2 Year Old Dragged into Water by Gator at Disney Resort

[Anonymous]

From the Chicago Tribune article:

Williamson, the sheriff's spokesman, said the boy was at the edge of the water, probably about a foot or two into the water, when the alligator attacked. The water was dark Tuesday night as searchers looked for the boy, he said.

[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?

I guess, and no. Gators will eat what they eat. Keep kids away and they won't get eaten.

Why would anyone expect gators to be at disney? How would you know to take precautions at an amusement park or resort?

They spray for mosquitoes but don't remove gators? WTF?

I'm PP, and why would a 2-yr-old be on a beach at 9:30 pm?

it is not like the ocean beach - it is a faux beach right outside the hotel on the resort - probably steps from their room

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disney is 100% at fault. The toddler was not swimming. No swimming probably made the parents feel they needed to watch out for drowning. There are no signs at Disney warning about giant alligators attacking if you stick your feet in the water. I always wondered why they had it set up like a beach that backs up to a lagoon you can't swim in. They should have gotten rid of the "beaches" along time ago.

Yes! It looks exactly like a beach- we've staying in several Disney resorts and they look like beaches. No one familiar with the real threat of gators would even associate it with the danger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clearly judging from this post people have a different interpretation of what "No Swimming" means. I think the signs should be clearer, especially for people who have no idea about Florida's wildlife.

Hey, it's your limbs, your life. Rather than quibble over what the sign should say, how about use common sense?

Who, with enough money to visit Disney, is unaware of Florida's wildlife? I can't believe we're debating this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disney is 100% at fault. The toddler was not swimming. No swimming probably made the parents feel they needed to watch out for drowning. There are no signs at Disney warning about giant alligators attacking if you stick your feet in the water. I always wondered why they had it set up like a beach that backs up to a lagoon you can't swim in. They should have gotten rid of the "beaches" along time ago.

Yes! It looks exactly like a beach- we've staying in several Disney resorts and they look like beaches. No one familiar with the real threat of gators would even associate it with the danger.

Really? Even at night when you can't see what's in the water? How can Disney control what's in a body of water?

[Anonymous]

All those millions of small kids each year running around those lagoon beaches at night watching fireworks and Disney did not see the huge liability it was. Not the parents fault at all. Disney created the circumstances for this to easily happen. Stop blaming the parents!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How dumb are these parents? Who in the United States doesn't know that ANY body of water in FL (besides the ocean), no matter how pretty or inviting it may seem likely has gators and/or venomous things. I love that we're splitting hairs between swimming and wading, when this child shouldn't have been touching water, period. Even if the signs don't say it - why risk it?

Wonder how close the dad was to the kid - bc I would think a dad standing right there could grab the kid under the armpits end pull hard enough to pull him out. Though I guess that also depends on the gators grip.

Sad but I don't want to see Disney paying out huge sums here.

Who gives an eff what some mega corporation has to pay. I'd sue them out of existence. In America, anything is possible with a jury. I hope we hear about the first trillion dollar award.

Not going to happen. It doesn't mean it was the parent's fault. But it wasn't Disney's either. Again, would you sue a county beach for a shark attack?

This story has more details, and it looks like the child was pretty far in the water.

well the thing is, here usually ARENT gators there, this was a freak thing. has not happened in 30 plus years of Disney operating

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-disney-world-alligator-attack-toddler-20160615-story.html

Hmm...from the picture in that article it appears that the signs only said “Steep drop off, Deep water, no swimming.” While I agree that the parents were foolish to not follow the signs and disregard the “no swimming”, I do think Disney could have been more clear in warning that there are gators in the water. Deep water alone is not a reason to not swim, especially when they went out of their way to make it a “beach” area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, but this is negligence. In Florida, in water, AT NIGHT. A disaster waiting to happen.

Negligence on Disney's part? Or the parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Florida and I've vacationed and stayed at Disney World Resorts. I would never have expected a gator to be in a resort lagoon either. It looks like a swimming pool in the pictures and it also appears to be fenced in.

How the hell did a gator get in there?

Actually now that I look at more pictures it does appear to be a large body of water. The fence is appears to be there to prevent young kids from going to the water w/o an adult.

I do recall seeing "no swimming" signs at some of the lagoon type areas (not this particular lagoon). One of the workers there mentioned that snapping turtles can be an issue so I kept my kids out of that water and swam in the pools instead. I didn't think about gators at the time. I don't think that a parent would automatically be aware of that danger.

You used to be able to swim in the lakes at Disney, but not for the past 25 years or so.

I recall reading that there was an alleged amoeba incident at the now-closed and primeval looking river country.

[Anonymous]

I always thought those lagoon beaches were gross. Why would you set up a beach for kids to run around on next to an alligator infested lagoon. The Disney "illusion" is that all is safe. There are no warnings about alligators.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, but this is negligence. In Florida, in water, AT NIGHT. A disaster waiting to happen.

Negligence on Disney's part? Or the parents?

The parents. Disney can't control what is in a body of water. If I were leaning towards blaming Disney, it would only be for a daytime attack. Most places that allow swimming (and Disney doesn't) forbids you from doing it at night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, but this is negligence. In Florida, in water, AT NIGHT. A disaster waiting to happen.

Negligence on Disney's part? Or the parents?

Disney

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, but this is negligence. In Florida, in water, AT NIGHT. A disaster waiting to happen.

Negligence on Disney's part? Or the parents?

Disney

For having a family beach area with activities at night-time at a dangerous spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Florida and I've vacationed and stayed at Disney World Resorts. I would never have expected a gator to be in a resort lagoon either. It looks like a swimming pool in the pictures and it also appears to be fenced in.

How the hell did a gator get in there?

Actually now that I look at more pictures it does appear to be a large body of water. The fence is appears to be there to prevent young kids from going to the water w/o an adult.

I do recall seeing "no swimming" signs at some of the lagoon type areas (not this particular lagoon). One of the workers there mentioned that snapping turtles can be an issue so I kept my kids out of that water and swam in the pools instead. I didn't think about gators at the time. I don't think that a parent would automatically be aware of that danger.

You used to be able to swim in the lakes at Disney, but not for the past 25 years or so.

This was not that long ago, no one was swimming. People were stepping in the water with their kids, maybe up to their ankles. I took my son down to the edge of the water and the resort worker mentioned snapping turtles. So I took my son away from that water and played in the sand instead. Other parents opted to continue playing on the edge of the water.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I think there have been enough posters above to affirm that there are many folks that were not aware of the dangers of alligators in Florida. And were doing pretty much exactly what Disney encourages guests to do - hang out on their beach. No one was swimming, and it was not late (at least in Disney time) for families to be out.

Basically, this was a freak accident and it could have happened to a different guest at a different time. Now whether or not Disney should have had signs posted about alligators, or gotten rid of the beaches that provide direct access to a non-swimming lagoon, that remains to be seen.

I am so sad for that poor family.