I agree and it wouldn't surprise me either. In fact, I am thinking that Disney did offer them a settlement perhaps with a gag order in exchange for not suing. If a lawsuit came about, the media would continue to report on the issue. Disney wants this whole incident completely forgotten. I love going to Disney but behind all that "magic" there is the desire to make money and lots of it. I am sure they feel horrible but I am also sure they must have had a team of attorneys and marketing advisors working around the clock from day one.
I have not commented at all on this case and can see both sides. This was a freak incident but after reading all of the articles and listening to both sides, I think Disney could have better warned the public. Signs warning of alligators versus a "No Swimming" sign conjure up very different reactions (at least for me). When I am at Disney, I feel safer (and yes that may be a false sense of security but they are good at creating it and spend lots of money on that image).
Disney purposely places trash cans 15 steps apart because after 15 steps of holding trash, people tend to litter. I mention that because alot of thinking and analysis goes into every move they make. I am sure someone had to consider the risk of alligators in that lake and the proximity to the hotels. Perhaps the results of their research proved that the public's perception of signs along every establishment near the shallow end of the lake did not outweigh the odds of this happening combined with them actively removing alligators. I am not suggesting this is exactly what happened but I do believe every move is calculated and if this was truly an oversight, the next step would be to rectify the mistake both publicly (new signs) and privately. If mistakes do happen, I think Disney has teams to remediate. Ths is an empire that has a well funded army of brilliant advisors on board. I don't think they want this lingering in the news or reappearing within 2 years if the couple decided to sue.
Again all of this is purely my opinion and if no settlement was involved, I would be shocked. I am not the type to sue and have never been in court for such purposes but this couple encountered the greatest loss of all. Money will never make things right or bring back their beautiful son. I can't say how I would react because I would not want to be put through the torture of a legal battle but I think I would have to go to court if Disney did not try to settle with me privately. In fact, if they made no offer to me - I would be even more angry. It would come down to two questions in my mind: 1) Did you know there were alligators in the lake? yes they did. 2) What did you do to warn the public of the presence of alligators? Case closed.
