2 Year Old Dragged into Water by Gator at Disney Resort

[Anonymous]

I think Disney knew there was a chance of gators being there and knew that, if they put a sign up warning of that, people would not want to stay there. I wouldn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are signs in the Lake that says "no swimming"

Yup. And they're spaced pretty closely apart - like 20 feet? You can see 2 signs in this picture.

You know what I don't see on this sign? "Gators in water. Beware."

Really? You must be either a lawyer or an Clinton supporter (definition of what "is" is)...

Gators are mobile and come and go from lakes all over Florida looking for food. No swimming means don't go into the water!

Ha! I am neither! Not a lawyer and a lifelong Republican.

You know what else I am: SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT KNOW GATOR PRACTICES. So if I see a sign telling me not to swim, I don't swim. But I might wade. Because the sign didn't say anything about gators. About which I know little.

Are you really saying you don't know about gators in Florida?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe they haven't found the child yet. Are they using drones to look? Or just on foot/boat searches?

Sadly, the child was probably eaten and so there is nothing to find, short of killing any alligator they find and inspecting its stomach. The news said they'd already killed a few looking for evidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an over anxious helicopter mom. Example, I'm afraid to let my kids swim at the outer banks because of sharks. I'm insane. (I do let them swim but I am afraid).

That said, I don't think I'd interpret "no swimming" to mean the same thing as "no wading".

As someone from the northeast, I would never think of a danger from alligators at a resort. I went to Orlando a couple of years ago and we rode on the water back and forth to HP world each day. I never thought twice about Gators.

Walking through the lobby of the resort? Sure. But, in a body of dark water? You need to be more vigilant, Mom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are signs in the Lake that says "no swimming"

Yup. And they're spaced pretty closely apart - like 20 feet? You can see 2 signs in this picture.

How hard would it have been to add "Alligators" to that list. Or say "stay out of water" instead of "no swimming." I've been to that beach and kids are regularly wading and splashing in the water with resort staff around and never seen any of them intervene to stop it. It is quite reasonable to assume based on that sign that "swimming" = swimming. Not wading.

I don't know, because parents are supposed to be watching their kids? And the steep drop off is warning against wading, because both done by walking in.

I don't understand how some people can't draw simple conclusions by themselves.

It's not about inability to draw simple conclusions. If you've ever been to the Grand Floridian (you haven't), you'd know that the "steep dropoff" does not begin until 6 to 10 feet away from the waterline (the distance varies). Lots of families are dipping their toes in the water on this beach, only going out about 1 to 2 feet from the waterline with the water only up to their ankle. When you see other families doing it without issue AND no Disney staff warning people away, the vast majority of people will conclude that it's safe to do so.

Most rational folks do not equate "swimming" with dipping their toes into the water. In fact, you can see where the drop-off begins pretty clearly during daylight hours.

Again, Disney did not clearly communicate that dangerous animals may exist on their property. I guarantee that none of these families would dip their toes in the water if the sign mentioned alligators.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I must say - Florida sounds horrid.

+1

I'm the one who has never been to Disney and only been to Florida one time, and I think I am going to keep up my track record. I don't think I am missing very much! And what I *am* missing (crocs, shooters in a nightclub) I don't care for much anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disney should install electric shocking diodes in the water and every hour clear the beach to shock and kill anything in the water. It's disney damnit where everything is supposed to be pretend and safe.

And then once/hour have dead fish and snakes and turtles and alligators all bubbling up to the surface and floating on top of the water? That is so disturbing. A terrible mental image.

np. Well, to be fair, after a few hours, you wouldn't have that problem any longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Disney knew there was a chance of gators being there and knew that, if they put a sign up warning of that, people would not want to stay there. I wouldn't.

Disney certainly knew there were gators, they regularly removed the bigger ones. Seriously, if you go to Florida, look around and you'll see them. They are everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are signs in the Lake that says "no swimming"

Yup. And they're spaced pretty closely apart - like 20 feet? You can see 2 signs in this picture.

How hard would it have been to add "Alligators" to that list. Or say "stay out of water" instead of "no swimming." I've been to that beach and kids are regularly wading and splashing in the water with resort staff around and never seen any of them intervene to stop it. It is quite reasonable to assume based on that sign that "swimming" = swimming. Not wading.

I don't know, because parents are supposed to be watching their kids? And the steep drop off is warning against wading, because both done by walking in.

I don't understand how some people can't draw simple conclusions by themselves.

That area doesn't even look like a place you can wade. You don't know the child waded in that spot. You don't know the terrain where he was splashing.

Actually, the area where the child was wading (pics of tents here http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/06/15/13/354D82C300000578-3642167-The_child_had_been_paddling_with_his_parents_and_four_year_old_s-a-14_1465992068960.jpg) looks even more inhospitable than these nearby signs.

