From the OS: Gator drags child into Seven Seas Lagoon

[djkidkaz]

not good...

Family "chased" by gator a couple weeks ago at Poly. Reading the article, I don't think "chased" is the correct term but I'm sure we'll be seeing more of these stories.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/terrified-brit-family-chased-alligator-8197003

"We sat there for a while longer and dismissed her concern. The next thing, a Canadian family sitting a little way up ran over and shouted, 'Alligator!'.

"It was directly in front of us, around 40 feet away. It lurched out of the water and we had to run. It was pitch black with no lighting on the actual beach section.

"Our daughter was screaming, she was petrified."

He added: "[The alligator] was quite big, at least four-foot-long. It's quite scary to think that anyone with a driving licence can pull up to the resort."

There is a photo of an alligator at the shore from earlier this year. That thing is HUGE!

 

[21stamps]

I thought so. And thanks for the photo in your later post.

Leads me to wonder why, if there are well-lit areas in which to watch the fireworks from the beach, would you instead go to an area that is "pitch black with no lighting". Disney really needs to provide information to guests arriving at these hotels about the habitat in Florida, especially to tourists travelling from overseas.

There is not one area at the Poly that is "pitch black with no lighting". None.

And if anyone regardless of the what country they are from goes to Florida and doesn't know there are alligators living in Florida- that's on them.

 

[KrazyKat]

Wow, my condolences to this family. Very scary especially with having small children myself. On our last trip to WDW we stayed at CBR and our room was right by the water. My kids wanted to go hang out near it at night and I flat out said NO.

 

[Incomudro]

I'd imagine Disney may be posting gator warning signs now.
Look, I'm quick to blame parents in many situations (blame them for the Gorilla incident) - but these parents at the Grand Flridian were right with this little kid.
This isn't the ocean.
I'm also quick to stick up for resorts when people do stupid things.
But honestly...
Does the average WDW guest think that gators inhabit WDW waters?
I know that I didn't until I became a frequenter of boards like this. And I'm a nature buff who's aware of the Florida rule "if there's water, there's gators.
I'm sure the average guest views Disney grounds as a completely man made, enclosed and controlled environment. One that doesn't contain large predators.

 

[Matt_Black]

There is not one area at the Poly that is "pitch black with no lighting". None.

I don't think there's a single spot at ANY resort that fits that description.

 

[The Mom]

I can't believe some of these posts!

Actually, I can. Please people, think twice before you post.

 

[Horizons78]

Question for the experts - If the child was not in the water and playing in the sand, would the gator come out of the water to grab the child? Or only because the child's legs were in the water, the gator attached? I have certainly seen gators come out of the water. I am just not sure if it is to eat.

I'm not an expert in an academic sense, however, I am a native Floridian who has spent countless hours on our freshwater lakes, and my brother has been a professional fishing guide in central Florida for over 20 years.

I can confirm and reiterate what others have stated upthread. In the wild, alligators want nothing to do with humans. They will submerge and rapidly move toward cover as you approach them if in open water, and if already entrenched in significant vegetation for cover, they often make an explosive move further into the shoreline.

In response to your specific question, and assuming that hypothetically this animal had been fed, desensitized, and no longer had a fear of humans, unfortunately, all bets are off. I've witnessed animals in this state approach boats, and walk up on shorelines near residences in broad daylight while displaying aggressive and confrontational behavior which is nothing short of a wholesale departure from the norm.

With a sufficiently motivated and desensitized animal, sadly, I doubt a matter of inches would have made a significant difference, although as a reasoning engine, I'm sure the alligators brain was processing a number of pieces of data. Sadly, in this case, the sum of conditions resulted in an attack.

The value of preventing wildlife from from being fed really cannot be overstated.

I join the rest of our WDWMagic family in grief, and in the sending of prayers, light, and love to all involved.

I also share my sincere hopes that this thread will remain civil, and respectful. We are part of a great community here, please join together in demonstrating this quality in the hours and days ahead.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

I didn't go through this thread yet, but I found this article as well. Apparently a gator "chased" a family from the Poly's beach. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/terrified-brit-family-chased-alligator-8197003

 

[natatomic]

Yes.

We have a trip coming up in September. My 5 year old asked to choose one character breakfast. After telling her all her choices, she was adamant she wanted to go to Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club. We've never been there, or even to the Beach Club so when I asked her why, she said, so we can play in the sand and swim at the beach! Once I found out there wasn't a swimming beach there, she changed her mind and we ended up booking Tusker House. But while we were discussing Cape May, in my mind I was already planning adorable beach side pictures of my girls in their cute little sun dresses. If we were there and my daughter asked to feel the water, I would have let her. Obviously not 'swimming' but dipping a toe in? Sure. Now after this, no way. But I never would have thought there would be alligators in there. Maybe that's just me being naive about Florida.

This will probably only bring minimal comfort given the incident last night, but the water by the beach club is very unlikely to have gators in it given that it is an enclosed body of water with no connections to any natural body of water. Obviously it's still possible, because gators can still walk to it, but it's so rare, and it's not really any easy walk for a gator. I've been working on that water for three years now and have never seen a single gator, nor have I seen a gator trap laid out implying that a gator was spotted by someone else. And we're supposed to call animal control immediately if we DO see one so that it can be caught and relocated immediately.

edited to add: you still should not go into that water, and there are signs that say not to. 30 years of diesel fuel mixed with firework residue makes for some truly disgusting water.

