2 Year Old Dragged into Water by Gator at Disney Resort

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ a man made lake at Disney World is not in the wild!

Where I'm from, ALL the lakes are man made. That doesn't make them tame. Once made, they turn into regular lakes.

Fair enough. But as someone who doesn't live somewhere where there are gators, can't you admit that a man-made lake at Disney World (where they control every aspect of your experience) might be a surprising place for a gator to grab a kid and carry him off? Certainly the parents of this boy had no idea of the risk. I wouldn't have either and I am not a stupid person. Just someone who doesn't have experience with Gators. And Disney World is probably a place I would relax a little bit with my kids because it is such a manufactured experience.

Exactly. This was a freak accident, no blame to the parents. The blame that goes to Disney is that it happened there, not that they should have foreseen this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still don't blame the parents at all, but every time I see that water I'm just amazed people could look at it and think it was safe to play in. Snakes, gators, bugs, etc. Maybe Disney also assumed that everyone understood you don't go in brackish freshwater ponds in Florida, particularly at night? I accept now that many people don't know this but until so many of you said you didn't I thought it was common knowledge, like don't stand under a tree or hold metal in a lightning storm. The no swimming signs if they're updated at all will need to list many reasons besides just gators why you shouldn't be in that water and I just have to think Disney until now held all those to be self evident.

Nope. It was a calculated decision by disney to forego posting warning signs.

I posted earlier a link to disney's signs on the beaches at their private island in castaway cay/bahamas. The signs are big, and they include a laundry list of dangerous sea life (sharks, sea lice, etc.). They are posted by every entrance/path to the beach.

If they are warning people about sharks---which is common knowledge---then why not gators? Particularly since nobody would expect to see a gator in a man made resort area or amusement park.

An island in the Bahamas is not the same as a brackish trash pond in Florida. Give me a break. You're trying to compare two disparate environments.

You are both correct and clueless.

Everybody on the planet realizes there are sharks in the ocean...all oceans...and especially in the Bahamas.

Very few people would imagine that man made lagoons by man made beaches at disney resorts where people are encouraged to gather have gators lurking nearby. That child could have been standing on the shoreline without touching the water and a gator could have snatched him...like in the link posted earlier where a father had to run and scoop up his kid on dry land near that lagoon when a gator quickly came out of nowhere.

Once disney posts real warning signs, nobody will set foot on that beach again.

Being utterly clueless doesn't't stop you, does it? The kid got attacked because he was in the water, he would not have been equally at trick on the sand, o

More than a "very few people" expect alligators to be in ponds in Florida.

Reading this thread makes me realize why there are so many deaths in the national park each year. People really think they have no responsibility for their own welfare.

Exactly. So many clueless idiots who are shocked that wild animals are...in the wild.

But disney isn't a national park. It's the most manufactured tourist destination on the planet.

They put lounge chairs by the lagoon and held events by the water...encouraging people to congregate there. Nobody would congregate there for movies and fireworks after dark if they knew there were gators nearby. Disney knows this, and that's why they opted to not warn people.

What does the park have to do with a large body of water that feeds into other waters of Florida?
What does hosting a night time movie have to do with going into the water at night?
Have you ever been to a beach party at night? Do you think having this party makes the venue liable for anyone who enters the water at night who then gets attacked by a shark?
Where is your evidence that Disney knew about alligators in these waters? It's entirely possible that the water IS safe during the day (boat activity keeps them away) but once the waters calm and nightfall moves in, they come closer to shore to hunt.

[Anonymous]

In addition to signs, there should be a fence around the lake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Article in NYT today about how THREE grown adults have been killed by alligators in FL in the last week, including one woman jogging along a canal in Sunrise FL.

All I found was this one from 10 years ago:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/15/us/15alligator.html

I apologize - maybe I somehow linked to an older story. I was looking at today's NYT homepage but perhaps inadvertantly linked to an old story. Please disregard unless someone else can confirm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In addition to signs, there should be a fence around the lake.

