The “happiest place on Earth” was also possibly the “most dangerous place on Earth” earlier today as a black bear was on the loose within Disney World.
Visitors at the Magic Kingdom part of the Orlando, Florida theme park were probably shocked to see that a black bear had climbed its way up into a tree inside the walls that Mickey Mouse built. Those exterior walls can keep people without tickets from getting in, but they apparently can’t keep out a wild bear.
In a place where families pay thousands of dollars to have fun, I’m sure people that saw the bear first thought that it was just another animatronic animal meant to give eagle-eyed visitors an extra dose of fun during their visit.
However, once they noticed that the bear wasn’t digging into a jug overflowing with honey (Winnie the Pooh) and wasn’t strumming along on a banjo (Country Bears Jamboree), they probably thought:
“Oh my…honey, get the kids. That’s an actual bear up in that tree.”
Fears of a bear roaming around in the Magic Kingdom were confirmed when the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission put out a statement letting everyone know they were aware of the situation:
“In most cases, it is best for bears to be given space and to move along on their own, but given the situation, staff are working on capturing and relocating the bear.
During the fall, bears are more active as they search for food to pack on fat reserves for the winter. This particular bear was likely moving through the area searching for food.”
Staff from the FWC were quickly on the scene to try and handle the capture and relocation of the bear, and in the wildest part of this wild story, Disney World reportedly only shut down specific portions of the park while the bear was on the loose.
The Hall of Presidents and the Liberty Square Riverboat were closed temporarily, along with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, A Pirate’s Adventure, and Tom Sawyer Island. In addition, the Walt Disney World Railroad, which covers Fantasyland, Main Street, and Frontierland, was also closed.
All of those attractions have since been reopened this afternoon, which must mean that the FWC and Disney World caught the thing? At least we hope that they did.
There are some early reports that a news station in Orlando hovered above the park with their news helicopter and might have seen law enforcement agents carrying a large white tarp (with something heavy wrapped up inside of it). They were spotted in a wooded area, which checks out with the initial reports of a black bear being spotted in a tree.
If you happen to be at Disney World right now, I’d still keep an eye out for a strange looking bear wondering around the park.
This picture below might give you a good idea of what you should be looking out for:
Just kidding… looks like they found ’em.
