Gator grabs 2 year old at Grand Floridian?

Status
Not open for further replies.
That's a textbook answer...but it is incorrect.

I would want them to keep
Searching until the efforts are exhausted...I wouldn't want a "clean sweep" of the animals in the area.

Perhaps I would want them to find the animal to study it...maybe implement radio tracking as part of their control program...but not for the purposes of the funeral home.

It's awful and the psychological scars aren't going away for those people. What really does it matter at this point.
What does it matter at this point? Really? You are right it is awful but I don't think you even remotely understand the magnitude of what does it matter at this point.
 
About 12 years ago, I worked on a project in the MK. I was walking with an Imagineer near the Splash Mountain bridge at Rivers of America and we saw guests feeding Turkey Leg scraps to a small gator. The imagineer told me that they have trappers that come in and sweep the water ways at the park. They hauled off a larger one and a week later it was back. I believe the trapper disposed of that one.

Last fall, I took this photo at the same bridge. Keep in mind there are regulations and federal laws protecting the alligators. Disney can't arbitrarily kill gators at will. They got into trouble years ago killing predatory birds at Discovery Island.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpeg
    image.jpeg
    27.9 KB · Views: 235
It's not an overestimation to extend a restriction on a sign. "No swimming" doesn't cut it. I don't wade in the water, but that family at the very least should have been better warned.
Agreed! And I find it incredible there was no cm to warn them.
 
I would 100% want a clean sweep. A deadly animal like that has no place in WDW. I fully understand they can't control it 100%, but in a case like this - yes, kill them all. It'll at least reduce the risk a bit for another family.

They are federally protected. They can relocate nuisance ones but it is against federal law.
 

This is so sad, can't imagine the pain the family is in. And on vacation no less....

Not to be insensitive to the situation, but I'm wondering if this makes the Poly Bungalows (and their enormous cost in points/$$) a little less attractive. And what about the new construction over or around the water over at WL? Before this, lodging by the water was thought to be desirable , is it a little less so today?
 
About 12 years ago, I worked on a project in the MK. I was walking with an Imagineer near the Splash Mountain bridge at Rivers of America and we saw guests feeding Turkey Leg scraps to a small gator. The imagineer told me that they have trappers that come in and sweep the water ways at the park. They hauled off a larger one and a week later it was back. I believe the trapper disposed of that one.

Last fall, I took this photo at the same bridge. Keep in mind there are regulations and federal laws protecting the alligators. Disney can't arbitrarily kill gators at will. They got into trouble years ago killing predatory birds at Discovery Island.

Not true on gators anymore. They have completely rebounded and are not protected from killing (well, they have to be over 4 foot and considered a threat). Just have to have authorized trappers.
 
Someone reported they removed the hammocks from Carribean Beach Resort. Looks like they will be discouraging people from going into the beaches or maybe prohibiting it.
 
/
I suspect there will be a sign change - but as for having a CM on the beach well that poses other issues. How many folks would see a CM sitting on the beach for the sole purpose of telling folks to stay out of the water as a waste of money and comment about ticket prices increasing? And they would need more that one CM patrolling to cover the total area. This was an accident. A very sad and tragic one. As a mom of 3 my heart breaks for this boy and his family.
 
Of course Disney can control scent in a theme park because for the most part they have control over that. Theme parks are predominantly artificial environments, not a natural environment.
WDW is reclaimed swamp land with a lot of water. Alligators live in that water, they can't be controlled. They are wild animals, and they can't be 100% controlled, it's just not possible. Five thousand warning signs probably wouldn't stop everyone from going near the water. Signs are like the security at theme prk gates: they are deterrents, they are not absolute guarantees to safety.

Of course they know alligators are there, and believe me they do a lot in corporation with state and local authorities to keep tabs on the wildlife population, and handle them as they become aware of individual animals.

This is not Disneys fault, this is not the family's fault. This was a horrible accident.

I get the theme parks are artificial, that was one example.
Disney works to control mosquitos.

We are going to have to agree to disagree. You will never convince me disney is not responsible. You don't show a movie by a lagoon for children at night. Just because this child was ankle deep in water doesn't release disney of responsibility. They created a hostile situation, they let people sit on those beaches. You don't have to be on the water for an alligator to attack. You usually aren't.
They encourage people to partake in water activities without informing them.
At the end of May/June there was not a soul of a cm on that beach to help anyone that needed it.
 
