Drowning at POP Century

[gwynne]

This so very sad. The family and responders continue to be in my prayers.

 

[dp911]

It says no diving and yet people do what they want. Bad Choices have consequences. I feel bad but hope people take it as a lesson to follow the rules posted They are not just there for show.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

It says no diving and yet people do what they want. Bad Choices have consequences.

It would be awesome if we didn't blame a dead child.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Beyond words to explain the grief and sadness!

That poor poor family and friends and responders as well.

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

It would be awesome if we didn't blame a dead child.

Seriously!

 

[Polydweller]

Extremely sad to learn he didn't make. My thoughts go out to the family in what must be an unbearable time for them. Heartbreaking.

 

[wdwmom3]

It would be awesome if we didn't blame a dead child.

Well said. Can't believe what his family is going through.

 

[Colleen27]

The article says the 13 year old was in 4 feet of water and was a good swimmer. This would lead me to believe that either he dove in head first or had some sort of medical issue which happened to occur in the pool. Regardless, I hope this boy makes a full recovery.

Or hit his head doing any number of normal pool things... My older DD, who is a strong swimmer and very comfortable in the water, once hit her head hard enough to "see stars" while practicing flip turns. She wasn't doing anything wrong, it was just a shallower pool than she's used to and she went too deep on the turn. I imagine the same could happen when doing somersaults or otherwise just playing around underwater. Sometimes accidents happen even when no rules are broken. Tragic, but a sadly unavoidable fact of life.

My heart breaks for the poor family that is dealing with this nightmare. No matter what the circumstances, the bottom line is that instead of making wonderful family memories they're dealing with an unimaginable tragedy.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I hope that if any good can come out of this horrible tragedy, that maybe Disney will revisit its policies regarding having unattended pools. As good as parents can be about watching their children, as has been mentioned many times in this thread, ANYONE can drown without it looking like a movie drowning. Paid professionals should always be there.

 

[KingofSwing3000]

 

[osugal]

It would be awesome if we didn't blame a dead child.

No kidding! What's wrong with some people? God Bless that poor kid's family right now.

 

[AuroraRora]

So sad and tragic, that poor family How heartbreaking

 

[bowbat]

Oh, no. Horrible, my heart breaks for his poor family. Just tragic.

And THIS times a million:

It would be awesome if we didn't blame a dead child.

 

[siskaren]

I hope that if any good can come out of this horrible tragedy, that maybe Disney will revisit its policies regarding having unattended pools. As good as parents can be about watching their children, as has been mentioned many times in this thread, ANYONE can drown without it looking like a movie drowning. Paid professionals should always be there.

You expect them to have lifeguards at the pools 24 hours a day?

 

[maxiesmom]

I hope that if any good can come out of this horrible tragedy, that maybe Disney will revisit its policies regarding having unattended pools. As good as parents can be about watching their children, as has been mentioned many times in this thread, ANYONE can drown without it looking like a movie drowning. Paid professionals should always be there.

More likely they would stop allowing people to swim when the lifeguards go off duty. Which would be a shame. If people are willing to take the chance of swimming once the lifeguard leaves, they should be allowed to do so. I know we have many times, and the pools are usually still full of guests, so we are not the only ones.

I also don't think they will pay for another 60 or so lifeguards to watch the quiet pools.

 

[Grandmatoniko]

So very sad My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

 

[jhryb]

very very sad - sorry not much to add I am just in shock. I really hoped that we would get some good news.

 

[Missytara]

My heart goes out to the family, the responders and the people at the hospital who worked tirelessly to attend to the family. I am sure everyone's hearts are heavy tonight.

Sadly, people use this type of situation to chastise Disney since they seem to think they must be held to some higher standard than many other resorts and parks. Ultimately, we need to take responsibility for our actions.

I myself have enjoyed on my solo trips to POR staying near one of the quiet pools and happily dangling my feet in the pool at 2:00 am or so. I would be disappointed if as a PP stated Disney has to provide people watching their guests 24 hours a day. That cost would be passed along to us and people complain about the cost already.

 

[suemom2kay]

My prayers are with this family. I cannot begin to imagine their grief.

For those blaming the dead child for diving, really? First of all no one knows what happened. He was found unconscious. May hav hit his head. But no mention of blood so probably unlikely. May have had a medical event. May have grabbed a bite of food, and went in the water and choked.

Hold your judgement.

 

[Colleen27]

I hope that if any good can come out of this horrible tragedy, that maybe Disney will revisit its policies regarding having unattended pools. As good as parents can be about watching their children, as has been mentioned many times in this thread, ANYONE can drown without it looking like a movie drowning. Paid professionals should always be there.

I'm hoping for just the opposite - that Disney doesn't revisit their policies, and understands that sometimes accidents happen despite reasonable precautions. The only thing that can come from a reevaluation of 'swim at your own risk' policies is a sharp reduction in the hours and locations at which swimming is available, because Disney isn't likely to go to the expense of having more lifeguards on staff to extend attended hours or to station lifeguards at every quiet pool around the property.