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

[gsp4ever]

Do the signs say "No Swimming" or do they say "Stay out of the Water"? I guess I'm a bit literal but I picture swimming as SWIMMING (and have secretly pictured myself swimming across the lagoon while on the ferry--wondering what it would be like) Also, I have seen gators at Shades of Green and they do have specific signs warning about Gators. While I think people do know about the existence of alligators in FL, just as I do, their minds are on a million other things while at WDW.

I am sick for this family as my own young child has played on those beaches and approached the water's edge. I never let her go in as I do confess to thinking more about flesh eating bacteria and brain eating ameobas.

Oh that poor, poor family. Scarred for life.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

It's actually the leading story in all of the national news shows/radio programs......everyone knows about it.

Right now, today, and for a few days likely. It will fade -- like all of things necessarily do. I think better signage warning of dangerous wildlife is likely to follow. And some will still ignore those signs. Someone planning a WDW trip in a year won't have this top of mind. But at least signs will warn of dangers once they are there.

 

[chmurf]

There are signs that say “no swimming,” however these signs are vague as to why.

yes they are vague, but do they really need to be more specific

when you see a red traffic light, it means "stop right here, don't pass go, don't collect $200"
does the traffic light need to have a sign saying "cars could be crossing, or pedestrians or ... wait ... maybe a stray dog ... please call *FHP for the complete list of reasons why you should stop behind that line " ?

well, it says stop, that means stop. Not understanding the reasons doesn't prevent from obeying or heeding the advice

(sorry I'm quoting you, but I'm not really arguing with you, only using your statement to elaborate)

 

[gsp4ever]

Quite the opposite actually. It was the breaking, leading story on The Today Show and Good Morning America this morning. Both shows has separate interviews with Orlando police and the Florida Wildlife folks. It's national news.

I agree. This coupled with the other goings on in Orlando in the last few days make this a new level of PR nightmare for Disney. Not to mention the fact that there has been all sorts of coverage of Disney in the past year or so. Everything from Shanghai Disney to the "insider tips" on how to make trips more affordable to the measles outbreak at Disneyland, to the stock price, etc. etc. etc.

 

[DopeyDame]

A 2yr old should not be anywhere near a lakes shore especially wading in foot deep water alligator or not. The parents share in the blame.

Why in the world shouldn't two year olds be in a lake "alligator or not"? My kids have grown up around rivers and lakes and were sitting in foot deep water before they could walk. Living in Nebraska, this family surely was familiar with lakes and knew how to keep their kids safe around water, but I imagine they weren't at all aware of the potential for an alligator attack.

 

[maltdizzy]

There have always been alligators in the water. I'm pretty sure they had no impact decision to ban swimming.

I'm not going to absolve Disney or the grieving parents of liability, but if you travel to Florida (or anywhere between eastern Texas around the coast to eastern N.C., there is the potential for American Alligators and sometimes nature attacks. It's rare and uncommon, but always a possibility.

This attack will raise situational awareness for those who thought Disney could somehow conquer nature over 42 square miles. But people's risk of an attack is the same as it has always been...very rare. My family and I have spotted gators, some large, mostly small on property near the Epcot resorts and while riding the monorail around Seven Seas Lagoon, seeing the local wildlife is, and will remain, a big plus of traveling for us.

 

[atp]

I wouldn't be so sure about that. It was the leading story on the morning radio news here in Ottawa, Canada. I think people will know about it.

Yes, I am sure it is the leading story in North America and all over the news, that's how I found out about it, because I check CNN regularly.

I'm sure it is huge in the US right now, but I am not in the US. It is not all over the news here, or where my family lives. It is mentioned in passing, if that. A lot of the guests who visit Disney are not in the us and will not see such a huge coverage of this incident.

No one else in my family or in my circle of friends knows about this. I would bet that very few people in my home country will know bout it and it's a country that brings many visitors to Disney every year. Plus, a lot of people who hear about it now, will forget it soon enough.

It will affect people, like me and many other posters here, but I don't know if it will have such a huge impact judging by the many posts here that say that this only happened because the parents were careless and it would never happen to them. They will carry on as normal. For those who think Disney is perfect, it will also not be a problem because they trust Disney to keep them safe and act in their best interest. It's an isolated incident and all that.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Also, about the signage...Disney sees a high proportion of foreign visitors who aren't native English speakers (or English speakers at all). Considering that even a bunch of (presumably) native English speakers are now debating whether "No Swimming" means literally "no swimming" or "stay out of the water completely" I do think Disney's signs are inadequate. I like the example posted above with a picture of a gator, as that will be readily understood by most people regardless of their English proficiency.

This

If Disney is going to have beaches that people can easily access, it's their responsibility to both post signage warning people of the threat as well as be constantly patrolling/scanning the water to make sure there are no predators living there that could threaten their guests. This is a private lake, not a massive public beach and ocean. They have the money and the technology is there. They should be held responsible for this, and they will. Just based on some of the evidence that people have provided on this thread of previous alligator sightings being ignored or slowly addressed.

My co-workers and i were just discussing this. I am an attorney. I am an educated person. I am also a father. I still don't know if i would have presumed that an alligator would have been in those waters. No swimming can mean alot of things. There should have been a warning over the dangers. Disney creates such a bubble with their attractions and beauty that it can lull a false sense of security.
If they are creating a fake beach with the intent that people will use it and be near the water, it is creating a false sense of safety if there are any dangers in that water. There should be visible signage... a fence would be unnecessary if there was visible signage warning of the dangers.

