Another possible drowning - Disney Fantasy ******UPDATE

[Jennasis]

What a wonderful Easter miracle! Prayers for his continued recovery.

 

[anniemae]

happy to hear this encouraging update.

 

[Mkrop]

I'm not really sure how Disney could be 'more strict' at their pools. They provide lifeguards, not much else they can do. Perhaps parents need to be around.
It's a very sad thing to have something like this happen. It's awful. I can't imagine what that poor family is going through. But, sometimes, accidents happen. They are no one's fault....they just happen.

This it is truly awful and I feel for those parents, my heart breaks.

Accidents can and do happen but there are many times that parents are not watching as closely as they should, we have a pool and many people are surprised that I still sit out there with the kids at different ages when they have friends over.


I think if WDW is going to have a pool open it should have lifeguards period!

I watched a drill at the Boardwalk Clown pool, the lifeguards did not know it was a drill but the response was quick and done very well.

 

[rstackjd]

Disney doesn't need to do anything different IMO, there needs to be more responsibility of the parents though!

Exactly. a 4 year old alone in a pool is insane. There's no debate, nothing Disney can do. Parents need to be parents.

 

[palmtreegirl]

Praise God that boy is OK! The news(and witness reports) said the family left the ship in their bathing suits, they were down at the pool when the accident happen.

Don't understand everyone rushing to blame the parents, it was an accident and accidents happen. Everyone makes mistakes, parenting mistakes too, we're all just lucky ours didn't end like this one. We lost DS at Disney Studios for maybe 3-4 minutes(seemed like forever) when he was 4 years old. DH went to drop the stroller off, me and DD waited at the attraction. I just looked away for a second and he darted off trying to follow DH. Thankfully, he was found right away by another Dad, but if there was a pool nearby, who knows what could've happen.

So happy the little boy is alive and well!!!!

 

[4DisneyNUTS]

I saw that post. Just heartbreaking. Praying for the boy and his family.

I use to be a trauma volunteer, called to scenes, hospitals by police, fire, er staff, etc. My last call was devastating for me that I had to stop. It was a backyard drowning. The girl was 8. Parents said she could swim. They were having a BBQ, just their family. The mom was inside doing the dishes the window looking right out at the pool, feeding the smaller daughter, the dad was at the grill - right next to the pool, the oldest daughter by herself in the shallow end of the pool. And she drowned. I stayed at the home with the sister, playing with her, distracting her as their parents left to the hospital. The 6 year old sister took me to her room to play, she shared with her older sister. She looked up at me and asked me "Is sissy coming home? I don't think she's coming home."

It was shattering to walk right into their nightmare, seeing everything just as it was. Steaks, juice, towels, lights on the pool. At the time my daughter was 8 too. When the parents came home, they told their child and the crying was something I'll never forget. I was also helping family members, aunts, uncles, grandparents.

I did many calls, suicides, accident sites, even was with an elderly wife at the bedside when her husband passed in the hospital. But this one devastated me. All I could think about was my daughter and I cried for weeks.

This is our story Exactly except our son survived. I just posted about it on the other thread. I beg everyone to please be sensitive to these poor parents and I am glad to see he is now stable. Even if they did lose track of him it still makes this no less tragic

 

[maxiesmom]

I think if WDW is going to have a pool open it should have lifeguards period!

Most hotels do not have lifeguards at all. I applaud Disney for having them at their themed pools.

I think a sign stating there are no lifeguards on duty, swim at your own risk, is plenty. People need to take pool dangers seriously. No matter how hard we try, or how we wish it wasn't so, you can't protect people from themselves.

 

[disney1990]

I just heard that a boy was taken off the ship and sent off by an ambulance. He's around 9 or 10 yrs old. The parents were paged and they all left in their bathing suits. They apparently have 3 kids in total I think. Anyway, They were doing CPR on him for a while.

This freaks me out, considering the tragedy that just happened at Pop Century a few weeks back when the 13 yr old boy died.

I read this on another thread, in case your wondering.

Prayers for that little boy and the family. I cannot imagine what they're going thru. It breaks my heart.

*******UPDATE as of Easter Sunday morning: The child is now in stable condition. Great news! But lets continue to keep the boy in our prayers so that he makes a full recovery.

