2 Year Old Dragged into Water by Gator at Disney Resort

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Didn't Disney pull like 5 gators out of that water today?? So it was not just one and they probably were on notice that there were alligators in there. It's one thing to assume alligators are in swamp out in a national park (sorry to have gotten the precise nature of the bodies of water wrong above with my lagoon reference), and still also entirely reasonable to assume that the owner of private property who invited guests onto the property will warn the guests about known dangers. This is pretty basic law-type stuff we are dealing with here. Disney knew about the gators and is going to be on the hook big time.

Eh. Could be that the alligators came over with the expectation of a meal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It blows my mind how many people apparently don't know that you shouldn't go into murky freshwater lakes in FL at night. I though was common sense you're just supposed to know like not using a hair dryer in the bath tub.

Blows my mind, too. The ignorance is quite frightening. Alligators are very popular animals and I assumed most people knew this basic shit.

[Anonymous]

I do know that alligators are common in FL but I can imagine letting my guard down in that situation. Disney is such a sanitized, engineered bubble that it really would not have occurred to me to be looking out for gators in the lake, especially since they do promote those beach areas as places for play and activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have got to be complete IDIOTS to have your child in water, in Florida, at night.

I DON'T GIVE A S**T ABOUT SIGNAGE.

There should be a sign for ignorant parents - hanging around their necks.

Humans are not in charge here...welcome to our jungle.

You know, if there's one positive thing about this tragedy, it's that people like the mouthbreathing idiot above can finally, FINALLY be able to feel superior about something. They knew about the dangers of gators in Florida! And these other people didn't know about the dangers of gators in Florida! And, thankfully, now those "ignorant parents" are paying for that in the most unimaginably horrific way possible! Yay, time to pat yourself on the back for having known about gators! You win!

A little harsh? This is not a competition. When you leave your home and go somewhere new it is your responsibility to know about and become familiar with your surroundings. For example, you leave for Italy, it might be important to know transportation could go on stoke and leave you stranded. Perhaps good to know that some places in Hawaii have active volcano eruptions, that the Atlantic has a jet stream, ect...

No, I don't think it's harsh to call out the people calling the parents ignorant idiots.

People make mistakes, but this one was avoidable. It is very sad.

You're right, if Disney had posted alligator warnings and not held night-time, beachside family attractions like their movie night, it was likely avoidable.

Plus a million. PP who keeps saying avoiding alligators is "common sense," please adjust your tinfoil hat. We get it. You're a troll who likes to provoke people. Now curl up in your trailer and give it a rest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:100% Disney is responsible here.

I am a very educated person, not to mention I was born in Florida and lived there until kindergarten. We have a vacation house in Florida. We also have Disney annual passes and go there a minimum of 4-5 times per year.

And I swear to God I had no idea about alligators being prevalent in water at night. I just had no clue. I know that there are alligators in Florida, but I didn't know they hide in swimming pools like a PP posted, or in lakes, etc. Jesus at our vacation house we are a block from a lake - which is right next to the ocean too - and we walk around the lake at night all the time after dark. It is a very safe community and I never in a million years thought I'd have to worry about an ALLIGATOR!

This past summer, we attended one of those evening beachfront events after dark (it was fireworks, not a movie) while staying at the Polynesian with our 3 year old. I am a germ freak so would never have let her get in the water, but I also had NO idea that alligators could have been present. Just no clue. I would never ever ever in ten million years have been hanging out with my guard down watching fireworks with my kid two feet from the water if I had known that.

It makes me wonder about other potential concerns now with Disney. I just feel so shaken up- this really could have happened to anyone. Those poor parents.

I hope you're joking.

I agree with the above poster. It's not something you think about. We'll be watching fireworks near the water this year and it never even entered my mind to worry about gators.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of gators, and I don't think the parents should have known about that danger, who the hell lets a non-swimming toddler wade in water well out of arm's reach at night? One tumble and it's drown city, even without man-eating marine life. I don't think I left my kids alone in the bathtub at age 2. But I still think that there should be alligator warnings. I wouldn't let my kid walk within 50 feet of the water if I saw that sign.

And that's what it comes down to, right? Most of us would see that and never, ever let our kids anywhere near that shore. But that warning wasn't posted.

Water in FL= possible sharks or alligators

Is signage really needed to remind people to stay out of murky water in the dark.

