Originally Posted By berol New hives are obvious with swarming or huge increases in bees, no need to search.
Originally Posted By velo I remember about 2 years ago they closed Autopia and the immediate area due to a swarm. And I also remember lots of bees "loving" it around the frozen lemonade and "icee" stands.
Originally Posted By TP2000 >>"Are you guys seriously suggesting someone go around the park every day, checking every tree, every eave of every building, every bush, fence, spot of dirt... and look for possible bee hives!?"<< Yes, apparently they are SuzieQ. According to a couple different folks here, Disneyland and The Walt Disney Company are entirely responsible for controlling nature and bee hives that naturally swarm in warm weather, particularly in areas with lots of trees. <DESERVED SARCASM ON> Regardless of the well documented fact that a large hive can form quickly in 10 to 15 minutes to protect their Queen, Disney should be responsible for staffing CM's every 20 yards to check for these possible bee hives and react in a more timely manner! Disney is a Billion dollar company, and that they don't have CM's checking every tree and every roof overhang at least twice per hour is unacceptable. This NEVER would have happened in Walt's day, as he was constantly controlling nature, global weather patterns and the Dow Jones Industrial Average to provide a better experience for Disneyland visitors. Walt Disney even got Nikita Kruschev to abandon plans to drop nuclear bombs on America during the Cuban Missile Crisis because my Grandmother was visiting from Milwaukie in late October, 1963 and World War III would have really ruined her day at Disneyland. She was even staying at the Disneyland Hotel, was spending quite a bit of money there, and deserved a visit free from thermo-nuclear fission! Walt Disney happily prevented World War III and saved my Grandmothers entire visit! He was just that kind of guy. Thanks Walt! But nowadays, Disney just lets bee hives form in trees at random, without doing anything to prevent it! It's disgusting budget-cutting at its worst, a dirty habit from the Eisner era, and TDA should be ashamed of itself. <DESERVED SARCASM OFF> Okay, now that I've vented, I fell a little better. ;-) In all seriousness, it doesn't bug me that some folks didn't know that bee hives form literally in minutes and can't really be controlled by anyone, short of a beekeeper gassing them out with a smoke bomb. If you didn't grow up in the country, or don't know much about nature, you may not know the purpose of bee hives, how quickly a colony moves, and why bees swarm in the first place. That's not the issue. Google up bees and find out all sorts of nifty info on these amazing creatures, and how quickly they can form a huge hive dangling in a tree. But what does bug me is that some folks would jump on this beautiful example of nature and use it to accuse Disneyland of cutting corners, putting public safety at risk, and not caring about its customers or employees. The aptly named "Mr B" summed up this ugly sentiment perfectly in Post #12 when he stated >>"Hey...that's how things work around Disneyland and most places....wait till something breaks or goes wrong or happens to take action...sad, but true."<< What is sad is that someone would be so down on Disneyland that they would instantly jump to the conclusion that Disneyland management allowed the hive to form on purpose without adequately staffing some sort of quick-response team to kill the bee's before they could swarm. Or maybe CM's should go around the park checking every single Disneyland tree twice per hour to assess the probability of a hive forming. And yet I've seen Disneyland Horticulture Department CM's quickly respond to these types of hives in profesional beekeepers gear and use industrial grade bee traps to contain the hive and remove it once the sun goes down. Meanwhile, Disney staffs more CM's around a roped off area for hours and hours to prevent customers from getting too close to the active hive. And these CM's are so cheerful, and so glad to be of service, that they still maintain their inherent showmanship and good humor by telling the 3,000th tourist to ask what is going on that Winnie The Pooh was on a hunny hunt and went looking for bees. Bravo Disneyland and its fine staff of CM's!!!! I'm just amazed at how quickly people assign blame to Disneyland, it's CM's and the theme park management, and the broader policies of The Walt Disney Company when Mother Nature does her thing in a tree on Main Street in 10 or 15 minutes. Tell me, when a bee hive lands in your yard do you have the staff and resources on hand to respond in the same manner that Disneyland does? I didn't think so.
Originally Posted By DisneyDays I was visiting a local park ("Crystal Spring Gardens" in Portland Oregon by Reed College....if any of you live in P. Town!) on a recent Thursday with two kids (age 1 and 2). We got our picnic lunches out and were suddenly surrounded by bees. I am normally pretty brave, but this was crazy! They were huge, and crawling all over Lily's (the two year old) PB&J! She was about to eat one! We spent the whole time running from spot to spot. The bees followed, and at one point we had bees and geese chasing us down the bridge! I think the kids will be traumitized for life! I have never been stung, but both my mom and dad (as well as both sets of my grandparernts) are allergic to bees! I asked the woman in charge of the Gardens why the bees were so aggresive. She said the bees are all about to die (except the Queen), and that they will be extremely aggresive until the end of October! Yikes! I hope the bees aren't to bad when we got to Disneyland (Sep. 11th to 16th)! I will be on the lookout! Thanks for the warning!
