2 Year Old Dragged into Water by Gator at Disney Resort

[Anonymous]

I do know that when I did a nature hike thru a wetland in florida with my three year old - I carried her for just this reason. I am a worrier by nature. If I had been these parents though - I'm not sure I would've really thought about alligators because there was an event on the beach that evening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We stayed at the Polynesian a few years ago. It's on the same lagoon and everyone was swimming, in broad daylight and full view of Disney employees. I didn't see it as a natural body of water at all -- I thought it was a fake lagoon the way everything else at Disney is fake. This family will win and win big.

What does it being a natural body of water have to do with anything?

[Anonymous]

It's Florida alligators are everywhere. .the parents should have never let the child be near the water..obey the signs there is a reason that they are there. .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I grew up in Georgia and this type of lagoon pond you NEVER FUCKING GO IN. That thing looks sketch as hell and all manner of bacteria, bug, water snake and gator are in that water and Disney can't do a damn thing about it. Because nature's gonna nature. I've never been to Disney but if I went I would have zero notions of entering that kind of muck pond. Can't believe people do.

Dude, have you read the thread? You know because you're local.

Now, get yourself to Nebraska and report back to us on what bit you in the ass out there. Thanks in advance.

I'm from Georgia, not Orlando. My point was EVEN PEOPLE NOT FROM FLORIDA know to not go near brackish water like that. In Florida. I'm sure I could similarly detect a not safe environment in Nebraska because shit that's not safe doesn't look safe!

Ding, ding, ding! I'm not doing some risky shit just because it's in Disney.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the people who already knew Disney is infested with gators:
It's a white sand beach that reaches the water. The child was one foot from the sand, in inches of water. Had he been 12 inches back, standing on the sand, watching the movie, the fireworks, whathaveyou, and been attacked by the very same alligator, would you still blame the parents? At what point is Disney culpable?

Why does anyone have to be culpable? Maybe something tragic happened and no one is to blame.

Yeah I just don't see how Disney is culpable for a wild animal wandering into their pond. It happens. Sometimes there's just no blame.

+10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
It is Florida, natural habitat of gators, how can anyone guarantee wildlife cannot get it in. I am totally not blaming the parents, but I do not see how Disney is fully culpable either. If it is GA, North or South Carolina, Florida and there is water, there is a danger of snakes, gators.PERIOD. All of you people are acting like the Magic Kingdom really is magic.

[Anonymous]

https://disneyparksmomspanel.disney.go.com/question/swim-beach-polynesian-resort-im-coming-grandsons-ages-238377/

"asked a great question, but unfortunately guests are asked to refrain from swimming in the Seven Seas Lagoon. There's a lot of boat traffic near the shoreline, so it's not very safe."

I also looked at the personal safety portion of the Disney site. Nothing indicated alligators anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the time gators are really not an immediate danger. You can see one lying around fat and lazy in Magic Kingdom and be in no danger. I've been within feet of them at state parks and such and they just sit there usually. They almost never lunge after humans. This was truly a freak accident.

Yes apparently an attack on a human is very rare. Its just a horrible horrible thing and I feel so bad for the parents.

Me too. I lived in Florida for a couple years and never felt threatened by a gator. But when they do attack they tend to go after more manageable prey, like dogs or unfortunately in this case, little kids. I can understand why out of town folks might not realize it isn't a good idea to venture into murky ponds like that, but it sounds like there were warning signs to keep out of the water. Hopefully others will learn from this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

. . .

Please, this won't go to trial. Disney doesn't want the headlines.

They'll settle quickly and quietly. I would bet that the Disney legal team is putting together an initial offer and non-disclosure agreement right now.

It's already all over CNN, FOx, MSNBC, CNBC, BBC, Al Jazeer, Facebook, Twitter, NY Times, Orlando, Sentinel, WAsh Post, Dailymail, etc. What Headlines will they avoid?

"Trial Starts in Case of Toddler Killed by Alligator at Disney World"
"Sobbing, Heartbroken Parents Testify in Case Against Disney for Death of Their Child"
"Testimony Continues As Parents Seek $XX Million From Disney in Alligator Attack on Toddler"

Get the idea? They want this story to fade away quickly so that it doesn't occupy the first 3 pages of a Google search about the Grand Floridian.

[Anonymous]

even a fence won't contain these beasts

[Anonymous]

It's Florida alligators are everywhere. .the parents should have never let the child be near the water..obey the signs there is a reason that they are there. .

[Anonymous]

I'm from Georgia, not Orlando. My point was EVEN PEOPLE NOT FROM FLORIDA know to not go near brackish water like that. In Florida. I'm sure I could similarly detect a not safe environment in Nebraska because shit that's not safe doesn't look safe!

You're local to gator country, that was my point. And no, you won't "detect" an unsafe environment that is beyond your experience. Don't kid yourself.

[Anonymous]

I went kayaking in Myakka River Park and did not see any detailed warning signs against gators, though we did happen upon a 6-footer sunning itself in a narrow bend of the river and we had to paddle within 20 feet of it. As the statistics bore out, they're not an active danger to humans.

What happened was truly a freaky accident. I don't believe anyone is to blame, least of all the parents. In their shoes I'd also be lulled into a false sense of safety b/c it's Disney, the most magical place in the world! More signs, especially about gator presence in the lagoon, would be helpful, but this is all after the fact and we'd never know if it could have prevented a similar tragedy from happening.

There but for the grace of God, go I.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not going to read 47 pages but I'm sure I'm agreeing with someone that it's horrific and tragic, but it's a freak accident. There are bears in Virginia and while I've never seen one in my yard, a bear could certainly wander onto my property and hurt or kill me.

Stupid comment.

All disney had to do was post a sign about gators being present, and nobody would have been on that beach or near the lagoon. Of course, they didn't post a sign because they wanted people on that beach.

So do they have to post signs at the Grand Canyon that scorpions including the one deadly breed in the US are common?
Do all Alaskan cruise ports have to post signs that there are many wild bears in the area?
Do all parks in the US that are in regions with large numbers of deadly poisonous snakes (virtually all parks and areas of the US have some poisonous snakes) have to have signs warning visitors of poisonous snakes in the area?
Do those areas where cougars or wolves or wolverines, brown recluse spiders have to post that these are common to the area?

Be real. You can't cordon off and keep out all of the dangerous wildlife that is out there. Making businesses responsible for detailing the dangers of the local habitat is unreasonable. It was an accident. No one was at fault.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the people who already knew Disney is infested with gators:
It's a white sand beach that reaches the water. The child was one foot from the sand, in inches of water. Had he been 12 inches back, standing on the sand, watching the movie, the fireworks, whathaveyou, and been attacked by the very same alligator, would you still blame the parents? At what point is Disney culpable?

Why does anyone have to be culpable? Maybe something tragic happened and no one is to blame.

Yeah I just don't see how Disney is culpable for a wild animal wandering into their pond. It happens. Sometimes there's just no blame.

+10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
It is Florida, natural habitat of gators, how can anyone guarantee wildlife cannot get it in. I am totally not blaming the parents, but I do not see how Disney is fully culpable either. If it is GA, North or South Carolina, Florida and there is water, there is a danger of snakes, gators.PERIOD. All of you people are acting like the Magic Kingdom really is magic.

This is why Disney is culpable, because they cannot guarantee that the environment is safe, but they give the illusion that it is safe. There should have been alligator warning signs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:even a fence won't contain these beasts

Scary shit.