MD should post snow signage. Warning: Possible ice build up during winter storms

Md DOES post signs. Careful: Bridge may freeze before road.
Maine posts signs: be careful of frost heaves.
There are signs to warn you of turns in the road when you can clearly see turns in the road.
Signs to not feed wildlife.
And it's Disney for God's sake. Honestly, I would expect any gators to be lifelike but made of plastic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have got to be complete IDIOTS to have your child in water, in Florida, at night.

I DON'T GIVE A S**T ABOUT SIGNAGE.

There should be a sign for ignorant parents - hanging around their necks.

Humans are not in charge here...welcome to our jungle.

You know, if there's one positive thing about this tragedy, it's that people like the mouthbreathing idiot above can finally, FINALLY be able to feel superior about something. They knew about the dangers of gators in Florida! And these other people didn't know about the dangers of gators in Florida! And, thankfully, now those "ignorant parents" are paying for that in the most unimaginably horrific way possible! Yay, time to pat yourself on the back for having known about gators! You win!

No kidding. This is so random and so sad. People love to judge and feel superior when we should all be saying our prayers for this poor family - there lives have been destroyed. Not to mention - the child could have been a couple feet from the shore line and still be dragged in by the croc. They do come out of the water, you know.

I disagree. It's not random at all. A child was in the swampy water at mealtime for gators. It's not meant to be a beach. They could have gone to the pool, the beach, the hot tub. Unfortunately, they were at the wrong place at the worst time and didn't know any better.

Have you seen the photos? It was totally a beach. There was literally a "beachside movie screening" that had just finished up.

EXACTLY! almost the entire shoreline looks like a lovely little beach--at least the sand part.

Nothing about that creepy looking water looks beach-life and inviting.

The water looks nasty (reason enough to avoid touching it) but it does look like a little beach with sand and beach chairs. My kids wanted to go swimming until I told them it was off limits. BUT I was more worried about the nasties than the beasties.

I would let my kids play in the sand. The water? No way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have got to be complete IDIOTS to have your child in water, in Florida, at night.

I DON'T GIVE A S**T ABOUT SIGNAGE.

There should be a sign for ignorant parents - hanging around their necks.

Humans are not in charge here...welcome to our jungle.

You know, if there's one positive thing about this tragedy, it's that people like the mouthbreathing idiot above can finally, FINALLY be able to feel superior about something. They knew about the dangers of gators in Florida! And these other people didn't know about the dangers of gators in Florida! And, thankfully, now those "ignorant parents" are paying for that in the most unimaginably horrific way possible! Yay, time to pat yourself on the back for having known about gators! You win!

A little harsh? This is not a competition. When you leave your home and go somewhere new it is your responsibility to know about and become familiar with your surroundings. For example, you leave for Italy, it might be important to know transportation could go on stoke and leave you stranded. Perhaps good to know that some places in Hawaii have active volcano eruptions, that the Atlantic has a jet stream, ect...

No, I don't think it's harsh to call out the people calling the parents ignorant idiots.

People make mistakes, but this one was avoidable. It is very sad.

You're right, if Disney had posted alligator warnings and not held night-time, beachside family attractions like their movie night, it was likely avoidable.

Plus a million. PP who keeps saying avoiding alligators is "common sense," please adjust your tinfoil hat. We get it. You're a troll who likes to provoke people. Now curl up in your trailer and give it a rest.

What does having a movie night on the beach have to do with going into the water AT NIGHT?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:100% Disney is responsible here.

I am a very educated person, not to mention I was born in Florida and lived there until kindergarten. We have a vacation house in Florida. We also have Disney annual passes and go there a minimum of 4-5 times per year.

And I swear to God I had no idea about alligators being prevalent in water at night. I just had no clue. I know that there are alligators in Florida, but I didn't know they hide in swimming pools like a PP posted, or in lakes, etc. Jesus at our vacation house we are a block from a lake - which is right next to the ocean too - and we walk around the lake at night all the time after dark. It is a very safe community and I never in a million years thought I'd have to worry about an ALLIGATOR!

This past summer, we attended one of those evening beachfront events after dark (it was fireworks, not a movie) while staying at the Polynesian with our 3 year old. I am a germ freak so would never have let her get in the water, but I also had NO idea that alligators could have been present. Just no clue. I would never ever ever in ten million years have been hanging out with my guard down watching fireworks with my kid two feet from the water if I had known that.

