From the OS: Gator drags child into Seven Seas Lagoon

[mouse_luv]

It's an example I've seen them around seven seas too but they weren't availble for quick pics off the internet. There are signs warning people not to be too close to water.

I get that, I just know the signs at 7 seas are different.

 

[donsullivan]

Too many anti-Disney agendas are over-running this thread now. I'm out.

 

[Rescue Ranger]

I may be in the minority, but I find it very sad they had to resort to euthanize a number of Alligators.

 

[SoupBone]

So wait the gator took the boy, drowned him, and then decided he wasn't a meal? I cannot imagine how this would be considered to be a better outcome for the parents. So my son was drowned for sport?

I know the gator doesn't think that way but the parent will.

My heart goes out to the family involved and thank you to those educating others on the dangers involved. Shame on so many on this post to go anywhere else.

Having been around them my whole life, no. Alligators will store their food for later, not saying that's what happened here, but they do.

 

[ULPO46]

I get that, I just know the signs at 7 seas are different.

After this whole fiasco expect them to be changed and expect no more beaches. The funny part of this is one of the very first post on these forums where discussions about alligators at the seven seas lagoon. They exist, they even are within the world showcase lagoon. People especially American parents who could read English should have known better and read the signs. No swimming or wading means no swimming or wading. It's so sad that officially the child's body has been recovered and found in tact.

 

[ULPO46]

I may be in the minority, but I find it very sad they had to resort to euthanize a number of Alligators.

Me too

 

[Dead2009]

To all the armchair lawyers on here...if a bee stings me on Disney property, I'm able to sue because there's not 4 million signs that say "beware of bees!!!!"

Yes, this was a terrible tragedy and hopefully it never happens again, and to the ones saying all the bodies of water at WDW should have walls so gators can't get onto to the property....you must think that alligators are only animals that hang out in the water.

 

[MrHappy]

They do remove the gators once they reach a certain size. It's an awful freak accident. People need to stop worrying about liability. That's probably the least inportant thing in the world now

It does seem a little odd to have a majestic centerpiece of water highlighted and celebrated with literally a path of soft white sand onto it's questionable threshold....but just don't go near it. I've said it before, I'm pro-Disney. But I always felt a disconnect here with the 7 Seas Lagoon. I mean is it for transportation, is it for sport, is it for beach? Clearly not for beach and time to stop marketing it as such. Make it safe/off limits, cross it off guests "to-do's".

 

[Disney Analyst]

Having been around them my whole life, no. Alligators will store their food for later, not saying that's what happened here, but they do.

I wonder if the speedy response to try and find the boy scared it away... I am just glad he was found, and not inside of a gator.

 

[mouse_luv]

After this whole fiasco expect them to be changed and expect no more beaches. The funny part of this is one of the very first post on these forums where discussions about alligators at the seven seas lagoon. They exist, they even are within the world showcase lagoon. People especially American parents who could read English should have known better and read the signs. No swimming or wading means no swimming or wading. It's so sad that officially the child's body has been recovered and found in tact.

Oh I'm the last person you need to tell that. I already said it last night.

 

[sean4066]

Having alligators and wildlife that could be dangerous is not the issue. What is the issue, however, is Disney not educating their visitors on the risks and that the wildlife does, in fact, exist on their property and that it does pose a danger.

Not posting signage on the waterfront warning guests is incredibly negligent. You can understand management not wanting the signage because it takes away from that "magical Disney experience," but they are incredibly idiotic for trying to keep the dangers from guests.

There are signs all over.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

I'm just thankful that the boy's body was found and that it was "intact" according to the Orlando Sentinel. That implies, then, that he wasn't eaten at all, just drowned. Still.....a heartbreaking loss for the family. I have a niece the same age as that boy and just imagining the devastation if that happened to her, is unreal.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

Years ago, I remember seeing a notice somewhere in Disney about interacting with wildlife. I think it was one of those Timon and Pumba safety notices in materials handed out by our hotel. As I recall, the notice said "Don't feed the wildlife, don't approach wildlife, and notify a cast member immediately if wildlife is seen." This type of education should be stepped up and any problem wildlife should be removed from guest areas as much as practically possible. I know Disney does remove wildlife but my sense is this was a greater priority in years past. I say that only because I've heard cast members in recent years talk about alligators, snakes and such and basically say with a shrug, "We see them, they're around, but there's not much we can do about them." Again, that's just my perception.

You are right. Somewhere I have the T&P safety card set. They were like trading cards my daughter was given at AK.

 

[Kylo Ken]

What ifs, the blame game, finger-pointing will not bring this little boy back. It just amazes me how insensitive people can truly be at times.

I think posters are losing sight that Lane Graves lost his life and that the Graves family will forever carry this loss.

RIP Lane. May your family find closure.

 

[No Name]

This is horribly tragic. I hope for the best for this child. And if that's a false hope, well, I certainly hope for the best for his family and all who are involved in this in any way.

I'll keep him in my prayers.

 

[Communicore]

It does seem a little odd to have a majestic centerpiece of water highlighted and celebrated with literally a path of soft white sand onto it's questionable threshold....but just don't go near it. I've said it before, I'm pro-Disney. But I always felt a disconnect here with the 7 Seas Lagoon. I mean is it for transportation, is it for sport, is it for beach? Clearly not for beach and time to stop marketing it as such. Make it safe/off limits, cross it off guests "to-do's".

Remember SSL had its roots in the 60's where the lagoon is supposed to be a stand-in for an actual beach. I still want it paved over.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

This is horribly tragic. I hope for the best for this child. And if that's a false hope, well, I certainly hope for the best for his family and all who are involved in this in any way.

I'll keep him in my prayers.

His body was found, according to the Orlando Sentinel, and thankfully not chewed up or eaten. Apparently the gator drowned him and didn't go any further. Still a horrible tragedy.

 

[LAKid53]

Me too

I am too. Alligators are an important part of the Florida ecosystem. In times of extreme drought in the Everglades, alligators create pockets of water that provide some level of hydration for flaura and fauna. And as a major predator, keep other species in check (think Key Deer). But the only way to recover the child was to capture and kill all the gators in the Lagoon and Lake in order to conduct a necropsy.

 

[Rescue Ranger]

Has there been anything regarding PETA yet, going after Disney for killing innocent Alligators? I'm sure it's only a matter of time now if it hasn't already happened.

 

[Jeremy Geertsema]

Prayers to the family. Prayers to everyone in Orlando as well.