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

[pooch]

Barriers folks. Keep us away from them. End of story .

 

[anniemae]

Did anyone see the story of the British family that was attacked by an alligator on the Poly beach 2 months ago? They were waiting for the fireworks and an alligator lurched out of the water at them. They family was able to run away, but it almost seems like it could be the same gator.

 

[DVCcurious]

Agree, except that he was said to be in water 6"-12" deep; more than ankle deep.

Unless you're Shaq, then 6-12" is ankle deep.

 

[RiemannLebesgue]

Alligators often kill their prey by drowning it first, then letting it stay in the water for awhile so it is easier to eat, then coming back later to eat. Perhaps the searching spooked the gator or perhaps he just hadn't gotten around to it yet. Whatever the case, I am so glad the family has a body to bury as messed up as that sounds.

Anyway, I am as against frivolous lawsuits as anyone, but the facts are important here. Disney created an environment that looks like a regular beach, but is really still just swamp land/water. Disney regularly scheduled activities there. Disney did not warn guests of the dangers of getting near or stepping in the water. The signs only said "No Swimming". And you can bet your rear end that there were discussions at some point about this.

Disney would lose this case if it went to a jury, but it will never get that far. Disney and the family will come to an agreement before it ever gets to that point and that will be that.

May the sweet child RIP.

 

[jknc]

Barriers folks. Keep us away from them. End of story .

I'll buy you a bee keepers suit, you know, so you don't get the Zika virus.

It's the outdoors not a zoo.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Fliers ARE silly. Where would it stop? A pamphlet warning people about squirrel bites? Aggressive birds? Mouse droppings?

What happened to personal responsibility? This was an accident. A freak one in a million type thing. Disney closes attractions or water parks when there is possible lightning. If a parent decided it was cute to have their toddler splash in puddles and the kid was struck by lightning, would you blame Disney? Of course not!

This reminds me of all the people who try to get a small child on a ride with height restrictions. Disney doesn't have to go into every detail when making a rule. For example, a parent tricks the CM and gets their small child on Kali River Rapids. Unfortunately the child falls out of the raft and drowns. How can the parent sue Disney because they were no explicit enough with the reason behind the rule? Disney shouldn't have to list every possible outcome scenario when enforcing a rule. The place would be littered in signs, fliers, and yellow tape!

 

[magicjojo]

Disney isn't to blame for the animal behaving instinctually in their habitat, they are to blame for not informing guests that the lagoon is a wild animal habitat. You may think it's obvious, but I think there is an argument that under the circumstances to many reasonable people it isn't.
First, Disney is a master of illusions. People go there because of that. But just as we know the Eiffel tower in France at Epcot isn't real, that the the buildings on Main Street look big due to foreshortening and illusion, I suspect many people see the manmade lagoon and think it's something Disney manufactured and maintains to look like a "Florida lake" but which is essentially a large (unclorinated) "pool." Isn't that kind of what they've done with the water at Disney Springs?
Second, Disney draws people to the beach. They are cleary meant to be enjoyed. They even draw people to them at night, for the movies. Disney has a world renowned reputation for making things family friendly. How could wading into water an ankle deep during a movie on a heavily populated beach be unsafe? And that isn't "swimming."
Third, Disney DOES NOT have these beaches appropriately labelled as containing dangerous wildlife.
So, in many ways they are sending implied messages of safety and not clearly labelling any of the beaches overtly. To me this makes them liable for this incident.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Unless you're Shaq, then 6-12" is ankle deep.

One foot of water is ankle deep? Not to me. And not to a toddler, certainly. In any case -- that's far from the main point here.

 

[bilnsheldodisney]

maybe signage more like this...would be more clear? i feel deeply for this poor family. my heart is just breaking for them. I don't see fault in a black and white way here. But, i do think people could have been better educated/more informed and the signage improved. see below. one of the boat captains once told us that they came close to the shore and saw a family posing their small children on top of what turned out to be a real alligator. we were horrified. they really thought they were statues. its crazy.

 

[pooch]

I'll buy you a bee keepers suit, you know, so you don't get the Zika virus.

It's the outdoors not a zoo.

If they can do it at AK, they can do it around the lake. Both SSL and Bay Lake are man made. They can "man make" barriers.

 

[thedonduck]

Unless you're Shaq, then 6-12" is ankle deep.

