Gator grabs 2 year old at Grand Floridian?

[lockedoutlogic]

I wouldn't be surprised if those $2000 bungalows have attracted gators with people feeding them from the balcony.

What if they just feed the ducks, turtles, and fish?

Harmless, right?

 

[Delgado]

Silly in the sense they are MUCH harder to get rid of. And how not make the accessible? Place fences around all the lakes? You realize gators walk MILES. So if you fence in those lakes they will walk from other water ways and wind up out side the fence - where the people are - trying to get in? YES raise awareness. But to think that fences or limiting accessibility is going to solve the possibility of gators and men colliding is naive. Signs. CM's holding a firm line to stay out of water. AND guests being responsible for the actions and decisions THEY make.

I by no means am saying put up fences. That is ridiculous. Signs are a start but that doesnt take it far enough. The beaches should have restricted day time access. And maybe just to adults. People keep saying the the gators instincts,.but what about people. It is hot at dw, there is water. And I agree people are responsible for their actions, however in this case there wasnt sufficient provisions in place. Again, people are encouraged to be on the beaches. This is where the problem is. Disney did not give proper attention on taking care of a forseen issue. And yes it is reasonable To believe gator can attack on those beaches, I think we have all established that.

 

[mshanson3121]

Polar bears are the world's largest land carnivore...

And they have higher thought process than gators that are partying like it's 300 mil BC...

But you're telling me that the policy is "fire away"?

I'm Gonna give your people the benefit of the doubt and say that other options are explored or have been in the past.

And why are polar bears encroaching? The stupidity of another animal species...perhaps?

Ah your thought process is just like the media... Let's just grab onto parts of what was said and take it all out of context. By all means ignore completely where I said that relocating should be an option.

 

[Irish_Mike]

No one is to blame for this accident - but as the owners of the property, Disney will have to make changes to ensure this doesn't happen again.

Update signs to specifically warn of alligators, ensure that CM's are trained to keep people away from the water, etc. Sure, it takes away from the theming - but for Disney and cast members, the first and most important key is safety.

 

[ELSA711]

So was the toddler in the water or was the dad walking him on the beach? If they were not in the water then the sign argument is moot.

 

[Delgado]

As humans we took over the alligators habitat. We need to learn to live in their world, not kill them and remove them from ours. As a fellow Canadian I'm shocked and slightly disgusted at your blunt views. Dangerous animal are will always be around. Unless they pose an actual threat to someone, most of them are left alone. What it really comes down to is people need to be educated. Btw, when was the last time you saw a polar bear walk down Main Street?

December 21 when I was in florida, he was dancing. True story.

 

[Delgado]

I wouldn't be surprised if those $2000 bungalows have attracted gators with people feeding them from the balcony.

Wheres the sign that says not to feed them?

 

[Irish_Mike]

So was the toddler in the water or was the dad walking him on the beach? If they were not in the water then the sign argument is moot.

The toddler was playing in the water.

 

[jennypenny]

Why even create a beach there.

^^This.

 

[rteetz]

Wheres the sign that says not to feed them?

Unfortunately Disney doesn't have those. I would think Disney assumes people use common sense but of course people don't.

 

[rteetz]

^^This.

Because the original name of the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa was The Grand Floridian Beach Resort.

 

[mshanson3121]

If you saw them...if you weren't distracted...if you have the personality type that heeds all warnings/follows the rules...

See? Lots of variables in big/crowded spaces that are designed specifically for out of towners/no local familiarity.

So basically no rules or laws or preventative measures should exist because the minority won't follow them? How about this: If nothing else Disney should have them in place to cover their butt, because as it stands today, they are 100% legally liable.

 

[poison ivy]

There is nothing wrong with playing on the beach. That is completely allowed. However wading in the water is not. Unfortunately it seems not all CMs will stop people from doing that.

this is my point. I personally believed wading was not permitted but why and how I knew this is based on my history with the MK resorts. There is nothing today that states this and that makes the company liable IMO.

 

[rteetz]

So was the toddler in the water or was the dad walking him on the beach? If they were not in the water then the sign argument is moot.

From the info from the press conference I believe the child was in the water.

 

[cruisingtwins]

No one is to blame for this accident - but as the owners of the property, Disney will have to make changes to ensure this doesn't happen again.

Update signs to specifically warn of alligators, ensure that CM's are trained to keep people away from the water, etc. Sure, it takes away from the theming - but for Disney and cast members, the first and most important key is safety.

Disney created beaches that gave access to people to a lake with alligators that could eat your children and not even put proper warnings. Yes they are to blame.

 

[romitaz]

Holy moly! The depth of overreaction and ignorance to ONE tragic accident in the 50 years that the lagoon has been there MUST be Disney's fault! Are you kidding me?! This was a 1 in 100,000,000 tragic accident. You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning while walking down the street than getting eaten by a gator. I imagine the signage will change after this, but to blame Disney is asinine in the extreme. I guess Disney's future predicting machine was down for maintenance this week. Sheesh!

 

[rteetz]

Disney created beaches that gave access to people to a lake with alligators that could eat your children and not even put proper warnings. Yes they are to blame.

You really can't prevent an alligator from doing this in a fresh water lake in Florida. Unless you put up a solid brick wall along the water line gators could still get on land do some sort of an attack. I think a wall like that is unrealistic.

 

[Irish_Mike]

Disney created beaches that gave access to people to a lake with alligators that could eat your children and not even put proper warnings. Yes they are to blame.

In the 45 years since Disney opened, this was (according to the press report) the first instance of an alligator attack.

Should there have been better signage? Probably - but there was no precedent for Disney to imagine this happening. It's Florida, there are alligators in every body of water.

Disney is not at fault in this tragedy. If they don't make updates to increase safety, then they will be.

 

[MamaBelle4]

I can't blame anyone right now.

All I can do is sit here and cry with my one year old crawling around on the floor, playing and my 3, 5 and 7 year old playing barbies and be utterly heartbroken for the mom and dad who woke up this morning with their baby gone.

 

[ELSA711]

Just sick about this situation and my heart breaks for this family.
Now I do not feel like an over reacting / paranoid parent when I refused to let my kids stay on CBR beach alone while I filled up coffee mugs.