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

[amg35]

So should Disney provide every guest with a bee keepers suit to keep them from getting stung by bees, wasps and mosquitos as well?

Honestly!

If there are actually people out there who go in to the Disney "bubble" and really believe Disney will protect them from everything, then those people are their own biggest threat. And I'm not talking about the family this tragedy happened to....

 

[Jetta8300]

It is Disney's responsibility to make sure that "their" guests are safe. Period. We pay top dollar to go to disney parks, resorts and cruises and they are the ones who need to put "detailed" signs and verbally tell guests when they check in about the dangers and tips of what not to do and they also need to figure out how in the hell to keep dangerous animals away from the people. I have read people have seen alligators inside the parks and inside a bathroom at MK??? Really?? I dont need to send my child into the bathroom and have him eaten on the way in!!! Not that I ever let my son go to any bathroom alone but sometimes he does run ahead of me and sometimes I run in myself for crying out loud!!

This entire thing is absurd!! Even though I believe these parents shouldnt have let their kid play in the water where there is a sign that says no swimming, but "no swimming" can at times be ambiguous. Personally when I see a sign that says no swimming that means dont even touch the water but then I have always been uber careful about these kinds of things. Not everyone is.

We had an incident at Typhoon Lagoon where our son got pulled under the water when the wave came in in the wave pool and his whole back was cut up with deep cuts and blood. I had seen the sign that said "strong waves may occur" and that kids under 12 must have supervision. Well the waves were so intense it knocked my husband over and pulled his hand away from our son who got pushed to the bottom on the pool and hurt very badly. When we posted about it here many got mad at us saying that we should have known how strong wave pools are!! Well we had never been to a wave pool and their weak warning signs were not enough to explain to us exactly what the dangers were. We still feel the warning signs should be more detailed and explain that there is a high risk of getting injured and getting pushed away from our kids from the force.

Completely agreed.

I would not fault Disney if the gator jumped out of the water or something and ran onto a distant walking path and grabbed a kid. Something totally uncharacteristic of a gator, an act of nature.

But I think it's reasonable to assume, when Disney DRAWS people to a beach setting, with loungers, zero entry, sand, EVERYTHING that mimics a swimming beach, you would assume Disney wouldn't do that unless they are 100% sure it's safe to go near the water. And they knew there are gators there. People traveling from places where they aren't used to gators wouldn't think about it because of the beach like setup.

If this happened at POR, CSR, I would be like, they shouldn't have gone in the water. But look at GFs freakin setup!

 

[ArwenMarie]

Completely agreed.

I would not fault Disney if the gator jumped out of the water or something and ran onto a distant walking path and grabbed a kid. Something totally uncharacteristic of a gator.

But I think it's reasonable to assume, when Disney DRAWS people to a beach setting, with loungers, zero entry, sand, EVERYTHING that mimics a swimming beach, you would assume Disney wouldn't do that unless they are 100% sure it's safe to go near the water. And they knew there are gators there. People traveling from places where they aren't used to gators wouldn't think about it because of the beach like setup.

If this happened at POR, CSR, I would be like, they shouldn't have gone in the water. But look at GFs freakin setup!

Good point. There is a big difference between water-adjacent land left untouched and deliberately creating a fake tropical beach with chairs, hammocks, campfires and movies. One could argue that the burden to give reasonable warning about wildlife dangers would be much higher at the latter.

 

[minniemous]

Good point. There is a big difference between water-adjacent land left untouched and deliberately creating a fake tropical beach with chairs, hammocks, campfires and movies. One could argue that the burden to give reasonable warning about wildlife dangers would be much higher at the latter.

Exactly. They have created the false sense of security.

 

[Jetta8300]

Good point. There is a big difference between water-adjacent land left untouched and deliberately creating a fake tropical beach with chairs, hammocks, campfires and movies. One could argue that the burden to give reasonable warning about wildlife dangers would be much higher at the latter.

Absolutely. Tons of pictures I see online are of families near the water edge. Making sand castles, barefoot, etc. look at disneys own advertising I posted earlier. Hosting movies here, campfires, loungers with a zero entry to the water. This is so much different than someone wading in some random swamp or even the river at POR.

 

[mjkacmom]

10 ft out? There are also steep drop offs too!!! Its not completely shallow all the way out

It appears that was misinformation, the boy was standing at the edge of the water.

