From the OS: Gator drags child into Seven Seas Lagoon

[Wdw62114]

So far after reading many new reports on this tragic event, Ive come to my conclusion on why it happened and who is to blame. Nobody is to blame. This is a freak accident. Yes they still do occur in this world. Unfortunately in the society we live in today, that term seems to be very less common now as people feel that blame has to be put on someone or something for every single thing that happens in their life. its a very sad "accident" and I feel horrible for the family. I'm sure like many other families who goes to Disney World, they were planning this trip for months or even years and were beyond excited to go and counting down the days to give their children the true magic experience. Just thinking that way of how their vacation ended up becoming is what breaks my heart. I travel a lot and I go to WDW many times. I am always aware of dangers of travel. Its crossed my mind at least one time of getting into an accident on the drive down, my plane crashing, getting struck by lightning since Florida is know for it........Never once did an alligator attack EVER cross my mind as a possibility. I can easily understand why the parents would feel the same way as myself. I understand that maybe better precautions could of been taken by either side, but come on.....its a freak accident. Sometimes in life, things happen that nobody is to blame.
I'm sure there are people posting in this thread that dont agree with me and would sue Disney in a heartbeat if this happen to them. That is sad.

 

[dadddio]

You know animals don't actually work on horror movie logic, right?

No, but they do learn how to find an easy meal.

 

[thomas998]

I'm sorry but some of you folks can't possibly be serious with your takes on this situation?

First of all, this is a body of fresh water in Florida. This body of water empties out into several other bodies of water in the area. Disney can only do so much to keep a species native to the area out. Unfortunately, there are inherent risks involved similar to going to the beach.

I'm more than sure that Disney does everything in their power to keep all guests safe, but some things are out of their control. If someone got struck by a bolt of lightning, would you blame Disney? Would you blame the person?

Also, contrary to popular belief, there are not gators just roaming down the streets here in Florida. This tragedy was an unfortunate freak occurrence. I just pray this family can find closure and can somewhat heal with time.

While I blame Disney if lightning strikes a visitor... They clearly should have had more lightning rods around the area to make it safe... and when someone gets Zika while visiting Disney I'm sure they will think Disney should have eliminated every mosquito.

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

Terrible and it strenghtens my opinion even more: WHY do the waterbodies in the park areas like Seven Seas Lagoon have to be open to wildlife? Why don't they make them the way they once were in the early 70ies ? Biological dead as a swimming pool but crystal clear and safe? I don't see the necessity for completely artificially created lakes to be treated like natural ones, Florida CRAWLS of wildlife and there are hundreds of lakes in Central Florida which can be used by wildlife, they don't need Seven Seas Lagoon, Bay Lake additionally. Evacuate every animal in the lake, fishes, snakes, alligators and then kill everything remaining (including the flesh eating bacterias) with chemical agents and completely seal of the lake to all wildlife with fences and barriers. It was once possible and changed, change it back.

 

[Incomudro]

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.

And not everyone equates "no swimming" with Danger Alligators may be Present.

 

[IMFearless]

How many guests allow their children to travel by bus while on Disney property without using a seatbelt? Are those parents being oblivious to a far more obvious risk to life?

Risks are all around us, to shield a child from all risk is to shield him or her from life itself.

Nobody is to blame here, it is just a tragic horrible occurrence for all involved.

 

[JohnD]

Terrible and it strenghtens my opinion even more: WHY do the waterbodies in the park areas like Seven Seas Lagoon have to be open to wildlife? Why don't they make them the way they once were in the early 70ies ? Biological dead as a swimming pool but crystal clear and safe? I don't see the necessity for completely artificially created lakes to be treated like natural ones, Florida CRAWLS of wildlife and there are hundreds of lakes in Central Florida which can be used by wildlife. Evacuate every animal in the lake, fishes, snakes, alligators and then kill everything remaining (including the flesh eating bacterias) with chemical agents and completely seal of the lake to all wildlife with fences and barriers. It was once possible and changed, change it back.

And how do you propose that happens in what is essentially a swamp area? Maybe we should ask the same question of the entire State of Florida. Let's just put up a fence around the entire Seven Seas Lagoon. Yeah, that'll solve everything.

 

[Andrew C]

I am going to be honest. My daughter is now 3, but if I was in the same situation when she was 2, I would have felt relatively comfortable with her splashing around right on the water's edge while I was essentially in arm's reach, if I wasn't aware of alligators being in the water. Based on her personality at the time, she wouldn't have gone any further without me next to her.

So I am definitely not going to second guess the parent's judgement in any way. It is just not fair.

 

[EngineJoe]

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.

28 fatalities from alligators nationwide in 46 years. 100x more likely to die from being struck by lightning. So yeah, Freak accident.

 

[Jimmy Thick]

So if Disney has to put up some kind of barrier around the Seven Seas Lagoon, how does this effect other areas of the property where the public is close to water like say Boardwalk or the path from Epcot to the Studios? If you look at Google Maps of the property a lot of the rivers and lakes are connected to others water areas not seen by the public and there could be alligator living in those areas for all the public knows.

