Alligator dragged 2 year old into 7 seas lagoon

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

Is this an actual sign from the GF?

It appears to be a simple stock photo from what I can tell.

 

[MaggieBags]

This poor family deserves nothing but prayers and comfort - zero judgement from me. How sad the number of people so quick to jump to judgement on the worst days of their lives.

I'm wondering if they saw it, and thought it would make a great picture..

 

[King Schultz]

Press conference on CNN now.

 

[L&Lfan]

"No swimming" means "No swimming". I'm not sure why anyone would think otherwise.

Exactly. Most people (especially non-Floridians) wouldn't automatically conclude that means "don't go near the water".

 

[souperman128]

I've seen many comments (not necessarily here) shaming the parents for letting their child wade in the water. It seems more and more people are lacking compassion nowadays and quite frankly it sickens me. Granted, I would not have let my child go in the water, but please give this poor family a break.

My heart breaks for them. My heart breaks for that poor little guy. I cannot imagine what they're going through.

 

[Nayan]

I don't think the parents should be shamed, it was just a tragic accident.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

It's an artificial lake. It's not sealed per se, but I don't believe that means much with regards to alligators accessing water. Alligators enter swimming pools regularly.

An aquaintance of mine who once lived in Florida told me that he wouldn't let his small dogs outside when he lived there.

In swimming pools! Oh my ! What a shock! Living in the UK the most we have to worry about is the odd fox and all they do is steal food. I must wise up but then I would never enter a lake or river because of the bacteria. That goes here also.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

I just watched the noon press conference. No update, but they words the speaker used indicated they don’t expect to find the child alive.

 

[CPanther95]

Still trying to imagine the pictograph for a brain eating amoeba.

 

[gottaluvPluto]

They don't. It's a violation of both Florida and federal law to feed alligators.

Tourist feed the alligators all the time. I actually had to tell a cast member that a small gator was being feed by guest. The cast member told me they would now have to remove the small gator because of people feeding it. When humans feed the gator it will cause more risks for the guest.

Most places in Florida leave small gators in their retention ponds until they get a certain length. I think the length is 4ft.

People I know that live in other areas would not get in the water if it said no swimming. To me, I would have never even put my big toe in that water with that sign.

I truly don't understand how people would think to get in the water at all with that sign.

 

[momtotwo]

I was at the Caribbean Beach this past March and saw children in the water there. They were up to their knees or even their thighs in the water, and I told a lifeguard that there are children in the water. When she looked, she said it was okay as they were not "swimming". There definitely needs to be more done to keep people out of the water, and the lifeguards need to enforce this as much as they can.

 

[CPanther95]

I was at the Caribbean Beach this past March and saw children in the water there. They were up to their knees or even their thighs in the water, and I told a lifeguard that there are children in the water. When she looked, she said it was okay as they were not "swimming". There definitely needs to be more done to keep people out of the water, and the lifeguards need to enforce this as much as they can.

They'll definitely change the signs to make it clear to stay out of the water. If that's what they meant by saying "No Swimming", then it was a terrible error in judgment.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

There's 2 things I think of when I think of Florida

Alligators and Hurricanes

And how weird is it that both of them just so happen to be Florida sports team mascots?

Every one is wanting to bring up the signage, like it's Disney's fault for not warning people that there are gators in a body of water in central Florida.

Does Disney need to place signs up warning of the potential of a hurricane? How about snake bites? Sunburn? Skin cancer caused by the sun? Heat exhaustion? Heat stroke?

I'm sure you see where I'm going...

 

[longboard55]

go to a beach in California or Hawaii and read the signs, they warn about everything. Its hard to determine if signs are important or just a cover you buns thing. A sign with an alligator would mean a lot more to us left coasters. I really think anyone not from the south is a bit shocked this would ever happen at Disneyworld They use to have a water park on that lake,.

 

[bcla]

In swimming pools! Oh my ! What a shock! Living in the UK the most we have to worry about is the odd fox and all they do is steal food. I must wise up but then I would never enter a lake or river because of the bacteria. That goes here also.

https://weather.com/science/nature/news/florida-pool-alligators-fwc-summer-season-warm-weather

Like I said,they're not fish. They walk on land, and will relocate to different areas. One could build an artificial lagoon and even keep it separate from any natural water supply, but if it's not completely fenced, alligators might find their way there in alligator country.

 

[HarleenQ]

There's 2 things I think of when I think of Florida

Alligators and Hurricanes

And how weird is it that both of them just so happen to be Florida sports team mascots?

Every one is wanting to bring up the signage, like it's Disney's fault for not warning people that there are gators in a body of water in central Florida.

Does Disney need to place signs up warning of the potential of a hurricane? How about snake bites? Sunburn? Skin cancer caused by the sun? Heat exhaustion? Heat stroke?

I'm sure you see where I'm going...

The only real comparison is the snake bites.

An alligator in a pond and natural disasters/things taught since birth to everyone are entirely different things. Let's not get carried away.

 

[CPanther95]

There's 2 things I think of when I think of Florida

Alligators and Hurricanes

And how weird is it that both of them just so happen to be Florida sports team mascots?

Every one is wanting to bring up the signage, like it's Disney's fault for not warning people that there are gators in a body of water in central Florida.

Does Disney need to place signs up warning of the potential of a hurricane? How about snake bites? Sunburn? Skin cancer caused by the sun? Heat exhaustion? Heat stroke?

I'm sure you see where I'm going...

It's a little different when you are on the property's manicured beach and they've supplied beach loungers, etc. at the edge of the lagoon.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

https://weather.com/science/nature/news/florida-pool-alligators-fwc-summer-season-warm-weather

Like I said,they're not fish. They walk on land, and will relocate to different areas. One could build an artificial lagoon and even keep it separate from any natural water supply, but if it's not completely fenced, alligators might find their way there in alligator country.

That is true I never considered this thank you for the insightful information!

 

[scrhsa]

Being an almost Florida native (been here just over 40 years), I know that any body of water be it a large lake or small pond can have gators in it and Disney is no exception. I've seen kids splashing in the water a night when I've been there and I've cringed. This is just a sad situation .

Here in coastal south Texas we have seen countless alligators in ditches 5 to 15 miles from the nearest marsh/body of water. It's amazing how far they can roam and how they get there!

 

[TAX GUY]

An old neighbor of mine is currently at the Floridian with her children. She and her youngest were at the same location this poor boy was grabbed by the gator. Her son was also wading in the water, not more than hour before this tragic accident happened. She gave me permission to share her recent post and her pictures....


PRAY, PRAY so hard for the family & for those who witnessed this tragic event. I took these pics at the exact spot this happened betw 8 & 830, the incident happened at 9. Helicopters flew overhead til 1 am and were back around dawn. I can't imagine anyone could sleep knowing that the helicopter was searching for a missing child taken by an alligator. I can't help but wonder if we played with him, did I talk to his Mom?? How does one go home without your baby in tow? I've already seen posts criticizing the parents. I can assure you alligators were not on my mind at all when "son" was in the water. It's a tiny beach, surrounded by pools, water slides, a restaurant and a fire pit. I can't conceive that an alligator would be in such a busy, small space.