It makes me wonder about other potential concerns now with Disney. I just feel so shaken up- this really could have happened to anyone. Those poor parents.

I hope you're joking.

I agree with the above poster. It's not something you think about. We'll be watching fireworks near the water this year and it never even entered my mind to worry about gators.

SMH. If nothing else, I hope this incident educates the masses. Sad that it's even necessary.

[Anonymous]

Actually beaches do tend to warn about sharks when they've been seen there. This is a private resort! They have to warn people about all kinds of known dangers. They advertise, invite and charge families with young children to come there and absolutely have a duty to warn of known dangers. If this were out in the wild I would agree with people expecting more common sense. When you are on resort property, you are less vigilant about all kinds of things-for example, being held up at knife point at night-because you feel like the resort as owner is providing security and a safe environment, so you go out after dark and feel safe, even though you might not on the street in your home town. Likewise with the resort's man made lakes. You are less vigilant because you assume the owner will remove or warn you about known dangers. That is how the law works. Sorry if you think people need to just pay for their failure to be aware of the hidden animal dangers in various geographic regions. Saying that is sort of like getting attacked by a person at Disney that the park was aware was violent but kept letting back in (or not monitoring whether they were doing so).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of gators, and I don't think the parents should have known about that danger, who the hell lets a non-swimming toddler wade in water well out of arm's reach at night? One tumble and it's drown city, even without man-eating marine life. I don't think I left my kids alone in the bathtub at age 2. But I still think that there should be alligator warnings. I wouldn't let my kid walk within 50 feet of the water if I saw that sign.

And that's what it comes down to, right? Most of us would see that and never, ever let our kids anywhere near that shore. But that warning wasn't posted.

Water in FL= possible sharks or alligators

Is signage really needed to remind people to stay out of murky water in the dark.

MD should post snow signage. Warning: Possible ice build up during winter storms

Md DOES post signs. Careful: Bridge may freeze before road.
Maine posts signs: be careful of frost heaves.
There are signs to warn you of turns in the road when you can clearly see turns in the road.
Signs to not feed wildlife.
And it's Disney for God's sake. Honestly, I would expect any gators to be lifelike but made of plastic.

Disney is a place based in reality. They are not exempt from real world things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow you bitchy parents blaming the parents for being on the lagoon beach are a piece of work, especially the ones from FL that claim EVERYONE should know better. If gators are such a threat, signs other than "no swimming" should have been posted warning people about the danger of alligators, even on the beach. Get back to us when you loose a child for not wearing a seat belt or diving in the shallow end, so we can blame you for your shitty parenting.

Actually, because alligators are so plentiful, I would wager that this is a common sense thing. Sort of like beaches not warning people about sharks. It's the ocean, there will be sharks. Same with freshwater in Florida. Why is this so hard to understand?

Exactly

But this thread makes clear many people do not know anything about nature. It is shocking..

pas: there are also alligators in sc, even at the beach resorts.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to be unclear. I meant ^^ saying it's their fault is like saying the person who got attacked at Disney by a repeat offender should have been more careful after dark. No dice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually beaches do tend to warn about sharks when they've been seen there. This is a private resort! They have to warn people about all kinds of known dangers. They advertise, invite and charge families with young children to come there and absolutely have a duty to warn of known dangers. If this were out in the wild I would agree with people expecting more common sense. When you are on resort property, you are less vigilant about all kinds of things-for example, being held up at knife point at night-because you feel like the resort as owner is providing security and a safe environment, so you go out after dark and feel safe, even though you might not on the street in your home town. Likewise with the resort's man made lakes. You are less vigilant because you assume the owner will remove or warn you about known dangers. That is how the law works. Sorry if you think people need to just pay for their failure to be aware of the hidden animal dangers in various geographic regions. Saying that is sort of like getting attacked by a person at Disney that the park was aware was violent but kept letting back in (or not monitoring whether they were doing so).

And who's to say that Disney had notice of alligator activity in this lake?

A man-made lake means NOTHING if it feeds into other bodies of water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New developments: 2 weeks before the incident a Brit family was chased by an alligator at a beach nearby. The sign there said "no swimming" but they were not swimming-just lounging.

Getting chased by an alligator isn't fun. It's also not life threatening. How is that a new development?

This happened on land, not swimming in the water. More people have come forward and shared frightening encounters with alligators at Disney hotels which could have resulted in a similar tragedy. In all cases there was no specific alligator warning.