Found Deceased FL - Lane Graves, 2, Walt Disney World, 14 June 2016 #1

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margarita25 said:
Poor little guy. :( And his family.

(Somewhat O/T, this is the 4th time in just a couple of weeks I've read about alligator related incidents, all in Florida iirc (the huge one on the golf course, the alligators with human remains Twice, now this...)

I don't think Disney will fight this (trying to blame the parents, etc.) Jmo.
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I agree... I worked at a resort conglomerate and they have people whose sole job is assisting people injured for whatever reason. The company I worked for, which was no Disney, would NEVER have blamed the customer (even if it truly was the customer's fault). The public relations nightmare if they blamed a couple whose 2yo died on their property would be incredibly damaging to the Disney brand. I'm sure their risk mitigation team is doing everything imaginable for this family, and I'm equally sure Disney will pay a large settlement without a complaint (the bulk of which will certainly be covered by insurance).

And the parents certainly have a strong case... this is something that is reasonably foreseeable by Disney, considering the prevalence of alligators in fresh water in Florida, Disney has actually foreseen the possibility since there are apparently at least some written or verbal warnings (still wondering how they deal with non-English speakers), and yet they have this nice, inviting, sandy beach leading right to the water's edge, and hold events very close to the beach. And from what others have posted, they don't fuss at people who do wade or play in the water.

Moo, IANAL, etc.

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Stripehaven said:
I agree completely. "No Swimming" suggests to me that there is no lifeguard, or perhaps the water quality is bad. I might still dip a toe. Also, that sign looks pretty small. Is it easily seen at night, in a crowd?
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If no one else was in the water, and there are signs that say "no swimming", I think I would take that to mean no one should be in that water. Sad event anyway.
 
For people who are asking, swimming used to be allowed in the seven seas lagoon and the adjacent Bay Lake, which had the River Country water park in it. The Waterpark had a protective barrier to keep gators out the water park from the lake. However, I believe a change in laws in Florida due to bacteria in the lakes stopped them from being able to use it?

So perhaps measures to keep gators out of swimming areas became less important since essentially they were no longer for swimming and more for decorative purposes.


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It's a horrible tragedy. I can't even imagine.

To be honest, I have been to Florida on many occasions and to Walt Disney World several times and stayed at some of the resorts. I can't recall seeing anything about alligators. Coming from Canada, we don't have alligator issues to even think about. When I have been to Florida in general, I do think about where I am and how to be careful. At Walt Disney World, I have a sense of safety and security. Unless it was clearly posted, it would never occur to me that alligators would be in any of the ponds at the resorts. Foolish me.
 
MissyLDT said:
For people who are asking, swimming used to be allowed in the seven seas lagoon and the adjacent Bay Lake, which had the River Country water park in it. The Waterpark had a protective barrier to keep gators out the water park from the lake. However, I believe a change in laws in Florida due to bacteria in the lakes stopped them from being able to use it?

So perhaps measures to keep gators out of swimming areas became less important since essentially they were no longer for swimming and more for decorative purposes.


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As I posted earlier, they still have boating, fishing, jet skiing, parasailing, wake boarding, water skiing on that very body of water. Anyone who sees this during the daytime hours would think that putting toes in the water "ISN"T SWIMMING".

A sign that says "NO SWIMMING" to me means there is no lifeguard. I would not have thought twice myself to put my toes in that water. Where we live, NO SWIMMING means no lifeguard, not that there is any danger to swimming outside of that. And if there is a danger, there are DANGER signs!

WHy does Disney have bonfires and movies on their beaches (I know they have the same at the Beach Club, where we once stayed) if someone puts their toes in the waters of WDW they could be attacked by an alligator. Why have these functions ON THE BEACH?!?

When I go to some beaches, there are warnings of jellyfish or sharks in the area, why aren't there warnings of alligators in the waters at WDW. And these "NO SWIMMING" signs are in English, what if someone doesn't read English!?!

I think Disney did not put up a WARNING ALLIGATORS or any WARNING sign because then it would "scare" off some people, while they are trying to be "the happiest place on earth".
 
I think it is important to remember that despite effective measures to clear an area of alligators, the gators cross roads, move through drainage tunnels so even if an area has been cleared of nuisance gators the chances that there are more or will be more are high. The alligators are on a continual search for mating and feeding areas. I have always heard it is a rule of thumb that swimming in any fresh or brackish water area means that you may encounter an alligator. The edges of waterways are particularly dangerous.
 
kaen said:
I think it is important to remember that despite effective measures to clear an area of alligators, the gators cross roads, move through drainage tunnels. I have always heard it is a rule of thumb that swimming in any fresh or brackish water area means that you may encounter an alligator. The edges of waterways are particularly dangerous.
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No one outside of livng in the south knows that ANY body of water is prone to alligators.