Oh like we fence off oceans and forests?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ a man made lake at Disney World is not in the wild!

Where I'm from, ALL the lakes are man made. That doesn't make them tame. Once made, they turn into regular lakes.

So maybe it's a bad idea to build a lake and then build a bunch of resorts on the side of a fresh water lake in a place where fresh water lakes attract alligators?

And if you do build a resort on the side of a fresh water lake that attracts alligators, maybe it's an even worse idea to build a beach on it and then add lounge chairs and hold outdoor movies on it to encourage people to hang out on the beach at night, when you know that is the time that alligators are most active?

Just sayin....

Someone posted this picture. Is this what the set up is like for the movies? If so, that's a very safe distance away from waters that might have alligators. Alligators aren't coming onto the sand to hunt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still don't blame the parents at all, but every time I see that water I'm just amazed people could look at it and think it was safe to play in. Snakes, gators, bugs, etc. Maybe Disney also assumed that everyone understood you don't go in brackish freshwater ponds in Florida, particularly at night? I accept now that many people don't know this but until so many of you said you didn't I thought it was common knowledge, like don't stand under a tree or hold metal in a lightning storm. The no swimming signs if they're updated at all will need to list many reasons besides just gators why you shouldn't be in that water and I just have to think Disney until now held all those to be self evident.

Nope. It was a calculated decision by disney to forego posting warning signs.

I posted earlier a link to disney's signs on the beaches at their private island in castaway cay/bahamas. The signs are big, and they include a laundry list of dangerous sea life (sharks, sea lice, etc.). They are posted by every entrance/path to the beach.

If they are warning people about sharks---which is common knowledge---then why not gators? Particularly since nobody would expect to see a gator in a man made resort area or amusement park.

Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, are we?

An island in the Bahamas is not the same as a brackish trash pond in Florida. Give me a break. You're trying to compare two disparate environments.

You are both correct and clueless.

Everybody on the planet realizes there are sharks in the ocean...all oceans...and especially in the Bahamas.

Very few people would imagine that man made lagoons by man made beaches at disney resorts where people are encouraged to gather have gators lurking nearby. That child could have been standing on the shoreline without touching the water and a gator could have snatched him...like in the link posted earlier where a father had to run and scoop up his kid on dry land near that lagoon when a gator quickly came out of nowhere.

Once disney posts real warning signs, nobody will set foot on that beach again.

Being utterly clueless doesn't't stop you, does it? The kid got attacked because he was in the water, he would not have been equally at trick on the sand, o

More than a "very few people" expect alligators to be in ponds in Florida.

Reading this thread makes me realize why there are so many deaths in the national park each year. People really think they have no responsibility for their own welfare.

Exactly. So many clueless idiots who are shocked that wild animals are...in the wild.

But disney isn't a national park. It's the most manufactured tourist destination on the planet.

They put lounge chairs by the lagoon and held events by the water...encouraging people to congregate there. Nobody would congregate there for movies and fireworks after dark if they knew there were gators nearby. Disney knows this, and that's why they opted to not warn people.

What does the park have to do with a large body of water that feeds into other waters of Florida?
What does hosting a night time movie have to do with going into the water at night?
Have you ever been to a beach party at night? Do you think having this party makes the venue liable for anyone who enters the water at night who then gets attacked by a shark?
Where is your evidence that Disney knew about alligators in these waters? It's entirely possible that the water IS safe during the day (boat activity keeps them away) but once the waters calm and nightfall moves in, they come closer to shore to hunt.

[Anonymous]

How many of you when you go to the beach swim right near the pier at dusk? Probably none. But that's the equivalent of what happened here. It's not safe to be in the water at a time and place where animals feed. I hate the family did not know this and am shocked so many don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ a man made lake at Disney World is not in the wild!

Where I'm from, ALL the lakes are man made. That doesn't make them tame. Once made, they turn into regular lakes.

