Changes made to resorts to make guests safer?

[JB097]

A week before my trip to WDW, the news broke about the little boy who had his life taken from him far too soon by an alligator attack, may he rest in peace. I truly cannot imagine what his family was feeling and continues to feel to this day. Aside from being broken-hearted for the family, I got scared, wondering how something like that could happen...

With my next trip approaching, I was wondering if anyone who either works for WDW, or frequents more than I, could tell me if new safety measures have been implemented to keep the alligators from taking another human life again. Fences? Signs? Anything? I haven't heard anyone speak about the alligators since a couple of years ago, so I just wanted to know what was being done about this to prevent future issues.

Thanks guys!

Definitely more fences and signs. (We did notice that the swan and dolphin did not put up a fence though. They are owned by Starwood not Disney so maybe that’s why?) My family has been going to Disney world since it opened. We grew up playing and swimming in the lake with the alligator attack. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an alligator there. (We did have to change our plans once, we couldn’t go to river country because of a mama alligator in the park!)

We have seen snakes, cats, mice, etc. all around the resorts at times though.

 

[maxiesmom]

By who? You? So your sample size of 1 means it was well known? I talked to quite a few people who didn't know back when it happened.

Everyone I spoke with was well aware of the danger. Everyone. Way up here in Michigan.

No different from knowing there are sharks in the ocean. Or lions on the savanna.

 

[sbd78]

Not sure what you are referring to here, the lakes around the Magic Kingdom are man made lakes created by Disney and Disney certainly could have chosen not to build beaches around them. A beach pretty much guarantees people are going to be hanging out by the lake.

 

[sbd78]

Everyone I spoke with was well aware of the danger. Everyone. Way up here in Michigan.

Everyone here in Illinois was not. Not saying I would ever let my kid go in the water even before this happened, but I falsely assumed gators stayed away from busy areas populated by humans.

 

[maxiesmom]

Not sure what you are referring to here, the lakes around the Magic Kingdom are man made lakes created by Disney and Disney certainly could have chosen not to build beaches around them. A beach pretty much guarantees people are going to be hanging out by the lake.

So? On the beach is not in the water. The tragedy that happened happened because the child was in the water.

 

[maxiesmom]

Everyone here in Illinois was not. Not saying I would ever let my kid go in the water even before this happened, but I falsely assumed gators stayed away from busy areas populated by humans.

Honestly curious, but have you never noticed the way home pools are totally enclosed with fencing? Did you not question why that was?

 

[mousehockey37]

Not sure what you are referring to here, the lakes around the Magic Kingdom are man made lakes created by Disney and Disney certainly could have chosen not to build beaches around them. A beach pretty much guarantees people are going to be hanging out by the lake.

You do know the swamp was there BEFORE the park, right? The animals have been there through it all.

 

[megs1313]

I'm ignoring a lot of what's been posted, but wanted to steer back to the original question a bit....

We were there in january staying at BC (which is on water) and we also visited POR (with water.) i did not notice any new fencing, but I did see a HUGE increase in signage. I'm not sure if I just missed the fencing, but I definitely was nervous walking around POR at dark. Probably because the signs had me on high alert, but still...

 

[sbd78]

You do know the swamp was there BEFORE the park, right? The animals have been there through it all.

Yes, however, the lakes around Magic Kingdom where this tragedy occurred are not what I would consider "swamps" and Disney isn't exactly new, it opened in the early 70's. Given all the years of heavy traffic and human presence, I falsely assumed gators would prefer more remote areas. Clearly I am one of the dumb people who didn't do my research and thank you for enlightening me.

 

[sbd78]

Honestly curious, but have you never noticed the way home pools are totally enclosed with fencing? Did you not question why that was?

Honestly, I thought it was because of bugs. As stated earlier though, clearly I am one of the dumb people!

 

[cruisin5]

Honestly curious, but have you never noticed the way home pools are totally enclosed with fencing? Did you not question why that was?

