2 Year Old Dragged into Water by Gator at Disney Resort

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Geez all the back and forth- this baby was two years old. Can you even imagine the terror and trauma? Imagine being his mom or dad witnessing such a thing happening to to their little boy and completely unable to stop it?

If that happened to my precious boy (my only child) I would be done and looking for an exit strategy.

It's a reason some parents choose to have two. That sounds cold, but it's true.

+1 Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

OMG my mother said that to me once about our (at the time) only child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're still going in July, taking our two girls.

+1 we are still going too in July. Taking my 4yo.

I feel sorry for people who fall for the Disney hype. Take your children to a place where they can see real nature and not the fakery of Disney. .

Nobody is impressed with how cool and above it all you are. Go back into your hole.

[Anonymous]

I thought I remembered seeing signs about alligators when we were there earlier this year (near Port Orleans, not where the attack happened). The news I was watching this morning seemed to confirm that this particular location just had "no swimming" signs, but a quick minute on google found several pictures of signs at Disney about alligators:

Video where a sign (and a gator) appears:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTGlE56v6hE

http://temporarytourist.com/my-first-alligator-at-walt-disney-world/

Those both seem to be at Shades of Green--so maybe they have them because they are semi-separate from the rest of Disney World.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In FL, it is reasonable to assume every body of fresh water -- excluding swimming pools -- has gators.

Maybe, but I don't know how a family from Nebraska would know that. My heart breaks for them.

Who are these people who don't know that FL has gators? I've never lived in FL and yet somehow I have been let in on the apparent secret that alligators are common there. I am certainly not jumping on the blame-the-parents bandwagon, but this whole concept that people are unaware of gators in FL is just weird.

In all seriousness, my heart breaks for this family, too. This is a tragic accident and I cannot imagine what these parents witnessed.

Disney removes gators from its property as fast it can find them. I wouldn't expect a gator to come up to the beach at the Grand Floridian. I go to Disney tons and I have never seen a gator on property, not once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is a 2-yr-old up at 9:30?

that's your response to this tragedy? are you the spawn of trump?

Poor parenting us often discussed and this is an example if a two year old up too late and parents no watching. Or dud I miss the oart where the alligator broke into their place and removed the sleeping child from a bed

What is "too late?" Not everyone has the exact same schedule. I knew a family where the Dad worked a late shift (till 8 pm) every night so the whole family adjusted it's schedule where the kids stayed up late so they could actually spend time with their Dad daily. The kids were not sleep deprived--they just slept later in the morning.

The Electrical Water Pageant goes by the hotels on the lagoon about 9:00, they said there was a movie on the beach, and fireworks are about 9:00 and you can see them from outside the hotels. There are tons of reasons a family at Disney would be outside with a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old at 9:00, especially if its the third night of their trip -- that might be the night they planned to stay up and do the nighttime stuff. This isn't people taking their 2-year-old to a casino at 11:30 pm, this is a family doing Disney stuff at Disney.

This. Except fireworks are at 10:00 pm, not 9:00. I can't believe all the parent blaming here. I'm from Orlando, and we've stayed at the Grand Floridian many times. People are on vacation and many congregate at the beach at the lagoon to watch the fireworks. There are chairs, an outdoor movie, smores, etc going on until late. Kids run around and play and wade at the shoreline. This is what you do at the resort if you are not across at the Magic Kingdom. I doubt it would occur to anyone to be vigilent for gators in that atmosphere. I would never have let my kids swm in the dark, but they have always played on that beach. This is so tragic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought I remembered seeing signs about alligators when we were there earlier this year (near Port Orleans, not where the attack happened). The news I was watching this morning seemed to confirm that this particular location just had "no swimming" signs, but a quick minute on google found several pictures of signs at Disney about alligators:

Video where a sign (and a gator) appears:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTGlE56v6hE

http://temporarytourist.com/my-first-alligator-at-walt-disney-world/

Those both seem to be at Shades of Green--so maybe they have them because they are semi-separate from the rest of Disney World.

Shades of Green is right across the street from the Grand Floridian.

My brother was a lifeguard at one of the Disney resorts in college. He had a friend who refused to walk by herself from the pool to the cast member changing area because there was a large pond that alligators were routinely spotted in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought I remembered seeing signs about alligators when we were there earlier this year (near Port Orleans, not where the attack happened). The news I was watching this morning seemed to confirm that this particular location just had "no swimming" signs, but a quick minute on google found several pictures of signs at Disney about alligators:

Video where a sign (and a gator) appears:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTGlE56v6hE

http://temporarytourist.com/my-first-alligator-at-walt-disney-world/

Those both seem to be at Shades of Green--so maybe they have them because they are semi-separate from the rest of Disney World.

