From the OS: Gator drags child into Seven Seas Lagoon

[PhotoDave219]

Even if they pave over the lagoon...as Ive seen suggested multiple times...a gator could still amble over from the golf course, walk in the lobby, and hole up on a couch. There is no way to alligator proof WDW.

At the least? We need to educate the guests not to feed the wildlife.

 

[21stamps]

But at the time when swimming was allowed in SSL and Bay Lake Gators were endangered and there were 1,500 of them mostly in the everglades now there are 1.5 Million of them and they are in every body of water in Florida except swimming pools and sometimes they are found there too.

Yep, That's what happens when you build cities on top of the Everglades.
No judgemental tone here, just a fact.

I'd reasonable assume I'm safe on the poly beach or Grand Fla beach at night.

Of course I wouldn't go in the water because, you know, the night is dark & full of terrors.

Me too. Even more so at 9pm. It's not pitch black out.

And guess what? We are reasonably safe. As in- 1 out of 2.4 million chance. If you believe that there is imminent danger then you should also believe that you will win the lottery.

We don't need a pamphlet or warning to tell us gators could be in Florida. I'm sure there will be warnings now..but if your fear is that something like this will happen to you if Disney does not build a wall around Seven Seas Lagoon- then your best option is not to stay at any of these resorts. Because sorry to say, but a warning won't stop an attack if you happen to be that 1 in 2.4mil.

I'm not cancelling my vacation. And I will be on that beach. I hope others do the same!!!

 

[PhotoDave219]

Yep, That's what happens when you build cities on top of the Everglades.
No judgemental tone here, just a fact.

Me too. Even more so at 9pm. It's not pitch black out.

And guess what? We are reasonably safe. As in- 1 out of 2.4 million chance. If you believe that there is imminent danger then you should also believe that you will win the lottery.

We don't need a pamphlet or warning to tell us gators could be in Florida. I'm sure there will be warnings now..but if your fear is that something like this will happen to you if Disney does not build a wall around Seven Seas Lagoon- then your best option is not to stay at any of these resorts. Because sorry to say, but a warning won't stop an attack if you happen to be that 1 in 2.4mil.

I'm not cancelling my vacation. And I will be on that beach. I hope others do the same!!!

People haven't been cancelling vacations because of the alligator....

 

[ford91exploder]

At the least? We need to educate the guests not to feed the wildlife.

Bettery yet trespass those that feed the gators, Because feeding them is what brought that one up on the beach it associates humans with 'easy food'

 

[21stamps]

People haven't been cancelling vacations because of the alligator....

Someone yesterday said they were. I thought I read that anyway.

But the people who "didn't know that alligators lived in Florida", now that they know, will they still visit? Even without these unrealistic extreme measures that people are suggesting Disney should implement?
I hope so.

 

[BAChicagoGal]

I'm not cancelling my vacation either, but there's no way I'm ever walking on the beach.

 

[Laura]

This is a simple reasonable person test. Would a reasonable person think they are safe on the beach? Yes.

Don't forget to pair that with a foreseeability test. After 45 years of no babies being dragged into the water at Disney and drowned by alligators, was it foreseeable that it would happen?

And I put the reasonable person test into the sign debate. Would a reasonable person interpret "no swimming" to mean "don't get your feet wet along the shore of the beach?" There's a lot of very superior human beings on these forums who interpret "no swimming" to mean "don't let one drop of this water touch your skin", but I am willing to bet that most average, reasonable human beings don't share that interpretation.

 

[asianway]

People haven't been cancelling vacations because of the alligator....

Ive seen people say they are, on the facebook

 

[asianway]

Don't forget to pair that with a foreseeability test. After 45 years of no babies being dragged into the water at Disney and drowned by alligators, was it foreseeable that it would happen?

And I put the reasonable person test into the sign debate. Would a reasonable person interpret "no swimming" to mean "don't get your feet wet along the shore of the beach?" There's a lot of very superior human beings on these forums who interpret "no swimming" to mean "don't let one drop of this water touch your skin", but I am willing to bet that most average, reasonable human beings don't share that interpretation.

A reasonable person test on the no swimming sign means dont get wet. Though the fact that gators can come on land, the sign should also read similarly to the Shades of Green sign. Not going to argue with any armchair litigators on what a life is worth. There will be a payout, just the way the world works, but if I was on the jury....I would be hard to convince.

