My baby was bitten by a duck at Epcot

[tiredmom4]

We went to Disney World last September (2017). My baby was 1.5 years old at the time. We were eating fish and chips at the seating area next to the Fish shop by the lake. We've done that many times in the past and have never had a problem with the many ducks there that come right up to you.

So we were sitting there at the table, and I put my baby on a chair where he crouched. Several ducks came by. My baby was looking at them, his feet in the middle of the chair, not moving or making a sound, when suddenly, one duck stretched out its neck and bit my baby on his toe! He burst out screaming. I was so stunned that it took me a second to pick up my baby to comfort him. That has never happened before, a duck biting! The people next to us saw it too, and the 8 year old girl immediately stood up and went for her mom.

The duck caused no damage to the toe that I could tell, but after that, my baby became deathly scared of birds in general for the rest of the trip, not just ducks. We had a hard time eating waffles next to the castle at MK because there were white birds with long skinny beaks that was a few tables away. My baby would point to it and scream, so eating became a challenge.

Thinking back, I should have been more wary about the baby next to the ducks. It was just that we've eaten there with the ducks so many times and never had a problem, I just did not think of it. I'm posting my experience now so that other moms can be more prepared.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Yes ALL the wild animals at WDW are highly-trained or shall I say, habituated to steal food ... birds... squirrels... yeah.... Avoid letting the wildlife get too close to you while you eat.

Which is hard because they have no fear of humans anymore. Part of why the "don't feed the animals" signs are there....

The squirrels have learned to even unzip zippers and they seem to know who has the best snacks in their stroller...

 

[StageTek]

An important warning. Thank you.

 

[brertoad]

Hopefully this fear doesn't last a lifetime. Ducks are pretty much harmless, what an odd thing to happen.
They are getting fed people food all over Disney, so your baby's cute little toe probably looked like a French fry to the duck.

 

[greentea]

Oh, I'm sorry your baby got bitten! Hope he forgets about it soon and isn't scared of birds much longer.

Unfortunately people sit right next to the "please don't feed the wildlife" signs and toss fries and bread to all the birds. That, and the birds probably know that kids drop a lot of food so gravitate toward the littler ones. We also saw several parents letting their children chase the ducks all over the place in all of the parks, and I always worry one will get bitten.

 

[2016]

Hello folks,
Instead of creating a new thread I wanted to ask it here because it is little bit related. I have a little cute pug and it will be my first time in Disneyland. I have been travelling around the country since few weeks and i want to check Disneyland as well. However, I have a curiosity if I can take my pet little cute Toffie with me. Looking forward to hear from you sooon. Thank you in advance!

Best,

 

[disneydreamer781]

I've got bitten when feeding the ducks. When feeding them by hand it's pretty much gonna happen. It didn't hurt at all but I'm not a 1 1/2 yo child. That being said feeding the Disney ducks and all WDW wildlife is verboten. The ducks are pretty much harmless though. Squirrels, although I love them, can be another matter. It's not intentional but probably the fact that are just too used to humans now.

 

[Ensusieasm]

Hello folks,
Instead of creating a new thread I wanted to ask it here because it is little bit related. I have a little cute pug and it will be my first time in Disneyland. I have been travelling around the country since few weeks and i want to check Disneyland as well. However, I have a curiosity if I can take my pet little cute Toffie with me. Looking forward to hear from you sooon. Thank you in advance!

Best,

Not in any of the the theme parks. Some Disney World resort hotels allow pets. I don’t think that Disneyland hotels do.

 

[Jasperann]

Although we have not been bitten by the birds on our very first trip we were not aware of how aggressive they are and one of those big white birds in MK Frontier land swooped down and stole the hot dog right out of my sons bun that he was holding in his hand. My son is slightly autistic (on the high end of the spectrum) and became very scared of the birds. He was also (not at Disney) bitten by a goose in his nether area (it was a 'pet' goose that he was petting). So he is a little wary of them now. Although he was 4 and 6 when those things happened and is now 11. He will talk about them now and isn't as afraid of the birds as he was before. But he will try to scare the big white birds off and will not hold any kind of food if they are around. The CM who witnessed it happening actually said it happens a lot. He replaced the hot dog and gave him an mickey bar.

 

[tiredmom4]

Although we have not been bitten by the birds on our very first trip we were not aware of how aggressive they are and one of those big white birds in MK Frontier land swooped down and stole the hot dog right out of my sons bun that he was holding in his hand. My son is slightly autistic (on the high end of the spectrum) and became very scared of the birds. He was also (not at Disney) bitten by a goose in his nether area (it was a 'pet' goose that he was petting). So he is a little wary of them now. Although he was 4 and 6 when those things happened and is now 11. He will talk about them now and isn't as afraid of the birds as he was before. But he will try to scare the big white birds off and will not hold any kind of food if they are around. The CM who witnessed it happening actually said it happens a lot. He replaced the hot dog and gave him an mickey bar.

Wow, good to know! It's nice for the CM to replace the hot dog also. Geese are very aggressive. My family kept one once when I was a kid. Was that thing mean. And loud.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

I am so sorry for your son - we have eaten there many times and the ducks and birds bother me. We are even afraid to leave your food unattended for even a minute.

 

[MamaBelle4]

People do not think. I'm sorry that happened to you. People need to stop treating the wild animals around as pets.

When we were in MK this month, outside of Merida's M&G, there was a little bunny in the bushes. A woman stooped down and held out her hand and sat there petting it. My girls got excited and asked me if they could and I told them no.

It might seem magical and special, but she wasn't snow white and that bunny wasn't coming home to do her dishes. I'm surprised it didn't take a chunk out of her hand.