I believe they were walking back to OKW from SSR/DS. Paul specifically mentioned it on a DIS podcast just the other day. That's a whole different beast. The stretch along the two golf course fairways and the long canal is poorly lit (it's really more of a daytime jogging path that's barely discernable from the cart paths, but people CAN and do use it to walk to DS). There is plenty of bushes, reeds, and sone areas of still water.
The walkway along the front of SSR is extremely well lit, with lights illuminating the water, the grass, the walkways and the buildings in Congress Park. There is so much boat traffic on that DS lagoon that I doubt there has ever been a gator that wandered that far over there. Plus, the grass strip between the water and the walkway has no foliage and is only maybe 20 feet wide so there's literally nowhere for a gator to hide.
As mentioned above, the walkway from the Congress Park parking lot to the DS bridge, through the wooded area, is very clearly posted as closed from dusk until dawn. I'm going to say that's more about human attacks than reptilian as it's way too far from the water. There are two wide main walkways that lead to the same parking lot that are fully illuminated and bordered by grass and flower beds. There's really no reason to go through there regardless of the time of day
