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

[wendow]

Aren't you kind? Allow me to clarify.
Since they're from Nebraska I doubt they were aware of alligators in the area.
If you continued to read you would have seen that I stated that if not for this forum I wouldn't have known they were there. That was in direct relation to that previous comment. I'm from Oklahoma.

Thanks for being hateful though and assuming I was intending to say they were dumb idiots from Nebraska, which is the same thing you did to me just now.

I did not find your comment dumb at all. I am in CO and other than this board, I would have no knowledge of gators at Disney nor would it ever cross my mind to consider they would there on the property.

 

[Lehuaann]

I did not get the impression the child was playing 10 feet out but that his body was found 10 feet away from the shore and the water depth was about 6 feet there.

A Disney lifeguard reported that the child was wading 10 ft from shore.

The baby was found in the immediate vicinity in 6 ft deep water.

 

[Sona99]

Makes me wonder if this was territorial aggression?

Doubtful. Gators don't eat fresh kills. They drown then stow their food under water so that it begins to decay and is easier to eat.

Sorry for the mental image but those are the facts.

 

[wendow]

Where he was found has nothing to do with what happened (only rocks stay put in water) . It happened end of story.

Well, it only matters b/c further back people were saying the sheriff said he was playing 10 ft out and that changed their view. He wasn't playing that far out according to the sheriff.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...T-shore-reptile-struck-lifeguard-reveals.html

I realize that some don't regard DM as a good source but they have been pretty accurate throughout all of this

That picture of the diver smiling at the camera is...unsettling.

 

[Treysar]

I was at Disney for business around 10 years ago and stayed on property. I can't remember which hotel, but I remember that there was an area that had kayaking, andI considered giving it a try. Later in the day I saw a team of people around an alligator in the same water. I was freaked out.

 

[BabiesDaddy]

I don't blame the parents, it was a tragic accident. I know there are gators in the water in florida, but i also know there are sharks in the ocean, but i take my kids in the water.

On another note, because i can think outside the box(read weird,lol) when i see i sign that says no swimming, i think it must be toxic or disease infested.

 

[brunette8706]

His body was recovered there but he said the boy was playing at the water's edge.

*
Yes, exactly right.

 

[wendow]

A Disney lifeguard reported that the child was wading 10 ft from shore.
Body was found in the immediate vicinity in 6 ft deep water.

Fine but not what the sheriff just reported.

 

[sweetyk83]

I did not find your comment dumb at all. I am in CO and other than this board, I would have no knowledge of gators at Disney nor would it ever cross my mind to consider they would there on the property.

Thanks! I absolutely had no idea there were alligators in the Disney bubble until I read a few posts here and saw photos and videos of them. The ones filmed in Magic Kingdom stuck with me so I was paranoid to go near the water when we visited.

 

[Dis703]

I have only gotten as far as page 11, but no time to read the rest. I could swear I have seen signs that say both Stay out of the water or something similar there of and I have seen signs that show pictures of alligators. Guess I am imagining them, being no one else has mentioned them.

I'm confident I've seen signs with alligators, but I can't be certain they were on Disney property or somewhere else in Orlando. Having grown up there, the only signs I remember from childhood were ones warning not to feed the alligators.

They were giving stats on CNN just a bit ago and they have over 1 million alligators in the state of Florida alone with only 5 attacks annually in the entire state. In 70 years, since they started keeping record, there have only been 23 fatalities. While they are dangerous it is not exactly expected that this sort of thing would happen.

 

[GPC0321]

10 feet just seems too far- the depth would have to be much too deep for a 2 year old.

10 feet isn't as far as you think. It's about three long walking strides. Regardless, the reports have also said the child was in about a foot of water. For a 2 year old child, that's quite different than just having his feet in it.

I know blaming the parents right now is callous, and I don't want to come across that way. But people blaming the lack of warning about gators on the signs, and talk of Disney getting sued over this just irritates me in general. Are people just completely unable to think and make logical, reasonable decisions? Are they ever accountable for the consequences of their actions, or is it always someone else's fault?

