Gator drags child into water near Disney's Grand Floridian
- Thread starter Somnia
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Wasn't there already reports of Disney killing alligators in the same lagoon before all of this happened? There is no difference.
Authorities should focus on the radicalized gator with the long messy beard & wearing an explosive vest.
Tal Shiar Agent
Banned
I believe that this is the first gator attack on Disney property. They are usually really good with expatriating the gators they find on property.So what you're saying is Florida prob wasn't the best place for it
This is clearly a freak accident and as you say Disney has done due diligence in the past trying to keep them out, it just isn't feasible to get em all. Will be interesting to see what they do beyond what they've already been doing due to this.
This was my thinking as well.
Not that surprising. Gators can't really chew so they typically stash large prey underwater to break down tissue so it is easier to rip apart later. So for this alone I'm sure recovering the body provided some solace.
I'm stuck in a loop imagining what the poor father is going through. I have a son almost that young and it could have been him. Just heartbreaking.
Alright can we please put an end to this crap? I'm sorry if I'm misinterpreting, but it seems like you're heavily implying the child was being ignored. It's already been explained over and over, that they were walking alongside the water, as people often do, especially if not from the area, why would you expect a fucking gator to snap out of the water and snatch your child? The child was grabbed from behind and pulled in. It's not like this kid just wondered off and was splashing around.
So please can people be considerate?! I can't imagine what was going through the poor childs mind, but the greater pain to come of those will certainly be for the parents. Imagine being that father and feeling responsible for the rest of your life? I can't pretend I was there, so I can't 100% clear the parent of fault, but in that same light, I would never implicate the parents without knowing the details. So please try to take that into consideration. It must be TORTUROUS hearing all the criticism piled on, on top of the agony they already feel with the loss of their child.
So what you're saying is Florida prob wasn't the best place for it
This is clearly a freak accident and as you say Disney has done due diligence in the past trying to keep them out, it just isn't feasible to get em all. Will be interesting to see what they do beyond what they've already been doing due to this.
Yeah, I think you'll see signage get changed at minimum.
I don't think it's necessary, but they may very well start building some gator-proof fences or walls as well. I don't think that's terribly likely, but Disney has done some knee-jerk reactions before.
Ever since the one monorail crash in 2009 where a monorail pilot died, guests have been disallowed from riding in the cockpit in the small seating area in the back of it. Even though the human+computer systems that allowed the crash to happen have since been retooled to prevent similar occurrences.
I guess I have some morbid curiosity with Disney related incidents, as one of my cousins was the first employee to die in a Disney park (Deborah Stone @ Disneyland).
Anyways, my heart goes out to the family of this child. Truly a horrific "perfect storm" of events.
Netherscourge
Banned
Actually, alligators usually lodge their prey underwater somewhere for a day or two before they feed on it. Especially if they are larger than normal.
Not to sound gross or insensitive, but a 2-year-old human is bigger than an unsuspecting duck or goose.
Young deer, for example, are usually stashed underwater before consumption.
I would also suspect that all the commotion with the search efforts (boats, planes, divers, etc...) would probably distract the alligators from their usual routine.
Wait, they fished five gators out of that puddle in a matter of hours? That makes this a bit more than a freak accident where Disney can't be blamed at all. At the very least, if their efforts to keep gators out had failed to that extent, they should have done more to keep the people away. "No Swimming" sign is basically the bare minimum to cover your ass in the event of something like this, it's not a proportionate deterrent to the threat of a gator infested lagoon.
I'm assuming you and others are familiar with the orlando/parks area. I usually stay at royal pacific by universal. They have the water ways there, and Royal is a beach themed hotel. The signs do say please stay out of the water, but no mention of gators. Nonetheless I've seen people wading with their feet in the water and even a few people up to their stomach. I know they treat the water and according to the boat taxi drivers they say the water treatment would irritate your skin. That being said, I've seen tons of fish in there... so conceivably gators could live in those waters... is that possible?
I literally swam down the river stream (had my inflatable kayak defaulted) in ichetucknee Springs and there I wasn't a Gator in sight, and obviously I wasn't attacked
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
Yeah, building a beach by the alligator lake seems risky. Right now, I'm sure the dad is questioning every decision he made, including why he ever let his kid get near the water.
Most people automatically assume beach and water means you can get in.
I see. That's good to know. How about crocodiles? This link says there could be saltwater crocodiles around the keys, but they're supposed to be even more shy than alligators.
And yes, it was an amazing place to visit (the whole Keys area was).
Tal Shiar Agent
Banned
There is no way to keep gators out of waterways without completely enclosing the waterways and adding barriers that gators can't climb over. Chain link fences, even with barbed wire won't stop a gator.
Disney World is over 40 square miles in the heart of Florida. There are alligators all over the place. Golf courses, lakes, etc.
I'm not a Florida native (Michigan, actually), but I would assume that yes, gators could feasibly be around there, if it is freshwater. If I'm wrong, I'm certain someone will say so
Netherscourge
Banned
Chances are Disney will be sued big time over this and one of the results will be mandatory "WARNING: THIS WATER CONTAINS DEADLY ALLIGATORS" signs all around those lakes or lagoons.
"No swimming" is a bullshit sign since the kid probably wasn't even IN the water swimming. He probably got snatched right off the shoreline, like most other land animals are that are eaten by alligators.
boredofcanada
Member
If you've been to Florida you would know that gators are everywhere.
exactly. Like I said in my post above, they have the beach next to the royal pacific with beach chairs and a volleyball net. If you're looking out for it there's clearly a sign that says no swimming, however if your just out having a good time you wouldn't even question it, which is why I've seen plenty of people in that water.
