From the OS: Gator drags child into Seven Seas Lagoon

[PhotoDave219]

That's what I gather from the press conference. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission spokesman said that they were going to be sure they had the correct animal.

Ah, found a clip. The bottom embedded video has the relevant quotes, starting at about 1:30.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...-dragged-alligator-disney-20160614-story.html

Just wanted to be sure, ya know?

 

[flynnibus]

It's not on Disney to educate anyone. They have signs posted, and now more than ever, in several languages. You would think that when going to an area to vacation, you would do some research and see what is there.

Unfortunately in our legal world.. it is on them to a large degree. We must protect the lowest common demoniator.. The legal debate would be is if they had done enough, or if there are other factors leading to negligence.

Disney did their part. They can't have a CM escort every single person around their grounds, it's impossible

But they could do things like make the areas off limits... which they didn't.

This isn't a binary thing.. there are lots of POTENTIAL things that can be done.. its about gauging are they necessary and required where all the opinions come in.

It's sad that this happened, but there's no reason that anyone should've been in the lagoon water. If the kid wanted to swim, the GF has a pool. Just because it's Disney World doesn't mean you're in a safe place. Yes, it's safer than most places, but you still need to be on your guard.

Let's not be quick to judge... the family could be there on the beach waiting for fireworks, or the EWP, etc... as many people do and people actually RECOMMEND people to do. We really don't know how far the kid was in the water.

 

[englanddg]

I guess so. Some way to keep beach area and allow walk up view of the water, but high enough up and barricaded that you're not going in.

Yeah, that could work. It would look pretty nice too, and could be themed to each resort.

The shoreline is ugly anyway, so I don't see why anyone would want to go near SSL's waterline...

When I first read the story, that was all I could think of...WHY would someone want to wade or allow their child to wade in THAT water? Gators aside...

 

[thomas998]

The question is, do you update signage... and hope people obey? Or do you make it impossible to not be able to enter the water?

Given their action to completely eliminate riding in the front or back of the monorails after the Disney castmember died there.... I am inclined to expect them to permanently close the beaches... While they might not be found liable for this incident, they would have a lingering fear that if it happened again the jury would pounce on the fact that they hadn't closed the beaches after the first attack.

 

[englanddg]

Let's not be quick to judge... the family could be there on the beach waiting for fireworks, or the EWP, etc... as many people do and people actually RECOMMEND people to do. We really don't know how far the kid was in the water.

Exactly! That's why the timing made me think that. I couldn't figure why a person would want to be out there on the beach at 9:30 a night, and then it dawned on me they were doing just that (most likely)...also, we don't know if the kid was 3 feet off the shore, or just on the shoreline. With how gators hunt, he could have just been NEAR the water or just a few inches in or something, that wouldn't stop a gator at all...they get small dogs like that all the time in FL...

 

[Thessair]

Just wanted to be sure, ya know?

I understand completely. I often feel guilty when I doubt certain stories at first blush but there have been so many charlatans creating drama out of whole cloth or exaggerating the events that, in the early phases at least, there is a small part of me that can't help but wonder.

 

[polynesiangirl]

I certainly expect "don't feed the animals" signs will be showing up on your hotel room tables soon...but, frankly, they probably should have been there already, and not just for gators.

I would, frankly, love to see people get citations for violating the "do not feed the animals" policy. Didn't someone say earlier that it's actually against the law in FL to feed gators, anyways? At our local zoo, you get thrown out for feeding any of the animals on the property, because it's dangerous for both humans and animals for that to occur. Why is this situation that much different?

I cannot understand the people that feed the animals there to begin with. Especially all the obnoxious, people-desensitized birds. I always want to grab the popcorn out of those idiots' hands and be like "Big freaking deal, it's a seagull. For God's sake, it's not that entertaining to lob food at it. You're in WDW for crying out loud, surely you can find a better way to pass the time?!" I can't even begin to get into the headspace of someone who'd feed an alligator.

I am one of those people who gets super cranky about bad guest behavior, though, so I'm probably more annoyed about it than most. And again, just to clarify, I don't know that stopping this behavior would really have prevented what happened last night. But it could certainly make it less likely to happen, and help make WDW safer for humans and wildlife in some small way.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Terrible tragedy. I don't see how Disney is responsible however. Most everyone I would think would associate Florida waters with alligators/snakes etc. but more than that, it does not take long for a child to drown and at night letting one that little be in water that you have no idea when it drops off is just scary. My kids grew up swimming in lakes with life jackets and with us in with them at an early age (not Florida lakes) but I would have never let them even walk anywhere near the water's edge or docks without a life jacket during the day much less at night. I don't say that to blame family at all, just as a warning that even if there had not been the freak Gator tragedy, drowning was still a possibility. Either way, terrible but glad they did find him and that the other outcome was not reality.