The parents made a grave mistake - very sad, and still pretty relateable. But the parents made a grave mistake. I feel for them - we all make mistakes, but clearly the parents let their guard down too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are signs in the Lake that says "no swimming"

Yup. And they're spaced pretty closely apart - like 20 feet? You can see 2 signs in this picture.

You know what I don't see on this sign? "Gators in water. Beware."

Really? You must be either a lawyer or an Clinton supporter (definition of what "is" is)...

Gators are mobile and come and go from lakes all over Florida looking for food. No swimming means don't go into the water!

Ha! I am neither! Not a lawyer and a lifelong Republican.

You know what else I am: SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT KNOW GATOR PRACTICES. So if I see a sign telling me not to swim, I don't swim. But I might wade. Because the sign didn't say anything about gators. About which I know little.

Are you really saying you don't know about gators in Florida?

Sigh. Are you new to this thread?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are signs in the Lake that says "no swimming"

Yup. And they're spaced pretty closely apart - like 20 feet? You can see 2 signs in this picture.

How hard would it have been to add "Alligators" to that list. Or say "stay out of water" instead of "no swimming." I've been to that beach and kids are regularly wading and splashing in the water with resort staff around and never seen any of them intervene to stop it. It is quite reasonable to assume based on that sign that "swimming" = swimming. Not wading.

I don't know, because parents are supposed to be watching their kids? And the steep drop off is warning against wading, because both done by walking in.

I don't understand how some people can't draw simple conclusions by themselves.

The fact that kids DO routinely wade and splash in that water and the resort staff does not stop them tells me as a visitor that it is OK. Disney's signage and staff were not adequately communicating that being in the water in any way is dangerous. I agree, I wouldn't send my 2 yr old over to a "steep drop off" to wade if that sign was my only info but if I'd been seeing kids wade there throughout the day, then I'd probably be fine walking next to him while he wades and it does sound like the dad was very, very close to the child since he immediately tried to fight off the animal.

I would think that it would be a big cost to have staff police this area. That's what the signs are for. Common sense and personal accountability need to eventually kick in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are signs in the Lake that says "no swimming"

Yup. And they're spaced pretty closely apart - like 20 feet? You can see 2 signs in this picture.

How hard would it have been to add "Alligators" to that list. Or say "stay out of water" instead of "no swimming." I've been to that beach and kids are regularly wading and splashing in the water with resort staff around and never seen any of them intervene to stop it. It is quite reasonable to assume based on that sign that "swimming" = swimming. Not wading.

I don't know, because parents are supposed to be watching their kids? And the steep drop off is warning against wading, because both done by walking in.

I don't understand how some people can't draw simple conclusions by themselves.

The fact that kids DO routinely wade and splash in that water and the resort staff does not stop them tells me as a visitor that it is OK. Disney's signage and staff were not adequately communicating that being in the water in any way is dangerous. I agree, I wouldn't send my 2 yr old over to a "steep drop off" to wade if that sign was my only info but if I'd been seeing kids wade there throughout the day, then I'd probably be fine walking next to him while he wades and it does sound like the dad was very, very close to the child since he immediately tried to fight off the animal.

I would think that it would be a big cost to have staff police this area. That's what the signs are for. Common sense and personal accountability need to eventually kick in.

+1,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are signs in the Lake that says "no swimming"

Yup. And they're spaced pretty closely apart - like 20 feet? You can see 2 signs in this picture.

Huh? I see two signs on what is easily 150 to 200+ feet of beach front.
The signs say nothing about wading/dipping your toes or alligators. We already know from many people on here that people take off their shoes and dip their toes in the water of the lake quite frequently.

Wading means you're walking in. The sign clearly warns of a steep drop off, which would only be relevant if you're walking in. The sign directly is warning against wading by very simple logic.

Some of you really have no thinking capacity and need everything to be explained literally, one thing at a time.

Thank you.

We stay at the Beach Club, and there are signs at the beach that say "No Swimming". Sign doesn't even say Steep Drop Off. But we don't go in.

[Anonymous]

I dont' think the people who have never been there get it.

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.couponingtodisney.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F11%2FPolynesian-beach.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.couponingtodisney.com%2Fneed-a-break-in-your-disney-vacation-try-an-outdoor-movie-at-a-disney-resort%2F&docid=ZSrW8xv1SEbhaM&tbnid=5Xsmf0sXdt7_zM%3A&w=2048&h=1536&bih=923&biw=1280&ved=0ahUKEwiK79DctarNAhUBESwKHYloA6MQMwggKAQwBA&iact=mrc&uact=8

^ this may give you some idea. The outdoor movies and chairs are NEXT to the water. All of the "beach" resorts have activities at the beach. These are filled every single night of the week and this has never happened before. No one saw this coming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Disney knew there was a chance of gators being there and knew that, if they put a sign up warning of that, people would not want to stay there. I wouldn't.

That's asinine.