Also I'd like to point out 2 things.
1. people not from the area are likely ARE aware gators are prevalent in florida waters, however probably not nearly to the extent they would imagine. For instance, how many people from out of state would legitimately think to check their pool before taking a dive? From my understanding its better safe than sorry to do so.
2. Even for those aware such as myself, I NEVER thought gators presented any serious danger in disney. This is obviously naive of me (tag quote), however I have family that works at both universal and disney parks and I was told that they are constantly combing those waters and doing everything possible to keep these waters completely free of gators, not just the manmade waterways and whatnot, but also the waters surrounding park property. Clearly that was exaggerated if they found 5 today alone in this one body of water.
Slayer-33
Liverpool-2
This, Omfg.. It was dark out in a damn place with gators, his instincts probably kept him from going in and not make it a double tragedy. Fucked up situation all around
Tom Nook
Member
This.
Does Disney KNOW there are gators in the area yet put only "No Swimming" signs?
peteykirch
Member
Going to Disney over 20+ times, I can tell you I always read the "NO SWIMMING" signs as DO NOT GO INTO WATER.
Disney is built on Swamps. Gators are indigenous to swamps. As good as Disney is at removing the gators from areas guests access, they cannot remove every single animal from their grounds.
echoshifting
Banned
It's becoming abundantly clear that the answer is yes.
Netherscourge
Banned
It's Florida. Of course they know.
They don't want to scare off guests and future customers with big scary alligator signs.
$$$$$
misread what was said.
StalkerUKCG
Banned
But what about me? I'm from the UK and I would take my child to Disney Florida and not know a thing. If my child was grabbed by a gator while stood next to me waterside who's fault is it then?
GoldenEye 007
Member
Gators are everywhere. It's Florida. That's where they live.
Again it says no swimming, not "no walking near the water" They would be liable in this case.
Completely agreed. Surrounding hotels and ponds all have signs that say "caution gators, no wading, no swimming, no fishing, etc."
Syphon Filter
Member
Florida official: 2-year-old's body recovered after alligator attack at Disney resort
http://www.breakingnews.com/topic/alligator-attack-at-floridas-disney-resort/
http://www.breakingnews.com/topic/alligator-attack-at-floridas-disney-resort/
peteykirch
Member
And there are conflicting reports the kid was 10 feet out into the water, not well on the beach and snatched.
Ok and what's the average ratio of locals to tourists? How many tourists are aware ENOUGH to know that it's dangerous. For instance my mother and father went on a vacation down to some place in florida. By day the beaches were flooded with people, but as the sun was going down there wasn't a person in the water, they were walking ankle deep and a few locals came down and urged them to get out of the water as sharks were nearby, thus why nobody was in the water. It's asinine to assume that tourists ON VACATION would be on edge anytime water was nearby.
edit-
I'm sure they have cameras to figure it all out, but as I said a few posts up, we should not rush to judge the parents in this horrible time regardless.
I did not mean to imply the family was sitting by the pool and the boy got that far away from them. They were sitting on the beach (parents and a 4-year-old as well as the 2-year-old) and the Grand Floridian pool was the nearest landmark.
At no point did the Sheriff say the boy went swimming. He did not specify how far out the boy was. He said the boy was doing what he would expect any 2-year-old to do on the beach.
sadly, this was apparently not the case
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ter-by-alligator-at-disney-resort-in-orlando/
Tom Nook
Member
but Disney gets tourist NOT from Florida, it's careless to me.
boredofcanada
Member
I'm pretty sure Disney are taking measures as we speak to make sure this never happens again. Still, I think this wasn't really anyone's fault, it's just a freak occurrence. Gator attacks are incredibly rare. But yeah, if you ever go to Florida, don't jump in freshwater bodies of water, especially when you can't see the bottom.
SoRuffShoNuff
Member
Where in that passage does it say he was swimming?
Alright you said pool so I took that as they were up by the pool which would have changed my mind completely on this incident.
Thanks for clearing that up.
peteykirch
Member
I thought it was commonsense that Gators are all over Florida. Hell it's the mascot for one of their flagship state universities.
This sucks
. but regardless we shouldn't be so quick to pile on these parents. They are in a horrible place right now, and they'll suffer with their choices for the rest of their lives. Again I think it's unfair to assume everybody is aware of just how dangerous that water can be, and again I've seen countless people in the waters around those parks.I'm truly sad for the boy's family but also sad a bunch of gators are going to die until and possibly even after they find the culprit. Can gators not puke, could they not just have trapped them and found a way to examine stomach contents then released them elsewhere?
I highly doubt any money that child's family may get out of this will do anything to lessen the loss they feel. As much as I actively dislike and avoid kids myself I would never want a family to suffer through something like this.
I highly doubt any money that child's family may get out of this will do anything to lessen the loss they feel. As much as I actively dislike and avoid kids myself I would never want a family to suffer through something like this.
Yeah totally like in Boston you have to be on the constant look out for bruins... like I mean everywhere.
Again I think a lot of people are aware of gators being present in florida, but to what extent? It's foolish to believe the average person would treat a body of water down there the same as they do up north, which the worst that can happen there is a few leaches latch on.
You're talking about the country that just chose Donald Trump as the Presidential nominee for a major political party.
oh get this trash out of here, don't bring that debate into this thread.
SoRuffShoNuff
Member
Knowing that alligators are in man made beaches at Disney World would be common sense to someone from Hong Kong? Everyone is not as familiar with the US and it's local fauna as you are.
theincredibleone
Banned
Hey parents watch your damn kids or don't have them in the first place.
boredofcanada
Member
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