 

[Britrepeater]

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

U.K. Visitor, we know Florida has them, but were surprised to see them and turtles in the CBR lake. I assumed there were nets to try and prevent them reaching main areas? Also in a Disney location you never know if a 'warning Gators' sign is genuine or theming I would see a no swim sign as no swimming due to Disney covering them self for no lifeguard cover from a UK view.

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

And how do you propose that happens in what is essentially a swamp area? Maybe we should ask the same question of the entire State of Florida. Let's just put up a fence around the entire Seven Seas Lagoon. Yeah, that'll solve everything.

I don't get your point. There is a BIG difference between a completely artificially created landscape, created for amusement only (and not as a wildlife refuge) and natural waterbodies like lakes and swamps. Seven Seas Lagoon was created when they excavated soil for the mound MK was built on. It was and is no natural lake. WDW was an entire swamp area originally, is that reason enough to let wildlife run free in the parks and resort areas?

 

[Dylan Ann]

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.

I grew up in New York. There is no threat of gators. These people are from Nebraska - there is no threat of gators.
I did not get eaten by a crocodile or shark while in Australia because the signs were very clear about why you should avoid the water - because they realized that many tourists (as well as locals) would be unaware of the dangers, so the took appropriate steps to warn people.

I feel like I was pretty clear in my post why I do not associate "No Swimming" signs with "stay out of the water at all costs" - especially because I was often the lifeguard who posted said sign, and then swam in that same area after the pool closed. I did not die, and there was no threat. Being from Florida, you clearly have the advantage in realizing that there might be gators in the water, but I'm guessing you are in the minority who would see a danger in putting your feet in the water at a Disney resort hotel.

Plus, putting your feet in the water isn't swimming. Swimming is swimming. I don't blame Disney or the parents for this, and I'm sure the will make changes and adjustments after this - but a sign that says "No Swimming" is simply not effective if what you are trying to say is 1) Do not step foot in the water and stay away from the coastline and 2) There are alligators so you must use caution. A sign that "No Swimming" does not convey either of those things.

 

[s8film40]

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.

There was at least a period of time where Disney did not allow swimming but did allow wading in the water. I'm not sure what the signs said during that time, but essentially they allowed you to go into the water but didn't want you going more than a few feet from the shoreline.

 

[s8film40]

So if Disney has to put up some kind of barrier around the Seven Seas Lagoon, how does this effect other areas of the property where the public is close to water like say Boardwalk or the path from Epcot to the Studios? If you look at Google Maps of the property a lot of the rivers and lakes are connected to others water areas not seen by the public and there could be alligator living in those areas for all the public knows.

There are 47 miles of canals throughout WDW. These were designed and built to regulate the water levels across property. Pretty much everything is connected.

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

I don't think these people are bad parents, I'm sure they're good parents who made a bad parenting decision that by very small odds, resulted in unimaginable tragedy. Again, I don't have any kids, but no such thing as a perfect parent, right?

No, as much as anyone would love to believe it there is no such thing as a perfect parent. You can try pretty darn hard but things can/will happen.

 

[dadddio]

Im not even going to try to reply to all the personal insults because this tragedy is not about me or anyone else who might have been offended by what I said in earlier posts, and I'm not going to insult anyone back because that gets us nowhere and it'll derail the thread. Plus, I know everyone grieves differently, my way is just with a little more anger apparently.

My anger is aimed at the parents because I am grieving for the 2 year old, not the parents who made the bad call. In my eyes, this wouldn't have happened if they stayed away from the dark murky water at nighttime.

I guess I have such judgmental points of view because I worked at an afterschool daycare where I took care of children all day long, so I have a soft spot for children more than adults because I saw every day the consequences of bad parenting and what it did to the kids.

Given that the parents or their friends could actually be members of this site, you might to rethink your position.

 

[Lucky]

As usual, it looks like most of the posters on here who want to judge other people's parenting skills have never been parents themselves.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

And not everyone equates "no swimming" with Danger Alligators may be Present.

Yes we have a huge problem with gators in the canals of Scotland. The ones the pike dont eat that is.

 

[JohnD]

I don't get your point. There is a BIG difference between a completely artificially created landscape, created for amusement only (and not as a wildlife refuge) and natural waterbodies like lakes and swamps. Seven Seas Lagoon was created when they excavated soil for the mound MK was built on. It was and is no natural lake. WDW was an entire swamp are originally, is that reason enough to let wildlife run free in the parks and resort areas?

The point being is that the only thing artificial is that a lake was dug out from the ground. The dirt was put under MK and the utilidors were built. Other than that, everything else is natural--the water, the wildlife, the plants that grow around and in SSL. So by "closing it off" how, for example, do boats from Wilderness Lodge get to MK. I mean Bay Lake is a natural body of water. You're proposing that SSL become essentially a chlorinated pool. Do we install locks at the water bridge? How do you segregate the natural water of Bay Lake from the chlorinated water (in your proposal) of SSL? Do we end boat service altogether for anything currently crossing between Bay Lake and SSL?

How do you prevent all wildlife from approaching SSL? Are you just assuming that if its a chlorinated pool they just say "eww" and walk off?

Your proposal has no realism to it at all.