I never thought it was for gators as much as critters in general. I'd put one around my pool in NY if it could handle snow and ice. Hate cleaning leaves and removing dead frogs! Oh and bugs!

 

[sbd78]

So? On the beach is not in the water. The tragedy that happened happened because the child was in the water.

I don't feel building a beach which invites people (many of those people small children) to hang out by a lake infested with gators is a great idea. JMO.

ETA, the beaches are one of the things that gave me a false sense of security.

 

[JerseyJanice]

When Disney built the resort’s lakes and beaches, alligators were an endangered species. The beaches were built to provide guests with recreation like swimming, boating, etc.

Between the waste generated by the resort polluting the water and the spread of that warm freshwater organism that can kill you if gets inside your nose, they ended swimming many years ago.

Meanwhile, Florida alligators made a big comeback and found their way into Disney’s resort waters. Some years ago, I saw one in MK’s Rivers of America and thought it was an animatron at first. LOL!

AFAIK, prior to the GF tragedy, no human was ever even bit by one on Disney property. DVC builds over-the-water huts. The next thing you know, after 40 years of effective game management by Disney, a gator kills a child.

 

[mousehockey37]

Yes, however, the lakes around Magic Kingdom where this tragedy occurred are not what I would consider "swamps" and Disney isn't exactly new, it opened in the early 70's. Given all the years of heavy traffic and human presence, I falsely assumed gators would prefer more remote areas. Clearly I am one of the dumb people who didn't do my research and thank you for enlightening me.

You may want to rethink your vacation destination then, just to be on the safe side.

 

[mousehockey37]

When Disney built the resort’s lakes and beaches, alligators were an endangered species. The beaches were built to provide guests with recreation like swimming, boating, etc.

Between the waste generated by the resort polluting the water and the spread of that warm freshwater organism that can kill you if gets inside your nose, they ended swimming many years ago.

Meanwhile, Florida alligators made a big comeback and found their way into Disney’s resort waters. Some years ago, I saw one in MK’s Rivers of America and thought it was an animatron at first. LOL!

AFAIK, prior to the GF tragedy, no human was ever even bit by one on Disney property. DVC builds over-the-water huts. The next thing you know, after 40 years of effective game management by Disney, a gator kills a child.

I'll agree up to the last point. 40 years of having a park opened and never an incident, yet, a poor choice led to a child's death by an animal in its home environment.

 

[sbd78]

You may want to rethink your vacation destination then, just to be on the safe side.

LOL, why would I rethink my vacation destination? I have no intention of going near any lakes on property and I realize what happened is extraordinarily rare. I'm counter arguing for that poor family who gets criticized an dragged through the mud because of their tragedy.

 

[mousehockey37]

LOL, why would I rethink my vacation destination? I have no intention of going near any lakes on property and I realize what happened is extraordinarily rare. I'm counter arguing for that poor family who gets criticized an dragged through the mud because of their tragedy.

Gonna ride the Ferry? Gonna go round the World Showcase? Gonna be near Big Thunder?

 

[sbd78]

Gonna ride the Ferry? Gonna go round the World Showcase? Gonna be near Big Thunder?

I'm sure we have a greater chance of dying on our way to the airport and flying to Disney vs. an alligator attack while we are there.

 

[Lilsia]

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.

I live a couple of miles away from the family and have been going to WDW for over 20 years. We knew the first time that we went that there were alligators in the waters. How can you not? The alligator is the mascot for a major sports team, every pamphlet on Florida had a gator on it, etc. We all know there are alligators all over Florida. I am not bashing anyone, but saying that just because you do not live in the state does not mean you should not be aware of this. Unless you have been living under a rock. Even as a kid in the 70s the one thing we knew about Florida was the alligators!

 

[JerseyJanice]

When we stayed at Pop 2008-2010, we fed popcorn to the turtles living in Hourglass Lake. It was fun to do with the kids, but ever since this happened, I vowed never to feed wildlife again—in Florida and at home.

My heart is broken for the family. I hope it comforts them to know that their loss helped to educate the public.