2 Year Old Dragged into Water by Gator at Disney Resort

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is horrible but yes I would expect Alligators to get in. Disney is the size of Washington, DC. We overestimate the extent it is possible to control nature.

Clearly this is true, but I can also see how a family from Nebraska may not have any reason to assume there are gators that might immediately attack their toddler at Disney World. Everything about Disney feels controlled and safe. And if you're not familiar with Florida swampland (as I am not), I'm not sure how you'd know there are gators in every body of water in Florida. I didn't know that until I read this thread.

[Anonymous]

I live in Orlando and the seven seas lagoon isn't for swimming. Florida lakes are unsafe to swim in due to bacteria. Disney has no alligator signs posted.

[Anonymous]

I would say Disney is screwed. It's terrible a 2 year old lost their life is such a horrific manner while on vacation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Orlando and the seven seas lagoon isn't for swimming. Florida lakes are unsafe to swim in due to bacteria. Disney has no alligator signs posted.

I can see how alligator signs might not be very "magical" but honestly that is appalling. Especially if they are as prevalent as this thread suggests.

[Anonymous]

Orlando here. I have a pond near my home with 5 baby alligators. They're everywhere. Hilton head has alligator signs literally everywhere and Disney has none.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of you have no idea what Florida is like. Florida is fairly well inhabited by alligators and the occasional crocodile. They are pretty common throughout the state, although they tend to shy away from highly inhabited areas. They do gravitate towards the many natural and manmade bodies of water. You can't eliminate all of them. Disney property is 43 sq miles. in an irregular pattern. It would be virtually impossible to cordone off the entire property and maintain a perimeter. To put things in perspective, Bethesda is 13.2 sq miles. So DisneyWorld is over 3 times the size of Bethesda. Arlington is 26 sq miles. Washington DC is 61 sq miles, so Disney is about 3/4 the size of DC. That's a pretty darn big area to maintain a perimeter and even if you did build a huge fence, it could take you months to try and sweep the area to clear the area of alligators.

This normally doesn't happen because alligators tend to stay away from groups of humans.

I bet Viktor Orban can do it.

But seriously this is horrible. I'm from Toronto and I'd assume that a major attraction like Disney would be safe from crocs and gators. WTF??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren't those lagoons open for swimming?

We stayed at the beach club a few years back and the pool was closing for renovations. I swear there were people.swimming on the sandy beach area and certainly there were families wading and walking along the sand.

That poor family!

Yes. We literally just got back from staying at the Polynesian, which shares the same body of water with the Grand Floridian. You can take a boat directly to the Magic Kingdom from there. Right outside our first floor room was the "beach" with lots of families hanging out there. We even had a family of ducklings who were hanging outside our room.

At 9:15 pm every night, there is a boat parade with lights that starts outside the Grand Floridian, and then of course you can see the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom from there which starts at 10:00 pm. I'm sure they had just finished watching the parade.

[Anonymous]

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

We were there about ten years ago. I recall that the fireworks show goes off around then. We took little boats around that lagoon. Alligators are part of Florida wildlife.

[Anonymous]

This is so frightening. Disney is known for being almost creepily controlling. No one would expect this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh. Reports of alligators in this lake as far back as 2009. This is from Disboard, a Disney listserv:

While at the River Roost Bar at Port Orleans Riverside last night, I met a man who was staying at the Poly for a convention.....

He mentioned he saw an alligator in the water while walking between the Poly and the Grand. He said he heard hissing first, then he saw it. He even caught some of it on video on his phone. I kid no one, on the video was the gator peeking up through the water, then coming on shore approaching the man. I told him the hissing was a warning and that the gator probably scurried up because he got too close to get it on the camera.

Wow I had no idea.

[Anonymous]

I recently visited Disneyworld and rode a ferry on this very area.

The hotels are beautiful, lovely architecture + all.

And the whole ambiance is just stunning.

I wouldn't think an alligator would be lurking in such a tranquil setting but it IS Florida after all.
However if the lake is man-made then how in the world did an alligator get inside.

