Gator grabs 2 year old at Grand Floridian?

[Maleffiecent41]

12 inches in a 1 foot of water and a foot of water is at least belly button deep on Most toddlers and thats swimming folks

 

[rteetz]

Its not about changing the behavior of the Alligator. That is very difficult. It is about changing the behavior of the Human. A sandy beach is just an invitation for a child to come play.

And it is a relatively safe place for a child. The beach isn't the problem.

 

[Metalliman98]

Apparently there are people here who just want to argue. The case at point is being lost. A child died, at disney, on a beach, by an alligator, at night, during a recreational event. Discussion of signage or lack of, mating season, rules and regs, breaking news, all that awesome. The stupid arguements of everything is dangerous, theres always a risk, one has to ruin it for everyone, get rid of all the hot water so no one gets burned (really?) Is ridiculous. Too much time has been spent on these crazy arguments. I have kids to go hug. Goodnight all. And thoughts and prayers to the family and anyone this has affected in some way.

If people didn't make objectively assinine statements that the lagoon should be fenced off, or that the beaches should be removed, or that beach activities should end, all in response to ONE terrible tragedy in 40 YEARS of operation, then we wouldn't have to bring up our "crazy" arguments.

 

[Corsetopia]

I think the only things that need to change are the warning signs. An ominous gator warning will make people think twice about walking near or in the water. They also should include that after dusk the danger increases.

I don't agree that they need to completely change the resorts and put in cement barriers and such. If there are signs and people don't heed the warnings, they put themselves at risk and Disney shouldn't be held responsible for the risk. I think if the alligator signs existed, there wouldn't even be any 'wading' or dipping of the feet in the waters whatsoever (well, hopefully it would reduce it).

I'll have to look twice at my vacation booklets I received from Disney, but I don't remember ever seeing any warnings about alligators around the water areas. Maybe there's a pamphlet in the rooms that I didn't read, which I should have.

 

[rteetz]

12 inches in a 1 foot of water and a foot of water is at least belly button deep on Most toddlers and thats swimming folks

It's unclear if the child was actually a foot in the water. Some reports say 3 inches some say a foot.

 

[poison ivy]

Alligator related deaths are rare though. While I'm not saying they should have signs or not but there almost is the same amount of risk standing outside during a thunderstorm and getting struck by lightning than getting attack by an alligator. You are more likely to die from a bee sting.

deaths by gator may be rare, but how many gator attacks has FL had?

So if the risk is the same as a thunderstorm than I'd expect nothing short of the safety measures Disney implements during thunderstorms. Close the pool. cancel movie night. at the very least, relocate movie night to a safer spot.

But what about the people that are not aware and decide to wade in the water? Or during the day go golfing?

MG

obviously you can't prevent someone who ignores a warning and proceeds at their own risk. I understand the golf courses have posted signs.

Unfortunately, Disney didn't warn their guests at the lagoon. They should have put a stop to anyone wading in the water years ago. They have cameras all over the place. It could have been easily enforced. And they know small children were at an even greater risk. They were showing zootopia that night. that will call a lot of kids to the beach. This should never have been allowed.

 

[nashjw58]

I would not expect that at all. At Disney I would take "No swimming" to mean just that and not include getting ones feet wet up to the ankles. If they want to be clear, they need a sign more along the lines of this:

Now that's a sign that says it all. kudos and hope to see these next visit at all resort properties.

 

[LisaS]

I honestly feel like this is a case of mistaken identity on the Gator's part seeing as the body was intact. This is the time of year when Gators are sitting on nests etc. It could be as simple as the Gator perceived a threat to her nest and she did what any mother would do because if it wanted a meal it would have done so.

Someone on another thread posted about how alligators handle prey that is too large to swallow whole. Apparently their teeth are designed for crushing, not for tearing so they stash large prey underwater, wedged underneath something and wait for it to rot. That would explain why the body was still intact when it was found. Here is a website from the University of Florida that discusses this in more detail: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw230

 

[DISNEY1975]

But what about the people that are not aware and decide to wade in the water? Or during the day go golfing?

MG

Because everyone has experienced thunder and rain, Not everybody is aware of Aliigators in the 7 Seas Lagoon. I certainly wasnt when I was a child riding around on those water sprites by myself. I was not when I paid $300 to Sammy Duvall for my family to SWIM and wakeboard in Bay Lake. Only after those activities was I made aware.

Where I am from, there are no alligators. We have lakes and there are no alligators in them. I have heard of alligators being in FL, though in the everglades and remote swampy areas. The GF does not look like a remote swampy area to me. Heck, I was in the old River Country water swimming around with the eels. Nobody ever mentioned gators to us. Thought Ive never stayed at FW, I have gone to the BBQ many times and the bus drives right by a lake with hundreds of kids swimming in it.

My last Disney vacation was 09/15. I stayed 12 days at the Poly. Do you know how many times I went to the beach. Zero. And I still had a blast. Im sure closing off their beach areas will not detour tourists. All the resorts have great pools and plenty of activities around the resorts. We can still have the lagoon views and a perfect safe vacation.