 

[jknc]

Exactly. They have created the false sense of security.

I see your points but we are getting a little carried away.

It's Walt Disney World.

Are you really in the African Savannah when you stay at AKL?

Are you really staying in the Pacific NW at Wilderness Lodge?

I always thought that was the real Eiffel Tower in World Showcase. Shame on me.

Sounds like all theming needs to be destroyed and rename the park Six Flags Over Florida.

 

[fairytalelover]

Completely agreed.

I would not fault Disney if the gator jumped out of the water or something and ran onto a distant walking path and grabbed a kid. Something totally uncharacteristic of a gator.

But I think it's reasonable to assume, when Disney DRAWS people to a beach setting, with loungers, zero entry, sand, EVERYTHING that mimics a swimming beach, you would assume Disney wouldn't do that unless they are 100% sure it's safe to go near the water. And they knew there are gators there. People traveling from places where they aren't used to gators wouldn't think about it because of the beach like setup.

If this happened at POR, CSR, I would be like, they shouldn't have gone in the water. But look at GFs freakin setup!

Exactly!!! GFs set-up is in a way where it invites people to go right up to the water. They are at fault!

 

[amg35]

Good point. There is a big difference between water-adjacent land left untouched and deliberately creating a fake tropical beach with chairs, hammocks, campfires and movies. One could argue that the burden to give reasonable warning about wildlife dangers would be much higher at the latter.

So now we all need to have this taken away because Disney or this poor family couldn't foresee such a freak occurrence??
Because this is what will happen. It won't be just adding proper signs or pamphlets, it will be an overreaction to the people who aren't even involved that are freaking out.

And I don't know who all of you see, but 3 stays at the Beach Club, I never saw all these people playing in the water. Laying in the chairs, watching the movie, yes. Sure, I saw people dip their toes in, I did too knowing all about the alligators. Now I will think twice about that. And I'm sorry, most people aren't booking these hotels thinking they are going to a beach resort.

 

[Jetta8300]

So now we all need to have this taken away because Disney or this poor family couldn't foresee such a freak occurrence??
Because this is what will happen. It won't be just adding proper signs or pamphlets, it will be an overreaction to the people who aren't even involved that are freaking out.

And I don't know who all of you see, but 3 stays at the Beach Club, I never saw all these people playing in the water. Laying in the chairs, watching the movie, yes. Sure, I saw people dip their toes in, I did too knowing all about the alligators. Now I will think twice about that. And I'm sorry, most people aren't booking these hotels thinking they are going to a beach resort.[/QUOTE]

See disneys above marketing piece. And all this person did was dip their toes in. If it was your kid, you'd think it was a pretty big deal and wouldn't want it to happen again.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I'm sure the execs at Disney were horrified at what happened, and that the workers involved are all devastated. However, corporate made a decision not to include alligator warnings on all areas, and this had an impact on this family. Everyone is saying Disney is still real life, but that's not the picture corporate wanted to show. That family felt too safe.

Does Disney need to add a disclaimer now that their "Magic" is really only in your mind and for fun?

 

[fairytalelover]

So now we all need to have this taken away because Disney or this poor family couldn't foresee such a freak occurrence??
Because this is what will happen. It won't be just adding proper signs or pamphlets, it will be an overreaction to the people who aren't even involved that are freaking out.

And I don't know who all of you see, but 3 stays at the Beach Club, I never saw all these people playing in the water. Laying in the chairs, watching the movie, yes. Sure, I saw people dip their toes in, I did too knowing all about the alligators. Now I will think twice about that. And I'm sorry, most people aren't booking these hotels thinking they are going to a beach resort.

the resorts are set up like a beach resort!! It creates a false sense of security and that is disney's fault and where were the CMs who should have seen this boy playing in the water and told him to get out?

 

[mjkacmom]

10 ft out? There are also steep drop offs too!!! Its not completely shallow all the way out

Can someone post a link to the part where the sheriff said he was 10 feet from shore?

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Completely agreed.

I would not fault Disney if the gator jumped out of the water or something and ran onto a distant walking path and grabbed a kid. Something totally uncharacteristic of a gator, an act of nature.