 

[FrankLapidus]

I'm not cancelling my vacation either, but there's no way I'm ever walking on the beach.

I can understand why some would take that approach but I would still feel comfortable going on the beaches myself, just not near the waterline. I haven't and wouldn't go into the water and that's what I'm sure Disney will be ensuring now, that no one does go into that lagoon or any other such body of water on property.

 

[BAChicagoGal]

Feeding the alligators. I can't imagine how anyone would want to even do that. My husband used to feed the squirrels here in Chicago. He did it so much, and so often, that I couldn't go out my front door, without being greeted by many squirrels on my front porch. I am a big chicken. It's bad enough that Chicago has a rodent problem, because people are slobs, and don't practice good habits with their garbage cans. I recently had my property cleaned up because of all the hidden areas the "wildlife" can hide in.

There are several restaurants in WDW where squirrels, and birds hang out, and pester the people for food. I never oblige the wildlife. At first, people think it's cool, but when the creature becomes a pest, the people take a different tone.

 

[plutofan15]

For what it is worth, here is a sign on Cape Cod by the stairs leading to the beach near Nauset Lighthouse. It is common knowledge that you do not go into the water AT ALL when there are seals near the beach here on the Cape. This day there were plenty of seals in the area but even with the sign, there were still people in the water. Signs can be put up anywhere regarding dangers but unfortunetly people will ignore them.

 

[BAChicagoGal]

Personally, I never learned how to swim, because besides being a coward around animals, I was always afraid of the water. However, as a child, I sat on the beach, and let myself get wet. I have walked on many a beach. Swimming to me means being totally submersed in the water, without your feet touching the ground. This subject will obviously be analyzed for a long time. Time will tell what Disney does differently in the future.

 

[21stamps]

I'm not cancelling my vacation either, but there's no way I'm ever walking on the beach.

Not trying to scare you, but yesterday I posted about a runner that was killed by a gator while jogging in a park.

I can't link the story bc I'm on my phone. But you can google it and I'm sure it will pop up. It was in South Florida maybe 8-9 years ago. Can't remember exactly when.

My point is- we can't live in fear of something bad happening.

 

[Matt_Black]

I personally would never think to go into the water at the beach, at Disney or elsewhere, but then I grew up in the 80s, when all the news stories about the Jersey shore were about how utterly filthy it was, and most of my actual beach experiences bore that out.

 

[21stamps]

I personally would never think to go into the water at the beach, at Disney or elsewhere, but then I grew up in the 80s, when all the news stories about the Jersey shore were about how utterly filthy it was, and most of my actual beach experiences bore that out.

I grew up in the 80s too.. I loved swimming and wake boarding in Cape May!!!

 

[BAChicagoGal]

We all have things that we are afraid of. Facing fear is never easy. Fear of something that has never happened to us before is probably more irrational, than fear of something that has.

 

[chiefs11]

People haven't been cancelling vacations because of the alligator....

We will be checking into the Grand Floridian on Monday. Well, technically I already checked-in online... but we still have every intention of arriving that day and not doing so never crossed my mind. I expect going on the beach at all probably won't even be an option next week. I'd wager that the beaches will remain closed until they decide what, if any, actions need to be taken. (better warning signs, security personnel, fences, or whatever)

 

[asianway]

Not sure if this has been mentioned in the wake of this horrible event, but I think Disney being held responsible may just be dependent on it being a Disney Sanctioned movie night on their resort's beach. This was organized and arranged by them. This was advertised by them. We're not talking about it being random guests setting up a projector that works on an iphone to watch a movie on the beach and others congregating. The only reason these people were on that beach, at that time of night, was for this event. It was up to Disney to properly secure it or just err on the side of safety and move it elsewhere, like poolside. Especially if this is a known time for gators to feed. This poor family.

Certainly an argument for restoring my beloved movie theater and the Fiesta Fun Center!

 

[englanddg]

Did they say first alligator attack or first death from an alligator attack?

First death. It's not the first gator attack at Disney. I know of at least one that happened at Ft. Wilderness, but thankfully the boy survived that attack (saved by his sister, iirc).