 

[thomas998]

Unfortunately in our legal world.. it is on them to a large degree. We must protect the lowest common demoniator.. The legal debate would be is if they had done enough, or if there are other factors leading to negligence.



But they could do things like make the areas off limits... which they didn't.

This isn't a binary thing.. there are lots of POTENTIAL things that can be done.. its about gauging are they necessary and required where all the opinions come in.



Let's not be quick to judge... the family could be there on the beach waiting for fireworks, or the EWP, etc... as many people do and people actually RECOMMEND people to do. We really don't know how far the kid was in the water.

Hindsight is always better than foresight.... I think Disney would argue that they have had hundreds of millions of visitors over the decades and never once had anyone killed by an alligator before.... They would argue that their was no way they could have foreseen it happening... A bit like how it is in many states when your dog bites someone, the first time you aren't liable because you had no way of knowing that the dog was vicious but if the dog had a history of biting people then you are hosed.

 

[LAKid53]

And it's that attitude that makes the F&FC just as liable as Disney for this.

Huh, no.

 

[englanddg]

I would, frankly, love to see people get citations for violating the "do not feed the animals" policy. Didn't someone say earlier that it's actually against the law in FL to feed gators, anyways? At our local zoo, you get thrown out for feeding any of the animals on the property, because it's dangerous for both humans and animals for that to occur. Why is this situation that much different?

I cannot understand the people that feed the animals there to begin with. Especially all the obnoxious, people-desensitized birds. I always want to grab the popcorn out of those idiots' hands and be like "Big freaking deal, it's a seagull. For God's sake, it's not that entertaining to lob food at it. You're in WDW for crying out loud, surely you can find a better way to pass the time?!" I can't even begin to get into the headspace of someone who'd feed an alligator.

I am one of those people who gets super cranky about bad guest behavior, though, so I'm probably more annoyed about it than most. And again, just to clarify, I don't know that stopping this behavior would really have prevented what happened last night. But it could certainly make it less likely to happen, and help make WDW safer for humans and wildlife in some small way.

68A-25.001 Feeding or Enticement of Crocodilians Unlawful.

No person shall intentionally feed, or entice with feed, any crocodilian unless held in captivity under a permit issued by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or otherwise provided by this Title.

http://myfwc.com/media/1531908/alligator-rules-booklet.pdf

Totally against the law. Catching them (even for relocation) is also strongly regulated in Florida.

 

[TinkerBelle8878]

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.

 

[flynnibus]

There are videos and photos on TMZ from guests earlier this week that show gators in the water at the Grand Floridian.

Once again, the issue isn't that there are gators in the water, it's that Disney had insufficient signage warning guests of the danger and that they were throwing a movie party on a beach near a body of water where gators have been sighted.

Either way, this thing will never see a courtroom.

I agree with you on all three points -- but they were important things to highlight because not all readers in the thread seem to grasp that

There are many people who seem to think gators shouldn't be there at all..
.. or thing Disney is responsible for eliminating them entirely
.. or think there are no risks involved with the behavior here
.. or that simply because something happened at disney, disney is liable

 

[englanddg]

Huh, no.

They could, and should, have issued a more lenient catch and release policy for WDW properties (and other lake properties, like Universal) due to the nature of tourists unfamiliar with the wildlife dangers of the area, etc.

This is not the case.

So, Huh, Yes.

 

[Timekeeper]

Are there any surveillance video cameras pointed toward the incident location? People tend to think that WDW has more security cameras than they actually have.

 

[dstrawn9889]

original poster wayyyyy not cool, but i had to repost this i found on my Fb feed

this is what gets you fired... A Disney World tragedy, joked about by a DISNEY employee, using a still from a Disney movie

 

[DisneyJayL]

This is devastating. I know I'm late to the party here, but my goodness. I can't even imagine the horror.

At the same token though. These things should be avoided.

 

[zjer]

Looks like the poor little guy was found.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...ed-water-alligator-near-disney-resort-n592641

 

[mwils8]

I'd expect less than 10 million.

I think it's more like to be between $30-80 million. As an attorney, I've seen things settle for more when the trauma is less. I expect Disney will move to settle this quickly - the last thing anyone wants to see is a report that Disney's lawyers are in court accusing the parents of contributory negligence.

I guess so. Some way to keep beach area and allow walk up view of the water, but high enough up and barricaded that you're not going in.

My thought was that they would install cement curbs at the ends of the beach, making a clearer delineation between beach and water. Wouldn't completely keep people out, but could be helpful without completely ruining the aesthetic. Of course, they could also install curbs and put up ropes - there are tasteful styles that they could implement.

 

[dstrawn9889]

Disnemageddon on that stupid ABC employee poster