My sister and I happened to be arriving at the Magic Kingdom at approximately 10pm on the 14th. We heard the helicopter going round and round the Lagoon and had no idea what had happened. During bag check I overheard a cast member asking "Do you think they're going to stop the ferry service?" I asked him what he had meant and if it had to do with the helicopter going around, as my sister and I planned on taking the ferry over to the Poly to get those transportation cards. He just said "Oh, they're cleaning out the Lagoon" and waved me through. I knew he couldn't tell me what was really happening, but that was my first indication that something was up. We overheard a few guests in the park comment on the helicopter, saying they knew something was up but didn't know what.
It was really weird to see how things unfolded after that, and how all of us staying on the monorail line around the SSL would be affected. My sister and I stayed at the Contemporary with a view of Bay Lake. We got back to the room (walked from MK, so still no idea of what happened aside from the helicopter) probably around 11:30. I went outside on the balcony to sit and look at some of the pictures I had taken that day, not thinking anything of anything. I could still hear the helicopter. I was looking out into Bay Lake when I noticed two separate long barges floating by. I watched them for a while, not knowing what it was, when one of them had a single float light up. It was the Electrical Water Pageant, and the float that lit up was the chomping gator. It only lit up for about a minute, and then disappeared again. I figured they were removing the barges for storage (and it looked like there were two parades? maybe the one in half?) without thinking or remembering that isn't the storage near the MK? and not in Bay Lake? Where is the parade going, and why wasn't it fully lit?
Right after that, I checked my cell phone and saw the news article about the child from my mom who was at home. The next day at the Magic Kingdom was a somber one, as the helicopter was still flying round, but you could tell at that moment more people knew WHY the helicopter was there now. The helicopter became an ominous reminder on the 15th of what happened, as we could hear it up until about 1pm in its constant search for the child. My sister and I boarded the resort monorail around 1:30, when our monorail (and the express) suddenly came to a halt. After about ten minutes, a few families (including us) got off and started walking to the Poly. Someone was on their way to the monorail, and a dad let him know that the monorails were shut down temporarily. The guy asked why, and the dad responded with "Well, they probably found what they were looking for!" We found out later that day that the dad was right, and around 1:30 is when the body was located. I'm sure they halted monorail service so that no one on it would have to see anything.
My sister and I happened to have been at the Floridian earlier that day. Maybe we even ran into the family. The thought of that really, truly hit hard.
On the 15th we overheard a few people mentioning that after everything that went on in Orlando that past weekend, they were thinking of canceling their next vaca to WDW that they had already booked.
Personally, I had a very hard time looking at the Floridian and its beach that day. The fact that I was looking at the part that not only the child was taken, but now I know it's the
area that the body still remained at that point was chilling. I've played in that water. I've swam there with my family as a child. I lamented when the beach was no longer open for swimming, and have stood there in the dark with my feet in the water once when watching the fireworks on the beach. It won't stop me from visiting the resort again, though. If I had another vacation booked, I wouldn't cancel it. It was a freak accident, and not something very common. You're far more likely to die in a car crash than from an alligator attack or in a shooting at WDW. (knock on wood)
After all of that, I still stand by my belief that momentarily removing certain things in respect for the family is understandable, but these things should not be
permanently removed due to sensitivity. Where do we draw the line? Yes, the alligator joke in the JC is about an alligator taking/eating a child. That should be gone for however long it needs to be. But the float in the water parade? The alligator may be chomping, but it's not implying that it's attacking or eating a person. Take it out for a little, put it back later. I wouldn't be bothered seeing it, even after having been in WDW while the horrors were unfolding.
