Heartbreaking news...a big reminder to be aware of wildlife on property

[kkayluvsdis]

This is so tragic; the child has not been found yet please take extra precaution with your little ones!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...-dragged-alligator-disney-20160614-story.html

I am so heartbroken at this news Sending thoughts and prayers. ..

 

[dawgsgirl]

If the waters are so dangerous, why does Disney have those nice beaches? And a No Swimming sign is a lot different from a stay out of the water sign. Just my $.02. What a terrible tragedy.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Of course, the parents will sue! I honestly can't believe that there are alligators on property and I don't know if there were "Beware of alligators" signs out. People go out to that beach believing that it's safe, so I think that there's some liability there.

But this got me shook. I remember staying at the Port Orleans-Riverside resort and a bullfrog took up residence there last year. I thought that it was a part of the ambience, but then I saw some CMs seeking it out to remove it from the property. And I remember saying to the family that if a bullfrog can take up residence, then what would stop an alligator. This is simply tragic!

You cannot prevent wildlife from entering. There are gators, poisionious snakes, tons of small wild critters like squirrels, opossums, various bugs, deer, possibility even fox, coyotes & bears as they are in surrounding areas outside of Disney. Disney is not in a bubble, it may be advertised as Magical but it's real and you cannot prevent nature from existing

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

This is truly horrific. I feel such a niave British tourist. It did not occur to me there could be gators in the lagoon. I thought it was a sealed body of water. How foolish this could have happened to anyone.

 

[MindyDean]

Uhm... Is this common knowledge?
I consider myself pretty Disney Educated but would've bet money on the fact that there are no gators in the Seven Seas Lagoon...
Yes, I am aware it's Floriday, yes, I am aware Disneybis mainly build on swamp land but I am also aware that it is a man made lagoon.. So...

I just wouldn't expect gators on Property (especially not around the GF or other resorts)...

Wow... How absolutely heartbreaking :/ I would've never expected this to be a possibility... And I am overly cautious and won't even let my kids play alone in the backyard (they are 5 and 7) for the fear of them getting hurt or whatever...

We have seen many alligators at Fort Wilderness Campground. Not very big ones, but an alligator none the less. I have never seen a sign that said "Beware of gators" This situation is just gut wrenching to me as a parent. Prayers for all.

 

[jsrj21]

I got goosebumps as I heard the news last night. Ironic that as I heard the news, I was working on fastpass selections for our upcoming trip in August. My heart sank as I couldn't imagine this happening and what that poor family must be going through....

Let's be real, if there's a body of fresh water, there is a very good chance of alligators inhabiting it....man-made or not. In my years going to WDW, I've only seen them at CBR and Coronado.

Words cannot describe this...what a week for Orlando my goodness.

 

[pmaurer74]

I imagine they will change the signs and maybe add some barriers but I heard those would not keep gators out but perhaps deter people? I saw kids wading in that water all the time and it worried me. I do not let my kids touch the water or go near shrubbery but mainly due to snakes not gators and not knowing what is in the water. (mainly because I spend too much time on these boards and have heard about snake bites before) In ten trips I have never seen a gator. I knew they were on property though and have read recent reports of them being near Splash Mountain. My heart breaks for this family. What a terrible accident. I do not see how you can keep alligators 100% out.

 

[lynch34]

Gators need Splash Mountain? Where?

This is such an awful tragedy. I don't know what can be done but the beaches should be a thing of the past.

 

[king kamehameha]

A few years back we were sitting on the Poly beach at dusk and spotted a rather large alligator lurking about 10 yards just off the beach looking directly at the shoreline. I approached a woman who was letting her kids play in the water and I showed her the alligator and she pulled her kids from the water. Like others have said...It's Florida and there are gators there, but we are from Massachusetts and are not gator savvy. We assumed that Disney property would be a safe place. I reported it to the bartender at the pool and was surprised when he had no reaction at all and said "there are lots of them in the lagoon". He also said they can't touch them until they are a certain size! Shocking to us northerners. I can't even imagine going on a family vacation to Disney World and having this happen. My heart goes out to this family. So tragic! THIS IS NOT MY PHOTO . It was posted on "TIKIMAN'S" site a few months ago.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

My heart truly does break for this family, please don't get me wrong. I see so many who plan snd research their trip, they want the perfect room, the best time for dining seating, fast pass for hard to get attractions but they don't stop to think about safety. They don't research the environment they are going into. They will ask 6 months out what the weather will be, but nothing on this. It blows my mind. Some driving do not even research FL laws such as headlights on in the rain. Again, my heart breaks for this family and I cannot imagine the pain they are dealing with. My prayers go out to them. People don't just research the fun, do the entire package. Don't take something literally, if sign says no swimming, do enter water. If you see a crosswalk, stop for the pedestrian too, just another observation that some seem to ignore. Follow the posted speed limit signs. They are pretty clear to read. When on vacation, don't leave your common sense home, crime happens anywhere, even Disney. Be aware of your surroundings, lock your doors, don't be a target. Disney is not immune to the facts of life, it's a real place.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

I got goosebumps as I heard the news last night. Ironic that as I heard the news, I was working on fastpass selections for our upcoming trip in August. My heart sank as I couldn't imagine this happening and what that poor family must be going through....