We don't have any alligators here, so we don't know the dangers. We jump into creeks, swim in watering holes, and walk beaches without worry. I would also suspect that people in Nebraska have no clue that there are dangers in LAKE waters in Florida.

When people see pictures of Florida, they see people enjoying beaches and waters, but obviously that is salt water, which I assume is not a body of water alligators like to live in??

This has me worried that I don't know much about alligators.
 
Tealgrove said:
It's a horrible tragedy. I can't even imagine.

To be honest, I have been to Florida on many occasions and to Walt Disney World several times and stayed at some of the resorts. I can't recall seeing anything about alligators. Coming from Canada, we don't have alligator issues to even think about. When I have been to Florida in general, I do think about where I am and how to be careful. At Walt Disney World, I have a sense of safety and security. Unless it was clearly posted, it would never occur to me that alligators would be in any of the ponds at the resorts. Foolish me.
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I agree! I have been to this beach that WDW created and there is just a no swimming sign. It is definitely a beach that WDW created with nice sand. Of course this is Florida, hot and humid, even at 9:00 at night. On news said boy was just in 1 feet of water, which is not very far at all from manmade beach. Yes, no swimming, but why would WDW create beach if they didn't expect people to go to the water to cool themselves off? Boy wasn't swimming, just stuck his legs in the water...
 
Thank you .

eucalyptuz said:
Sometimes, awful things happen and no one is to blame.
Anyone who has been to Disney is well-aware that they err on the side of caution (and avoidance of litigation) in every situation - sometimes maddeningly so, to even the mildest, remotely possible threat or danger. It is impossible to control and limit the presence of gators.
It sucks to be in Orlando this week but in this instance, I am very, very sad about a tragic attack by a wild animal, but I cannot join the blame brigade.
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JerseyGirl said:
No one outside of livng in the south knows that ANY body of water is prone to alligators.

We don't have any alligators here, so we don't know the dangers. We jump into creeks, swim in watering holes, and walk beaches without worry. I would also suspect that people in Nebraska have no clue that there are dangers in LAKE waters in Florida.

When people see pictures of Florida, they see people enjoying beaches and waters, but obviously that is salt water, which I assume is not a body of water alligators like to live in??

This has me worried that I don't know much about alligators.
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I am actually from NJ originally and live in the northeast. I have spent some time in FL at Disney and near the coast vacationing. I think you are right that gator knowledge is not on a vacationer's radar. I also think that Disney creates environments that make a visitor let down their guard. When I stayed at the Port Orleans (years ago), we saw a number of gators in the waterway (river?) next to the walkway. I was curious and a little surprised. I became much more of an informed guest after that.

I expect some reality to be interjected into the park given this horrible tragedy.
 
Its mating season, gators will be more active and move to places they don't normally hang. Add in the tropical storm from last week and the overflow of rain we have had, lakes, ponds, creeks are high and moving for the gator is much easier. Bet he normally isn't in this lake.... so add all the conditions together, Just a 'fluke' that the child went into the water at the time it did. We have a pond. Only see a gator in for 2 to 3 days, twice a year. NEVER anything around other that that. I still warn everyone to keep children and small pets away from it ALL YEAR round.
 
Orlando is a wonderful place, I can't believe it's seen so much tragedy in one week. Praying for the family.
 
JerseyGirl said:
As I posted earlier, they still have boating, fishing, jet skiing, parasailing, wake boarding, water skiing on that very body of water. Anyone who sees this during the daytime hours would think that putting toes in the water "ISN"T SWIMMING".

A sign that says "NO SWIMMING" to me means there is no lifeguard. I would not have thought twice myself to put my toes in that water. Where we live, NO SWIMMING means no lifeguard, not that there is any danger to swimming outside of that. And if there is a danger, there are DANGER signs!

WHy does Disney have bonfires and movies on their beaches (I know they have the same at the Beach Club, where we once stayed) if someone puts their toes in the waters of WDW they could be attacked by an alligator. Why have these functions ON THE BEACH?!?

When I go to some beaches, there are warnings of jellyfish or sharks in the area, why aren't there warnings of alligators in the waters at WDW. And these "NO SWIMMING" signs are in English, what if someone doesn't read English!?!

I think Disney did not put up a WARNING ALLIGATORS or any WARNING sign because then it would "scare" off some people, while they are trying to be "the happiest place on earth".
Click to expand...

I totally agree. Why would WDW have bonfires and movies on the beach they made and not expect anyone to just put their feet in the water? Parents said 2 year old only went in about 1 feet of his legs. He was definitely not swimming. I have been to this beach. Have seen some adults swimming. We didn't care to but be we did wade into the water to cool ourselves off. I mean, really, it's a beach. How do you cool off with the ocean right there??
 
I was visiting my daughter at an apartment complex she lived at in Florida. I went for a walk on a really nice walking trail and came across a sign to beware of alligators. I went back to the apartment as fast as I could and did not take a walk the rest of my trip. what surprised me was all the children playing around the area.
 
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