Alligator Incident Discussion/Fence being built at Grand Floridian?

[Shanti]

I think they will.. I can't see them fighting this in court. Not because I think they are liable, but because I think they honestly feel badly this happened and it would be unkind to prolong this agony out in court.

...and it would generate more bad publicity for Disney to fight a suit in relation to this. A generous settlement combined with a gag order is the usual solution when corporations realize they might be at fault.

 

[luvthemouse71]

...And it would generate more bad publicity for Disney to fight a suit in relation to this. A generous settlement combined with a gag order is the usual solution for corporations who realize they might be at fault.

Agree about the bad publicity. That is a practical consideration and I'm sure the lawyers are on that. It's not like Disney can't afford to be generous, and many(including me) don't blame them anyway. Just put the signage and fencing up, take care of the parents and move on..

 

[wendow]

View attachment 176093 I would guess that the same signage and possibly fences will be erected at all resorts with beaches including Poly. We will see, the beach at Poly right by the Lava Pool is used heavily by guests for fireworks viewing and it does of course border the Poly DVC bungaloes. Certainly the explicit signs being erected regarding alligators and snakes which imo will notice guests with clarity who are not familiar with the dangers in bodies of water in southern states. Very very unfortunate tragedy. This was taken from the Poly beach last October. The Poly Beach is a beautiful beach for viewing Wishes. ENJOY if you go to the Poly, beautiful resort!

Thanks! We have stayed at the Poly before and will be there again in Sept. I am expecting the same fencing there and I am fine with it. I think it looks good really and if it prevents people from getting into the water, then it's worth it. It is such an unfortunate accident and I think Disney has handled this very well.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I agree that Disney needs to put up more signage.

I am a docent at a local zoo and we have Do Not Feed signs all over the zoo. They are ignored on a regular basis. Not to mention the climbing over barricades by adult and kids that I have seen occur. I could write a book on the stupid things I have seen people do.

Then, clearly, the answer is NOT more signage and more barriers. WDW doesn't have an alligator problem...it has a human problem and THAT'S what they need to address as a result of this incident.

 

[Donald Duck888]

Now we all know. It would have been nice for Disney to tell guests this before the inevitable occurred. There were no indications to people not indigenous to Florida who would think that alligators were thriving in a man-made lake on whose edge Disney enticed small children to gather at feeding time.

"Denial of basic scientific fact". Yeah, to people who live in the south.

While what happened was a terrible tragedy I do have to disagree a bit with this statement. First I think that there are many not from the south that understand that warm waters like in FL contain many hazards like gators, amoeba, snakes and bacteria. I myself having been to Disney many times have never let my daughter near the water for just this reason. Having said that I do think Disney's signs were not clear enough and they bear some of the responsibility for this tragedy due to that fact.

Please someone correct me if I am wriong but I don't seem to recall there ever being an attack by a gator away from the water at Disney? I know gators can move quick on land over a short distance but I think that is a very short distance and they are also more vulnerableon land so they probably don't want to be out in the open too far from water. Also they are "ambush predators" so moving too far from water would go against their Instincts. Assuming this is the fact I think the solution is to keep people away from the water not to try to eliminate an animal that will just return. Also they, Disney, need to get really aggressive with people who feed the gators, get caught get expelled from all of Disney. Make this well known to all guests at check in so it is well known.

Where I live we have no gators, poisonous snakes or brain eating amoebas in the water. We do however have bears, coyotes, Bobcats, fisher cats, mountain lions and in the water, sharks . Many of these can be dangerous but also have the right to share this planet with us. The key to coexisting both in daily life and on vacation is to be educated on how to be safe. These animals and alligators as well are not monsters scheming to try to eat us or our kids. They are living their lives. If Disney has a culpability in this it is in not educating guest properly in how to vacation alongside these wild creatures for whom FL is home. Once that info on the (what I consider slight) risks involved in such coexistence is known then people can make informed decisions on if that is the type of vacation for them.

 

[Jennasis]

Maybe Disney stops handing out pails and shovels and inviting you down for activities on their fake "beach".

