Disney World removes gators from shows and rides

[GPC0321]

They will be, winter is coming!

It's here! The white raven came from the Citadel with a message saying so! LOL!

Love GoT!

 

[plutotek]

Changing anything, including the jokes, is just ridiculous. People have been attacked by alligators before and just because this happened at Disney doesn't change that. Just another knee-jerk reaction.

 

[aristocatz]

Sadly, they never will be able to get away from it, since Disney, if not WDW, is everywhere. I think about that often. Especially since they have another little one, triggers could be everywhere from Halloween, to the mall, birthday parties, the news, a movie ... they can't live here with a young child and not be constantly exposed to Disney.

Sadly, that is very true

 

[GPC0321]

Changing anything, including the jokes, is just ridiculous. People have been attacked by alligators before and just because this happened at Disney doesn't change that. Just another knee-jerk reaction.

A two-year old child was taken by a gator and dragged to his death in the Seven Seas Lagoon within sight of the Magic Kingdom. That's a heck of a lot different than "people have been attacked by alligators before". It's the fact that it was a child killed by one right there in the middle of Disney World, literally snatched out of his father's hands.

Come on. There's no way that keeping a joke about "watching your children because the crocodiles sure are" is appropriate at the theme park sitting just on the other side of the lagoon where that little boy was killed. It was funny for years because it wasn't a reality that your kid COULD get eaten by a croc/gator at Disney World. Now that it's a reality, the joke ceases to be a "joke". It's no longer funny.

The rest of the stuff I think is just erring to the side of caution and sensitivity. They might reinstate Tic Toc in the parade and Louis in the castle show eventually, but if not, I doubt anyone's trip will be ruined by these elements being taken out.

 

[bcla]

A two-year old child was taken by a gator and dragged to his death in the Seven Seas Lagoon within sight of the Magic Kingdom. That's a heck of a lot different than "people have been attacked by alligators before". It's the fact that it was a child killed by one right there in the middle of Disney World, literally snatched out of his father's hands.

Come on. There's no way that keeping a joke about "watching your children because the crocodiles sure are" is appropriate at the theme park sitting just on the other side of the lagoon where that little boy was killed. It was funny for years because it wasn't a reality that your kid COULD get eaten by a croc/gator at Disney World. Now that it's a reality, the joke ceases to be a "joke". It's no longer funny.

The possibility was always there. There was a reported case of a kid being attacked in the 80s. What we have now is an actual incident of death on top of an attack.

There's no particular evidence that this kid was eaten. I believe the body was found unconsumed.

 

[GPC0321]

The possibility was always there. There was a reported case of a kid being attacked in the 80s. What we have now is an actual incident of death on top of an attack.

There's no particular evidence that this kid was eaten. I believe the body was found unconsumed.

The gator took the child. They don't eat their prey immediately, they let it decompose for a few days first. Without getting any more graphic, the intentions of the gator when it grabbed the boy are pretty clear. And if they hadn't found him when they did, they may never have.

Bottom line, the joke on Jungle Cruise is no longer funny. Some would argue that most of the jokes on Jungle Cruise have never been funny to start with, but the one they've removed would be considered inappropriate in the wake of the tragedy. At the very least it would make people feel awkward, and in many cases people might be openly offended.

I mean, would you want to tell jokes indicating crocs or gators are "keeping an eye on your children" at Disney World? I wouldn't.

 

[Ndusmama]

The parents of the little boy who died? I'm sure they feel nothing about the removal. Their little boy died in the most horrible way anyone could imagine. I'm sure they never want to think or hear about anything WDW related ever again.

As far as my own opinion, if this is true, I"m going to guess that the decision is both temporary and necessary from a PR standpoint.

Sadly, they never will be able to get away from it, since Disney, if not WDW, is everywhere. I think about that often. Especially since they have another little one, triggers could be everywhere from Halloween, to the mall, birthday parties, the news, a movie ... they can't live here with a young child and not be constantly exposed to Disney.

I didn't mean in a way like they would HATE Disney. I meant more in a way of do they possibly blame Disney or just consider it a horrible freak accident. from everything I have read the parents do not seem like vengeful or hateful people who would want their horrible experience to ruin all the things of Disney that are Disney. Hopefully sometime in the future they will be able to look back at his last few days and have some happy memories. Again someday, because you never truly get over losing a child.

Either way it was a horrible accident and some alligator and crocidile references should be removed. The jungle cruise joke just isn't funny any more now that it has happened that close. If they remove tic toc from Peter Pan....that I feel is just too much. But they also need to let guests know about the dangers while still maintaining that Disney Magic. It's a tough line of what is too much and what is not enough. Obviously before Lane it was not enough.

