So I`m sure most have heard this by now but a child was attacked and killed by an alligator at Disney, Gator attack. Please be careful around water and swampy areas. I never for a minute would have guessed it would be a problem! but apparently it is, I guess they remove them quite often! Please watch your kids!!! and yourselves!

People who do not live around water or gators. Never think about something like this happening.

I would never even allow my grandkids anywhere near some place gators live, Disney allows gators on its property. Only a matter of time before something awful happens, and it did. Disney is responsible for the death of this child.IMHO

I thought that the youngster died at a hotel. Was the hotel actually a part of DW?

D.E.Bishop wrote:I thought that the youngster died at a hotel. Was the hotel actually a part of DW?It happened at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort.

i don't want to get into this but disney is not responsible for this terrible accident. in the south where there is water there are gators.

Disney! be careful!!! | Good Sam Community

96 Replies

spoon059
Explorer II
Jun 17, 2016
Campfire Time wrote:

So what are you saying? That just because it's not spelled out that it's safe? Do you need a sign in addition to "Road Closed" to tell you why it's closed? Of course not, you know proceeding could be bad for you. "No Swimming" is also pretty straight forward.

Unfortunately, there is a large percentage of the population that needs... DEMANDS... exact details of everything. If the details aren't expressed displayed, the rules don't apply to them. I learned this from over 12 years in patrol as a police officer.

We had a bad flood about a decade ago, a large portion of a major highway was completely submerged in flood waters. We had the road closed, blocked by marked police cruisers and supplemented by large State Road trucks, because people were trying to drive through the cones and flares. Well, after dark some guy decided that the rules didn't apply to him. The road was COMPLETELY blocked with vehicles, but to his defense we didn't have any signs that said the road was submerged.

This guy turned off his lights and drove down the wrong way in the opposite lanes of traffic (which weren't blocked...) and drove straight into the flood waters. His car was swept downstream and his body was found miles down the road a week later.

Some people just cannot take in the information at hand and make a logical conclusion. They need the conclusion solved and spelled out in at least 2 languages and posted every 10 feet before they are even willing to begin to accept responsibility for the information.

It blows my mind that people are so willing to deflect blame away the parents in this case. You have some touchy-feeling folks here that feel bad for what happened, so they refuse to assign blame because what happened was so tragic. The problem is that when you don't accept responsibility for your mistakes, those mistakes continue to get made by somebody else, and somebody else, and somebody else. If we had personal responsibility and blamed the correct people, perhaps we would see less of these events.
Mich_F
Explorer
Jun 17, 2016
Perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided, if Disney had added alligator warnings to their no swimming signs. I imagine they'll be putting those signs up now.
2012Coleman
Explorer II
Jun 17, 2016
I just read an article that stated the employees reported the visitors would frequently feed the alligators in the lagoon in spite of posted signs and being told not to. Doing this removes the natural fear gators have of humans. So untimely, stupid tourists who feed alligators can be thanked for this. I do not agree that Disney is responsible for this unfortunate accident.

I've been kayaking and canoeing all over the state of Florida, and gators in the wild flee from me when passing them. Others with similar experience, please chime in. Putting yourself into their environment at the time of day they are looking for food is unconscionable. At some point - as stated by Bears Den, the responsibility for your families safety is square on your shoulders, and not some corporation which happens to have deep pockets for sympathetic jurors to empty.

And yes, gators walk across land to access water features. I see them all the time in ponds in the golf course that surround the building where I work, and can see one cruising the big pond visible from my window as I type this.
dewey02
Explorer II
Jun 17, 2016
Bears Den wrote:
Some day a small boy is going to ask his dad, "Dad what is common sense"? The dad's reply will be, " I don't know son, grandpa use to talk about it when I was growing up". There is very little common sense used in today's society. A sign reads no swimming, there must be a reason and the reason or reasons should not have to be listed. No swimming means no swimming. We have been going to Disney well over 20 years and multiple times a year. I have yet to see a gator anywhere but obviously they are there. I feel bad for the family of this young boy, but use some common sense people.
Joyce_in_NY
Explorer
Jun 17, 2016
Dutch_12078 wrote:
Joyce in NY wrote:
When we travel in unknown areas, I always ask a park attendant what poisonous creatures live in the area that I should be aware of -- snakes, spiders, etc. In our area of the country, we have nothing dangerous, so I make an extra effort to educate myself.

