Alligator Incident Discussion/Fence being built at Grand Floridian?

[tink'smom2B]

Actually, we stayed a few times at the Wilderness Lodge and saw snakes there all the time. In 2005, a snake entered the pool and was swimming with two of my children. The next day it happened again. My kids wouldn't swim there ever again. We had purchased DVC there and ended up selling it because they wouldn't go back. Last year we purchased the Polynesian! Can you believe it? This was our first vacation there! Maybe if I don't go back, the rest of you will never have a problem.

 

[cigar95]

But, you surely must admit that alligators can and do come out of the water.

Yes, but the key is that they don't do it to "hunt". If provoked, they'll respond, but they're not stalking prey when they climb out of the water.
One thing the Golf Channel loves is shots of gators who wander onto the fairways during the stops at Bay Hill, Doral, and the other Florida stops. They aren't chased away, generally, since after a while they just decide to go back into the lakes.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

At the very least, they could have had signs with a cartoon alligator smiling that said, "This Water is My Home. Please Do Not Enter."

I really like this.

 

[Kevin355]

Thanks for clarifying this. I read earlier that he was hiding near houses. But, you surely must admit that alligators can and do come out of the water. If Disney can't keep alligators away from me and my family, I will have to stay away from Disney. Just my opinion and I'm sure there will be thousands of people to take my place. If they make it safe, I'll come back.

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I understand your angst, but you will never be 100% safe anywhere you travel. Most serious incident that can occur to you occur within 2 miles of one's residence.

I have been a cop for 28+ years...I have been stabbed twice, hit by a car twice, have had my face shattered, and since I have been a cop, have had 17 surgeries. You can't live your life in a hermetically sealed bubble...WDW is safer than NYC, the freeway, any convenient store, the streets where I work, and probably your own hometown right now. I've golfed 35-40 times in Florida...have always seen a gator, and have seen 3 gators in 17 visits, and snakes almost every visit to WDW. The chances of you having an incident with a gator are very slim. WDW cannot pretty you from unpredictable wildlife. I've seen moose and elk at the Grand Canyon, snakes in the desert, sharks in SC and FLA, and gators in Florida. I will never allow myself to be so paranoid as to try to avoid danger. This is a beautiful country with chances of bad things happening anywhere you visit.

Don't let a freak accident control your life.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

Try a different time of year!!! When the temps are lower and it's less crowded. This past week was certainly an upsetting time to be at Disney

 

[pigletgirl]

I understand your angst, but you will never be 100% safe anywhere you travel. Most serious incident that can occur to you occur within 2 miles of one's residence.

I have been a cop for 28+ years...I have been stabbed twice, hit by a car twice, have had my face shattered, and since I have been a cop, have had 17 surgeries. You can't live your life in a hermetically sealed bubble...WDW is safer than NYC, the freeway, any convenient store, the streets where I work, and probably your own hometown right now. I've golfed 35-40 times in Florida...have always seen a gator, and have seen 3 gators in 17 visits, and snakes almost every visit to WDW. The chances of you having an incident with a gator are very slim. WDW cannot pretty you from unpredictable wildlife. I've seen moose and elk at the Grand Canyon, snakes in the desert, sharks in SC and FLA, and gators in Florida. I will never allow myself to be so paranoid as to try to avoid danger. This is a beautiful country with chances of bad things happening anywhere you visit.

Don't let a freak accident control your life.

Exactly.

tinks mom, the only thing fear does is paralyze you. As a parent, would you want your children to see and/or notice that? Kids can pick up those feelings pretty quickly. I think it's okay to talk about what happened (we did in our house with our 3 yo), but to just obsess and fear over an alligator attacking your child is not good.

Be smart about your surroundings and enjoy your vacation(s) to WDW!

 

[jodifla]

Actually, we stayed a few times at the Wilderness Lodge and saw snakes there all the time. In 2005, a snake entered the pool and was swimming with two of my children. The next day it happened again. My kids wouldn't swim there ever again. We had purchased DVC there and ended up selling it because they wouldn't go back. Last year we purchased the Polynesian! Can you believe it? This was our first vacation there! Maybe if I don't go back, the rest of you will never have a problem.

You are not making any sense. You sold your DVC because of snakes then turned around and bought the Polynesian? Why on earth would you think it would be any different?

 

[jodifla]

Honestly, there was nothing about my Disney vacation that I couldn't do without. 100 degree heat, two hour wait times, crowded transportation? The price we paid was not worth any of that. This was the most stressful vacation I ever had!





It is such a terrible place, and you bought DVC twice?

 

[pigletgirl]

Actually, we stayed a few times at the Wilderness Lodge and saw snakes there all the time. In 2005, a snake entered the pool and was swimming with two of my children. The next day it happened again. My kids wouldn't swim there ever again. We had purchased DVC there and ended up selling it because they wouldn't go back. Last year we purchased the Polynesian! Can you believe it? This was our first vacation there! Maybe if I don't go back, the rest of you will never have a problem.

