I'm not your Mom, but I feel compelled to wade back in here (even if the waters are more dangerous due to persistent ignorance and insanity). I know the figure is high ... mental illness in the fan community is likely off the proverbial charts, and something I have contemplated writing a book on. And it gets worse in situations like this because they realize that Disney really isn't safe, that no place is. And then the attacking. It had to be bad parenting, which to be fair is on display at WDW right now just about at every turn, right? Or just a terrible happenstance? Something so terrible it has never happened before.
But ... a more reasonable person might look at current circumstances, try and see if anything has changed, and what might need to be changed to eliminate even more risk to Guests and to Disney's coffers.
So, I'm going to disagree with you here. Just in part, but it is a very important part.
Don't disagree with this. Although a reasonable person would realize they are never fully safe anywhere. But 99% true.
Again, can't really disagree. Floridians, indeed anyone living in the SE USA, would be (or you'd hope) smart enough to know there are hidden dangers. ... In all the insanity this thread has cultivated, I forgot to mention another personal incident I had about a decade plus ago on the beach at the Poly while waiting for fireworks at dusk. This was in a very well-lit area just to the right of the dock. People were sitting, kids were wading and I was doing what I have done there since childhood ... walking in the water ... no more than six-eight inches of water. Basically enjoying all that white sandy bottom on my tired feet when ... I saw a large snake slither by in the water. I have seen water moccasins and it didn't seem to be one, but my **** moved very quickly to dry sand. I yelled to the kids in the water and the parents and ... and ... and they didn't do a damn thing. Either they didn't think I was serious, they didn't think it could harm them or (c'mon, you want this one as bad as a fanboi wants to hookup with an Imagineer) they wanted their kids to get bitten and then sue Disney!!
Point being is that nature is nature and in FL that means all sorts of scary type critters share paradise with us. You have to take them seriously. Guest, Cast ... and WDW Co. And that brings me to this point:
And this is where we disagree. Education is definitely part of the answer.
And there is fault. There are multiple news outlets, including the O-Sentinel that never pushes Disney, that say Disney had a problem with Guests feeding gators. The Wrap is reporting that Disney has had issues with Guests at the new Poly DVC bungalows feedings them as I suggested.
In my experience and the experience of CM friends, I find this to be very accurate. This very thread shows a mommy and her kids throwing food to turtles when a gator swims up at Coronado Springs.
Education means a few things:
1.) It means having signs on those MAGICal beaches that say that potentially dangerous wildlife, including alligators and poisonous snakes, may be present at any time. That also includes little renderings of the critters, so language isn't an issue for anyone;
2.) It means having Guests at EVERY resort sign docs saying they will not feed any wildlife under possible penalty of being removed from WDW, possibly banned, and fined.
3.) It means special warnings and vigilance for all these hot, pricey over-the-water accommodations that DVC has been adding.
4.) It also means that CMs, often $10 an hour ones (do any still make less?) need to be trained to be proactive, so when a baby gator is seen in the RoA and idiots are tossing turkey leg pieces at it that they can go up and order the Guests to stop and call for other CMs and know they won't lose their job because the Guest they just 'insulted' is spending more in two weeks than they will make in six months. This will be difficult because Disney doesn't have managers with a clue, so something will need to change institutionally.
5.) There has to be a growing understanding up to George K's office (the man has lived in Central FL almost his entire life, has worked at WDW for almost his entire adult life and is not an idiot, well he can be but not the point) that due to WDW's aggressive build out of "the Florida Project" over the last 20 years coupled with insane growth all around the resort, which has put a huge strain on area wildlife and made encounters more likely. That means Disney has to be proactive ... and, no, that doesn't mean making beaches locked down zones. Why anyone would stay on waterfront property and not want to spend time in it is akin to taking a vegetarian to the best steakhouse in town.
So, is this WDW's fault. Not directly ... but kinda ... and sorta ... well, yeah, it is. ... Guest and Cast ignorance are ultimately things that Disney needs to be accountable for. And they have done more for less ... remember that 20 years ago, there were no gates on any attractions or the monorails because common sense said people won't walk into a flume without a boat present or onto coaster tracks or monorail beams. That changed because there was liability. There certainly is liability here.