Yep.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

Interesting...we have always assumed there IS a strict rule not to touch WDW water, even when it is next to a beach. We just told our kids the water was to look, and not touch. We own DVC at the Beach Club, and every trip we spend a great amount to time on the beach. We swing, watch movies, eat s'mores, enjoy an adult beverage after sunset, and have a wonderful time...but, never once have my kids so much as stuck a single toe in that nasty swamp water. I always thought the beach was the amenity, not the water. Of course, my primary concern has always been bacteria and amoebas, but snakes and alligators as well. Beyond the safety issue...it's just nasty.

P

 

[GPC0321]

Maybe Disney stops handing out pails and shovels and inviting you down for activities on their fake "beach".

Maybe individual parents can decide whether or not they want to allow their kids to go play in the sand on the fake "beach"? It's not like Disney is forcing you to take your kids down there to play. If you think it's too much of a risk, or cannot abide by the thought of them not being able to get water from the lagoon for their sand castles, then don't partake in the "beach" play at the resort. But why eliminate it for those who clearly still like to let the kids play in the sand while hanging out on the "beach"?

 

[NYUBwayBaby]

Please someone correct me if I am wriong but I don't seem to recall there ever being an attack by a gator away from the water at Disney? I know gators can move quick on land over a short distance but I think that is a very short distance and they are also more vulnerableon land so they probably don't want to be out in the open too far from water. Also they are "ambush predators" so moving too far from water would go against their Instincts. Assuming this is the fact I think the solution is to keep people away from the water not to try to eliminate an animal that will just return. Also they, Disney, need to get really aggressive with people who feed the gators, get caught get expelled from all of Disney. Make this well known to all guests at check in so it is well known.

Nope, you're right! the only two gator incidents have been in the water. Gators get up on land often to bask in the sun. They aren't actively hunting then. And if they have their natural fear of humans (so, you know, if people don't feed them) then when they see people they "run" back into the water.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Maybe individual parents can decide whether or not they want to allow their kids to go play in the sand on the fake "beach"? It's not like Disney is forcing you to take your kids down there to play. If you think it's too much of a risk, or cannot abide by the thought of them not being able to get water from the lagoon for their sand castles, then don't partake in the "beach" play at the resort. But why eliminate it for those who clearly still like to let the kids play in the sand while hanging out on the "beach"?

I promise you Disney doesn't want the what-ifs for parents who choose to take an informed risk. The possibility of a PR disaster like this one at the Happiest Place on Earth is not a price they want to pay.

Additionally, if it becomes widely known that you have to buy a bunch of 3 dollar water bottles and cart them down to the beach to make sand castles, no one is going to want to make them anyway. Problem solved.

 

[Sammie]

Is the fence at the Poly going to be similar?

I think that rope fence along with new signage may be effective, at least for now. My concern is that some months down the line, that may change. I already heard that some were complaining to the CMs posted at the beaches that they couldn't get close to the water. The human memory can be a short one.

Of course they will complain. Disney can not win in this one. People upset will want a "wall" built, those that love the visual look of the beaches and lakes will want nothing. I can assure BEFORE this happened if they had put up those signs that are up now and those fences people would have complained. Good grief they are complaining now.

 

[Beca]

...and it would generate more bad publicity for Disney to fight a suit in relation to this. A generous settlement combined with a gag order is the usual solution when corporations realize they might be at fault.

Yep...I am preparing for big ticket price jumps as a result of their generous settlement...

 

[Canadian Girl]

Disney does not relocate gators. They euthanize them them according to news reports.

 

[freediverdude]

Assuming in your scenario that the gator killed someone in your pond or pool that you had explicitly told them to stay out of, there is no way you would be held liable. That's ridiculous. Even if the gator killed the person on some other part of your property, it would be hard for a court or jury to find you liable. *Note - I am not in any way analyzing Disney's possible liability in the current situation, as it is not at all analogous to your hypothetical.

Unfortunately, there's a reason why some states, including Florida I believe, make it so you are supposed to have gating or fencing around a permanent pool. It's because homeowners are liable if someone gets in there and drowns, even if they don't have permission to be there. It's just one of those things in the law, it happened on your property and wasn't easily foreseeable so you're held liable as the property owner, just like if someone trips on your steps. Homeowners insurance is supposed to cover it though, if you have enough.