 

[rteetz]

deaths by gator may be rare, but how many gator attacks has FL had? Disney

So if the risk is the same as a thunderstorm than I'd expect nothing short of the safety measures Disney implements during thunderstorms. Close the pool. cancel movie night. at the very least, relocate movie night to a safer spot.

I know there have been 26 alligator related deaths in the past 50 years but I don't know the attacks number. At Disney there is only one other attack in the 45 year history of he resort.

 

[ingalou]

It

2 year olds with no light/visibility huh?

That's "normal", ehh?

This is totally normal in the "plain" states...Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota. I live in South east South Dakota and we have dont have the predators here like that. I would feel totally comfortable walking with my child on the shore line of a lake at night.

 

[Mac30188]

And it is a relatively safe place for a child. The beach isn't the problem.

I do agree. I honestly don't think closing the beach makes sense. Improved signs, better CM training, and more gator sweeps are the best answers. In general the odds on this happening again are very low, but playing devils advocate... the beach extends right up to the shoreline. It goes straight from play area to dangerous. You wouldn't encourage a child to play on the edge of a cliff and then use the defense but I told you not to fall off. While not exactly that extreme, Disney could argue that the beach really isn't a main draw and now it has become even more of a liability. Lets just get rid of them and create a DMZ around the lake front. Add that to the signs and anyone swimming in the lake put some effort into getting into harms way instead of not seeing a sign.

 

[Minniesgal]

If it was always so obvious that gators were in the water, if it were always so obvious that people on the beach were at risk of an attack. If it were always so obvious that wading in the water or even sitting on the beach was risky why have there not been campaigns for years asking Disney to close the beaches and stop all water activities.

It is easy to be clever in hindsite

 

[Shanti]

Gator population has increased exponentially since then.

I wondered about this. Do you know why the alligator population has increased so much?

 

[PuppyJonathan]

Everything is pissing me off this week:

• The media overexposing Orlando which is only going to give the general public the impression Orlando is a dangerous place (when it's as dangerous as any other city)
• People falling for the satirical "Brock Turner Family Support" page with people thinking it is legitimate and cursing their hearts out while the description even shows it's not real (saying they and not our)
• People thinking the parents are completely innocent for letting their 2-YEAR OLD AT NIGHT go through A NATURAL LAKE IN FLORIDA.

Do I feel bad for the family? Absolutely. Everyone makes mistakes, but this is definitely not Disney's fault and I'm already reading comments about how Disney should've had signs. They don't have signs for something as common sense as "Mickey Mouse is at Disney World" you should at least have the common knowledge that Florida has a lot of alligators

 

[notnothin]

I wondered about this. Do you know why the alligator population has increased so much?

Federally protected species.

 

[huggypack2112]

First off, sympathies to all involved.

And while this was a tragic accident, but it was just an accident. On average in Florida there are less than 10 reported gator bites a year over the last 30+/- years, and less than one fatality a year. You are much more likely to be involved in a fatal traffic accident on the way to the resort. Is a gator attack a scary thought - heck yes. Just like a shark attack. But I dont think we should let these VERY rare circumstances ruin the way we live our lives.

 

[DizneyPilot]

I think this thread needs to be shut down. This is very terrible for the family. Everyone should just offer their sympathies and prayers and that's it. I can't believe how callous some people can be, especially when hiding behind the anonymity of the internet. A small child lost his life and the parents will never be the same. My heart aches for them.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Everything is pissing me off this week:

• The media overexposing Orlando which is only going to give the general public the impression Orlando is a dangerous place (when it's as dangerous as any other city)
• People falling for the satirical "Brock Turner Family Support" page with people thinking it is legitimate and cursing their hearts out while the description even shows it's not real (saying they and not our)
• People thinking the parents are completely innocent for letting their 2-YEAR OLD AT NIGHT go through A NATURAL LAKE IN FLORIDA.

Do I feel bad for the family? Absolutely. Everyone makes mistakes, but this is definitely not Disney's fault and I'm already reading comments about how Disney should've had signs. They don't have signs for something as common sense as "Mickey Mouse is at Disney World" you should at least have the common knowledge that Florida has a lot of alligators

No, its not Disneys fault, but it is not the fault of the parents either. What I do know
1) The entire family was outside, on the beach, enjoying a Disney sponsored family activity
2) The family had a play pen with them, that at least one child, possibly 2, were in when the attack occured
3) The father was with the boy when the attack happened and even got his hands on the gator, telling me he was very very close to the boy, probably right next to him

What I can imagine...

Whatever activity was going on, the boy got antsy and his father took him for a little walk. Considering the rest of the family was about 10-20 feet away, they innocently walked to the shoreline and dipped their toes in. Then, their whole world changed. Tragic.

 

[Dentam]

I think this thread needs to be shut down. This is very terrible for the family. Everyone should just offer their sympathies and prayers and that's it. I can't believe how callous some people can be, especially when hiding behind the anonymity of the internet. A small child lost his life and the parents will never be the same. My heart aches for them.

I agree. Everyone has argued enough and it won't bring this little boy back to his family.