Accident of sorts at Disney in Florida, may be upsetting

[CheerfulYank]

A two year old was dragged into the lagoon by an alligator a few hours ago and hasn't been seen since.

It's so awful I feel like I can't breathe. I cannot imagine how scared he/she was and what the parents are feeling.

Accounts vary but apparently they were sitting on the beach either waiting for fireworks or having movie night. It's just too awful. I'm sure it was supposed to be a wonderful trip and now this.

I know the chances that child will be found alive are almost nothing, but I am hoping against hope that he or she is. I just cannot imagine.

Well, I'd hope it would be in the millions rather than the thousands. Money won't bring him back, but it will give them freedom to grieve without worrying about work etc. My friend lost her mum and yet spent most of her time worrying about bills...

Do people really travel to places without researching though?
Go find me that information on the Disney information sites or in any of the Orlando guidebooks please. I've looked for it - is isn't there.
It's only if you specifically search for information on alligators that you can actually find anything. Most people booking a holiday to Disney would not know that it used to be swapland and that there will be alligators onsite.

but many accidents can be prevented with a little basic knowledge of the environments your in.
Which is exactly what Disney failed to provide.

fanjo I've been too, 3 times and have never once been warned.
I learnt about gators by visiting Gatorland.

The people in the photo, swimming in the lake with an alligator warning, are clearly swimming in a designated area and they are swimming in full possession of the facts.

And if the "No Swimming" signs actually meant "No paddling" (as some people have insisted they mean, why was this a Disney Grand Floridian Resort promotional photo?

He has a decent job and supportive emoyers who have already expressed support, so I think they will let him have the time off needed. I am sorry about your friend. That sounds rough.I agree with you.
It probably will be millions, yes, I even typed that originally but changed it, don't know why, perhaps because subconsciously I don't want Disney buying them off out of court. But they ARE responsible, the signs do not give the warning necessary to make an informed decision, so on the other hand they should be dragged to the cleaners.

employers

Yes. That promo photo is exactly how I viewed the purpose of the manmade beach. I also did not realise Disneyland was built on a massive swamp.

Good post Anecdotal. I actually can't begin to understand how, given the facts as we are aware of them right now, anyone can find a way to blame the parents of that poor child for this. I'm disgusted by it quite honestly.

Anecdoctal Is that a recent photo? I ask because I'm old enough to remember when there was a roped off swimming area in the Lagoon and you could rent sailboats, but that's some time ago now and I'd be surprised if WDW still used that photo. Obviously I could be wrong and they could still be using it!

Having said that, the last time we were there you could rent canoes and kayaks on Bay Lake. Not sure I'd want to.

I've just measured ten feet, it's the size of the rug in my living room. If I take one large step forward and stretch my arm out I can touch dd standing at the other side. I don't know if I believe he was ten feet out anyway, wasn't it only the vile DM that ran that? Happy to be corrected.

They also do pirate cruises for children from 4+. I've sent mine on it and they had a great time and were let off on some of the islands in the lakes. There weren't any warnings about alligators for those. Looking back, it does seem a bit off that there weren't any warnings about alligators, snakes etc.

This is some interesting info from the NYT comments area about the scope of DisneyWorld:

Something many people fail to realize is that the Walt Disney World Resort property is 47.7 square miles of Florida swampland. For reference, the city of San Francisco is 46.9 square miles. Disney can control the alligator population about as well as San Francisco can control the bird population or Maui can control the shark population.

Now, those who are not familiar with the region might not realize that every single body of water in Florida is a potential gator habitat. Florida is filled with retention ponds built for flood prevention due to the type of rock that Florida sits on. These ponds are also gator homes. Gators are everywhere. Floridians know this and act accordingly, but those not from the region might not be aware.

I agree that Disney should put proper notice around the beaches. I would personally still like to enjoy those beaches on my Disney visits, although from a safe distance from the water's edge, as I have always enjoyed them. I do not agree with those who feel Disney was remiss in "allowing" an alligator on property in the first place. Walt Disney World is a city in Central Florida. It has its own bus, boat, and monorail transportation system. It has the largest inland boat fleet in the US. There are over 20 resort hotels, hundreds of restaurants, golf courses, water parks, campgrounds, waterways, highways, PLUS four theme parks. This is not your local Six Flags.