The kid was TWO. 6-12" is to my two year olds knees

 

[SaintsManiac]

Why are some of you so determined to prove how deep the water is where he stood, how far out he was, etc?

A family is grieving over a horrific and freakish accident. They deserve only peace and support.

"Let it GO!"

 

[thedonduck]

Barriers folks. Keep us away from them. End of story .

You realize alligators can climb and jump. Please explain how you can build a barrier because I would love to figure out how to keep them out of my yard.

 

[PSULion]

If they can do it at AK, they can do it around the lake. Both SSL and Bay Lake are man made. They can "man make" barriers.

You're kidding, right?

 

[thedonduck]

Why are some of you so determined to prove how deep the water is where he stood, how far out he was, etc?

A family is grieving over a horrific and freakish accident. They deserve only peace and support.

"Let it GO!"

Because people are living in fear that this animal ran up to the edge of the beach and snatched this child up. When in reality, he was probably up to his knees in the water and the alligator mistakes his splashing and playing as an injured animal and easy dinner. Trust me it absolutely breaks my heart this happened. I have an almost two year hold and I spent the night snugging with her because I was so upset and sad for this family. But I think a lot of people are thinking this animal came all the way up to the beach, when in reality he was IN the water.

 

[minniemous]

And in all the years they have been doing the movies on the lakes how many times has someone been the victim of local wildlife?

It does not matter. Does it matter to this family? The initial comment I took issue with is that people have said that "no swimming" signs have partly to do with alligator risk. I am saying "no swimming" signs does not alert people to that risk at all! I bet most people who have allowed there children to go in the water ankle high or whatever they allowed did not consider the "no swimming" sign to be alerting them to alligator. They need proper signs if that is in part what they are alerting people to.

It sounds like most of the people commenting that have mentioned they have allowed their children to wade in the water did not consider the alligator risk. There is a better that good chance that if they had danger alligator signs or dangerous wildlife this particular family might not be grieving the loss of their child.

If you are saying....disney never even thought this was a risk...an alligator has never attacked. This is NOT what they were warning against by saying "no swimming" then hey perhaps Disney has no fault. I mean if they did not think alligators are a danger to people, nowone has ever been attacked there and the sign meant no swimming water is dirty or there are boats.

However again if they are actively setting up events on the edge of the water on a beach at night asking parents to bring kids to watch a movie under the stars and take in the fireworks....and that sign of "no swimming" was intended in part to alert people to the danger of alligator and they knew it to be a real danger then they fell VERY SHORT of fulfilling there duty to warn.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

He wAs 1-2 feet out, NOT deep. Water was Ankle deep. It's been said many times. And interpreted wrong many times. The body was found 10 yards from the shore. He was not 10 feet out.

i am not saying he was 10 foot deep! Someone said he was out 10 feet..not in 10 foot deep waters. I was questioning it... geez. I said I would like to see where it states that.
I am sure it's a rumor

 

[jknc]

If they can do it at AK, they can do it around the lake. Both SSL and Bay Lake are man made. They can "man make" barriers.

Agree, AK was much more fun when they didn't have barriers up between the guests and animals.

 

[pooch]

No I'm not kidding. If they can't control the gators, and of course they can't, they have to keep them away from the guests. They have all kinds of creative barriers at AK. I see no reason they can't come up with something for the lakes. As for your back yard, my guess is disneys pockets are deeper than yours and they can throw a lot of money at the problem. You're telling me there's no place in Florida with an effective gator barrier?

 

[thedonduck]

i am not saying he was 10 foot deep! Someone said he was out 10 feet..not in 10 foot deep waters. I was questioning it... geez. I said I would like to see where it states that.
I am sure it's a rumor

Right here. It isn't inconceivable to think that it is true. 10 feet is about 3 adult steps. Given the area, that water would probably be about 6-12" deep.

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

And like I said before. Some may not like the DM source, but this is where the quote is coming from.

 

[PSULion]

No I'm not kidding. If they can't control the gators, they have to keep them away from the guests. They have all kinds of creative barriers at AK. I see no reason they can't come up with something for the lakes. As for your back yard, my guess is disneys pockets are deeper than yours and they can throw a lot of money at the problem. You're telling me there's no place in Florida with an effective gator barrier?

Not going to waste my time explaining all the reasons why, but there is no way you can possibly compare a glorified zoo, to an actual real world environment.

And for the record, the lagoon is man made. Bay Lake is NOT.