Better life guards at WDW pools or sign that says you must be able to swim to enter?

[RunningWithScissors]

This is so true! We don't know that anyone was breaking rules. Even if he did, it was still an accident. I did plenty of things in my youth that, thinking back on, I'm lucky to be alive. This kid wasn't so lucky.

Me, too! I think my user name says it all. This is a tragic ACCIDENT. Regardless of what happened, this is a families worst nightmare. I cannot imagine what they are going through and pray I never have to.

Prayers and peace to this family.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Rereading the title, I feel it was poorly written and implies that the lifeguards were in some way at fault, when in fact they were not even on duty.

Maybe a rewording of the title is in order?

AKK


AKK

I agree. From the reported information, the lifeguards had nothing to do with this since they were off duty.

First and foremost, this is an obvious tragedy and my heart goes out to the family.

But...I see alot of posters talking and making assumptions on how this could have been avoided or looking to where to put the blame, and the fact is, we really know nothing about how this happened. Who is to say that the kid didn't have a medical condition (such as heart or seizure disorder) that rendered him unconscious before even falling into the pool? We just have no idea about the circumstances, so I think that other than feeling incredibly sorry for the family...none of us have anything to say about it.

And, IMHO, the Disney lifeguards are super diligent....over the top diligent...but again...they were not on duty.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am an architect and a construction manager.

So often, we say people tend to make a people problem a building problem.

You post a sign that says no lifeguards after 9:00 pm. A person drowns and people say they should have a bigger sign and more lifeguards.

Ultimately the problem is someone did not follow the rules. You can make fences higher and signs bigger and someone will climb the fence and ignore the sign.

Yes.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

While Anthony’s death was an accident, it appears to ME from what I’ve read about it that a lifeguard at the pool would have had him out sooner, if there had been one on duty. It was several minutes that he was underwater before his cousin pulled him out, according to every source. So, while it was an accident, and rare, I think Disney should investigate having someone there at all times that the pool is open.

 

[maxiesmom]

While Anthony’s death was an accident, it appears to ME from what I’ve read about it that a lifeguard at the pool would have had him out sooner, if there had been one on duty. It was several minutes that he was underwater before his cousin pulled him out, according to every source. So, while it was an accident, and rare, I think Disney should investigate having someone there at all times that the pool is open.

You have no way of knowing that for sure. People have drowned in pools when there were lifeguards on duty. Nothing is fail safe, no matter how much we may like to think it is.

Do you really think Disney would hire a lot more lifeguards to cover every pool for hours on end? Many resorts have more quiet pools than themed pools, and the quiet pools never have lifeguards. You are talking not a small sum of money they would be spending.

While even one death is tragic, it shouldn't change how everything is done.

 

[Luv2trav]

While Anthonys death was an accident, it appears to ME from what Ive read about it that a lifeguard at the pool would have had him out sooner, if there had been one on duty. It was several minutes that he was underwater before his cousin pulled him out, according to every source. So, while it was an accident, and rare, I think Disney should investigate having someone there at all times that the pool is open.

What about the quiet pools?? There is NEVER a life guard on duty. I don't agree anything needs to change. People should know if they are swimming without life guards they need to be extra diligent watching their children. Had they noticed then they just as a life guard would have pulled him out sooner. Unfortunately accidents happen. My heart goes out to this family...

 

[momof4minnies]

While Anthony’s death was an accident, it appears to ME from what I’ve read about it that a lifeguard at the pool would have had him out sooner, if there had been one on duty. It was several minutes that he was underwater before his cousin pulled him out, according to every source. So, while it was an accident, and rare, I think Disney should investigate having someone there at all times that the pool is open.

The pools are always "open" because there is always access. However, the pool hours for a lifeguard on duty are 10am-8pm and unfortunately this happened at around 9:30 pm.

I do agree with you this seems to have been an accident. I can't even begin to imagine the heartache the family is going thru. Thoughts and prayers are all I can offer.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Just a comment on the No Diving:

When Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan had their show at WDW, Jon Cryer was one of their guests. He related a story of one of his last stays at WDW in a Disney resort. He said he dove into the pool and cracked his mouth on the bottom of the pool resulting in breaking his two front teeth. He complained that Disney pools weren't deep enough.

 

[fairytalelover]

The boy died this afternoon. Prayers go out to his family.

Oh no!!!! That's so sad!!! I was already extremely anal about watching my son when he is swimming but this is gonna make me never ever take my eyes off of him!! I pray for this family....

 

[fairytalelover]

Just a comment on the No Diving:

When Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan had their show at WDW, Jon Cryer was one of their guests. He related a story of one of his last stays at WDW in a Disney resort. He said he dove into the pool and cracked his mouth on the bottom of the pool resulting in breaking his two front teeth. He complained that Disney pools weren't deep enough.

Most Disney pools I have seen have a sign saying "No Diving Allowed" and for good reason it seems

 

[JB2K]

The 13 year-old in question has just died...

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/13/us/florida-disney-death/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

 

[keishashadow]

The 13 year-old in question has just died...

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/13/us/florida-disney-death/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

aww, heartbreaking for the family.

 

[Chelley00]

Just a comment on the No Diving:

When Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan had their show at WDW, Jon Cryer was one of their guests. He related a story of one of his last stays at WDW in a Disney resort. He said he dove into the pool and cracked his mouth on the bottom of the pool resulting in breaking his two front teeth. He complained that Disney pools weren't deep enough.