There are lots of gators by shades of green- they sun themselves by the lake. You can easily see them from the sidewalk that you use to get to the monorail at Polynesian.

It is an armed forces resort though, so there are probably different decision makers about signage.

This is terrible. But it is true that there are basically alligators and snakes in every body of water to in Florida. And they can come up out of the water really quickly to grab animals or small people. You can watch the gators follow pedestrians with dogs while they walk along most lakes in Florida.

I am so sorry for this family. Removing all of the Gators will basically be impossible on Disney property. I do think they should have more signs and a specific warning on check in about the lakes.

We saw gators at Coronado springs too. Not surprising, but definitely a risk for little ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The skeptic (and prosecutor) in me wonders if anyone actually saw the child on the beach other than the parents. The whole story is strange. Why is the four year old in the play pen while the baby is allowed to wander alone in the water in the darK?

Otherwisee, it is just a horrible tragedy. Disney has been at that location for more than 40 years. If they were truly negligent, this would not be the first incident of this kind.

Weird -- the 4 yr old in the playpen caught my eye too. Others metioned movies and parades -- yet I haven't read witness accounts of seeing this family.

None of this makes me bat an eye.

Two year old is wild and stired up from all the excitement. Parents let him run around to burn off energy until the parade with dad strolling a few feet away in eyeshot and voice control but not arms length.

Four year old is tired and worn out and having a meltdown, so mom says "Fine. Get in the pac n play and lay down while your brother runs off some steam. We lugged it out here so someone might as well use it."

Dad is tired, feeling laid back because after all, they are on vacation and it's Disney. The toddler sees the gator and runs directly towards it because after all it looks just like the Captain Hook crocodile he has seen all over the park and Jake and the Neverland Pirate. Dad tries but he does not react quickly enough to get to his son before the aligator gets him and by the time he gets there it is too late

None of this, the toddler near the waters edge or the four year old in the playpen sounds surprising.

And why did Disney have a lifeguard stationed at an alligator infested beach if they weren't allowing swimming?

Dumbest post of the day. It's early, though.

Which one? Your post?

If you had kids and have been to Disney, this is very likely exactly what happened and how the four year old ended up in a pac n play and the baby ended up eaten by an alligator.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought I remembered seeing signs about alligators when we were there earlier this year (near Port Orleans, not where the attack happened). The news I was watching this morning seemed to confirm that this particular location just had "no swimming" signs, but a quick minute on google found several pictures of signs at Disney about alligators:

Video where a sign (and a gator) appears:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTGlE56v6hE

http://temporarytourist.com/my-first-alligator-at-walt-disney-world/

Those both seem to be at Shades of Green--so maybe they have them because they are semi-separate from the rest of Disney World.

There are lots of gators by shades of green- they sun themselves by the lake. You can easily see them from the sidewalk that you use to get to the monorail at Polynesian.

It is an armed forces resort though, so there are probably different decision makers about signage.

This is terrible. But it is true that there are basically alligators and snakes in every body of water to in Florida. And they can come up out of the water really quickly to grab animals or small people. You can watch the gators follow pedestrians with dogs while they walk along most lakes in Florida.

I am so sorry for this family. Removing all of the Gators will basically be impossible on Disney property. I do think they should have more signs and a specific warning on check in about the lakes.

We saw gators at Coronado springs too. Not surprising, but definitely a risk for little ones.

Disney doesn't own Shades of Green. The DOD owns it.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Montreal and moved to Miami when I was 21. I never knew anything about alligators and the only time I saw them was when I went to the Everglades. If I took a weekend road trip inland and saw a lake with a beach, I probably would have set up a tent to camp and go swimming. I wouldn't have known that EVERYONE knows still water = gators. Maybe the parents were young and naive like me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought I remembered seeing signs about alligators when we were there earlier this year (near Port Orleans, not where the attack happened). The news I was watching this morning seemed to confirm that this particular location just had "no swimming" signs, but a quick minute on google found several pictures of signs at Disney about alligators:

Video where a sign (and a gator) appears:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTGlE56v6hE

http://temporarytourist.com/my-first-alligator-at-walt-disney-world/

Those both seem to be at Shades of Green--so maybe they have them because they are semi-separate from the rest of Disney World.

There are lots of gators by shades of green- they sun themselves by the lake. You can easily see them from the sidewalk that you use to get to the monorail at Polynesian.

It is an armed forces resort though, so there are probably different decision makers about signage.