 

[nugov2]

Before I say anything, I feel I should say to look back at my other posts in this thread and you'll see that I am not blaming the parents here.

To your post: are signs posted at your private beach club saying no swimming or the like? I don't know about "such a horrible thing for a child to do", but every time I've been at the little beach at BLT where they have signs posted not to swim, none of us goes in the water. Is this the "swimming" vs. "wading" interpretation again?

In my post I state that this seems to be your view in general about wading in water, not just in situations where a sign is posted. I don't think it is clear in your post you are referring to only wdw water and why I put in the disclaimer. Your post is simply a 2 year old should never be near a lake shore in foot deep water regardless of an alligator, so that seemed an extreme statement and why I responded. You may want to clarify your post so people aren't confused because wading in water is a common thing for children to do.

 

[queenbee99]

I actually DO think the signs need to say BEWARE of ALLIGATORS and not just no swimming. I have been to Disney ALOT and I am from the south and I never worried about this sort of thing while at Disney!

 

[poop1]

Let me ask a question? Would anyone go swimming in the ocean at night? Im thinking not very many because of sharks or any predator. How many beaches have signs posted about shark attacks? Its common sense. Dont go in the water at night or if you cant see your surroundings. Everyone was taught in school, gators live in the bodies of water in florida.

 

[mjkacmom]

To me if it says no swimming that also means DO NOT go near the water.

To me, no swimming means no swimming, especially if there is no mention of dangerous animals or flesh eating water. Here, no swimming means no lifeguards. WDW gets guests from all over the world, many who don't know about the risks. At our state parks, there is signage about bears. When we go to the beach, warnings about rip tides and jelly fish are posted.

If I saw a sign like there are at other Orlando beaches, warning about gators and snakes, I wouldn't go near the water. However, a nice sandy man made beach, with a sign saying no swimming (no mention of wading, and I've seen many signs stating no swimming or wading)? It wouldn't cross my mind that there is danger.

 

[chicagogrl]

What about some sort of concrete ledge where you can't walk in from the beach.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I think that emotions are very high right now and it is very easy to say "Well Disney should do ______" or "The family shouldn't have done ______." I think that right now, it's best to offer our sympathies and best wishes for all involved including Disney and Orlando employees who are doing their best to handle this situation and prevent more hurt and heartache. Later, people much better trained than most of us in law, human behavior, wildlife and fisheries science, and similar such areas can come up with things to help prevent future occurrences. Until then, how about we just all issue our thoughts and prayers rather than our Monday Morning Quarterback opinions?

 

[PSUGuy]

Gators don't just stay in one lake forever. They travel. Stopping can every gator from getting into a body of water at Disneyworld would be just as hard as stopping a squirrel, cat, rat, etc. from traveling into Disneyworld. Probably even harder because they enter large bodies of water where they are harder to find and are most active at night.

Try this. Go to google maps, type in Magic Kingdom them go to the satellite view. You can plainly see that the SSL has a canal leading into MK providing water to the JC ride, also other canals feed or drain the JC. Over on Bay Lake you'll see a canal connecting BL to a series of other canals. It's all connected by water, gators never have to cross a road or walk anywhere to get everywhere. Gator control is impossible.

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.4125346,-81.5604567,3787m/data=!3m1!1e3

Bill From PA

 

[Princess_Kirky]

I have seen an alligator at Disney World. I think it was two years ago. As someone else mentioned, it was near Space Mountain. There have been others who have seen snakes. I actually thought it was common knowledge that these potential predators are all over in Florida.

Another predator we noticed back in 2007 - Bobcat hunting bunny rabbits at POR. Just walking about. We thought it was a dog but then realized.. Nope, it's a very fat happy bobcat. He took off across the parking lot into some woods. The workers (lawn and garden maintenance) are the ones that said to us, yep, it's a bobcat. They were not phased.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

In my post I state that this seems to be your view in general about wading in water, not just in situations where a sign is posted. I don't think it is clear in your post you are referring to only wdw water and why I put in the disclaimer. Your post is simply a 2 year old should never be near a lake shore in foot deep water regardless of an alligator, so that seemed an extreme statement and why I responded. You may want to clarify your post so people aren't confused because wading in water is a common thing for children to do.

It wasn't MY post that your were responding to!! I was just curious what you meant.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Let me ask a question? Would anyone go swimming in the ocean at night? Im thinking not very many because of sharks or any predator. How many beaches have signs posted about shark attacks? Its common sense. Dont go in the water at night or if you cant see your surroundings. Everyone was taught in school, gators live in the bodies of water in florida.

Saying "it's common sense" does not help. Many smart, educated people would have no idea that wading in a lake at Disney was unsafe.

 

[bopper]

This article has a picture of the no-swimming sign:
http://wqad.com/2016/06/15/alligator-attacks-toddler-at-lagoon-at-disney-hotel/

 

[IrishNYC]

I am aware of that danger and I feel the same way you do but towards Disney and the fact they they offer activities that will put you in close contact with that water. Specially the preferred method of the nasal passages. Perhaps that's why people are so blase, because they assume if the risk was so great, Disney would not offer activities that put you in such close contact with an apparently great danger. They do warn you of everything else: by the hand, watch your step, do not ride if you have x, y and z conditions, ride has sharp turns and falls, ride is dark, can be frightening for children, ETC ETC. When that is the norm in their parks, I'm sure most people assume if Disney offers it/does not give a warning, it must be safe.

What activities does Disney offer that puts your nasal passages in close contact with the lake water?