Disney will post Alligator warning signs and fences

[Accident]

I had a chance to see the new fences yesterday. I kind of like them, they fit the nautical theme with the ropes, they aren't a false sense of security that looks like it would be safe to have between you and the water. They don't really block the view.

EDIT TO ADD: I think they will look even better after a month or so with the rain and sun where they can weather into that greyish color.

 

[STLstone]

I had a chance to see the new fences yesterday. I kind of like them, they fit the nautical theme with the ropes, they aren't a false sense of security that looks like it would be safe to have between you and the water. They don't really block the view.

That's good to hear. Maybe everyone can be appeased. Putting up a "reminder" style fence (not an impenetrable barrier), signage and an insert with your check-in documentation is enough for me absolve Disney of their responsibility. After that, people are on their own.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I had a chance to see the new fences yesterday. I kind of like them, they fit the nautical theme with the ropes, they aren't a false sense of security that looks like it would be safe to have between you and the water. They don't really block the view.

I thought the same thing from the pictures..
Rope style fences similar to what's around some of the dock areas or in the parks....

Not too bad at all.

And once the dust settles...if people want to stick their toes in the sand (which they will) in a reasonable manner during the DAY...then Disney has done their part

I wonder about the "beach" at beach club though...lots of money spent on that sand...what there?

 

[STLstone]

I thought the same thing from the pictures..
Rope style fences similar to what's around some of the dock areas or in the parks....

Not too bad at all.

And once the dust settles...if people want to stick their toes in the sand (which they will) in a reasonable manner during the DAY...then Disney has done their part

I wonder about the "beach" at beach club though...lots of money spent on that sand...what there?

If people do that (again), may God have mercy the opinion I will form of them.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

If people do that (again), may God have mercy the opinion I will form of them.

It's not the slightest but debatable...

It will happen...soon...and frequently...

And a likely excuse will be "I'm from Connecticut...we don't have gators...and I cut my cable and didn't have CNN in June 2016"

 

[Accident]

If people do that (again), may God have mercy the opinion I will form of them.

How many millions of people did this over 45 years safely? It's ok if you feel safer for you and your family avoiding all water edges completely than you should do that and keep everyone safe. i'm comfortable with how to stay safe around alligators and the other local wildlife and have no problems doing things some might cringe doing.

This wasn't said before but I'm a strong believer that it was the resort rooms over the water at poly and the guests who didn't know to not feed them (although a law, and ignorance of the law wouldn't hold up in court if a cm actually alerted authorities) which changed their behavior and made beaches = food. I think they did an excellent job and continue to do a really good complete search for alligators currently in the lakes and waterways around property (which the law allows them to remove. Also in case someone takes this statement that it's safe. Florida law doesn't allow smaller alligators to be removed unless they aren't a problem or risk to someone. This isn't a purging of the alligators.

 

[STLstone]

How many millions of people did this over 45 years safely? It's ok if you feel safer for you and your family avoiding all water edges completely than you should do that and keep everyone safe. i'm comfortable with how to stay safe around alligators and the other local wildlife and have no problems doing things some might cringe doing.

This wasn't said before but I'm a strong believer that it was the resort rooms over the water at poly and the guests who didn't know to not feed them (although a law, and ignorance of the law wouldn't hold up in court if a cm actually alerted authorities) which changed their behavior and made beaches = food. I think they did an excellent job and continue to do a really good complete search for alligators currently in the lakes and waterways around property (which the law allows them to remove. Also in case someone takes this statement that it's safe. Florida law doesn't allow smaller alligators to be removed unless they aren't a problem or risk to someone. This isn't a purging of the alligators.

The point is, they weren't doing it safely. They were just lucky.

Many people more knowledgeable than me have pointed out it was never safe to be in that water - even before the bungalows. Look through these forums for countless people that have said "everyone in Florida knows you don't go near fresh water."

 

[ParkHoppers]

Two signs that are almost impossible to ignore are beware of sharks and beware of gators. I will always believe that poor child would be alive today if a simple gator warning sign was present. Arguing about the no swimming sign being enough is just a joke.

 

[romitaz]

The point is, they weren't doing it safely. They were just lucky.

Many people more knowledgeable than me have pointed out it was never safe to be in that water - even before the bungalows. Look through these forums for countless people that have said "everyone in Florida knows you don't go near fresh water."

To be 100% safe from an alligator, yes you need to stay away from the water. The thing is, this was a freak accident on both the gator and the parents part. We live in close proximity to many many alligators, yet it is extremely rare to have one attack. Of the tens of millions of people that enter the water in the South every year we get what? An average of about 9 attacks per year. All through the South. Of those, there have been three deaths from alligators in the last 10 years in Florida. An average of 70 people per year die from spiders. FYI

As a side note, there are now warning signs going up all over the South. There hasn't been an alligator death in Louisiana in forever yet now towns are putting up signs everywhere. I'll throw more tidbits at you, there has been a total of 1 death by an alligator attack in 200 years in Texas which has a very large population of alligators. There have been 2 deaths in Louisiana, which has the largest alligator population. Just some more random facts about the alligator.

 

[Dean Marino]

Just personal opinion - I'm not right, no one else is wrong...

Opinion: WDW is in full tilt lawyer mode. WDW lawyers have already assumed a high probability of financial loss over the CURRENT incident. The lawyers are now having a hey-day to prevent future litigation. ehhhhh, not exactly the same as preventing any future alligator incidents . Far MORE geared toward financial protection for WDW when/if these occur.

Something worth sharing.... has anyone looked at the State of Fl LAWS concerning alligators? I'll post the pertinent one here - without comment. I will quote a relevant passage....