Noofly the photo dates back to 2008. Swimming was stopped around 1991.

There are still lots of watersports, including waterskiing on the lake.

that sign says 'swim with caution' and 'swim within the designated swimming area' and the people in the lake do seem to be inside a ring of floating buoys

You're absolutely right, but in all honesty would you take the risk of swimming in that Myakka lake? I've done some pretty daft things in my time, but I certainly wouldn't ... after all they might separate the gators in the water, but what about the one sunning itself on the bank which decides to slip in there?

Good grief, Anecdotal, there's no way I would have waded in that water in 2008! Crazy marketing. TBF though, when I was a child, there weren't nearly as many alligators about and I would swim in just about anything.

I wouldn't choose to swim in that lake, but if I did, at least I would know the facts.

I do think that Disney are at fault here.

I agree that WDW cannot control its alligator population, but it can choose its "urban design" taking into account that it caters to people from all over the world, not just Floridians.

And, I've named changed for this, it's not true to say that Floridians are always sensible around gators. The swimmers in that Myaka picture are likely born and bred in Florida. A traditional past-time is "tubing" floating down a river on inflated inner tubes with your friends drinking loads of beer all the way down. Suggest you are worried about alligators and you may well be laughed at. Not because there aren't gators but because people have gotten used to them and feel "invincible." It was Florida boys who showed up at a hog roast when I was a kid with a huge bull alligator in the back of their pick up truck just for "fun." "Small" alligators (5 feet) have been hidden in friend's hotel baths as "jokes" My boyfriend at the University of Florida kept paddling our canoe right into alligators for "fun." (I was in the front and didn't find it fun.) I've got more stories, but you get the idea.

What I am trying to say is that it is always better to build a fence then to depend upon people to be sensible and well informed. Especially if previous children are involved.

Precious children!

Itsaplayonwords Wed 15-Jun-16 22:46:40
It's concerning then that these "beaches" are made up with sun loungers.

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Because it is safe to sit on the beaches, during the day especially.
It isn't, however, safe to go in the water.

'A traditional past-time is "tubing" floating down a river on inflated inner tubes with your friends drinking loads of beer all the way down. Suggest you are worried about alligators and you may well be laughed at. '

Yep, people go tubing like this all the time in Texas, too, usually with a tube full of alcohol or coolers/coolboxes with pool noodles on them so they float. And that's the upshot, people would laugh if you mentioned alligators and tell you you're more likely to get sunburned, drunk and fall off your tube and drown, in a car wreck on the way over, shot in the convenience store buying hooch, etc.

In Texas last year one of the deaths was a young man who was implicated in a string of robberies who went into the water in East Texas to avoid the police.

But it's like saying you go to Africa you expect a lion. But would you expect that lion wandering around your hotel resort?

Yes, I would.
And yes, they do.
Infant, at resort hotels on safari there is often bait left out to attract wild animals to come over in evenings/night to be viewed. A bell or some form of alarm goes off if there is a close sighting to encourage you to go and view, obviously at a distance!
But yes, wild animals including big cats do come INTO hotel resorts on safari.

The clientele of African safaris is significantly different from the clientele of Disney world. The expectation of risk is different.
If Disney had made a point of saying 'by all means take your children to our beaches - we encourage it! -where there is nothing to prevent an alligator grabbing a child on shore, the risk is all yours' I'd still judge them. You have no business promoting a hotel as safe for children if you have no barriers between tiny guests and predators.
The expectation of child safety within the perimeter of a Disney hotel compound is different.
even safari hotels I've been too have had fencing. All guests are informed of potential risks.

Genuine question, Poet - do you feel this was in some way Disney's fault too?

www.cbsnews.com/news/family-threatens-lawsuit-disneys-animal-kingdom-snake-bite-grandmother-death/

I must admit I wouldn't have thought alligator alert necessarily, I think I would have niavely taken in by the safety of finery world, however I wouldn't have let my child paddle in water at night for fear of drowning!

No swimming means don't go in water. Certainly don't go in 10 feet, even if shallow, at night.

Tragic accident, hopefully lessons will be learnt for the future. But nothing will bring that little boy back or make things better.

That should say safety of Disney world!!