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.

No swimming doesn't mean don't go in the water, it means no swimming.

I would assume depending on the location it either had dangerous tides/currents or In a lagoon like this I may think there's algea/bugs and they're worried about people swallowing water. So I would happily paddle.

If there was a sign saying do not enter water I wouldn't go in. Certainly not if it mentioned alligators.

We tube in Minnesota too but the worst you'd get is a snapper bite. Or leeches.

articles.orlandosentinel.com/1986-10-12/news/0260190168_1_hitt-alligator-fort-wilderness

The 1991 cut off date disallowing swimming is interesting. Source?
Was that because they had to settle the 1986 case above? ^
articles.orlandosentinel.com/1988-01-22/news/0010220111_1_alligator-attack-feeding-ducks-walt-disney-world

Cannot believe that if they were sued for negligence 28 years ago they might just have had time to change the signage?

Artandco I didn't say I was scared, I said I found living in London more dangerous than living in rural Florida or rural South America. Where the dangers come from really rare attacks of wild animals rather than frequent attacks from wild inhabitants. I'm not scared of London and I don't know where you got Cape Town from

Ok dangerous. What's dangerous in London? Tube rat?

HairyLittlePoet

But an alligator did not take the boy from the beach. It took him from the water, and at night. The alligators rarely would come up the beach to look for 'prey' or 'perceived danger to itself.'

We have stayed and at visited Disney hotels, in WDW. When we stayed we warned about wildlife.

Most guidebooks for Florida warn you of alligators being in most waterways, and to be wary of them throughout the state as they are known to go into residential and commercial settings, and are especially active in evenings.

Disney is not exempt, and can NEVER be exempt, from alligators. We have seen signs re alligators - I am sure the Polynesian next door has such signs. Alligators have been spotted in waterways WITHIN the theme parks at times. Sadly there was no alligator warning sign at this part of the beach. It is the first such attack at WDW in over 30 years, and the park has been open about 45y - so the risk was not high.

This was a tragic accident sadly. Horrific for all concerned, not least the poor child, and especially his family.

I am sure, however, that WDW company will settle out of court with the family, if it goes that way. And you can guarantee that signs will now be much more prominent on the dangers from now on; infant they may even move to having the beach areas changed so water access is not possible.

They have definitely been in the theme parks... They're regularly spotted on the splash mountain ride. I think there are a few you tube videos of cast members keeping them back with sticks...

Artandco no, cities are statistically more dangerous than rural areas. I used London as an example because I grew up there. I can use another city if you prefer.

My point was to put alligator danger into perspective. The risk is far less than going to any large city. There are 1000 knife crime victims in London every month. There were 15 knife related deaths in 2015. Compared to 24 alligator related deaths in over 40 years in Florida.

This is a tragedy, but not a common one.

Who allows a child to paddle in an alligator infested lake?

Oh sorry I must have misunderstood, are you saying they don't have knife or gun crime in Florida or southern America? Hahaha. Have you been to South America lately? It was riddled with knife crime on my last trip, riddled with drugs, riddled with leathal animals. Every house hold was armed, field filled with armed people protecting drugs.This was 'rural'.

London is extremely tame in comparison. Any crime is minor and kept generally in a few areas between 'gangs'. Not London as a whole.

Words: someone who has no idea that there are any alligators in the lake ?

It was very early in their holiday , clearly people were encouraged to sit in the beach in the evening, for films and fireworks, the weather is warm, a big temptation to someone from a Nebraskan winter, maybe....

'Who allows a child to paddle in an alligator infested lake?'

Someone who has no clue there might be that sort of wildlife in that body of water and has not been warned. You don't honestly believe anyone would willingly permit a child to do that, do you?

"Who allows a child to paddle in an alligator infested lake?"

Somebody who had no reason to believe it was an alligator infested lake?

No one allows their child to play in infested waters, they obviously didn't know there were alligators in the water in the first place, what an insensitive comment

Don't be a dick words.

Gosh I am so very weary of this disgusting parent blaming. You realise that they LOST a child in the one of the absolute worst ways possible don't you? You do get that?

These are photos on FB at present that a mother took of her young child stood with his feet in the water of that very beach just half an hour before what happened. The message is that it could have been any one of the children on the beach that night. Are they all terrible neglectful parents? Obviously not.

It's so easy to sit here and say I wouldn't do this, they shouldn't do that etc but it is a tragic freak tragedy. Nothing will bring that poor little boy back or help his parents even if WDW pay them tens of millions of $

I've been to Florida and Orlando and specifically WDW and we warned of alligators. There are signs up on international drive not to go in the water and alligator signs.
Disney employees have told us in several occasions not to swim in the lake at dusk/night due to alligators.

I suspect when the resort was built they didn't think that the population would become an issue or that they could control it. The lack of accidents suggest that they do have it under control as a rule.

The only thing that upsets me right now is the thought of that family and how the patents will possibly blame themselves for the rest of their lives. Not because they were paddling amongst of a lack of no swimming signs but because they are parents who's every instinct would be to protect their child and for whatever reason they couldn't this time.

This family have said that an alligator came out of the water onto the beach when they were there recently:

www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/terrified-brit-family-chased-alligator-8197003

Fucking hell. It's so crass to be blaming the parents. Obviously what ever they did or didn't do they certainly didn't just think let's put our child In danger of dying in the worst possible way.
Jesus.

The 1991 cut off date disallowing swimming is interesting. Source?
Sorry, I misread it earlier, it was 1997
forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/bay-lake-seven-seas-lagoon-swimming.15405/

thank you for that link Anecdotal Interesting reading.

are you saying they don't have knife or gun crime in Florida or southern America? No I'm saying you are statistically more likely to be a victim of knife crime in London than attacked by an alligator in Florida.

Have you been to South America lately? Yes, I live here, that's why I mentioned it.

It was riddled with knife crime on my last trip, riddled with drugs, riddled with leathal animals. Every house hold was armed, field filled with armed people protecting drugs.This was 'rural'.

What on earth were you doing in a place like this? It doesn't sound like a very good holiday destination for a gringo, lucky you got out unscathed. The whole continent is not like that

Any crime is minor and kept generally in a few areas between 'gangs'. Not London as a whole. you mean Westminster and Hammersmith

I saw this post today.

The lagoon is man made. It seems crazy to me to make a lagoon of water as part of an attraction in an area where it is likely to attract alligators. Even if it was made before the population of the reptiles became problematic surely at some point someone should have thought, 'Ummm...time to fill in the lagoon maybe' and put it to the board. It was only a matter of time surely? A man made lagoon with alligators at a Disney resort is......nuts.

The lagoon is man made. It seems crazy to me to make a lagoon of water as part of an attraction in an area where it is likely to attract alligators.

The lagoon is man made, as it is somewhere to put all the water that used to be in all the surrounding swamp land. That is how you drain a swamp. The soil from it was used to raise the ground level of the Magic Kingdom. www.disneytrivia.net/park_pages/wdw_mk_facts.php

dizzyfucker that article about London is referring to crime figures not violent crime - there is more crime in rich and tourist areas: mainly pickpocketing and burglary - London is generally safer than the 1980s.

Words they clearly didn't know or they wouldn't have done it.