On the heels of the announcement that the pool at River Country will be filled in, Disney has now announced that will start handing out insect repellent at their resort starting Sunday.
From the Orlando Sentinel:
Walt Disney World will start giving out free insect repellent throughout its resort Sunday, as the threat of Zika comes increasingly close to Orlando.
Disney confirmed it will have various types of insect repellent at its theme parks, at Disney Springs and the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. There will also be aerosol cans in hotel rooms.
Signs will be posted letting people know the repellent is available.
“In an abundance of caution, we are accelerating preventative efforts throughout our property, including providing complimentary insect repellent to our Guests along with helpful guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,” Disney said in an emailed statement. ”We have an extensive mosquito-prevention and monitoring program in place, and we continue to work closely with local, state and federal experts on this topic.”
In their emailed statement, it seems they were careful to not use the word “Zika.”
In your post, it seems. your paranoid side seems to have shown.
who cares if they said zika or not? this is a great step by disney!
To be honest, in 7 Trips, I have never seen a mosquito at WDW, much less been bitten! Pretty awesome considering the location! Whatever they are doing, keep it up!
You’ve gotta be joking, or were there from 11am-1pm! There’s a ton of mosquitos at the parks except in the middle of the day. During love bug season, there’s swarms. It didn’t used to be that way, but whatever they used to do to control pests, they cut back on. We always wear Deet at the parks along with sunscreen. Even before Zika.
CLEARLY its an issue otherwise Disney wouldn’t be doing this.. Regardless if a guest has never seen a Mosquito at the park or not…
Disney will most likely get a Zika case before the end of September. They already had one reported in Tampa. Women who are pregnant, or want to be will be advised to avoid Disney. That’s gotta be scary. NO WONDER Bob Iger hates the parks. Movies and media are so much less hassle (and profitable).
What kind of name is Zika anyway?
I was bitten pretty bad at the Trader Sams patio at the Poly when it first opened.
Saw a huge mouse just wandering around the parks too, What are they gonna do about the rodent problem, never mind the zika
How true. Not that Disney can control all pests, they used to do a lot more. Those teams fired. The Mexico boat ride is infested with rats at Epcot. Look around water lines next time, and you’ll see them. The handing out of mosquito towelettes sounds like it came from the Disney LEGAL department. The ‘make it nice and safe for customers department’ and the rodent, pest and alligator control department left the premises long ago.
This guy gets it!
I vist WDW every other year and we almost never see bigs at all. We see bees, wasps, and lots of gnats when you’re near water. I just came back from WDW last week and we kept smelling citronella, mainly in the MK.
Not us. We are pass holders and get bitten every morning and evening and still wear bug repellant.
Side note, on Disney park email survey yesterday, they asked us a question about how we felt about more blackout dates for pass holders. Any word? Obviously they’re considering it. The parks kinda losing appeal as they cut back and crowds increase. Might be time for us to pass on the pass. Maybe get them for a year when some of the construction is done and areas open We’ve had them off and on the last 9 years.
I live in Pennsylvania and there are rodents and mosquitos here too. I do not know why people have to complain about everything. Do not go anywhere and stay home if that is the way you feel.
Irrelevant and uneducated post Patty M. If they ignore Zika, the mosquitos that live in homes as well as out. Ignoring health concerns is negligent. Glad you are unemployed and not in charge of anything related to this. Back to your hole.
If people take the proper precautions odds are you will be okay. And Patty is right, bugs and rodents are everywhere. Naturally rodents are going to stay in places were food is found and the Zika virus could be anywhere.
How can you judge someone you do not even know.
MP, Not judging you nor Patty, but your posts are based on ignorance. “The odds are you’re OK?” Come on. Explain that to the parents who’s kid eaten off the beach this summer. Without professional interventions more than spraying on Deet…pests (Zika), rodents, alligators, etc cause injury. And on this post, half the people believe there are few mosquitos at Disney. Nor rats. Nor alligators. Nor snakes. Disney has cut areas of this by a hundred fold, and now reacting to recent deaths and fears with spray, signs, nets to close ‘beaches’, etc. The particular mosquito that causes Zika lives in houses, so Patty’s was especially poor advice.
From the way the news media keeps harping on about the Zika virus, one would think that it’s right up there with the plague in terms of its threat to humanity. But truth be told, Zika is typically no more serious than a mild fever, and those who contract the virus end up developing natural immunity to it for the rest of their lives.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains on its website that the vast majority of people who contract Zika don’t ever show symptoms at all. Among those who do, the symptoms are generally mild, the most common among them being a small rash, red eyes (conjunctivitis), joint and muscle pain, mild fever and headaches.
These symptoms can last for up to a week, but generally aren’t serious enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. And very few people, if any, actually die from Zika, despite all the fear-mongering from public health officials and vaccine hawks pushing experimental jabs on pregnant women.
Also, Cutter contains DEET which can be extremely harmful to children. If you must use mosquito repellent, use something that contains Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus – the only plant based ingredient recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Um, not much of your post has anything factual in it. Please don’t follow this persons health advice. Zika is a big deal, and pregnant women, or their sexual mates can get a disease without knowing it in many cases which will result in a child born with deformity. Florida is already on some other countries “NO FLY” zone. This is a big deal.
Believe what you want. The truth is there for those that seek it out. Go to the CDC website and see for yourself.
I agree with Enuff. Zika is known to be harmful to unborn children but not the general population. The bugspray being handed out is way more harmful than the virus. Why should the rest of us be exposed to others spraying those harmful chemicals? Disney should be on the forefront and at least hand out something that isn’t as controversial and toxic as DEET. We go to DW every year and have never been bitten. I rarely see mosquitos in the parks. This year, we will skip DW until they stop handing out the bug spray. The risk of inhaling those chemicals is not worth it. Disneyland here we come!