From the OS: Gator drags child into Seven Seas Lagoon

[Phicinfan]

I have to come back to this part. You think because GF is expensive that guests are entitled to go wherever they want or do whatever they want?

No, I would expect a sign that clearly designates NOT to go in the water. Again, not everyone equates no swimming with stay out of the water.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I'm assuming beaches will be replaced by seawalls. Anywhere the land had a zero entry with the water near a guest area will be converted.

I think that could be a good solution, still a beautiful view, but no guest access, and no gator access.

Also... Gators can climb fences..

 

[EngineJoe]

From what I understand, the child was in the water by themselves and the parents were watching from a short distance on the sand.

If it were me, my kid wouldn't be that far from me. But aside from that, I never would've let my kid go into the lake even with him holding my hand at night. But again, I've been to Florida over 20 times so I know there's an alligator presence.

But if I wasn't aware of the alligator presence, my kid still wouldn't have been by themselves. I would've been standing right next to them

The two year old

 

[Kylo Ken]

Not afraid.

Saddened. And not just by this incident, but the two other horrific incidents this week.

And Disney is a huge part of my life. In fact, I've worked for various arms of Disney on creative projects over the years, and currently run a fan project or two.

We're booked for a trip in July, and I'll be thinking about this week and all the families who have been devastated. It'll be hard to have "the time of your life" when so many have lost theirs.

I don't blame Disney. And I'm sure I'll come around again in time. But all the pixie dust in the world can't -- and shouldn't -- make us forget about these awful tragedies. Statistical improbability doesn't change the fact that all of these things did indeed happen within days of one another, in and around "the most magical place on Earth."

I don't know how this will affect park attendance this year. I do know that we've had no problems whatsoever booking "impossible" reservations in the wake of all of this, when just a week before there was a snowball's chance. I have to think that people are cancelling their trips. It's the only thing that makes sense.

But yeah. We're still going. It likely won't be the happiest trip we've had, though. How can it be?

You hit the nail right on the head. I am in complete agreement with you. There is NO WAY I will be able to ride the ferry past GF or even go on the property without thinking of this poor child.

 

[Robbiemoo]

This is so sad. My thoughts are with the poor family

 

[EngineJoe]

I think that could be a good solution, still a beautiful view, but no guest access, and no gator access.

Also... Gators can climb fences..

Yup just shows you the ignorance of the people who are screaming at Disney and blaming them.

 

[G00fyDad]

I just realized how my second post may have sounded. Although I have never allowed my children near water in Florida (except the pools and the ocean) I was not in any way suggesting that the parents were allowing their child to do anything that would cause harm or neglecting the child.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

It's a total tragedy. I recall you USED to be able to swim in there. In fact in the mid 90s my family stayed at the Poly and were surprised to see you could not swim in there and I am sure I went in ankle deep at least once. I did not expect a Gator to be in there

On a side note I will never forget the time my wife and I went to the fresh springs...I think its called Wichiwa or something bout a half hour north of Orlando. We saw signs posted on the trails warning of bears...nothing about gators. We rented a canoe for two hours and went into the lake paddled around when we heard the gator mating calls...and saw one right under our boat. Lets just say we decided to lose some money and turn the 2hr rental into a half hour.

 

[21stamps]

From what I understand, the child was in the water by themselves and the parents were watching from a short distance on the sand.

If it were me, my kid wouldn't be that far from me. But aside from that, I never would've let my kid go into the lake even with him holding my hand at night. But again, I've been to Florida over 20 times so I know there's an alligator presence.

But if I wasn't aware of the alligator presence, my kid still wouldn't have been by themselves. I would've been standing right next to them

Like I've already stated, I lived in South Florida most of my life, I know what exists in Florida. My kid sat on the edge of that lagoon, @ 9pm at night, while I sat 3 feet away.

I think all of you who proclaim you never let go of your child's hand should stop and think for a moment. Be honest with yourself.

Saying that this was a parenting error is the same as blaming a parent if their child gets attacked by a shark. Exactly the same. But I'm sure plenty of you will proclaim that you don't allow your child near the ocean because- ya know, there's dangerous creatures there.

But beyond the shark analogy- The kid wasn't swimming, he was on the edge of the lagoon. No one could have ever seen this coming.

 

[me_stitch]

I have stayed at CBR twice and CSR once and all three times we were told to stay out of the water when we checked in. This is Florida and there are gators and other wildlife they said

 

[JohnD]

Some facts to consider:

"Alligator jaw muscles have little strength for opening their mouth, but the muscles that shut them are very strong and have awesome force, about 300 pounds per square inch in an adult.

A mature alligator has 80 conical shaped teeth. They have no molars for crushing and grinding food therefore they swallow their food whole. Lost teeth are replaced. An alligator may go through 2,000 to 3,000 teeth in its lifetime.

Large adult alligators can hold their breath up to 45 minutes. The amount of time they can remain submerged depends upon their size and the water temperature."

http://www.dfwwildlife.org/AlligatorFactsTPWD.pdf

So consider the use of force on the child and the inability of the father to pry the child away. If the child couldn't be taken away at that moment, not much hope for survival if an alligator's "food" is eaten whole and it can stay underwater for up to 45 minutes. (Shudder).

 

[raymusiccity]

I think that could be a good solution, still a beautiful view, but no guest access, and no gator access.

