It was an eventful morning at Magic Kingdom, as an actual bear in Frontierland precipitated that land plus Liberty Sq. and Adventureland to stay closed for the primary half of September 18, 2023. Listed here are full particulars and statements, plus our commentary about unbearably excessive wait instances and different animal sightings in Walt Disney World.
Let’s begin with the brand-new assertion from Walt Disney World: “We’re working with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fee and have made the choice to reopen Frontierland, Liberty Sq. and Adventureland…As shared by the [Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission], employees are on web site and dealing on capturing and relocating the bear.”
Previous to that, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee (FWC) launched its personal assertion confirming rumors of a bear sighting in Frontierland, and indicated that they have been conscious of a black bear in a tree on Walt Disney World property. “Biologists with the FWC’s Bear Administration Program, in addition to FWC officers, are on scene. Normally, it’s best for bears to be given area and to maneuver alongside on their very own, however given this example, employees are engaged on capturing and relocating the bear.”
Magic Kingdom has now almost totally reopened after half of the park was closed earlier right this moment as a result of a black bear who took up residence in Frontierland. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee eliminated and relocated the bear that was occupying a tree close to Huge Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Unconfirmed and unserious rumors point out that the black bear needed to see a present carried out by his dozen-plus friends in Grizzly Corridor, however was thwarted by a closed door. So this entire ordeal may’ve been prevented if Nation Bear Jamboree merely opened earlier than 11 am!
Forged Members seen the bear earlier than the park opened to friends this morning, which meant no friends have been ever within the neighborhood of the black bear within the tree. Which additionally implies that this text options loads of images of pretend bear pals from Nation Bear Jamboree, fairly than the true bruin within the tree.
As a substitute, these areas have been stored closed when the remainder of the Magic Kingdom opened at 9 am. At rope drop, Forged Members indicated that this was as a result of ‘technical difficulties’ (not a completely unusual factor), however rumor began to unfold that it was really as a result of a bear on the prowl. (Or fairly, chilling in a tree.)
UPDATE: Because it seems, there is footage of the black bear being captured, courtesy of WESH 2, which had its Chopper 2 helicopter within the air excessive above Magic Kingdom. (There’s video footage of the bear removing on the hyperlink above.)
The picture above reveals the bear removing crew carrying a big black determine in a white tarp. FWC Legislation Enforcement officers safely captured the grownup, feminine black bear and will probably be relocating the bear out of Magic Kingdom to an space in or across the Ocala Nationwide Forest.
Because of the black bear incident, the next Magic Kingdom rides have been closed for your complete morning:
- Huge Thunder Mountain
- Nation Bear Jamboree
- Corridor of Presidents
- Haunted Mansion
- Jungle Cruise
- Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Swiss Household Treehouse
- Walt Disney World Railroad
- Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
As of two pm Jap, solely the Walt Disney World Railroad stays closed. We’d anticipate these stations to reopen at any time.
Unsurprisingly, wait instances have been astronomical all through Magic Kingdom on account of the bear incident. A part of that is simply the regular finest & worst days of the week dynamics at Walt Disney World, which itself is exaggerated throughout Social gathering Season as a result of shorter hours on a number of days of the week. So Monday would’ve been busy regardless. Nevertheless it positively wouldn’t have been this dangerous.
It’s additional exacerbated by actually half of the park being closed, consolidating crowds into Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Principally, it’s like an ideal storm of dangerous circumstances. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering and regular attendance patterns push individuals into Mondays in Magic Kingdom, after which this mischievous bear packs everybody within the already busier-than-normal park into only some lands.
Consequently, wait instances skyrocketed, with a number of sights averaging over hour-long wait instances right this moment. Based on thrill-data, the present crowd stage of Magic Kingdom is 10/10 and the common wait time is 41 minutes. That’s fairly the distinction to yesterday, which was a 1/10 with a mean wait time of 17 minutes.