 

[tiffany polito]

My first reaction to Disney's announcement of taking out Louis and Tick Tock Crock was this is utterly ridiculous. And in that same second I felt like such a horrible mom too. I want to be sensitive but I don't want people to lose their minds either. It's such a balancing act. One of my FAVORITE characters is Louis and my ALL TIME FAVORITE DISNEY MOVIE is Peter Pan so to hear them taking them out of the show or parade upset me. Especially since I don't get to see Louis steal much limelight very often. I just keep thinking the kids know these characters! Everyone does. No one is confusing them with a real alligator. But the more I thought about it from a child's perspective the more I could see why it might be necessary for right now. I don't really buy into that they might be actually frightened of the characters themselves but I do think that seeing them brings to their conscious mind maybe something that was tucked away in their unconscious which is a scary conversation they overheard from their parents or visitors while at their stay about a gator who dragged a child away. Now they might start looking for one in the bushes or waterways at disney as they walk or ride by or worse yet start imagining things that just aren't there when while they are at Disney they should be just soaking up the magic. So for now maybe taking them out makes sense. But I have to say if they go on the Peter Pan ride they are going to to see that Tick Tock Crock anyways. And he is trying to eat Captain Hook.....

I do hope the characters will be allowed to come back. Maybe a year off is an appropriate time to let the talk die down. I think we all know that a year will never be enough time for that poor family to ever recover. I am a local, have gone to the same beach on the lagoon but at the Polynesian to watch the boat parade at night (but never in the summer because I hate the heat) and even though I have grown up here and should "know better" as so many posters have said it in recent weeks never occurred to me even once that there could be something lurking in that water. Of course you could not have paid me to put my big toe in that green mess either but I always thought since it was man made and it was at Disney we were in a bubble of safety. It never felt real. I am sure that family from out of State never considered there was a killing machine lurking there either or that it was mating season or that gators feed at night. I just don't know what they will do as their 4 year old daughter gets older and of course bumps up against Disney culture. What a difficult situation.

 

[shaunbabka]

Anyone have a pic of pp at the end with just hook? Are his legs still spread wide open?

How about the ticking? They remove the too?

 

[GPC0321]

The one thing I can say is that I doubt anyone here has experienced what that family did, having their child literally ripped from their hands by an alligator and dragged away to his death. The horror of that scenario is one that thankfully most parents do not ever have to face. People lose children in all sorts of tragic ways, and I'm not trivializing any of those other ways at all. My parents lost a son and I a brother, my uncle lost a daughter, my cousin lost a daughter...losing children is unthinkable. But losing one like this? I cannot even wrap my head around it. Watching a wild animal drag your child into the dark depths of a lagoon? And not just any lagoon, a lagoon in the middle of Disney World. They literally were having the time of their lives and in the blink of an eye they were living a nightmare I don't think anyone here can imagine.

The more I read people saying it's "ridiculous" to remove the joke and characters, the more I wonder. How insensitive are we becoming that just weeks after a child is killed by an alligator at Disney, people are whining that Disney is removing one character from a parade, one from a castle show, and one joke from an attraction. Seriously? We can't tolerate those very small omissions out of respect for a dead child and his grieving family?

 

[GPC0321]

Anyone have a pic of pp at the end with just hook? Are his legs still spread wide open?

How about the ticking? They remove the too?

They haven't removed Tic Toc Croc from Peter Pan's Flight. Just from the Festival of Fantasy parade.

 

[Rose DiVerona]

I think removing the joke from JC makes perfect sense, especially given how eerily similar it is to what happened. As for removing Tick Tock Croc and Louis--overreaction? Possibly, but I do think it makes sense for now. Honestly, no one's vacation is going to be impacted in any significant way by these changes. And I doubt they will be permanent anyways. Disney just wants to be respectful of the tragedy. We may never hear the alligator joke on JC again, but I do think the rest will reappear at some point. If they began removing animatronics from the rides, yes, that would be going overboard. But I haven't seen any real indication they are planning to do so.

 

[plutotek]

A two-year old child was taken by a gator and dragged to his death in the Seven Seas Lagoon within sight of the Magic Kingdom. That's a heck of a lot different than "people have been attacked by alligators before". It's the fact that it was a child killed by one right there in the middle of Disney World, literally snatched out of his father's hands.

