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!

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.

Maybe. But I think of Disney as a place where everything is controlled. Not a risk I would have worried about there. Very different from going to a random lake in Fl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

No the gator did not come on the beach. The child was wading, according to the lifeguard, up to 10 feet from the beach. Which is exactly where gators strike, in shallow water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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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.

It's a manmade lake and beach. If you host a nighttime move on the beach and your audience is primarily made up of little kids, I think you should assume some of them are going to dip their toes in the water. I'm the most overprotective mom around, but I can really imagine this happening to me, except that I might not have let my kids dip their toes in, but they could have gone up to the edge. And, my reason for not letting them put their feet in would have been just a concern that the water was dirty/contaminated which I thought is what I had read about it before and why I thought you couldn't swim. (We've gone to Disney during colder weather so those beaches have not been a place where we've spent time although we did recently stay at one of the hotels on that lake) I actually spend a good bit of time visiting family in FL and have heard of gators being found in manmade lakes in communities where family lives but have always heard the gator is relocated after they spot one. If I had thought about it, I would have thought Disney does the same.

I certainly wouldn't have thought there could double digit numbers of alligators in that lake. Leaving aside swimming, I think you can rent kayaks and so forth for that lake. I would never do that now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Agreed. If totally dark, parents are negligent.

If this picture really was taken 30 minutes before the boy was attacked, that leads to even more questions. Because, if the parents were with the child, they would have noticed an alligator in that very shallow water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This is private property! Big difference. If you step in quicksand in a forest and die, too bad. If your neighbor has you over for a party and doesn't tell you there is quicksand in the backyard in a place that it looks pretty reasonable to walk near, then your neighbor will be liable if you get sucked in and die. You don't assume the risk in the same way. This concept has developed over centuries and makes a lot of sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Maybe. But I think of Disney as a place where everything is controlled. Not a risk I would have worried about there. Very different from going to a random lake in Fl.

Well that's illogical thinking and it's how something like this happens. Gators don't know what the fuck Disney is and that they should avoid it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Maybe. But I think of Disney as a place where everything is controlled. Not a risk I would have worried about there. Very different from going to a random lake in Fl.

Didn't they arrest a Disney worker for being a pedophile? Some of you people are scary. Waaaaaay too trusting. PLEASE don't let your guard down just because you're on vacation. Disney can only do so much to protect you from reality.

[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?

This thread shows how many really dumb people post to this forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This is private property! Big difference. If you step in quicksand in a forest and die, too bad. If your neighbor has you over for a party and doesn't tell you there is quicksand in the backyard in a place that it looks pretty reasonable to walk near, then your neighbor will be liable if you get sucked in and die. You don't assume the risk in the same way. This concept has developed over centuries and makes a lot of sense.

What if your neighbor had a sign up that said "don't play in the sand" and you did anyway? Because that's what happened here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Maybe. But I think of Disney as a place where everything is controlled. Not a risk I would have worried about there. Very different from going to a random lake in Fl.

Well that's illogical thinking and it's how something like this happens. Gators don't know what the fuck Disney is and that they should avoid it.

My cousin had a gator in her backyard pool in Sarasota. I'm scared shitless at night to go back there...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Disney owns the land. They built the lake. The only boats in it are driven by Disney employees. The ferry is on a track, actually.

Also, Disney removes alligators from their guest areas routinely. They knew alligators were around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

People go on vacation and some loosen the parental strings too much. Especially at Disney. I've seen it on my trips there. Kids running around without supervision, standing too close to parades/certain attractions, leaning too far on sides of ferry, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It blows my mind how many people apparently don't know that you shouldn't go into murky freshwater lakes in FL at night. I though was common sense you're just supposed to know like not using a hair dryer in the bath tub.

Well, to dumb it down, the hairdryer has a label on it that shows not to put it in water. Florida has no such label. I fly to Florida rather often and have never been given a plane ticket with a label on it that says "dont go into murky freshwater lakes at night".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This is private property! Big difference. If you step in quicksand in a forest and die, too bad. If your neighbor has you over for a party and doesn't tell you there is quicksand in the backyard in a place that it looks pretty reasonable to walk near, then your neighbor will be liable if you get sucked in and die. You don't assume the risk in the same way. This concept has developed over centuries and makes a lot of sense.

What if your neighbor had a sign up that said "don't play in the sand" and you did anyway? Because that's what happened here.

The duty owed to a customers by a business is very different from the duty owed by the owner of a non-commercial property.

[Anonymous]

Reposting with proper quotes :

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Disney owns the land. They built the lake. The only boats in it are driven by Disney employees. The ferry is on a track, actually.

Also, Disney removes alligators from their guest areas routinely. They knew alligators were around.