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Sheriff at Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Thread starter DisneyMarmot
- Start date
luv
Well-Known Member
When you're a parent, you figure out how much kids want to do dangerous things very early on! You spend the next 18 years attempting to prevent them from doing those things.
Seriously, about the time they're six months old, they begin trying to push with their legs arch their backs...they wriggle and struggle just so they can leap out of your arms. You think, "Does this child want to get out of my grasp? Does the baby not realize that if I let it go, it would just fall on its little head on the cement below me?!" Yes, that is what the baby wants. No, it hasn't thought it through. It just wants to be freed from your grasp. First they want to stop being held, then they want to play on playgrounds...and drive...and drink in bars...
Eventually, the child wins the battle and is freed from your grasp...free to go make their own dumb mistakes.
But you figure out very early on that a big part of your job is simply keeping them alive...and you spend 18 years trying to stop them from crashing.
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Soarin' Over Pgh
Well-Known Member
Exactly... and the parents (of course) tried to sue the Zoo in regards to the death of the child.
Back on topic... but It should kinda be common sense to watch your child if you have a balcony room. Or keep the door shut (and locked) ? I understand you can't be everywhere at all times but c'mon.
Maybe they DO need nets for "your own protection" and full body bubble wrap suits just to be on property. Sigh.
jaklgreen
Well-Known Member
I agree. There are building codes and Disney would not be able to open the hotel if the railing were too far apart that a kid could fall thru. More then likely the kid was on a chair and was unsupervised.
deanaandrich
Well-Known Member
Yes a 6 year old girl fell over the balcony. Parent was in a "nearby" room.
RandomPrincess
Keep Moving Forward
I hope she was okay.
MOXOMUMD
Well-Known Member
This reminds me as we were getting ready to leave AK last month we headed towards the far side bus stops. An ambulance was blocking where our bus was supposed to pull in but a CM was directing us to a stop on down the line. Passing by (and trying not to look) the EMTs had towels to a young (about 7 yr old) boy's face and there was just blood. My daughter kept asking me what happened when someone else in line told us they saw it. The parents were oblivious that the boy decided to play "swing" on the divider chain until he did a faceplant into the cement and put his lower teeth through his lip. I could hear in passing the accident they were an Oriental family that didn't speak very much English and I thought, you probably paid a lot of money for your vacation and this will be your main memory.
nytimez
Well-Known Member
I hope so too so no one please take what I am about to say next the wrong way... and it has to do with this item in the story linked to by @Reddog :
"The Department of Children and Families said the girl was looking at an animal from the balcony when she fell."
...sorry... having stayed at this resort many, many, many times, I find it almost impossible to believe the act of looking at an animal would cause anyone to fall.
The "almost" part allows for the chance - real, but remote, IMO - that the balcony itself had a problem. But barring that, there is no way to fall that does not involve some combination of aggressively bad behavior and outright neglect of the child.
Dasnowz
Well-Known Member
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/gi...rt/-/1637132/21762716/-/15t4sjez/-/index.html
This one says she was reaching over for something.....
This one says she was reaching over for something.....
jt04
Well-Known Member
Good thing a dingo didn't steal that baby.
MOXOMUMD
Well-Known Member
That doesn't make any sense unless she was standing on a chair.
RandomPrincess
Keep Moving Forward
luv
Well-Known Member
They specifically state that there are cameras on the building and that you should close your drapes for privacy. I took them at their word.
This is unique to the AKL. I never got one of those notices elsewhere. Just in case people are now worrying that all their room activities are filmed at WDW!
bethymouse
Well-Known Member
My goodness! I hope she's OK. More bad press for DISNEY.
However, IMHO, the child should have been more carefully watched especially on a balcony.
However, IMHO, the child should have been more carefully watched especially on a balcony.
BadTigger
Active Member
You would be amazed at how stupid some parents are when they are on vacation at Disney. When I was a CM way back in the day I had two kids just sitting waiting all of a sudden the brother went down hard and started having a seizure. Medics came the kid was ok except for a small cut on his head, we finally found the parents and found out the kid has epilepsy and the parents forgot to give him his medication for the day. So the medics tell them they should go back to the resort so the kid can rest and take his meds. The parents go "No he'll be ok". We were just dumbfounded.
You sign a document at check in stating that if you throw anything off your balcony that they can eject you from the resort. It wouldn't surprise me if they have cameras on at all times to monitor this - as well as monitor the animals.
CndleontheWater
Member
I hope the little girl is OK, that is really scary. I know that when we stayed at the contemporary tower last year, I was a little panicked about the balcony and my active three year old. He never went out on the balcony unless he was in my arms (and I had a death grip on him) and we never got near the edge. I was a worried mess that he would somehow get outside while I was sleeping, even with the door locked and I ended up badgering my husband until he pulled some furniture in front of the slider as an extra deterrent. My husband thought I was crazy, but obviously kids can fall from the balconies.