Gator drags child into water near Disney's Grand Floridian

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I just made reservations at this hotel for October two nights ago...

So, these are the nightmares I will be having until then

That poor kid. That poor family.
 
adj_noun said:
From a Disboard thread in 2014: entitled Stay Out of the #$^# Lakes


Alligator in the Rivers of America in Magic Kingdom

You can find more gators in Magic Kingdom/Disney property pics around. I'd imagine it's been a thing as long as they've been there (Florida being Florida)
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Not only the lakes...

zodNERc.png


This pic was allegedly from a Disney employee taken in Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom before the park opened. They got rid of it, but... imagine going to the bathroom before the long wait for Splash Mountain only to see that.
 
Valkerionseven said:
Hate to break it to you, but guess where gators are found commonly in cities/suburb areas...

The things are amazingly fast when attacking, its not really surprising that it could grab a small child and be in the water again before anyone realized what happened. That's what they do. Usually after an attack or assumed menace they cull the area. Catch all the animals they can in a few days time then call it a success.

Sadly there is no way to rid the area of them entirely. It's their habitat plain and simple. They can walk on land and swim in water able to get to where ever they want more or less. Get rid of this one/these few and more will be there in a few years.
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Yea, but at least you can see into a pool before getting in or next to it.
 
The Albatross said:
Not only the lakes...

zodNERc.png


This pic was allegedly from a Disney employee taken in Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom before the park opened. They got rid of it, but... imagine going to the bathroom before the long wait for Splash Mountain only to see that.
Click to expand...

Id straight up make my own splash mountain in my pants if i saw that
 
The Albatross said:
Not only the lakes...

zodNERc.png


This pic was allegedly from a Disney employee taken in Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom before the park opened. They got rid of it, but... imagine going to the bathroom before the long wait for Splash Mountain only to see that.
Click to expand...

Yep I know someone who took a photo of a gator in the water near tom sawyer. It's IMPOSSIBLE to keep gators out at all times if there is water in Florida. Just how it is.
 
There are signs all over that say stay out of the lake at Disney...I can't believe this is real though.

So many lives lost at Orlando this week Jesus...
 
I'm headed to Disney World in September, staying at the Beach Club not the Grand Floridian, I'll make sure to keep some distance from the water.

I feel sorry for this family, very tragic.
 
akira28 said:
ilNNirjm.jpg


as many times as I've seen this scene, I've never thought of it as a being full of alligators. But of course, giant lake, and Florida...
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Oh yeah, they're all over the place. You have to keep your eyes open if you're in one of the campgrounds after dark.
 
Saroyan said:
I'm headed to Disney World in September, staying at the Beach Club not the Grand Floridian, I'll make sure to keep some distance from the water.

I feel sorry for this family, very tragic.
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Yeah the Yacht and Beach Club do have fake beaches connected to a large man made lake surrounded by the boardwalk entertainment district but they also have amazing pools so no need to ever leave those.
 
Probably another Disney exaggeration, but I was under the impression Disney was insane about keeping these things out within a certain radius. I didn't think it was possible to keep it under control, clearly it's not.

This story is horrifying and I'm going there in just a few days :(
 
The Albatross said:
Not only the lakes...

zodNERc.png


This pic was allegedly from a Disney employee taken in Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom before the park opened. They got rid of it, but... imagine going to the bathroom before the long wait for Splash Mountain only to see that.
Click to expand...

Good God man, I was at Disneyworld a couple years back and it never even crossed my mind how many Gators are in the area.
 
msdstc said:
Probably another Disney exaggeration, but I was under the impression Disney was insane about keeping these things out within a certain radius. I didn't think it was possible to keep it under control, clearly it's not.

This story is horrifying and I'm going there in just a few days :(
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Not too sure about that. Disneyland is full of cats who live there.
 
msdstc said:
Probably another Disney exaggeration, but I was under the impression Disney was insane about keeping these things out within a certain radius. I didn't think it was possible to keep it under control, clearly it's not.

This story is horrifying and I'm going there in just a few days :(
Click to expand...

You will absolutely be okay. This is an extremely rare event.

It's an awful thing that happened but Disney World has been open for 45 years and this is the first I've heard of something like this happening.
 
The cop doing the press conference has a lot of patience with stupid questions. I guess that comes with 35 years of experience.

"Is the area closed off now?" No dipshit, a few more kids are swimming there now.

"How long has the family been here?" Seriously?

"What did the father say?" Good grief.

"Has the family been here before? Is this an annual trip or anything?" WE NEED TO KNOW.
 
The live stream said how the child was male, 2 years old, playing with the family at the beach. The child was grabbed from behind and the parents both tried to go into the water to rescue him. Its been 3 or 4 hours since and they have over 50 teams members out looking for the child while combing through the lake.
 