"It is unlawful to intentionally kill, injure, possess, or capture, or attempt to kill, injure, possess, or capture, an alligator or other crocodilian, or the eggs of an alligator or other crocodilian, unless authorized by the rules of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Any person who violates this section is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084"

https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2012/379.409

WDW operates in the State of Fl. If anyone thought they could just exterminate the alligators? Welll - they don't have that authority. They can not even CAPTURE one without the legal approval of the State of Fl.

Again, all opinion - currently? The lawyers are in charge of Park/Hotel design.

 

[Accident]

My understanding it's the insurance company that takes the hit if there is any type of payout (and assumed liability).

In my opinion, Disney is in a don't leave, still come mode if I had to guess. Everything was pointing to a very light summer and adding this to the start of it I'm sure isn't helping.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

In my opinion, Disney is in a don't leave, still come mode if I had to guess. Everything was pointing to a very light summer and adding this to the start of it I'm sure isn't helping.

I agree completely!! I even posted on Facebook that everyone who wants to go should log in and search for hotels, because I'm betting they will get a pin-code right about now.

 

[TuneTownMagic]

I have been following the developments on this incident at Disney closely and reading much of the forum discussion on this topic on Dis. I just want to briefly say I cannot imagine what the family of Lane is experiencing and this alligator incident with him is a horrible tragedy. My thoughts are with them. I don't place blame on anybody; as others have pointed out, this was a terrible accident and it isn't fair to place blame on any party for what is a very rare occurrence.

I apologize if this has been covered, but I did not see it in research that I did of media coverage on the subject: along with these new signs and rope fences, will there be signs in the direct vicinity of the bungalows that stand in the water (from which sources claimed people were feeding gators?) I wonder if there will be signs in or right outside those resort structures to dissuade guests from dropping food to gators? I liked the idea a few mentioned about letting guests know at the beginning of their stay that a fine and/or removal from property would be consequences.

 

[Accident]

I apologize if this has been covered, but I did not see it in research that I did of media coverage on the subject: along with these new signs and rope fences, will there be signs in the direct vicinity of the bungalows that stand in the water (from which sources claimed people were feeding gators?) I wonder if there will be signs in or right outside those resort structures to dissuade guests from dropping food to gators? I liked the idea a few mentioned about letting guests know at the beginning of their stay that a fine and/or removal from property would be consequences.

All we know is disney has said they are reviewing everything procedure and signage wise and snake/aligator signs have started to appear, especially around GF. I think we'll be seeing something about feeding them in certain places but that's just my thought and nothing concrete or reported about that happening.

and feeding a gator is a crime in florida, it's not just removal from property, it would be a bigger deal if caught and reported to authorities that someone harassed or fed an alligator (without the proper permits/license to do so)

 

[NYUBwayBaby]

I apologize if this has been covered, but I did not see it in research that I did of media coverage on the subject: along with these new signs and rope fences, will there be signs in the direct vicinity of the bungalows that stand in the water (from which sources claimed people were feeding gators?) I wonder if there will be signs in or right outside those resort structures to dissuade guests from dropping food to gators? I liked the idea a few mentioned about letting guests know at the beginning of their stay that a fine and/or removal from property would be consequences.

I think someone posted a pic over on the Poly thread that had a "warning- gator/snakes do not feed" sign on the balcony (porch?) of the bungalows, but I'm not sure if that was there earlier or a recent addition.
Edit: Here's the post

 

[wdwrule]

Just personal opinion - I'm not right, no one else is wrong...

Opinion: WDW is in full tilt lawyer mode. WDW lawyers have already assumed a high probability of financial loss over the CURRENT incident. The lawyers are now having a hey-day to prevent future litigation. ehhhhh, not exactly the same as preventing any future alligator incidents . Far MORE geared toward financial protection for WDW when/if these occur.

Something worth sharing.... has anyone looked at the State of Fl LAWS concerning alligators? I'll post the pertinent one here - without comment. I will quote a relevant passage....

"It is unlawful to intentionally kill, injure, possess, or capture, or attempt to kill, injure, possess, or capture, an alligator or other crocodilian, or the eggs of an alligator or other crocodilian, unless authorized by the rules of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Any person who violates this section is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084"

https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2012/379.409

WDW operates in the State of Fl. If anyone thought they could just exterminate the alligators? Welll - they don't have that authority. They can not even CAPTURE one without the legal approval of the State of Fl.

Again, all opinion - currently? The lawyers are in charge of Park/Hotel design.

But you can hunt alligators for eating purposes right? I know many like their burgers and chicken tenders at WDW but alligator dishes would be good!

 

[NYUBwayBaby]

Okay, so that sign that I previously linked to looks new, but on Tikiman's facebook page there's another balcony sign listing "Don't feed the wildlife" as one of the rules.

 

[romitaz]

But you can hunt alligators for eating purposes right? I know many like their burgers and chicken tenders at WDW but alligator dishes would be good!

If I'm not mistaken, they raise alligators at The Land pavilion. I would assume this is for food purposes. As far as wild gators, there is a permit and a season for them. Alligator, prepared right, is good eating.

 

[romitaz]

Okay, so that sign that I previously linked to looks new, but on Tikiman's facebook page there's another balcony sign listing "Don't feed the wildlife" as one of the rules.

Wait, was this before or after?

 

[NYUBwayBaby]

Wait, was this before or after?

I haven't been able to find out yet. I'm gonna go rewatch some video tours of these when it first opened and keep and eye out for it, but it's, like, a themed sign that also talks about keeping the door shut and not sitting on the railing. It's not the same "WARNING GATORS" sign.