I don't know what part of NY you live in, but timber rattlers, copperheads, and massasauga (mistakenly called "pygmy rattlers"), are all native to NY. On the spider side, NY only has the mildly poisonous yellow sac spiders. And then of course there's the ubiquitous bears, cougars, coyotes, and coy dogs that have been known to go after small pets, etc. NY doesn't have alligators, but don't assume everywhere you go is safe from predators.

Of course we have wildlife! But as I said, in our little area of New York, I have never heard of anyone seeing any poisonous snakes, spiders, etc. South of us an hour, yes. Perhaps with the climate changes going on, we will see more and more migration north.
Bears_Den
Explorer
Jun 17, 2016
Some day a small boy is going to ask his dad, "Dad what is common sense"? The dad's reply will be, " I don't know son, grandpa use to talk about it when I was growing up". There is very little common sense used in today's society. A sign reads no swimming, there must be a reason and the reason or reasons should not have to be listed. No swimming means no swimming. We have been going to Disney well over 20 years and multiple times a year. I have yet to see a gator anywhere but obviously they are there. I feel bad for the family of this young boy, but use some common sense people.
jake2250
Explorer
Jun 17, 2016
So if I hunt in PA,, who do I sue because a tick gave me Lime disease? And whats gonna happen in the Southern states when a mosquito transmits the Zika Virus to ya?? Should be signs showing mosquitoes the size of crows??
I am already in litigation with the State of California because I got sunburned and that might lead to skin cancer!!

And to think,, these people can be picked for a jury and Vote???
Strabo
Explorer
Jun 17, 2016
jake2250 wrote:
Good gosh folks,, at what point does the government let go of your hand? NO SWIMMING signs were present!
Its Florida, Alligator Country!
DW is at fault because they provide swimming pools and wading areas of safety and you chose to allow your 2 Year old to wade into a lagoon??
We are having an epidemic of people entering the freeways from the Off Ramps after clearly passing a DO NOT ENTER sign that is reflective and BIG!!,, Then the delineation reflectors are RED in the wrong direction!!
They continue and drive head on into another vehicle or vehicles and KILL themselves and others!!

Now the state is looking into the reasons this is happening!!

The argument that DW should have pictures on Gators on the sign??

Has this been an issue before??? No,, they posted NO SWIMMING signs!!

And Southern California had to post signs of No Running across a busy freeway because the illegals were getting run over!! It is actually a sign showing two adults one actually holding the hand of a child running with the big Slash across it!!

To say DW is responsible just ridiculous!! Holy cow people!!

Disney provides it's clients with a reasonable expectation of security, it's part of the family experience.

Put that on your gator sign
jake2250
Explorer
Jun 17, 2016
Old-Biscuit wrote:
imgoin4it wrote:
No signs about alligators at this location, only "no swimming". Disney may be at fault because ,1 no signs, 2 Disney constructed the "lake", and 3 Disney constructed waterways so water could flow from natural sources to their man made lake. I understsnd there are alligator signs in other locations , just not this lake. All this according to FNC.

Exactly......

The whole complex (Disney Resort) was swamp/marsh land that Disney developed

Signage states 'No Swimming'-----nothing 'warning' about alligators which Disney was/is fully aware of---they have staff that monitors location/numbers and can remove alligators at will (which are euthanized not relocated).

Disney's sign (Nothing about alligators)

The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, which neighbors the Walt Disney World resort and shares the lagoon, has signs warning of alligators

Ummm,, those are canoes,, evidently that place allows you to GO ONTO the water, That DW Lagoon does not allow any water activity!!Duh!
jake2250
Explorer
Jun 17, 2016
Good gosh folks,, at what point does the government let go of your hand? NO SWIMMING signs were present!
Its Florida, Alligator Country!
DW is at fault because they provide swimming pools and wading areas of safety and you chose to allow your 2 Year old to wade into a lagoon??
We are having an epidemic of people entering the freeways from the Off Ramps after clearly passing a DO NOT ENTER sign that is reflective and BIG!!,, Then the delineation reflectors are RED in the wrong direction!!
They continue and drive head on into another vehicle or vehicles and KILL themselves and others!!

Now the state is looking into the reasons this is happening!!

The argument that DW should have pictures on Gators on the sign??

Has this been an issue before??? No,, they posted NO SWIMMING signs!!

And Southern California had to post signs of No Running across a busy freeway because the illegals were getting run over!! It is actually a sign showing two adults one actually holding the hand of a child running with the big Slash across it!!

To say DW is responsible just ridiculous!! Holy cow people!!

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Disney! be careful!!!

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