Changes made to resorts to make guests safer?

[ShirikiUtundu]

Assuming we don't need to have a semantics discussing about the meaning of the word "near," it is/was safe to be near the water. It is not safe to be in the water.

 

[DLgal]

Disney didn't "bring them down to the beach" for the movie event. That was held in a grassy area adjacent to the beach. The family, on their own, decided to wade out in the water.

To answer your question, Disney has indeed created barriers to keep people out of the water. However, anyone who knows FL gators knows that these barriers are more for the humans than the gators. Gators can scale a 10" chain link fence. A few rocks and a 3' high rope fence is a laughable "gator barrier."

Stay out of the lakes, and the danger quotient is essentially 0.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Either way, I think it's good they're taking extra measures to ensure it NEVER happens again.

Never say never. There are still many swampy areas on the property, plus other water ways where alligators live. I've seen alligators under the bridge at the MK heading over to Big Thunder and the Tom Sawyer rafts. I've seen them at BCV in the water where guests walk from the parking lot to the villas. I've seen snakes lying on top of the bushes at SSR (being attacked by birds). It comes down to people being aware of their surroundings.

 

[DSLRuser]

Since 1980...I have witnessed a 6 foot alligator sunning itself in a sand trap on the magnolia golf course. A snake coiled up scared to death on the path while thousands were leaving fantasmic, and a snake on the path between the BW and Studios.

Just have to be vigilant.

 

[FSU Girl]

There are a lot of alligators in Florida. It's safe to assume ALL bodies of water (lakes, canals, etc) have an alligator in them. Disney added fences and rocks, but please be aware that alligators can easily climb over these if they so choose so it's good to always be vigilant when near water. If you do see one in the water you should report it right away to a Disney employee.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I believe that the incident happened because of the DVC bungalows that were built over the water. People were feeding the gators and that caused them to lose their fear of humans.

WDW operated with gators all around the property for 40+ years with nothing happening. The over-water huts opened, people started tossing food to the animals from their decks, and the creatures became aggressive.

Hopefully, people have been educated on dangers of feeding wildlife since then, and guests at the huts are warned not to feed the gators when they check in.

 

[rg35]

Moronic people also need to stop feeding alligators (like at Poly bungalows throwing food into the lake). This desensitizes them to humans as a potential threat and makes them more comfortable coming out into areas of human activity.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Either way, I think it's good they're taking extra measures to ensure it NEVER happens again.

There is absolutely no way to ensure that. Animals are always going to be animals.

The fences and the rocks are to keep people out of the alligator habitat. Of course, even if people don't cross over, there is still a chance that an alligator will come across the fence and rocks.

You should be vigilant when walking near bodies of water.

 

[sbd78]

Obviously people need to be aware of their surroundings, however, it did and still does make me angry when people imply this poor family is "not too bright." They are from an area that doesn't have gators. I too, am from an area that doesn't have gators. If you don't grow up around it, you don't know and I naively thought gators wouldn't populate such a busy lake in the middle of a theme park and that Disney wouldn't host events on the resort beaches if there was any danger. I mean, Disney built inviting beaches. That doesn't exactly scream, "Stay away!" Whether or not the child was actually in the water is hearsay and was never confirmed as far as I know. Gators are to people from the North a lot like what driving in a light dusting of snow is to people in the South. We chuckle about how Southern cities completely shut down and everyone freaks over a little snow but if you didn't grow up around it, how do you know?

 

[DLgal]

Whether or not the child was actually in the water is hearsay and was never confirmed as far as I know.

Actually, the investigation did reveal that the child was standing IN the water, right at the edge, but still in the water. He was attempting to fill up his bucket with water and wet sand. Those details were released and can be found online.

 

[AngiTN]

Either way, I think it's good they're taking extra measures to ensure it NEVER happens again.

Never say never. There are still many swampy areas on the property, plus other water ways where alligators live. I've seen alligators under the bridge at the MK heading over to Big Thunder and the Tom Sawyer rafts. I've seen them at BCV in the water where guests walk from the parking lot to the villas. I've seen snakes lying on top of the bushes at SSR (being attacked by birds). It comes down to people being aware of their surroundings.

There is absolutely no way to ensure that. Animals are always going to be animals.

The fences and the rocks are to keep people out of the alligator habitat. Of course, even if people don't cross over, there is still a chance that an alligator will come across the fence and rocks.

You should be vigilant when walking near bodies of water.

Exactly my thoughts.
You simply can not say it will never happen again.
You can say it will never happen the same way again but not that a gator will never approach a human again.
Florida didn't pick Gators as the mascot for their flagship State University for nothing. They are prevalent in the state and if it's water, the odds are there are gators of some size in it.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Since 1980...I have witnessed a 6 foot alligator sunning itself in a sand trap on the magnolia golf course. A snake coiled up scared to death on the path while thousands were leaving fantasmic, and a snake on the path between the BW and Studios.