Fair enough. But as someone who doesn't live somewhere where there are gators, can't you admit that a man-made lake at Disney World (where they control every aspect of your experience) might be a surprising place for a gator to grab a kid and carry him off? Certainly the parents of this boy had no idea of the risk. I wouldn't have either and I am not a stupid person. Just someone who doesn't have experience with Gators. And Disney World is probably a place I would relax a little bit with my kids because it is such a manufactured experience.

Exactly. This was a freak accident, no blame to the parents. The blame that goes to Disney is that it happened there, not that they should have foreseen this.

Terrible rationale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In addition to signs, there should be a fence around the lake.

Oh like we fence off oceans and forests?

Right? People are such idiots. Who needs common sense when someone can build a fence and think for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ a man made lake at Disney World is not in the wild!

Nature disagrees. Animals and bacteria are not repelled from a standing freshwater source because it happens to be on Disney property.

In Florida Gators are in man-made lakes, golf courses and backyard swimming pools at times. Man-made means nothing to gators.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ a man made lake at Disney World is not in the wild!

Where I'm from, ALL the lakes are man made. That doesn't make them tame. Once made, they turn into regular lakes.

Fair enough. But as someone who doesn't live somewhere where there are gators, can't you admit that a man-made lake at Disney World (where they control every aspect of your experience) might be a surprising place for a gator to grab a kid and carry him off? Certainly the parents of this boy had no idea of the risk. I wouldn't have either and I am not a stupid person. Just someone who doesn't have experience with Gators. And Disney World is probably a place I would relax a little bit with my kids because it is such a manufactured experience.

Exactly. This was a freak accident, no blame to the parents. The blame that goes to Disney is that it happened there, not that they should have foreseen this.

Had they posted gator warning signs, perhaps disney could say with a straight face that this was a freak accident. But they didn't post those signs...purposely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ a man made lake at Disney World is not in the wild!

Where I'm from, ALL the lakes are man made. That doesn't make them tame. Once made, they turn into regular lakes.

Fair enough. But as someone who doesn't live somewhere where there are gators, can't you admit that a man-made lake at Disney World (where they control every aspect of your experience) might be a surprising place for a gator to grab a kid and carry him off? Certainly the parents of this boy had no idea of the risk. I wouldn't have either and I am not a stupid person. Just someone who doesn't have experience with Gators. And Disney World is probably a place I would relax a little bit with my kids because it is such a manufactured experience.

Exactly. This was a freak accident, no blame to the parents. The blame that goes to Disney is that it happened there, not that they should have foreseen this.

Had they posted gator warning signs, perhaps disney could say with a straight face that this was a freak accident. But they didn't post those signs...purposely.

You have no evidence of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry--that worry is also filled with brain eating bacteria. The parents were already playing with fire letting their child play in the water.

How would they know this? Plus, wading is not swimming. Anyone would have done the same thing. Of course there should be warning signs about gators. That poor, poor family and that poor child. I can't even think about it.

Ignorance isn't an excuse for doing something dangerous.

Wading in ankle deep water is not dangerous when you are from most parts of the world.

+1. Here's the photo a PP linked to, showing a little boy at the exact spot where Lane Graves was attacked, about a half-hour before that happened. Most people would not consider this to be a dangerous activity.

During the day, I'd wager that wading in the water is fine. At night, no way.

I thought the gator came onto the beach and grabbed the child. If the child was wading in the water ... unless a parent was holding the child's hand, I think the neglect is partially on the parent for letting their 2 yr old wade in the pond water at night. I doubt the two year old is a strong swimmer so that alone seems kind of dangerous.

[Anonymous]

If any of you out for a walk in Fairfax came upon a pond like that I bet 0% of you would encourage your kids to jump in for a swim. But at Disney, smack in the middle of gator country, it's expected to be magically safe and free from all gross things you typically expect to find in brackish standing water? Just don't get it.