I'm from the West Coast so please excuse my ignorance on this!

And people are claiming there are "No Swimming" signs posted & if that is the case, perhaps the parents ignored them or didn't see them.
Or perhaps they witnessed other people swimming and joined.

Regardless this is the second child being taken by an alligator so far this month.

My heart breaks for these families....the pain + sorrow they feel I cannot even imagine.

Poor Orlando too.
They are having a very cursed month so far.

R.I.P. to everyone who has been lost ~ Rest in Paradise ~

[Anonymous]

I live in Florida. Alligators are a dime a dozen here. Like squirrels in northern Virginia, they are everywhere and we coexist and take special care of our children and pets. They usually do not attack humans. A horrible tragedy this is, however some of you are acting like seeing an alligator is like spotting a T-Rex.

[Anonymous]

Many people on here are saying Disney has no signs actually posted.

Sounds if someone on the other side is trying to deny responsibility.

Heartbreaking tenfold. ;(

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of you have no idea what Florida is like. Florida is fairly well inhabited by alligators and the occasional crocodile. They are pretty common throughout the state, although they tend to shy away from highly inhabited areas. They do gravitate towards the many natural and manmade bodies of water. You can't eliminate all of them. Disney property is 43 sq miles. in an irregular pattern. It would be virtually impossible to cordone off the entire property and maintain a perimeter. To put things in perspective, Bethesda is 13.2 sq miles. So DisneyWorld is over 3 times the size of Bethesda. Arlington is 26 sq miles. Washington DC is 61 sq miles, so Disney is about 3/4 the size of DC. That's a pretty darn big area to maintain a perimeter and even if you did build a huge fence, it could take you months to try and sweep the area to clear the area of alligators.

This normally doesn't happen because alligators tend to stay away from groups of humans.

Alligators are very common anywhere from South Carolina on down. We lived in coastal South Carolina, and we didn't let our children anywhere near fresh water. We kept a careful eye out in saltwater, as well. Alligators generally stay in fresh water, but we'd occasionally see them in the sound. It was not uncommon for alligators to get people's dogs. Alligators roam, and the babies are fairly small, I don't know how you would "fence" them out. Now you know why there used to be alligator eradication programs. However, the environmental community advocated for the recovery of these species, and they're doing very well. I'm not sure Disney could legally kill all the gators in the park, even if they wanted to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of you have no idea what Florida is like. Florida is fairly well inhabited by alligators and the occasional crocodile. They are pretty common throughout the state, although they tend to shy away from highly inhabited areas. They do gravitate towards the many natural and manmade bodies of water. You can't eliminate all of them. Disney property is 43 sq miles. in an irregular pattern. It would be virtually impossible to cordone off the entire property and maintain a perimeter. To put things in perspective, Bethesda is 13.2 sq miles. So DisneyWorld is over 3 times the size of Bethesda. Arlington is 26 sq miles. Washington DC is 61 sq miles, so Disney is about 3/4 the size of DC. That's a pretty darn big area to maintain a perimeter and even if you did build a huge fence, it could take you months to try and sweep the area to clear the area of alligators.

This normally doesn't happen because alligators tend to stay away from groups of humans.

Alligators are very common anywhere from South Carolina on down. We lived in coastal South Carolina, and we didn't let our children anywhere near fresh water. We kept a careful eye out in saltwater, as well. Alligators generally stay in fresh water, but we'd occasionally see them in the sound. It was not uncommon for alligators to get people's dogs. Alligators roam, and the babies are fairly small, I don't know how you would "fence" them out. Now you know why there used to be alligator eradication programs. However, the environmental community advocated for the recovery of these species, and they're doing very well. I'm not sure Disney could legally kill all the gators in the park, even if they wanted to.

Just checked and Florida has a 2 1/2 month alligator "harvest" that allows 5,000 gators to be killed statewide, and there's a specific limit on how many can come from each region of the state. There's no way Disney could legally eradicate the alligators in the park, even if it were physically possible, which I doubt.