Just have to be vigilant.

We've seen snakes slide into or out of the lazy river at the water parks.

 

[sbd78]

We've seen snakes slide into or out of the lazy river at the water parks.

 

[maxiesmom]

Either way, I think it's good they're taking extra measures to ensure it NEVER happens again.

There is no way to be sure it will never happen again. There is wildlife all around. Gators. Spiders. Snakes. Many things that can hurt or kill you if you are unwary. As others have tried to point out, gators can climb. The rocks are more a barrier for humans than for the gators.

Also, I'm Michigan born and raised, and I have known as far back as I can remember that there are gators in the water in Florida. I'm not blaming you for not knowing, but your not knowing had nothing to do with your being from Michigan.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

This is Fl and we have a lot of wildlife...some not so nice. Regardless of where you are staying in Fl you will encounter wildlife. Even the Orlando areas have bears. People need to stop feeding the critters, including the birds.

Just be aware of the wildlife of anyplace you visit.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

Exactly my thoughts.
You simply can not say it will never happen again.
You can say it will never happen the same way again but not that a gator will never approach a human again.
Florida didn't pick Gators as the mascot for their flagship State University for nothing. They are prevalent in the state and if it's water, the odds are there are gators of some size in it.

Flagship...I think not. There are 2 Seminole ( Florida State University) fans on this thread. Ahem

 

[Happiest.Haunt_999]

Exactly my point, Disney hosted a movie night near the water with no fencing, I would have assumed it was safe to be near the water just based off this alone.



That's really awesome to hear.



Well there certainly is no denying that aspect. I understand that wildlife cannot be tamed fully. I just was curious as to what changes had been made.



As I have mentioned multiple times, my intention on this thread was not to rip this poor family apart for the loss of their son. It's not my place to say who was wrong and who was right in this situation. At the end of the day, their baby is dead and he can't get replaced, so I think we need to be a little more compassionate. Also, I'm from Michigan, and I don't find myself as not being "bright" just because I didn't know gators lurked in the Disney waters. It needs to be more blatant and obvious. And perhaps Disney shouldn't host events down by the water.

I was born and raised in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA and knew from my first visits as a small child that Alligators live in water and in Florida, it's one of their natural habitats and would never go in the water there, not exactly rocket science. I just don't buy when people say oh I'm from "insert somewhere here that doesn't have gators" as an excuse. Seriously.

 

[Nancyg56]

Either way, I think it's good they're taking extra measures to ensure it NEVER happens again.

The only way to do that would be to erect the "Disney Bubble" that it seems some believe exists. Honestly, use common sense and you will be fine.

 

[Huff]

I understand this, but it was Disney that brought the family down to the beach area for a movie. That would have given me the impression it was safe to be near the water.

Safe NEAR the water, not IN the water. The father had taken his son wading into the water despite signs warning to stay out and no swimming allowed. Anywhere in Florida with water will have alligators. It's impossible for Disney to keep all of them out at all times. The new fences will keep most people out but there will still be some that ignore and hop over. I believe Disney has put fences at all Resort lakes.

 

[mousehockey37]

Obviously people need to be aware of their surroundings, however, it did and still does make me angry when people imply this poor family is "not too bright." They are from an area that doesn't have gators. I too, am from an area that doesn't have gators. If you don't grow up around it, you don't know and I naively thought gators wouldn't populate such a busy lake in the middle of a theme park and that Disney wouldn't host events on the resort beaches if there was any danger. I mean, Disney built inviting beaches. That doesn't exactly scream, "Stay away!" Whether or not the child was actually in the water is hearsay and was never confirmed as far as I know. Gators are to people from the North a lot like what driving in a light dusting of snow is to people in the South. We chuckle about how Southern cities completely shut down and everyone freaks over a little snow but if you didn't grow up around it, how do you know?

Research, and I'm not saying sit down and write a Doctoral thesis. It's pretty common knowledge that Gators inhabit Florida swamp land.

The problem with people and animals, is the people. It's cute to want to feed the birds. But then fish eat what the birds don't get, other bigger animals that eat those fish and birds follow them, etc... There are reasons that signs are posted saying to NOT feed the animals.

What was completely wrong was for Disney to go killing off a bunch of gators they found in the lagoon after that. Because someone let their kid thrash around in the water at dusk (thereby making it seem to a predatory animal that they were an injured meal), and the gator did its animal thing, a bunch of other gators died for no reason other than they were just in the lake. Also, a bunch of other knee jerk reactions were instituted in the parks as well (besides the fences and signs).