about that because it IS swampy Florida, after all...

The only bird encounters I ever had at WDW were those freaky-looking geese that inhabited the Fort Wilderness campground. They would totally beg for food off of your picnic table and follow you around if you had anything in your hands. They were like dogs with beaks and wings!

Sharonofwindham · Post by **Sharonofwindham** » Feb Sat 23, 2008 3:53 pm

Can't we just all get along? I never meant that SWHorn should like birds, just respect them and try to understand that the reason the birds are at Disney is because of humans, and we're pretty darn disgusting in some ways as well. We need to co-exist. We have no right to harm another species because they annoy or frighten us in some way. I was totally out of line telling you that you should go somewhere else to vacation, sorry. I know you might think its unfair, but maybe you and your family could try restaurants that are in locations where the birds don't gather as much, and if that restaurant is a favorite, maybe eat there in the evening. Yup, I'm a "treehugger". I was raised to respect all life. I won't apologize for that.

In response to netslave, it is far more unhealthy for us to be in such close quarters with so many people, than it is to come in contact with bird droppings. I have been on that bridge, and I guess because I was enjoying my surroundings and having a great time at WDW, I didn't have time to notice and complain about bird droppings. I love that area, all the beautiful ibis that hang out around splash mountain. I'm getting homesick just thinking about it! Once I saw a huge snowy egret on top of one of the snack buildings not far from that bridge. It was an incredible sight. Did you know that a huge part of the WDW is a wildlife preserve? Hey, I've got the answer to all your bird woes, and you can still enjoy Disney! Go to Disneyland!! It's smack dab in the middle of a concrete jungle, it's just got to have less of those pesky critters!

ericpabear · Post by **ericpabear** » Feb Sat 23, 2008 7:32 pm

Sharonofwindham wrote:Can't we just all get along? I never meant that SWHorn should like birds, just respect them and try to understand that the reason the birds are at Disney is because of humans, and we're pretty darn disgusting in some ways as well. We need to co-exist. We have no right to harm another species because they annoy or frighten us in some way. I was totally out of line telling you that you should go somewhere else to vacation, sorry. I know you might think its unfair, but maybe you and your family could try restaurants that are in locations where the birds don't gather as much, and if that restaurant is a favorite, maybe eat there in the evening. Yup, I'm a "treehugger". I was raised to respect all life. I won't apologize for that.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. You are funny.

Sharonofwindham wrote:In response to netslave, it is far more unhealthy for us to be in such close quarters with so many people, than it is to come in contact with bird droppings. I have been on that bridge, and I guess because I was enjoying my surroundings and having a great time at WDW, I didn't have time to notice and complain about bird droppings. I love that area, all the beautiful ibis that hang out around splash mountain. I'm getting homesick just thinking about it! Once I saw a huge snowy egret on top of one of the snack buildings not far from that bridge. It was an incredible sight. Did you know that a huge part of the WDW is a wildlife preserve? Hey, I've got the answer to all your bird woes, and you can still enjoy Disney! Go to Disneyland!! It's smack dab in the middle of a concrete jungle, it's just got to have less of those pesky critters!

I was not talk'n about one or two birds. This is a few dozen birds ATTACKING all at once.