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

[JimmyV]

Question: does anyone know if they verbally tell you anything about the beach/water when you check in? Or provide any pamphlets about the resort that mention not getting in the water due to wildlife etc?

There was a time when the resort beaches were actively promoted. But they haven't been for a long time. The page below is from a brochure circa 1971-1972.

 

[mousefan73]

I wonder if Disney had sign such as do not enter, danger alligators etc if that would cause more people to re-consider paying the outrageous prices for these resorts with a "beach". That is one main reason I found the GF, BC and POly a joke. Beautiful whitensand beaches but you can't ( and wouldnt want to) swim!!

Wonder if those last night/today staying at the Poly bungelows wished they'd booked elsewhere.

 

[mousefan73]

I wonder if Disney had sign such as do not enter, danger alligators etc if that would cause more people to re-consider paying the outrageous prices for these resorts with a "beach". That is one main reason I found the GF, BC and POly a joke. Beautiful whitensand beaches but you can't ( and wouldnt want to) swim!!

Wonder if those last night/today staying at the Poly bungelows wished they'd booked elsewhere.

 

[mousefan73]

I wonder if Disney had sign such as do not enter, danger alligators etc if that would cause more people to re-consider paying the outrageous prices for these resorts with a "beach". That is one main reason I found the GF, BC and POly a joke. Beautiful whitensand beaches but you can't ( and wouldnt want to) swim!!

Wonder if those last night/today staying at the Poly bungelows wished they'd booked elsewhere.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I wonder if Disney had sign such as do not enter, danger alligators etc if that would cause more people to re-consider paying the outrageous prices for these resorts with a "beach". That is one main reason I found the GF, BC and POly a joke. Beautiful whitensand beaches but you can't ( and wouldnt want to) swim!!

Wonder if those last night/today staying at the Poly bungelows wished they'd booked elsewhere.

Not sure why. We stay at BLT all the time and are staying in poly bungalow in November. I've always known you couldn't swim there. They certainly don't advertise that you CAN.

 

[mousefan73]

I wonder if Disney had sign such as do not enter, danger alligators etc if that would cause more people to re-consider paying the outrageous prices for these resorts with a "beach". That is one main reason I found the GF, BC and POly a joke. Beautiful whitensand beaches but you can't ( and wouldnt want to) swim!!

Wonder if those last night/today staying at the Poly bungelows wished they'd booked elsewhere.

 

[JimmyV]

I wonder if Disney had sign such as do not enter, danger alligators etc if that would cause more people to re-consider paying the outrageous prices for these resorts with a "beach". That is one main reason I found the GF, BC and POly a joke. Beautiful whitensand beaches but you can't ( and wouldnt want to) swim!!

Wonder if those last night/today staying at the Poly bungelows wished they'd booked elsewhere.

Is there a reason why you need to post the same thing three (and now four) times?

 

[disneytraveler]

Just heard snippet on local news about Disney closing beaches at resorts

 

[bumbershoot]

(edited for errors)

I definitely take your point about signs not being followed. I think that warning of dangerous wildlife including alligators would likely have better compliance than ones on flash photography.

Huh. I don't. First people have to see them. Then notice them. Then read them. Then not just take a selfie with the cute signs.

There are signs about falling at Yosemite that people ignore. There are signs about falling at the Cliffs of Mohr, and from one side you can see how delicate the cliff is, but people jump over the rocks that were placed as barriers and go to the edge all day long.

People hike in CA despite signs about mountain lions and they often don't notice the signs. Heck, yesterday I totally missed a bright yellow sign that I should have seen, warning me that I was parking in a garage without elevators, which caused my poor mother in law to walk down two flights of stairs while I carried her walker. Bright yellow sign. And I read everything. But sometimes people miss things. Important things. And not everyone reads very thing like I do. (Or thought I did. Driving in Seattle is stressful, is the moral to that story btw)

Most people won't even know about this incident. ....

So much for nothing of the kind never happening at Disney. And of course no one knows about this because Disney sure as hell will make it go away fast, and if you try to talk about it through other outlets, like here, people will blame you, doubt you and defend Disney to the end.





Just from reading this thread I now know about two incidents. And those were just the ones that ended up in the news. Yes, no one died, but do you really have to wait for someone to die to consider doing something about it? And of course, they will only do something about it if they are sued.

Tons of people know about this. This and the British guy incident were in the news. I live in WA. They were in the news.

So much for Disney covering up things, since the incidents were in the news.

Every time someone walks their poodle on a canal in FL and a gator gets it I see it on the news. Of course people being involved will make it national news.

They were doing things about it. People see them often. If you talk to a CM about it you're told the whole thing about if they are under a certain size they are left, etc. No one is hiding anything. Just because they don't have a graphic of a gator grabbing a person (which would, by the way, be ghastly) doesn't mean they aren't doing anything.