Come on. There's no way that keeping a joke about "watching your children because the crocodiles sure are" is appropriate at the theme park sitting just on the other side of the lagoon where that little boy was killed. It was funny for years because it wasn't a reality that your kid COULD get eaten by a croc/gator at Disney World. Now that it's a reality, the joke ceases to be a "joke". It's no longer funny.

The rest of the stuff I think is just erring to the side of caution and sensitivity. They might reinstate Tic Toc in the parade and Louis in the castle show eventually, but if not, I doubt anyone's trip will be ruined by these elements being taken out.

As I said, just because it happened at Disney doesn't make it any more or less horrific. And, yes, the jokes are STILL funny.

 

[CPanther95]

Take away the jokes and any images for 30 days or so while the incident is raw - and out of respect for the family. After that, try to get back to normal. Extend it only if you get feedback that guests are disturbed.

But it doesn't seem reasonable to permanently wipe out all alligator/croc references in the parks - especially when the real thing is going to remain, and the "joke" is actually something the parents involved in this terrible tragedy would likely be telling anyone who would listen.

 

[Missy1961]

As I said, just because it happened at Disney doesn't make it any more or less horrific. And, yes, the jokes are STILL funny.

Maybe the jokes are still funny to some people, but I bet I'm not alone when I say they're not funny to me anymore.

 

[JenM]

I could not agree more. I'm glad they are erring on the side of sensitivity. The joke on the Jungle Cruise is a total no-brainer, given that this event happened on the grounds. What is hilarious to me is people suddenly acting like their vacations are ruined because apparently the gator references are absolutely essential to the Walt Disney World theme park experience. I wouldn't have even noticed most of these if I had not read about them.

That was exactly my thought.

Is Disney overreacting? Maybe. But when it comes to a situation like this I suppose it is better to overreact than be underreact and be labeled unsensitive.

Are people overreacting about Disney's overreacting? Absolutely. The only way the changes that Disney is (allegedly) making will affect anyone's enjoyment of the parks is if people want it to affect their enjoyment of the parks. These are extremely minor changes in the grand scheme of things.

I could not agree more. I'm glad they are erring on the side of sensitivity. The joke on the Jungle Cruise is a total no-brainer, given that this event happened on the grounds. What is hilarious to me is people suddenly acting like their vacations are ruined because apparently the gator references are absolutely essential to the Walt Disney World theme park experience. I wouldn't have even noticed most of these if I had not read about them.

Agreed. This incident had WDW in the news for the most terrible of reasons, and I understand their reasoning for easing back on the gator jokes and references until some time has passed and this horrible thing is not so fresh in people's minds. I can't imagine it's all permanent, but I understand.

A family left WDW without their baby a few weeks ago. I think the rest of us will get through a Disney trip without a dancing alligator in a parade for a little while.

 

[handinpocket]

Maybe the jokes are still funny to some people, but I bet I'm not alone when I say they're not funny to me anymore.

Of course, there are people that will be offended over anything, the DIS proves that.

 

[GPC0321]

As I said, just because it happened at Disney doesn't make it any more or less horrific. And, yes, the jokes are STILL funny.

It isn't about being more or less horrific, it's about how it affects Disney. Had a child been killed by a gator in another state or even another part of Florida, the joke and characters probably would stay put, and there wouldn't be signs and fences on the beaches. But one cannot ignore the very important fact that it DID happen on Disney property, and therefore DISNEY will make adjustments. It didn't just affect that one family, it affected Walt Disney World as a whole. It would be completely inappropriate for them to make a joke out of crocodiles watching people's children when one was killed right there on their property by an alligator.

If you and others can't see that, I don't know what else to say.

 

[JenM]

Of course, there are people that will be offended over anything, the DIS proves that.

I wouldn't say I'm offended...my reaction is more of a 'yikes, maybe not a good time right now' to some of those jokes right now.

No, you can't hide away all of the terrible things that happen in the world. The crocodile joke on the Jungle Cruise IS funny. But I understand why they're not using it right now (or if they take it out permanently). They don't want anything that may remind people of a tragedy that just happened on their property, especially on a ride that's supposed to make you laugh.

 

[GPC0321]

Of course, there are people that will be offended over anything, the DIS proves that.

It's not about "being offended" by the joke. It's about recognizing that it's a joke insinuating something that just is NOT funny given that a 2 year old boy was just snatched out of his parents' hands and killed by an alligator literally right across from the Magic Kingdom.

I wouldn't be "offended" by the joke, but I'd think it was pretty crass of Disney World to continue to make that joke in light of what happened.

The fact that people are even arguing about the removal of the joke boggles my mind.