Do you regret that polynesian purchase?

 

[Sammie]

Why would I go to a place crawling with alligators and snakes? I'll save my $$$$ and maybe put in my own pool

I don't know where you live, but watch out for snakes if you get a pool. We have already problems with them wanting to swim. Snapping turtles too.

 

[Jason2015]

If your statement is true, why was a child attacked on dry land in Fort Wilderness in 1986? Also, someone posted a story about a burglar who was attacked and killed while hiding in bushes outside someone's house in Orlando. What about the reports of an alligator on the beach at the Polynesian resort? Have you even read any of these threads? If everyone thinks like you, I'm sure this will happen again and again.

The boy in 1986 was standing next to a pound feeding ducks-so in very close proximity to the shore. ( http://www.insideedition.com/headli...sort-i-started-kicking-at-the-alligators-head ) The burglar was found ten days after going missing, he was found in a lake. Could he have stumbled into the lake while fleeing cops in the dark of the night? (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...lorida-burglary-suspect-hiding-cops/76966512/). I was unaware that the alligator at the Poly (if actually there) was being aggressive, I was under the assumption that it was on the beach sunning itself. An alligator laying on a beach is easily avoidable.

The point is we don't have to have a knee jerk reaction to a one in a million incident. Alligator attack is still one of the least likely ways of getting hurt or dying at Disney (heck pretty much anywhere). I've said it many times Disney is as safe today as it was last week, last month, last year, heck the day it opened (and most likely safer).

 

[Jason2015]

Well, you have confirmed what I am feeling exactly. Since alligators can get into pools, climb chain link fences, cross roads, etc., etc., my kids have never been and apparently will never be safe at Disneyworld. It was a grand illusion, my happy place, and the bubble is burst. You can have my place in line.

Just out of curiosity where do you plan to go that is 100% safe. (Home isn't even that)

 

[Lynne M]

I get the feeling that people think that alligators are like the raptors from Jurassic World. They're not. They're large, dumb reptiles whose "hunting" mostly consists of grabbing whatever splashes into the lake in front of them. They don't roam the resort walkways and carry people off, or hide in the bushes and craftily plot to snatch guests. Humans are not their preferred prey, but if a person appears in the lake, well, yeah, a gator might grab it. They're stupid. They don't know the difference between a kid and a big muskrat, which they do like to eat.

In other words, the mere presence of alligators at a resort does not mean that you are in terrible danger of being attacked, any more than the presence of snakes at a resort means you will be bitten.

 

[MarkE83]

They're large, dumb reptiles...

They're also super angry all the time because they have a reduced medulla oblongata, and loads of teeth with no toothbrush #WaterBoy

I also cannot wrap my head around hating 100 degree heat, long lines, selling one DVC due to seeing a snake, and buying another - why not just use your points to stay elsewhere? Why buy it in the first place if your WDW experiences aren't all you thought they'd be?

 

[Marine Mom]

It's because most of us are reasonable, intelligent people who understand that this is a one in a million freak accident. Incredibly sad, but literally rarer than a one in a million chance of happening. The grand Floridian has been open for almost 30 years, and this has NEVER happened before. And likely would never have happened again, even if Disney did nothing to change the security / access to the water on that beach.

They're building fences in the sand as a temporary measure right now, because it's easily accessible and removes any possibility of people entering the water, unless they REALLY REALLY want to take that risk. Nobody knows what the permanent solution will be.

On the subject of risk... YOU endanger your kids every single day. You put them in cars that can be hit. You leave them with other people at school. You allow them to do a million things in their lifetime that are more likely to cause them harm than this. If you are this concerned, you should probably never leave the house ever again (although that in itself is again a risk). Maybe stay in and watch Chicken Little a few times, and you'll see that the sky isn't actually falling - this is just a tragic accident. Could more have been done to prevent it? Probably. Should Disney be blamed for this, as if they knew there was an alligator there that night and left it there? Absolutely not.

Well said!

 

[GPC0321]

I think Disney should find a way to educate its guests about the importance of not feeding the wildlife in the parks (or anywhere). Enforcement of the rule is a big part of it, but so is education. I think a lot of people think it's harmless and don't know why they shouldn't do it. I doubt it will ever be 100% stopped, but it could be cut back a lot.

