Community Chat

[ChazzyLady]

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@sidsmom wrote:

The parents were with the child.

I'm surprised there weren't warning signs about wildlife.

If you didn't know this lagoon had feeder water channels to the outside, one would just think it's a contained manmade mini-lake.  Assumption would be no animals.  

If the alligator was that aggressive, I would guess they would rush the sandy banks, as well.  Anything could've happened.

So unfortunate. 

I think it was just a Wrong Place/Wrong Time type of situation.

(Fr: cnn.com)

The attack occurred on a sandy waterfront area outside the hotel near the Seven Seas Lagoon on the property.

Witnesses said the family was on the beach, and the boy's sister was in a playpen about 20 to 30 yards from the water, according to Demings. The toddler was nearby, wading in the water.

Jeff Corwin, a noted national animal expert, said he was surprised this happened so close to a highly regulated area but noted there are millions of alligators in Florida. Disney has many thousand acres. An alligator could make its way, undetected through some swamp and marsh into a lagoon near where people congregate.

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Right or wrong @sidsmom, as you said, I would not have been thinking "hey, I need to watch out for alligators!" I've never been to this resort, but the pictures I've seen of the area where this tragedy occurred look so beautiful that, as cautious as I'd like to think I am, I probably wouldn't have been on high alert in that setting. I really hope that people don't start heaping judgement on the parents for being irresponsible or inattentive; their suffering and grief has already sentenced them to a lifetime of pain.

[colliegirls]

This family will never recover from this.  It is hard enough to lose a child without witnessing this horrific incident. They will have PTSD from this nightmare.

I am sure it all started to innocently, no one would think that an alligator would attack that quickly, especially being from Nebraska.

[Mrsq2022]

I'm from California and have never visited Florida.  Call me an idiot if you want, but if I were vacationing at the Grand Californian in WDW I would have felt fine allowing my children to wade in this water.  Unless there were signs warning me of alligators and advising to stay out of the water, I'd have no idea that it was so dangerous.  Not all of us have alligators in our water, and for most, the biggest concern around bodies of water is drowning.  

I really feel feel for this family.  What a horrible tragedy on what should have been a memorable experience.

[beach-mom]

This is the second - at least - fatal alligator attack in two weeks. I am worried about the population increasing and the alligators becoming more aggressive. My sympathies are with this family, but if I went to Florida I would not let any small children or pets anywhere near the water. Walt Disney World will certainly take precautions to make sure its visitors are safe - from anything. 

[DiAnne]

As we built in the animal natural habitat they have to go somewhere.  I am from Washington state and they have problems with black bears up here because developers have built housing tracts in the bears natural area so the bears are using trash cans, etc as a food source.  

[febe1]

Although not from FL, I watch Nat'l Geo and I've watched how fast and how they will come on shore to attack big zebras, etc. The little boy was reported to be only one foot in the water.

I cannot imagine ever standing close to the water where alligators are prevalent. They are predators and do what animals do.

God bless the parents, really one of life's tragedies.

[Mz iMac]

Being from Nebraska or any other place in the world is no excuse for letting a 2 yr old wade in shallow water AT NIGHT w/NO SWIMMING signs posted all over the place.

The father was close enough to the child to rescue but no one can pry the jaws of an alligator once it takes hold of "food." 

I think I read some where that alligators "drown" their "food" prior to swallowing.

SIDEBAR:  Everytime I go to New Orleans I always take a canoe ride on the everglades to feed the alligators marchmellows.  I won't be doing that no more!!!

[dex]

there are so many hidden and unforeseen dangers in life for children that it is difficult to imagine that most grow up safelySometimes I think that that there is a little bit of luck,timing and fate involved.

[wakefield64]

WHY didn't the warning sign say NO Swimming. GATORS instead of No Swimming? I think people would pay more attention to that sign. Not much protection for guests by Disney in my opinion .

[Puppy Lips]

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@ValuSkr wrote:

How horrible.  I think the boy was wading in the water.  There are "no swimming" signs and lifeguards on duty but no signs warning of alligators.  I wonder why Disney didn't post warnings.  The way they control everything to the nth degree at their resorts, I'd have thought they'd have found a way to keep alligators out.

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I believe that lagoon has connections to a bigger body of water.  Even if it doesn't, there is no way to keep alligators out.  If there is any body of water in Florida, you have to assume that there are alligators in there.