A 2 year old child was a foot deep in a body of water with "NO Swimming" signs posted around its edge at 9:00 at night. Even without the risk of gators or snakes, this just doesn't seem smart.

When I see a "NO Swimming" sign, I wonder to myself WHY that sign is there. It's a natural thought. And I usually come up with several possible reasons, the main one being "Something is probably unhealthy/unclean about the water." That's enough to keep me out of it completely. Because if it's unhealthy water, you don't have to be physically "swimming" in it to be harmed.

My final thought is all of the talk faulting Disney for making the beaches deceptively inviting, like "real beaches". To these folks, I have a newsflash. "REAL" beaches are dangerous too. Lots of not-so-nice critters swimming just off the shores there, and some wicked waves and rip currents that could whisk a little one away and take its life just as quickly as this gator did.

Bless these poor folks for the horror they've had to endure. I cannot express enough how sad it makes me. But if ANYTHING good can come out of such a tragedy, perhaps it will be that people will realize THEY have to be proactive in protecting themselves and their children. When a sign says "NO Swimming" it's probably not a good idea to let your 2 year old toddler wade out a foot deep into it. Whether it's because of gators, snakes, brain-eating amoebas, e.coli, or the risk of drowning.

 

[Hikergirl]

A Disney lifeguard reported that the child was wading 10 ft from shore.

The baby was found in the immediate vicinity in 6 ft deep water.

So there was a lifeguard there that saw the boy wading out that far?
If so, this should put any sign debate to rest. If a lifeguard didn't make the boy get out of the water then the parents were not wrong in assuming that "no swimming" meant no actual swimming, not "no going in the water".

 

[skipfierce]

Such a sad situation. Prayers for the family.

 

[Lynzer4]

I don't believe its Disney solo responsibility to warn people about possible gators in Florida. This was a horribly tragic accident that no one saw happening - Not the family nor Disney. This has never happened before. While I do think Disney will now place warning signs up I personal feel that the No Swimming signs cover it. I don't live in Florida but I know that water is gross and that dangerous animals live in it.

I just left Sunday and we stayed at the Caribbean Resort and I was telling the teenager with me that alligators live in the waters and that is one of the many reasons for No Swimming!

Alligators often drown their food (birds, animals). They take them under until they stop moving, then they eat.

 

[mjkacmom]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...T-shore-reptile-struck-lifeguard-reveals.html

I realize that some don't regard DM as a good source but they have been pretty accurate throughout all of this

I heard the sheriffs report - the 10 feet was in reference to where they found the body. I can't find any reports of a lifeguard saying that anywhere in the US.

 

[amg35]

They went and got the lifeguard from the pool. The lifeguard must have seen the child being pulled by the alligator, not where the child was originally playing.

 

[Lavitz]

Absolutely brutal news, as a parent I can't even get a coherent thought together to say how sad I am.

One thing I would like to say is the signs should mention alligators. While I'd follow a sign saying stay out of the water, I completely understand why others might not. Most would assume it's probably because there's bacteria or no lifeguards. I would guess a lot more people would take things seriously if it says stay out, gators nearby. Gators and snakes at WDW are not common knowledge unless you're local, being Canadian I only found out because of this site or I'd never have known. How much do you guys know about what animals there are in Ottawa, New Delhi or Madrid? That's how much most visitors to WDW know about Orlando.

 

[Hikergirl]

They went and got the lifeguard from the pool. The lifeguard must have seen the child being pulled by the alligator, not where the child was originally playing.

Ok, thanks for clarifying. I didn't think there were lifeguards at the beach, it was the first I saw somebody reference a statement from one.

 

[thedonduck]

I heard the sheriffs report - the 10 feet was in reference to where they found the body. I can't find any reports of a lifeguard saying that anywhere in the US.

Body was found 10-15 YARDS not feet from shore. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...-dragged-alligator-disney-20160614-story.html