I dont think I've ever heard of child being dragged off like this before. Adults with limbs bitten off, yes, but nothing like this all the time I've lived here.
 
That's scary, and a 2 year old is a perfect target for something whose evolutionary bread and butter is stealthily snapping something near the shore.
 
Really unfortunate and incredibly rare, you can't really get rid of the Gators though. There is no wall at Disney World preventing them from getting on the property.

Last time I went in 2011 I remember seeing a few in the water around Tom Sawyer Island in the Magic Kingdom.
 
This is fucking destroying me right now. I feel so bad for that poor child and the parents.

Imagine going through this... It'd be like the worst nightmare I've ever had, except it's real.

Terrifying.
 
Extremely sad news. Very rare are gator attacks in Florida even though we live next to them all over the state. Most Floridians know, but if you are visiting the state, you are always weary around fresh water. I never go into fresh water areas personally.
 
bengraven said:
Horrible.

This is why I used to get nervous when my kid was even walking along the boat dock of our canal. I just imagine some big hungry gator coming up and getting him.

Now he swims in the lake. 8 years old in the middle of a lake that we've seen a dozen or more gators on.

I sometimes look at my inlaws and my wife and go "are you out of your fucking mind?" but sit and just watch him...just watch him and not have fun because I'm fucking terrified he's going to be pulled under.
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Be a man and stand up for your son. He can swim where he wants when he turns 18.
 
I don't have my own, but my best friend has a 2 year old daughter. She's basically like a daughter/niece to me. Very sad to think about.

I'm guessing they knew an alligator took him...because they saw it happen. Fuck. Just picturing it is a nightmare.
 
This is terrible. My first inclination was to blame the parents and question why the child was so close to the shore, but based on the new reports, he was with his father the entire time. This really was just a horrific accident and an unusually aggressive/bold alligator.

zeemumu said:
Not too sure about that. Disneyland is full of cats who live there.
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That's really not the same. Disneyland intentionally brought those cats into the park (and continues to feed them) to control the rodent population.
 
msdstc said:
Probably another Disney exaggeration, but I was under the impression Disney was insane about keeping these things out within a certain radius. I didn't think it was possible to keep it under control, clearly it's not.

This story is horrifying and I'm going there in just a few days :(
Click to expand...

Nah. I know from previous experience they do try to wrangle them from Rivers of America in MK (and presumably other in-park waterways); I remember they removed one during park hours a few years ago. Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon are too big too effectively police, my understanding from employees was they *try* to have gators caught and removed if they are reported over a certain size, but otherwise leave them alone. There's also water moccasins, which are again removed from guest areas if animal control can find them after a report. Those are just a couple of reasons why swimming isn't allowed there, the other was damage to the shores/sand being kicked up which was what really killed it; I remember reading some of the earliest visitors to WDW in the 70s did have access to a beach there (at the Polynesian Resort I believe), but they shut it down in short order (within the first year iirc), long before opening the annexed but now also defunct River Country park on Bay Lake.
 
You guys see that news conference? The Disney representative had a hard time trying not to break out crying. 2016 is one crazy year.

Edit:

It was also really chilling. The Sheriff and the Disney representative knew that kid is gone but they are trying their best not to say that.
 
CNN is actively updating the story as it develops. It says search and rescue will not rest until alligator is found.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/us/alligator-attacks-child-disney-florida/index.html

This part is frustrating to know..

Witnesses said the family was on the beach and a baby pen was about 20 to 30 yards from the water on the sand, according to Demings.

He said there are "No Swimming" signs at the lagoon and no one else was in the water at the time of the attack besides the child.

This body of water is not for recreational swimming "likely for that very reason," the reason being alligators.
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The fact that the parents allow their 2 year old near the waters at 9:30 pm is just inexcusable imo.
 
In that environment you're going to have wildlife issues.

Last time I visited WDW we saw a ton of deer. Asked a bus driver about it and apparently it's become a pretty big issue as they've expanded the park over the years and mowed down a good chunk of the natural habitat. I'm sure they can't control the population with hunting for obvious reasons.
 
broz0rs said:
CNN is actively updating the story as it develops. It says search and rescue will not rest until alligator is found.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/us/alligator-attacks-child-disney-florida/index.html

This part is frustrating to know..



The fact that the parents allow their 2 year old near the waters at 9:30 pm is just inexcusable imo.
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There is a family fireworks show at that time every night with hundreds of toddlers, there are no alligator warning signs (for marketing reasons) and LOOK AT THIS SHIT:


tcrunch said:
The Polynesian resort beach on Seven Seas Lagoon

iLW4pEq.jpg


The Grand Floridian resort beach on Seven Seas Lagoon

tpv.jpg


https://twitter.com/Menardness/status/742901470551519233
Says there was a "movie night" out on the beach.

an example movie night at the Polynesian (kid was taken at Grand Floridian)
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