This is terrible. But it is true that there are basically alligators and snakes in every body of water to in Florida. And they can come up out of the water really quickly to grab animals or small people. You can watch the gators follow pedestrians with dogs while they walk along most lakes in Florida.

I am so sorry for this family. Removing all of the Gators will basically be impossible on Disney property. I do think they should have more signs and a specific warning on check in about the lakes.

We saw gators at Coronado springs too. Not surprising, but definitely a risk for little ones.

We saw them too at Coronado Springs about a year ago. We had just arrived around 7 pm, after driving all day, so we decided to take a walk around the grounds. We joked that maybe we'd see an alligator, and 10 seconds later my 11 year old spotted one! I've also seen them at Shades of Green.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're still going in July, taking our two girls.

+1 we are still going too in July. Taking my 4yo.

I feel sorry for people who fall for the Disney hype. Take your children to a place where they can see real nature and not the fakery of Disney. .

Save your pity for yourself and other judgmental a-holes like you. My family loves Disney! We go every other year and still plan to do so.

I have no desire to judge anyone else's vacation choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought I remembered seeing signs about alligators when we were there earlier this year (near Port Orleans, not where the attack happened). The news I was watching this morning seemed to confirm that this particular location just had "no swimming" signs, but a quick minute on google found several pictures of signs at Disney about alligators:

Video where a sign (and a gator) appears:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTGlE56v6hE

http://temporarytourist.com/my-first-alligator-at-walt-disney-world/

Those both seem to be at Shades of Green--so maybe they have them because they are semi-separate from the rest of Disney World.

There are lots of gators by shades of green- they sun themselves by the lake. You can easily see them from the sidewalk that you use to get to the monorail at Polynesian.

It is an armed forces resort though, so there are probably different decision makers about signage.

This is terrible. But it is true that there are basically alligators and snakes in every body of water to in Florida. And they can come up out of the water really quickly to grab animals or small people. You can watch the gators follow pedestrians with dogs while they walk along most lakes in Florida.

I am so sorry for this family. Removing all of the Gators will basically be impossible on Disney property. I do think they should have more signs and a specific warning on check in about the lakes.

We saw gators at Coronado springs too. Not surprising, but definitely a risk for little ones.

Disney doesn't own Shades of Green. The DOD owns it.

I'm guessing that the gators don't know that-or if they do, they don't care!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The skeptic (and prosecutor) in me wonders if anyone actually saw the child on the beach other than the parents. The whole story is strange. Why is the four year old in the play pen while the baby is allowed to wander alone in the water in the darK?

Otherwisee, it is just a horrible tragedy. Disney has been at that location for more than 40 years. If they were truly negligent, this would not be the first incident of this kind.

Weird -- the 4 yr old in the playpen caught my eye too. Others metioned movies and parades -- yet I haven't read witness accounts of seeing this family.

None of this makes me bat an eye.

Two year old is wild and stired up from all the excitement. Parents let him run around to burn off energy until the parade with dad strolling a few feet away in eyeshot and voice control but not arms length.

Four year old is tired and worn out and having a meltdown, so mom says "Fine. Get in the pac n play and lay down while your brother runs off some steam. We lugged it out here so someone might as well use it."

Dad is tired, feeling laid back because after all, they are on vacation and it's Disney. The toddler sees the gator and runs directly towards it because after all it looks just like the Captain Hook crocodile he has seen all over the park and Jake and the Neverland Pirate. Dad tries but he does not react quickly enough to get to his son before the aligator gets him and by the time he gets there it is too late

None of this, the toddler near the waters edge or the four year old in the playpen sounds surprising.

And why did Disney have a lifeguard stationed at an alligator infested beach if they weren't allowing swimming?

That's a hell of a concocted story to replace "mom and dad just weren't paying attention."

You are a bitch. Are you the lightly fried tuna lady?

Dad was clearly very close to the child if he was able to get to the alligator and try to wrestle it for his child. Mom did too. Gators are fast in water. If they weren't paying attention and weren't almost in arms reach, they would not have been able to even reach the gator to fight for the child.

Let me guess, you only ever carry around your two year old at all times, especially when you are at a resort having an outdoor event on an area that seems like a great place to let your kid run off steam.

Just hope and pray that your chikd never encounters tragedy when you are just close enough to reach him but not quite strong enough to save him.

[Anonymous]

The lake is not a naturally occurring lake, it is a man made lake. Disney made the lake in an area infested with alligators. They didn't rope off this attractive nuisance, and encouraged families to congregate on the beach by hosting a boat parade, movies, and activities. I can't believe people are blaming the parents.