Let's be real, if there's a body of fresh water, there is a very good chance of alligators inhabiting it....man-made or not. In my years going to WDW, I've only seen them at CBR and Coronado.

Words cannot describe this...what a week for Orlando my goodness.

I was in the same situation - making my FP+ reservations for our August trip. I had heard about the incident on the local radio news as I drove to work this morning but they just said it was in Orlando. My sister texted me and asked if I had heard about what happened to the little boy in Disney World. I am so sad. This is absolutely a nightmare for that poor family. How will they ever recover from this?

 

[Pigletpal40]

I knew the rest of Florida had gators, but I always thought they were joking about WDW. I can't believe they allow them in the waters. This is horrific and terribly unsafe. Brought back memories of DS the first time we stayed at Poly. I remember him being near the water. We won't be going near that at night anymore. What a terrible thing to happen.

I have seen gators in the Magic Kingdom. On the way to Tom Sawyers Island and in the fenced area of Splash Mountain after the drop.

 

[mousefan73]

I am from the UK and have never been told by Disney about the threat of gators.

Where the signs telling guests to be vilgiant?

Have Disney not had signage up as to not burst the Disney bubble?

Poor child.

this is mostly common sense for Florida, but I have also learned today, not known by many.

this would be like the UK putting up cow/bear warning signs in the British countryside as in Freak 1:1,000,000 cases you might be attacked by a charging cow or bear..

This was a Freak accident.

 

[delilah]

When I was a student at the University of Florida, there were gators who wandered into the various pools on campus. I remember there was a gator in one of the dorm pools. I grew up in Chicago and lived there until I was college aged. Even with no experience with gators in the past I had enough common sense not to get into a pool with a gator, even though there was not a no swimming sign next to the dorm pool. The dorm was on the end of campus away from Lake Alice, near one of the busiest intersections in Gainesville. So, obviously, the gator must have walked quite a distance to get to the dorm pool.

I was reading that the Florida fish and wildlife agency is trapping the alligators, and so far three have been euthanized, and so far, they haven't found the child. I presume the animals are being euthanized to be checked for human remains, since, if they weren't looking for the child, the animals could be relocated to a safer area. This situation is tragic on so many levels, and as was the case with the child who went into the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati zoo, the animals are the ones who are paying the price.

I do a lot of nature related activities. One of my favorite places to visit is Ding Darling on Sanibel and another is Corkscrew Swamp. I have had semi-dangerous close encounters and near misses. Once while hiking a trail in one of the Audubon areas, a cottonmouth crossed our path. I have a great picture of a cottonmouth in attack posture showing the inside of his mouth. Fortunately, it was taken from 10 ft away. When we are doing nature observations, we need to remember that we are invading the animals' habitat.

I believe there is a sign at the edge of the artificial beach at GF not to go into the water. According to news reports, the father and child were wading in the water. I remember that on one guided tour I went on several years ago, a movie was being made in the water in the reserve we were visiting. Before filming the movie, the alligators supposedly been removed. While filming the scene in the water, sure enough, the actor involved encountered an alligator. It would be very difficult for Disney to ensure that there were no alligators or any other wildlife on the grounds, if not impossible.

 

[dachsie]

This is so tragic. My heart is breaking for this family

 

[drinkme]

I am from the UK and have never been told by Disney about the threat of gators.

Where the signs telling guests to be vilgiant?

Have Disney not had signage up as to not burst the Disney bubble?

Poor child.

I'm from Chicago and never knew about the threat of gators.

If I saw a "no swimming" sign I would think it was because there was no lifeguard. If it's common knowledge among Floridians that there are gators in the waters then that should be posted on a sign.

A few years ago my kids were walking about ankle deep in the water outside the Beach Club at night. I never considered alligators being in the water.

To imply the parents from NEBRASKA should have known better is just awful.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

Regardless of what they do, you cannot stop wildlife from showing up. The gators aren't even the most dangerous thing in that water.

You can do a google image search of "Disney Alligator" and see pictures of a gator lounging at the Shades of Green resort, right next to the sign warning of gators.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

Gators need Splash Mountain? Where?

This is such an awful tragedy. I don't know what can be done but the beaches should be a thing of the past.

I've seen them in the water on that path that leads from Liberty Square over to the Splash Mountain area, on the side where Tom Sawyer's Island is. Never a large one, but as others have said they will not remove them until they reach a certain length. We stay at CSR normally and I've heard that they are frequently seen in that lake, I've never seen one myself. It's so important to be aware of your surroundings, especially at night.

 

[jknc]

I am in complete shock by the amount of people who did not think there were gators in the lake.

 

[CAS239]

I'm surprised so many didn't realize there's alligators at Disney. I thought it was pretty common knowledge. There's been small alligators in splash mountain (they take those out when they find them), there's gators in the water around Tom Sawyer island that I've seen a couple times. So there's no reason there wouldn't be gators in the seven sea lagoon. It's open water and a lot of land/woods, so unless they just built fences around the entire property, there's a possibility of wildlife.

Terrible situation for that family to go through. It's a reminder to everyone else to be cautious