 

[Shanti]

the only two gator incidents have been in the water.

The 1986 incident took place on land, not in the water.

 

[Guyton dis lover]

Disney does not relocate gators. They euthanize them them according to news reports.

That is pretty much the case where I live to. Large Gators male or female are terrirorial . I have been told by our licensed Gator trapper that it does no good to remove and relocate. The gator will just find his way back to the spot he was caught.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

Disney is absolutely responsible for not warning it's guests of the existence of alligators on their property. A sign telling you not to swim is insufficient to warn that alligators are or may be at DisneyWorld. Disney executives know this and that's why they have posted new signage with specific warning and erected temporary barriers on the beaches since the death of this child and I presume they will be replaced with a more comprehensive barrier in the future. There will be more changes I believe that they will implement in the future and they will/ should handout literature at checkin that will warn it's guests of the presence of alligators and snakes in Florida/ DisneyWorld and it should include a hotline to report any sightings of alligators and snakes to assure their prompt removal as well as a statement that it is illegal to feed alligators in Florida/ DisneyWorld and the penalties for doing so.

The 2 year old and his parents were not in violation of the no swimming signage that existed on property prior to his death. I have been coming to Disney for over 20 years , have never seen a gator there and kept my children away from the water due to bacteria. It never occurred to me that alligators were just off the beach by a resort. It has been reported that 7 alligators have been taken out of DisneyWorld this past week and counting!!!! They are not even sure they have the alligator that grabbed this little boy yet! It's a shame it took the death an innocent child to inform us all of this dangerous situation and to have Disney finally take steps to warn and protect its visitors.

 

[scousemouse09]

There's a difference between having potentially dangerous creatures on the property, and there being a high risk of injury or death from those creatures. I think that's what's being missed by some.

WDW has been open for 45 years. In those 45 years, there have been many thousand alligators roaming the property, along with many millions of guests. Guests and alligators have been in much closer contact that they are in most of FL, since Disney's been running beach events, and having guests view fireworks from the beaches, and sitting in lounge chairs on the beaches, for all of that 45 years. For the first several years, the beaches were open for wading, swimming, etc. To this day, guests water ski in the lakes, and there are even endurance events that have people swimming in the lakes.

In that half-century, there has been exactly ONE fatal alligator encounter. One. In nearly 50 years.

To me, that means that the risk of being injured or killed by an alligator on Disney property is astoundingly low. I probably have a better chance of hitting the Powerball than having an alligator bite me at WDW.

Alligators do not chase people down the beaches, snatch people from waterside walkways, or grab guests from their lounge chairs and carry them off. They hang out in the waterways, having a very satisfying diet of birds, fish, snakes, and small mammals, and would much prefer to avoid humans altogether. We are not their preferred prey. But if a human wanders into a lake late at night...well, as we have seen, bad things can happen.

Just because it's possible for something to happen, doesn't mean it's likely for that thing to happen. We have all learned why it's not good to go in the lakes and waterways in FL. That doesn't mean that the entire property is a deathtrap.

This just so eloquently expresses my thoughts on this matter. It was a tragedy. I cannot begin to comprehend the pain the family are going through, and all those who were involved in trying to find the child.

 

[Sammie]

Disney does not relocate gators. They euthanize them them according to news reports.

When idiots feed gators and change their natural fear and avoidance of humans, there is no where for Disney to take them that they will not come back. So Yes they kill them.

 

[Guyton dis lover]

The other night our family were discussing this Gator attack whiile driving to Hilton Head Island. As we traveled over the many creeks and streams we have in this area and we all agreed that the many people that travel the road to Hilton Head island from nothern states really have no idea of how many gators and snakes they drive by, that are just a few feet off the roads. I am a hunter and I do not go into the woods with out snake boots on even when it is feezing out side. A couple of years ago we were coming out of the swamp where we had been duck hunting. it was 34 degrees F out side and we walked up on a very cold copper head snake in the middle of the road. Reptiles are a way of life in the southern U.S. The further you go south the bigger the gators and snakes get.