I agree. It's interesting, I had to talk to my mom about feeding wildlife the other day. She's always put birdseed out for the birds. Well, soon she was basically feeding squirrels, since we all know they love birdseed. That was fine with her, "the squirrels are cute". I told her she shouldn't, and that this time of year the squirrels AND birds can find plenty to eat. But she's not feeding them because they need it, she's feeding them because "they like it" and more importantly, SHE likes seeing them in the yard. Well, then she and my dad started reporting "some weird animal" that was eating the birdseed. What they described sounded like a coyote to me, but who knows. Their eyesight isn't the best these days. Then I started hearing about the rabbit that frequented the yard. Then I saw pictures of the FOX standing right beside the birdbath in the yard. Then, one day when we were in town, she mentioned she needed to get a bag of corn "for the deer". I was like, "The WHAT?" I was later shown pictures of a deer standing next to the birdbath happily munching corn. *sigh*
Keep in mind, my parents do live in a rural area on a gravel road that winds back into wooded lots. But they have neighbors. Neighbors with children and dogs. And on top of that, maybe a quarter of a mile down the road, they've seen a bear! Plenty of bears in our area anyway, but the fact that they've seen one so recently and my mother is on a mission to feed every species of wildlife she can lure into her yard is worrisome.
This gator attack at WDW (mom loves Disney) has opened up the "feeding wildlife" issue for discussion between us, and I've convinced her that she needs to stop. Birdseed IN bird feeders, not dumped in a pile on the ground like she's been doing, is fine in the winter when they could use some help. But that's all! The squirrels, rabbits, foxes, coyotes, and bears can fend for themselves. She's reluctantly beginning to agree and see the light.
But it just goes to show. She TOTALLY agrees that people at Disney shouldn't feed the birds and other wildlife and was outraged that people were feeding gators. But she couldn't see that her activities had the potential to be just as dangerous until I explained it to her. And my mother's not some tottering old woman who has lost her sense of judgment. She still works full-time in an office and is quite sharp. She just has a soft spot for animals.
I told her if she wants to feed something, come to my place! Three horses, three dogs, two cats. Plenty to feed here! LOL.

 

[maxiesmom]

Just out of curiosity where do you plan to go that is 100% safe. (Home isn't even that)

I also would like to know what transportation method they plan on using is 100% safe. That is the problem with trying to be or go someplace perfectly safe. There is no place to go and no way to get there.

I truly hope that poster seeks out some counseling. Being that afraid is no way to live life. Once they research any place they will find the "dangers" of it. It is ok to be afraid, it is not ok to let it control you to the point you won't leave your house.

 

[GPC0321]

Honestly, there was nothing about my Disney vacation that I couldn't do without. 100 degree heat, two hour wait times, crowded transportation? The price we paid was not worth any of that. This was the most stressful vacation I ever had!

And yet, you own DVC. I'm starting to see where some of your frustration and anxiety are from. You've spent a good chunk of money to buy time-share in a place you're now scared to visit.
I hate it for you, but I'm sure you can sell the DVC. And as for only returning when Disney can "make it safe" for you, that will not happen. Because by your standards, they have to guarantee that you and your family will never encounter an alligator or snake. That's just impossible. That's impossible almost anywhere in the state of Florida. If you love Disney, you might want to consider Disneyland instead of WDW. You could even do DVC at the Grand Californian if you were so inclined.

 

[chmurf]

Why would I go to a place crawling with alligators and snakes? I'll save my $$$$ and maybe put in my own pool

more children lose their lives in private pools than on a beach at a resort hotel.

oh, and don't forget that alligators and other wildlife love private pools.

Now if you want a perfectly safe environment, don't let children (even when they're grown ups) go to bars and clubs ... so sad for the mothers and fathers of 49 people in Orlando lately ...

nearly 6000 people were killed by a firearm since the beginning of the year, but senate has rejected the gun control law. That's 1000 lives wasted each and every month. Yet we consider gun possession as a freedom. how many guests at disney conceal carry despite it being forbidden .... well it should stop with the metal detectors, but what about disney springs and resort hotels (wait, I'm not starting a gun control thread, so please don't pick it up, I'm just stating the fact that the guest next to you could carry a weapon of some sort, and you can never be sure that person has all of their marbles where they should be.
And you face the same issue at Publix, Target, Walmart or safeway (ain't that ironic)


don't let your children ever drive a car ... 32,765 people lost their lives to the blacktop. Despite the highway pattrols, despite the buckle up signs, despite the speed limit, despite speed traps, ...

death by unintentional fall : 30,208 (2013)
death by unintentional poisonning : 38,851 (2013)
sources : CDC

deaths by alligator attack in 2016 : 1 (and a 0 in 2013 for comparison)

and this goes on forever.
Compared to the risks we take, on an everyday basis, WDW is what could be called "safe".


this doesn't lessen the grief, shcok and horror felt by the little boy's family, but that's just a way to say that people overreact

 

[dizprincess717]

Well, you have confirmed what I am feeling exactly. Since alligators can get into pools, climb chain link fences, cross roads, etc., etc., my kids have never been and apparently will never be safe at Disneyworld. It was a grand illusion, my happy place, and the bubble is burst. You can have my place in line.

I'd like to know where you live. You do know of all the dangers that are all over the world, yes? Including the fact that you're more likely to get into a car accident, or even an airplane accident, than you are being attacked by a gator (or snake, spider, etc.) in Disney World. If you really won't return because of a freak accident then I feel sorry for the children who won't get to return. And it's very sad that you and other people thought that nothing could ever harm them in Disney World.