...but I honestly would have expected a lake made in the middle of WDW to be safe- especially as I'm pretty sure I have seen photos of people jet-skiing and water-skiing on the lake...from reading this thread and the other one in the Rumours area, which showed a picture of the sign posted, I would have thought the "no swimming" was due to no life guards being present, not due to wildlife. Like some others, I place a difference in walking along a water's edge/wading over swimming/submerging in water. I am from the west coast of Canada, and while I knew there were gators in Florida, certainly not to the extent that I am learning. I haven't stayed on-site (we rented a condo 10 min away) so haven't seen gators around WDW, and didn't know how prevalent they are.

If your rented condo had a backyard and there is water anywhere near (and next time you fly into MCO just look down as you approach...FL has a LOT of water), you might get one in your backyard. If there's a pool in a screened off section, keep the door to the area closed or you might get one in your pool. Manmade pools can easily attract them, let alone a big huge lake that connects to other bodies of water in a swamp.



My grandma lived near Daytona on a river. There's a road between the front of her house and the river. And they would get them in the BACKyard. They would cross the road and meander on through. They can be everywhere.


And just because Disney has a gator size policy doesn't mean they see all of the creatures as they are growing up. The control people can't be everywhere.

(that was an odd juxtaposition of can/can't be everywhere...expect an alligator anywhere, and know that the people can't be everywhere)

 

[Jennasis]

It's lunchtime now and i was trying to eat... but my beautiful little sister gave birth to a gorgeous baby girl this past weekend. The first grandchild for my parents. First baby born to any of my siblings. We are all understandably over the moon. But everytime I try to think about this story I think about that baby girl and all the plans my sister and I have made to bring her to Disney...and how devastating something like is....i couldn't finish my lunch. Nearly heaved up what i managed to choke down.

 

[Delirium]

If you're on here criticizing the parents, please stop. Just stop. This is a tragedy. It doesn't mean the parents were at fault, nor does it make Disney negligent.

To come to a public forum and throw everything you have at the parents that just lost a child in this manner is unnecessary, out of line, and brings to question what your true motives.

 

[bumbershoot]

accidental double post, it seems

 

[Tink2Day]

Such a sad and tragic accident. Nature can be cruel and unforgiving.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

There are signs about falling at Yosemite that people ignore. There are signs about falling at the Cliffs of Mohr, and from one side you can see how delicate the cliff is, but people jump over the rocks that were placed as barriers and go to the edge all day long.

That doesn't mean those signs shouldn't be there to help warn and protect those who WILL pay attention to them and heed warnings.

 

[SouthernBuckeye]

I get tired of so many people thinking that rules don't apply to them and feel rules/signs must be specific in order to be followed. To me if a sign says stay out of the water, then stay out of the water. You don't need to know there's bacteria, snakes, alligators, etc.

However, after looking at the picture of the sign posted at the beach, I agree. Once I saw the picture of the swimmer, the sign isn't much of a deterrent to wade.

see this is like actual swimming (with a visual of a person swimming freestyle and everything)[/QUOT

 

[pampam]

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

We've all seen kids at MK climbing over such things, or parents putting little Johnny or Suzie on such as you have described for a picture. No, I don't think that will work.

Beaches have always drawn people to them, and a Florida beach is no exception. Laying or walking on the beach is relaxing. The sun sparkles on its waves, the breezes refresh us, and the sounds of gulls or children playing renew us with the "sounds of summer". It's all part of the package, and in WDW even more so. I believe the beach had guests waiting for the Electric Water Parade.

 

[FeralCatRogue]

I think the issue with signage becomes how do you make it understandable by all. If I come from a country where gators are prevalent and i'm used to swimming with them a gator on a sign is not gonna tell me to not swim. I think the sign they have is as simple as they can be to say to all with picture to not swim in the water. But in the end unless its baricaded off or even when it is no one follows signs when your in a bubble of fun it becomes background white noise.

 

[DnA2010]

If your rented condo had a backyard and there is water anywhere near (and next time you fly into mco just look down as you approach...FL has a LOT of water), you might get one in your backyard. If there's a pool in a screened off section, keep the door to the area closed or you might get one in your pool. Manmade pools can easily attract them, let alone a big huge lake that connects to other bodies of water in a swamp.



My grandma lived near Daytona on a river. There's a road between the front of her house and the river. And they would get them in the BACKyard. They would cross the road and meander on through. They can be everywhere.


And just because Disney has a gator size policy doesn't mean they see all of the creatures as they are growing up. They can't be everywhere.

I would have never expected a gator to cruise up onto the patio- I really wouldn't have. I would now of course, but that's here nor there.

 

[Disneychick75]

I wonder if Disney had sign such as do not enter, danger alligators etc if that would cause more people to re-consider paying the outrageous prices for these resorts with a "beach". That is one main reason I found the GF, BC and POly a joke. Beautiful whitensand beaches but you can't ( and wouldnt want to) swim!!

Wonder if those last night/today staying at the Poly bungelows wished they'd booked elsewhere.

When I first saw the bungalows I wondered how high the porches are off the water because of gators. The animals can and will jump several feet out of the water to grab prey.

 

[mousefan73]

Jist noticed. On tr

Is there a reason why you need to post the same thing three (and now four) times?

Sorry. But phone was stuck. Was wierd. Trying to delete.