 

[golden james]

Am I right in thinking this has happened at a Disney resort in FL many moons ago??? Im sure I read it in one of my Disney books

 

[epcotisbest]

I don't think there's a single spot at ANY resort that fits that description.

Sure there are. Lots. SSR is huge, with areas nowhere near lights. That is just one example.

 

[Prince-1]

HRHPrincessAriel, I'm trying to brighten up this thread a bit. Laughter is the best medicine.

There is not one area at the Poly that is "pitch black with no lighting". None.

And if anyone regardless of the what country they are from goes to Florida and doesn't know there are alligators living in Florida- that's on them.

Sorry but this is just an asinine statement. I do think many visitors to Florida and WDW know about gators but if you think all families that come to our country for the first time knows about the indigenous wildlife that lives in the lagoons in WDW especially ones that can eat you then you are just wrong. I certainly do not know about all of the dangerous animals that may live in other countries that I have visited..I do now some but not all.

 

[tribbleorlfl]

I have nothing in my heart but profound grief for everyone involved. Reading through this thread, as a "northerner" who has no experience with gators or crocs besides our local zoo, I have learned quite a bit this morning. I remember my very first trip to WDW in '99 with my preteen kids, and we had just finished playing mini golf at Fantasia Gardens. We wanted to go to DHS, and we could see Tower of Terror not far away, so we decided to WALK! I know . . . it sounded like a good idea at the time! Part of that walk was along a canal, and thought nothing of it at the time. After all, that was the same vacation where we went swimming at River Country, which was right on the shores of Bay Lake. Now, I would NEVER walk that close to water down there! My point being that many of us who don't live down there, while we understand we're in gator country, we really don't grasp the reality of that. And, as ignorant as it sounds, assume that while at a resort I don't have to worrying about encountering an alligator. Ignorantly thinking "I'm sure the resort people take care of them so their guests are safe." While I am not blaming Disney - this was a horrible, tragic accidental encounter with wildlife native to the area - I have to wonder that there would be better places to have a movie screening than on a beach at night. And, if you really want to keep people away from the water, then the signs need to say "Stay out of the water." That is different than "No swimming." And, I think there are ways to calmly remind guests to be viligant of the wildlife native to the area without scaring them to death. It is a reality of being if Florida, that many of us on a magical vacation can lose sight of.

Personally, "No Swimming" DOES equal " Stay out of the water." I assume that whatever is in the water (be it physical, chemical or biological) that makes swimming hazardous also would apply to simply being in the water. Its worth noting all of the retention ponds around my community also have signs that day no swimming and you won't catch anyone else dipping their toes in.

But, that's just my perspective. Others might take it more literally or ignore earning signs all together. That's why I agree they need to change the signs to remove all ambiguity.

That being said, I'm not at all placing blame on the family. The child could have been a foot from the water instead of a foot in the water and still been taken. Such a horrible, freak accident.

 

[SoupBone]

I'm old enough that I actually went in Disney waters before the ban which I understood to be because of bacteria. This is absolutely heartbreaking

As a child, I vividly recall swimming at the beach at Fort Wilderness, even at night. We watched whatever parade was on the water. I don't recall the exact location, maybe Bay Lake? And I grew up with alligators as part of daily living, but at Disney, it's just something you don't think about.

 

[epcotisbest]

CNN just reported WDW is shutting down all beaches on property out of caution.

 

[Gringrinngghost]

CNN just reported WDW is shutting down all beaches on property out of caution.

We can confirm this from a WDW spokesperson

 

[bhg469]

Sorry but this is just an asinine statement. I do think many visitors to Florida and WDW know about gators but if you think all families that come to our country for the first time knows about the indigenous wildlife that lives in the lagoons in WDW especially ones that can eat you then you are just wrong. I certainly do not know about all of the dangerous animals that may live in other countries that I have visited..I do now some but not all.

Agreed. I think for a vast majority of guests they expect that Disney bubble effect. Dare I say it, the grand Floridian its probably even more so. I'm sure some guests think they are spending 600 as night on a room, that beach has to be safe.

The area between mk and the Grand Floridian is very dense with trees, there are undoubtedly thousands of venomous snakes there. Disney does the best they can but it won't matter, they are going to get destroyed by the media for this unfortunately.

 

[Andrew C]

CNN just reported WDW is shutting down all beaches on property out of caution.

Makes sense until they catch this particular gator. Obviously, the gator has no fear of humans.

 

[JohnD]

We can confirm this from a WDW spokesperson

They have no choice right now.

 

[BigRedDad]

It may be impulsive, but after watching this unfold live last night, I still can't wrap my mind around this and will be cancelling my upcoming Disney vacation, which is only 2 weeks away.

You're far more likely to be attacked and killed by a shark. More people are killed from falling coconuts from trees. You are far more likely to be killed in a fiery car crash. I am willing to be the odds of your computer exploding while you type is higher than being attacked by an alligator.

Why ruin a vacation? Just know not to be complacent.