I hate that it takes a tragedy to get something as simple as basic signage improved. They KNEW guests were wading in the water!

Florida residents and frequent visitors to Florida know very well that every lake in Florida is a potential home to alligators. I have often thought to myself while walking along waterways at WDW that the signs saying no swimming should also say "no wading" and have a drawing of an alligator on them. That should keep 99.9% of people away. No swimming just isn't enough.

Agreed! And I find it incredible there was no cm to warn them.

Have you been to the grand floridian? There is so much shoreline. Only one or two CMs running an outdoor film event, and nothing like this has ever happened before at WDW. I have seen a hundred people wading or walking at the water's edge at WDW. And there's a lot of waterside walkways with no warning signs.

I can easily see how a family from Nebraska, especially if first timers, might not realize that every lake is a possible alligator home.
 
Sorry if this was posted before...

I've seen kids knee deep in the water @ the GF and cast members walk by numerous times without saying anything.

While Disney cannot totally control nature, you'd think that if the area was really meant not to have anyone enter the water, that the cast members would be trained to vigilantly tell people not to enter if they see it. I'm not saying having a guard there, but if you're walking by and see unsafe behavior, say something.

I mean, come on, i had a random cast member walk up to me in the park and tell me that my FCUK shirt was offensive and i needed to turn it inside out...you'd expect that if there was something seriously unsafe enough for a sign to warn people that the human cast members would say something/
 
Exactly. Because I'm Canadian, and I'm fully aware of the power of dangerous wildlife, I quite frankly, could give a rat's butt about them. Any dangerous animal found within WDW property poses a threat to it's guests and needs to be either relocated or killed. It's how we deal with things up here in Canada. You think that when polar bears come wandering down Main Street, we just let it be?

...but that doesnt happen too much when you're not horribly overdeveloped/overcrowded, does it?

I'm not blaming any party on this one...there is some negligence though.
 
The press conference questions show how the media can add things to a story. Questions like what is the name of the lake? How long is the family there? When did they check in? Is the trip an annual event?

Is that really necessary?

Actually the question about this being an annual trip is very important. It can lead to a defense of prior knowledge of the area, etc.

Still scary and horrific, but being in the water after dark, even if just wading.....
 
Florida residents and frequent visitors to Florida know very well that every lake in Florida is a potential home to alligators. I have often thought to myself while walking along waterways at WDW that the signs saying no swimming should also say "no wading" and have a drawing of an alligator on them. That should keep 99.9% of people away. No swimming just isn't enough.



Have you been to the grand floridian? There is so much shoreline. Only one or two CMs running an outdoor film event, and nothing like this has ever happened before at WDW. I have seen a hundred people wading or walking at the water's edge at WDW. And there's a lot of waterside walkways with no warning signs.

I can easily see how a family from Nebraska, especially if first timers, might not realize that every lake is a possible alligator home.
Yea I have, but disney can afford to place as many cms as needed. They have encouraged people to be at that beach area in many different ways. Putting cms there is the least thry can do.

And its no just gf. They have many many resorts they need to revisit. Poly,wilderness, cb, the list goes on they all need to be made safer. I dont care if that means bursting bubbles with gator and bacteria pamplets. Disney can do so much more.
 
People have been bringing up jet skis. I can't say I've ever seen single person jet skis out on the water and don't even know if they have them available. Disney does have two person sea raycers that are similar to a jet ski but more like a small boat. I really don't think Disney rents out single person jet skis. They might have in the past but haven't for a few years at least.
 
I'm sorry, but there is no reason to this having happened. Signs are posted and information in your room about not going in the water. People need to take responsibility for themselves and their family.
 
My kids have played in lots of beaches at disney resorts along with many other children there were always children playing int he water. I'm sick to my stomach just thinking about this. I think this is 100% disney's fault. They should have not created beaches along an alligator infested lake. The damn lagoon was a stupid idea in the first place. Getting out of MK is such a pain because of the damn thing.
 
I'm sorry, but there is no reason to this having happened. Signs are posted and information in your room about not going in the water. People need to take responsibility for themselves and their family.

The signs are about swimming not wading. Not everyone is a native floridian and knows the dangers of gators. The first time I took my kids to CBR a CM told me it was ok for the kids to put their feet in the water.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

PixFuture Display Ad Tag












Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE














DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter

Back
Top