I was home with my 8 year old that day (he was sick), and his first response after Michael said that was

"You can't dive into pools at hotels!!!!"

As sad as this story makes me, I'm afraid it's going to come down to just a teenage boy not following rules and parents not being as diligent as they should be. The signs are there stating no lifeguards, no diving etc. Things happen, people bend or break rules and people die or get hurt. Hopefully someone will hear about this story and think about what they do the next time they are at a pool. I've not seen anything that says he dove into the pool, so who knows what happened, but when you don't have lifeguards on duty you need to watch. My two younger kids are competitive swimmers and I'm still crazy about watching them in the pool.

 

[ParrotBill]

Pools are dangerous places.

When my child swims at a pool her primary lifeguards are ME and my WIFE.
She has been trained extensively on pool safety, no diving, no horseplay.

I cannot stand to see how many parents turn their backs on their kids in a pool, or promote horseplay, or permit diving into shallow pools. Kids in crowded pools should also not be swimming underwater for extended times taking them out of sight.

One stray kick or mis-judged wall or bottom and they are unconscious, with only seconds to live.

Pools are dangerous places. Parents, treat them this way. Meanwhile Disney is quietly building fences around all their pools... but that won't stop this from happening again.

 

[Sammie]

This is a horrible, horrible situation, every parent's worst nightmare.

It was a accident, the young man did not intend to get hurt.

But lessons can always be learned. I was a life guard and water safety instructor and pools are dangerous. It only takes inches to drown.

There is absolutely no blame to be put on Disney. Their lifeguards are some of the most diligent and trained I have seen.

It is swim at "your own risk" when lifeguards are not there, just as it is at most all hotels that don't even have lifeguards at all. It would be so expensive to have guards there all the time, so the solution would be to make room rates higher or close pools completely when no guard is there.

Parents and individuals have to assume that risk.

As a parent, you can teach your child that pools are dangerous. That you don't run, you don't dive, and you don't rough house and you have a buddy system.

Drowning victims make no noise: This is a great article that everyone especially parents need to read. http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

And out of respect and memory of this young man, learn something from this, and do not ever send a small child to a pool without a parent. The things I have seen at Disney pools make me shudder.

Prayers for all of us family.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

This is a horrible, horrible situation, every parent's worst nightmare.

It was a accident, the young man did not intend to get hurt.

But lessons can always be learned. I was a life guard and water safety instructor and pools are dangerous. It only takes inches to drown.

There is absolutely no blame to be put on Disney. Their lifeguards are some of the most diligent and trained I have seen.

It is swim at "your own risk" when lifeguards are not there, just as it is at most all hotels that don't even have lifeguards at all. It would be so expensive to have guards there all the time, so the solution would be to make room rates higher or close pools completely when no guard is there.

Parents and individuals have to assume that risk.

As a parent, you can teach your child that pools are dangerous. That you don't run, you don't dive, and you don't rough house and you have a buddy system.

Drowning victims make no noise: This is a great article that everyone especially parents need to read. http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

And out of respect and memory of this young man, learn something from this, and do not ever send a small child to a pool without a parent. The things I have seen at Disney pools make me shudder.

Prayers for all of us family.

Well said!

 

[Missytara]

While Anthony’s death was an accident, it appears to ME from what I’ve read about it that a lifeguard at the pool would have had him out sooner, if there had been one on duty. It was several minutes that he was underwater before his cousin pulled him out, according to every source. So, while it was an accident, and rare, I think Disney should investigate having someone there at all times that the pool is open.

I will repeat my earlier post. I am an architect and a construction manager.

We always say do not make a people problem a building problem.

Rules are in place, hundreds of people have followed them and nothing tragic has happened. Maybe the child had a undetected condition or a predisposed condition and chose to swim anyway, Suddenly something happens for whatever reason whether the child chose to dive, had a seizure, aneurysm, etc. Suddenly we all have to pay more for our room every night to have more staff to make sure we are reading the signs and not following the rules; detecting physical conditions, etc.

You will just price everyone out of a vacation at Disney for no reason. Think outside the box.

 

[bumbershoot]

The pools are always "open" because there is always access.

Exactly. I'm picturing what would have to happen to make some of the pools truly closed, and I know I do NOT want that. You'd either need fences or staff, and if they don't want to staff lifeguards at night why would they want to staff guard-guards at night?


And staffing lifeguards at night would be dangerous in itself, because how can a lifeguard TRULY see at night what they can during the day? Suddenly we have a scenario with floodlights all over the pool, which then would cause complaints by people sleeping, etc etc. So we've got floodlights at the pool and blackout curtains in the rooms or we have full, locked, fences.

For something that did happen BUT almost never ever happens at their pools.

Rules are in place, hundreds of people have followed them and nothing tragic has happened.

Exactly.

 

[Sir Aaron]

You can have rules and fences but that doesn't prevent people from drowning. How many adults break safety rules much less youth who never think anything will happen to them? I've heard of drownings here where kids climbed a fence to get into the pool.

It's unfortunate that this kid died. It is a good reminder to tell kids of the consequences of disobeying the rules.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

You can have rules and fences but that doesn't prevent people from drowning. How many adults break safety rules much less youth who never think anything will happen to them? I've heard of drownings here where kids climbed a fence to get into the pool.

It's unfortunate that this kid died. It is a good reminder to tell kids of the consequences of disobeying the rules.

Again, there's nothing in any story that says the child did anything wrong.