Thank you for the update!!

 

[Mkrop]

Most hotels do not have lifeguards at all. I applaud Disney for having them at their themed pools.

I think a sign stating there are no lifeguards on duty, swim at your own risk, is plenty. People need to take pool dangers seriously. No matter how hard we try, or how we wish it wasn't so, you can't protect people from themselves.

Most hotels dont have the volume of children in their pools.

 

[goofy4tink]

This is your first reaction, not a moment of empathy or compassion? Tried and convicted, with very little information, a bit of hearsay and no facts?

My first reaction was one of horror...I can't imagine any parent having to deal with that. No pointing of fingers from me. BUT...parents do need to be responsible for their children. And if that little boy was, in fact, only 4?? And if the report that the parents came running with emergency people?? Then, obviously they weren't 'with' the little boy. Maybe they had left him with older siblings...I don't know. But I do know I have seen many,many young children, in pools by themselves, while the parents were elsewhere, paying little to no attention...especially if there were lifeguards present.
There is no way I am putting my child's life in the hands of a lifeguard. Yes, they do wonderful things and thank God they're there. But when you come right down to it?? I'll be in that pool grabbing my child. A lifeguard can't monitor every single child in that pool, at all times.

Just read an UPDATE on another thread that said the child is in stable condition. Thats positive news!! But lets keep praying that he makes a full recovery.

That's wonderful news. Here's hoping he continues to improve. I thought of that family while I was in church this morning!!

 

[jlewisinsyr]

I think if WDW is going to have a pool open it should have lifeguards period!

I watched a drill at the Boardwalk Clown pool, the lifeguards did not know it was a drill but the response was quick and done very well.

I like that the pools are pretty much open 24 hours per day, and would never expect Disney to have lifeguards on duty and for them to close their pools early. People need to take personal responsibility.

Note: This is not being non-empathetic, just reality that we all are responsible for our own actions and we should not hold anyone else responsible for them.

 

[Planogirl]

I agree that parents need to be responsible for their own children. I can think of slews of situations where kids can get hurt or worse if the parents don't pay attention. A pool isn't any different.

 

[maxiesmom]

Most hotels dont have the volume of children in their pools.

One child can drown in a pool as easily, if not easier, when there are only 2 others around instead of 20.

In fact, Disney has rules governing how old kids must be to be at the pool without an adult. If the adults are stupid enough to ignore that rule, than they are the ones with the problem, not Disney. There shouldn't be masses of kids at the pools without adult supervision.

 

[mhsjax]

I actually get why they stand at the slide, i was just speaking out of frustration. It doesnt make sense to me as to why they'd only have someone monitor the slide and not the pool. I know its dangerous to have kids pile up on one another, but wouldnt it make a heck of a lot more sense if someone was actually watching the pool at the bottom of the slide? cause then they'd be able to watch the ENTIRE pool at the same time!



I agree. I hope these two cases are an eye opener for ALL parents at disney, and everywhere else. Even thou you think your kid is a good swimmer, even if he's older like the 13 yr old and the 9 yr old, you just never know what can happen if you leave them alone. Be careful.

Having been around kids and pools and slide n pools all of my life, I can totally get why they are concerned about the slide. Kids do CRAZY things on slides. Things that could cause way more injuries, not to just themselves, but to other kids minding their own business.

 

[mhsjax]

This is your first reaction, not a moment of empathy or compassion? Tried and convicted, with very little information, a bit of hearsay and no facts?

Yet you have no problem with people questioning WDW for "not doing their job" and providing 100% security service for kids? I feel for the parents, it must be horrible and no one deserves this.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Yet you have no problem with people questioning WDW for "not doing their job" and providing 100% security service for kids?

Really? I said that?

 

[Allison]

Really? I said that?

Not that I can see.

 

[mhsjax]

Really? I said that?

Well you did have a problem with people questioning the parents, but didn't seem to have a problem with people questioning WDW, so yeah in my mind you sort of did imply that.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Well you did have a problem with people questioning the parents, but didn't seem to have a problem with people questioning WDW, so yeah in my mind you sort of did imply that.

Pretty giant leap.

 

[mhsjax]

Pretty giant leap.

Not really. But we can disagree.