Originally Posted By TMICHAEL TP2000, GREAT post!!!! I tried to write out something similar but it went way too far overboard on the rude sarcasm. So, I just deleted it, hoping that someone would express my thoughts in a more 'adult' manner. Thanks!
Originally Posted By TP2000 You're welcome TMICHAEL! DisneyDays, I know that area of Portland and have been to that park. Portland is one of America's most beautiful big cities with lovely parks seemingly every three blocks. You are lucky to live there. If you had been at Disneyland however, you could have rounded up some of the other posters from this thread and complained to City Hall about the bees and the obvious budget cuts that led to their existence at Disneyland. That is your right as an Annual Passholder. Did the manager of Crystal Spring Gardens at least offer you a free churro or a Fastpass due to the inconvenience caused by Mother Nature during your visit? Or did she hide behind the excuse that nature does whatever it wants to do and that she didn't owe you anything as the manager of the garden? If you had an Annual Pass for those gardens, you should have demanded something for free! ;-)
Originally Posted By Disney Joy Thanks everyone for the info on the bees. I'm no expert and did not know they grow so big....and I am not one for everything I see to go and research before going to the Happy place to share and post and learn something new. It is also a good thing to be on the watch for and has been very interesting to hear the different views. No need to be rude about anything....it is only a post.....goodness sake.
Originally Posted By Disney Joy I also didn't notice a bunch of folks running to City Hall to complain....but who knows. I don't think all IF ANY AP's are that way ?
Originally Posted By TP2000 I know I'm not Disney Joy. You and I are alike in that fashion. But there are at least two folks in this thread that were happy to place blame squarely at Disneyland's feet for this beehive existing on Disney property. One person here even went so far as to make this unfortunate accusation regarding the bees... "that's how things work around Disneyland and most places....wait till something breaks or goes wrong or happens to take action...sad, but true" I'm simply amazed that anyone could think to blame Disneyland management for the existence of a bee swarm in a tree.
Originally Posted By nemopoppins TP2000, in your second post above, I think I sensed a bit of that sarcasm that TMICHAEL had just praised you for not using. Just couldn't hold back, huh? By the way, remember all the crows? One year we got pooped on several times. The next year the crows were gone. Do you know how Disney managed them?
Originally Posted By DisneyDays I go to Crystal Springs about three times a week. I do have an annual pass. I have loved this park for 15 years. I have never had a big problem with the bees there.....and I did not complain to the manager. I know her very well.....Just asked a question. I just wanted to know when the bees would be gone so that we could safely come back. Mother Nature can be cruel, and there is nothing we can do to stop it. I just want to do my best to keep my kids safe. I will take them back to the park in November
Originally Posted By Disney Joy DisneyDays ~ I live in Portland Oregon and never heard of Crystal Springs. I need to get out more in my areas. Sounds like a lovely place....I will have to look it up. My mind mostly travel one way Disneyland -- well na 2 ways - Disneyland once a year - twice if I am lucky and Vegas once a year. No gambling - sight seeing and of course I need to see Celine one more time before she retires.
Originally Posted By DlandDug The first time I encountered a swarm at the Resort was in Downtown Disney. I think many here were alarmed at the prospect of a large HIVE forming at Disneyland. It is swarms that build up in a matter of minutes. A huge hive, which takes longer to build, would result due to negligence. The swarm at DtD was being handled very discreetly. The area was blocked off, with Cast Members posted all around. One reason for the extra caution is that Africanized "Killer" Bees are in Southern California. So, Disney is very careful with large swarms of bees!
Originally Posted By DlandDug (My hometown is Portland. Although I am from the east side, I have been to Crystal Springs Park.)
Originally Posted By DisneyDays Disney Joy It is a beautiful park! You should see it at least once. They don't allow bread to feed the ducks (something to do with bread attracting seagulls), but there is a little store down the road that sells bags of "duck feed" for $1 per bag. It looks like a little red garage, and they sell local fruits and veggies there too Its very easy to get to. Go down 39th, right on steel, left on 28th. You will see the little store on your right, and continue down just a little ways, and the park is on your right (across from Reed College).
Originally Posted By alexbook I love the story about Winnie the Pooh taking the bees away. I've always found it odd that the DLR exterminators are referred to as gardeners. All part of the "show", I guess.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 We were in line for the Matterhorn in May and a swarm developed in the trees next to the left side entrance. They quickly diverted everyone to the other side of the Matterhorn and a bee keeper was called.
Originally Posted By tcsnwhite "BTW SusieQ, I cancelled my Desert Inn reservation for October. Maybe if others respond something will be done. Thanks for the heads up..." what's wrong with the Desert Inn right now? just curious.