Also... Gators can climb fences..

If you're near water in Florida, there's no such thing as 'gator proof'. Everyone should just look at that picture for a wake up call !

There are plenty of reports of gators on golf courses and swimming pools in Florida. There aren't any signs about staying off the golf course or don't swim in the pool. Silver Springs and Weeki attractions have the same problems.

 

[Disney Analyst]

If you're near water in Florida, there's no such thing as 'gator proof'. Everyone should just look at that picture for a wake up call !

There are plenty of reports of gators on golf courses and swimming pools in Florida. There aren't any signs about staying off the golf course or don't swim in the pool. Silver Springs and Weeki attractions have the same problems.

Well if they surround all guest access areas to the water with seawalls... the height will make it virtually gator proof.

 

[thomas998]

True, but there's a huge difference in a "No swimming" sign that you assume is because there is no lifeguards and it's a liability to be in the water, and a "No swimming" with the assumption that you might get eaten by an alligator. The two aren't even close. I used to be a lifeguard, and when we had to close a section, we'd plop a "No swimming" sign up. People who knew how to swim would really have no reason to think they would suddenly be in danger if they swam under the rope to that area. "No swimming" signs are pretty common.

I spent a year and a half traveling throughout Australia - they were quite clear on every sign WHY you shouldn't be swimming in that body of water - they would explicitly state whether the danger was from crocodiles, sharks, or jellyfish. A sign that said "No swimming - Alligators" would have been far more effective in keeping people out. To me, "No swimming" is the equivalent of "No Lifeguard on duty".

I have no idea where you grew up, so I have no idea about the way they do signs where you are... I've lived in Florida and the South West of the US and the norm for signs was if it said no swimming you didn't get in the water, if they simply didn't have a life guard on duty it would be a no lifeguard on duty sign... I have no clue what the signs would be for someone in Nebraska where these folks were from... but honestly that doesn't really matter.... The signs were there and in Florida you see a no swimming sign it means don't get in the water.

 

[Rescue Ranger]

Lots of times blame can be put on the parents, but NOT in this case.
Each and every day at all resorts on the lake, at least in my many trips, there are kids playing in the shallowest parts of the water playing with the sand, toys, etc. Not swimming, but playing. Even during the movies under the stars and nobody says anything. Lets also not forget not too long ago you were permitted and encourage to SWIM in that water. I was one of those people as a kid to swim in the lagoon water at GF back in the very early 90s.

Does Disney hold any responsibility? Well, that is a tough call. If you go into the ocean and get attacked by a shark at a resort beach, is the resort at fault? No. BUT, this is a Disney made lake and not a wild anything goes international ocean. A "No Swimming" sign does not equate to "Keep Away From Water"..."Keep Away From the Shoreline"..."Danger"...or any notice of danger due to wildlife or in this particular case Alligators. This Alligator could have just as easily walked up to a kid building a sand castle away from the water.

This was a freak terrible accident. Clearly no one from the general public or guests or Disney themselves ever saw anything like this ever happening. It has never happened before or anything even remotely close. Things will need to be assessed and new precautions put in place.

However, the native wildlife should NOT be harmed or put at risk over this. Nor should the beaches be closed, New signs? Absolutely. Maybe even new low lying fencing either within the water or along the shoreline to keep potential harmful wildlife from entering through beach level.

A very new and different Walt Disney World is on the horizon for many of us. As of late, a lot can be said in the same regard to the entire world and humanity.

 

[21stamps]

Well if they surround all guest access areas to the water with seawalls... the height will make it virtually gator proof.

If something like that would ever even need to be considered then we need to just remove every theme park, zoo, park, swing set, swimming pool, close every beach, nature trail, and anything else that could possibly bring danger.

 

[note2001]

Well if they surround all guest access areas to the water with seawalls... the height will make it virtually gator proof.

Nature finds a way. We need to stop insisting upon nature-proofing everything, and start being more vigilant. It was a rare tragedy, but I wouldn't call it an accident. It was nature at work, and the little one happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

[Matt_Black]

No, I would expect a sign that clearly designates NOT to go in the water. Again, not everyone equates no swimming with stay out of the water.

The intent is clear. That's a bit like equating you're not guilty of jaywalking because you ran across the street.

 

[Matt_Black]

Nature finds a way. We need to stop insisting upon nature-proofing everything, and start being more vigilant. It was a rare tragedy, but I wouldn't call it an accident. It was nature at work, and the little one happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Yeah, a freak accident is something like a mini-volcano suddenly forming on property. NO ONE could have seen that coming. However, a Florida water way possibly having alligators? Reasonable assumption. Even if there had been no attack previously, it's foolish to think it would never happen.

 

[thomas998]

Look at this image below. This lady works for 13-WHAM ABC in Rochester, NY. I cannot believe she would joke about this. Soon after she did, she obviously got a lot of heat and her account was "protected". So disgusting. Just as many of the comments being thrown around here without any actual facts.

It may be in poor taste... but that is also the way some people deal with tragedies, they make jokes of the event. Frankly the people that are acting like the kid's parents are looking at forums on Disney are more out of touch with reality than the person making light of the situation. Does anyone really think that if your kid was just eaten by an alligator that you would go poking around on forum? Sorry but I seriously doubt the parents are going to be poking around any Disney forum anytime in the near or distant future.