But I think it's reasonable to assume, when Disney DRAWS people to a beach setting, with loungers, zero entry, sand, EVERYTHING that mimics a swimming beach, you would assume Disney wouldn't do that unless they are 100% sure it's safe to go near the water. And they knew there are gators there. People traveling from places where they aren't used to gators wouldn't think about it because of the beach like setup.

If this happened at POR, CSR, I would be like, they shouldn't have gone in the water. But look at GFs freakin setup!

Good point. There is a big difference between water-adjacent land left untouched and deliberately creating a fake tropical beach with chairs, hammocks, campfires and movies. One could argue that the burden to give reasonable warning about wildlife dangers would be much higher at the latter.

Exactly. They have created the false sense of security.

Absolutely. Tons of pictures I see online are of families near the water edge. Making sand castles, barefoot, etc. look at disneys own advertising I posted earlier. Hosting movies here, campfires, loungers with a zero entry to the water. This is so much different than someone wading in some random swamp or even the river at POR.

Agreed. This is what I was saying earlier today. Disney attracts people to these zero entry sandy beaches for all sorts of activities day and night, and merely requests "no swimming please".

That's not adequate when they know what lives in those lakes, and that many people would not suspect this to be the case.

Just a clear sign warning of danger from wildlife, for anyone who may not know -- not a lot to ask to educate guests. The fact that it won't prevent EVERYONE from going in that water isn't a reason not to warn all those who would heed such a warning.

ETA: This is not to "blame Disney". This is about them being able to do better -- at essentially no cost to them.

 

[anniemae]

I wish they didn't release the families names. I wish they gave them some privacy. There are photos circulating of them that look like they were taken from Facebook. Do they have to give their names out?

 

[pooch]

Would disney let guests near the lions/tigers etc at AK without secure barriers in place? Of course not. You may not see the barriers but you know damn well they are there. Disney knows there are gators in the lakes and guests near by. There should be barriers just as secure there. You can't control the gators. You can't control the guests. There should be no possible way for the 2 to meet.

 

[fairytalelover]

View attachment 175697

the people in this disney ad have their feet in the water

 

[amg35]

the resorts are set up like a beach resort!! It creates a false sense of security and that is disney's fault and where were the CMs who should have seen this boy playing in the water and told him to get out?

I don't even know how to reply to this....

 

[ras1121]

Completely agreed.

I would not fault Disney if the gator jumped out of the water or something and ran onto a distant walking path and grabbed a kid. Something totally uncharacteristic of a gator, an act of nature.

But I think it's reasonable to assume, when Disney DRAWS people to a beach setting, with loungers, zero entry, sand, EVERYTHING that mimics a swimming beach, you would assume Disney wouldn't do that unless they are 100% sure it's safe to go near the water. And they knew there are gators there. People traveling from places where they aren't used to gators wouldn't think about it because of the beach like setup.

If this happened at POR, CSR, I would be like, they shouldn't have gone in the water. But look at GFs freakin setup!

100% agree.

 

[Pinkos]

Yes, I agree there are certainly other reasons. That said, I'm not sure how a "stay out of the water" sign can give a false sense of security.

MG

Stay out of the water does not equal "do not play near the edge".

Plus isn't the wording on these signs "no swimming"?

Either way, if u are not aware of the Gators and their existence, stay out of the water does not automatically make a person think "golly, there must be an alligator there".

Honestly, I find it very insulting that ppl think that it should be common knowledge that everyone visiting Florida should be aware of all this gator knowledge. Am I aware there are gators there? Yes. I was not aware that there were so many, I had no clue that I should assume "any body of water will have a gator". There is a huge difference in knowing a state has gators and knowing the extent of it. I also did not know WDW is built on swamplands. I kind of assumed there were chain fences around the properties ( obviously hidden in amongst trees, etc) that kept gators out of resorts and parks.

When I research for my previous trips, I'm researching my resort, my area, where the best shopping is, the height restrictions for the rides they want to do, best places to eat, etc, etc. I do not search - are there gators in every lake.

I highly doubt that the ppl making comments that this should be common knowledge are aware of every hidden danger when they visit other states, countries, provinces.

This was a tragedy. It was no ones fault. There is def something to be learned and I am saddened that I had to learn from this tragedy. I would've much preferred having a Disney employee mention it to me during check in, or maybe a sign about gators, etc.