Once more, right this moment would’ve been busier than yesterday regardless. Monday is the worst day to do Magic Kingdom proper now, whereas Sunday is the very best day. (To place this into extra regular context, final Sunday noticed a mean wait time of quarter-hour, versus 27 minutes for a 2/10 crowd stage on Monday. Nonetheless not peak season crowds, however that’s a pointy Sunday to Monday spike, and the ‘looks like’ congestion ranges are even worse.)
I point out all of this as a result of I awoke right this moment with the intention of doing a crowd report, however this bear threw an actual monkey wrench into these plans. We’ll attempt once more tomorrow or Wednesday!
As for black bear finest practices, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee (FWC) reminds residents and guests that state’s black bears are extra energetic searching for meals as autumn approaches. Through the fall, bears begin consuming extra energy to pack on fats reserves for the winter, even when they aren’t hibernating in Florida for as they do in colder climates.
Grownup bears eat roughly 20,000 energy a day throughout the fall, which means they’re extra energetic whereas searching for meals. Being opportunistic eaters, bears will reap the benefits of simple meals from trash cans or the bottom. “Any accessible meals supply, resembling unsecured rubbish, pet meals or chicken seed, could be attractive to a hungry bear getting ready for the winter, doubtlessly drawing them into battle with individuals,” stated FWC Bear Administration Program Coordinator, Mike Orlando.
As such, it’s really helpful to comply with the six BearWise Fundamentals to keep away from damaging interactions, together with securing meals and rubbish, by no means approaching or feeding bears, eradicating chicken feeders, by no means leaving pet meals open air, cleansing and storing grills, and alerting the FWC to bear exercise. Maybe this black bear incident is the results of Mickey leaving out Pluto’s meals in a single day by Huge Thunder?!
Black bears are usually not aggressive, however they will injure individuals and pets if provoked or defending offspring. Based on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee, nearly all of damaging bear interactions within the state contain canine. In any other case, black bears typically attempt to keep away from human contact. Bears could be discovered virtually wherever in Florida, however they like flatwoods, swamps, scrub oak ridges, bayheads, and hammock habitats. Black bears roam this time of 12 months searching for meals, water, and ample cowl.
Extra info is obtainable at MyFWC.com/Bear, the place you’ll be able to entry the “Information to Residing in Bear Nation” and different brochures. Discover extra methods to be BearWise at BearWise.org.
When it comes to commentary, this could function a cautionary story for what occurs once you mess with Nation Bear Jamboree. The bruins have been angered by the entire Disney songs! There are literally loads of good memes and jokes about this on social media, thanks largely to there being about two-dozen faux bears in Magic Kingdom earlier than this actual one arrived to hold together with his homies.
Aside from that, the one factor I’d add is that you just shouldn’t freak out a few black bear being noticed in Magic Kingdom. For one factor, black bears aren’t the identical as grizzly bears. Black bears aren’t all the time black, however are typically a lot smaller and extra mellow than their grizzled counterparts. (Again on the top of my Nationwide Park adventures, I used to go to particularly throughout this time of 12 months for elevated bear exercise.)
For one more factor, Walt Disney World is house to rather a lot of wildlife. You would possibly need to cease studying now if such a factor is unsettling or scary, however alligators are a frequent fixture. We’ve a good friend who used to work in Tomorrowland, and he stated they frequently noticed alligators within the ponds behind House Mountain. Along with that, there are legendary tales of alligators hiding cooling off behind bathrooms within the restrooms. (I’m undecided to what extent these are true or tall tales amongst Forged Members–however they’re amusing regardless!)
Whereas we’ve by no means noticed any alligators at Walt Disney World, we used to see them in our outdated neighborhood on a regular basis. There’s a rule thumb in Florida: if there’s water, there’s alligators. Past that, there’s a ton of different wildlife round Walt Disney World. If you happen to’ve spent any period of time at Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness, you’ve most likely seen deer, turkeys, and different woodland critters. (On a tangentially associated notice, I’d extremely suggest Path of the Panther on Disney+.)
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