Community Chat

[Adamlambert]

it is open land. I'm from Florida and there are many, many critters!!!!'  WDW cant possibly police that whole, enormous complex.  I am sad, but think the parents were not using the best judgment. A kid in water at night??? I hope they don't go kill all the gators now.

[Snoopp]

---

@missy1 wrote:

Can only hotel guests of the resort go on that beach?  Are gators/wildlife danger mentioned on a pamphlet when the guests check in?

---

I think you are supposed to be a hotel guest to use the amenities but you can easily walk on all properties.  We used to eat at all the different hotel restaurants everytime we were there.   I can't recall ever seeing any warning about gators at Disney in the past, at least at the Grand Floridian. 

Disney has closed all their beaches now.  Terrible tragedy for the poor family. 

[nomless]

Very sad.  As a non-Floridian, although I know gators are in FL,  I would not expect them to be in an area designed for children, such as Disney.  I get it now and understand the difficulty of keeping the area free of gators, but yesterday I would have assumed that a beach at Disney would be safe because where I live what's the the point of having a beach if you can't get near the water?  Here,  beach = play in water and wading is different than swimming. Shoot, I might have waded in the water, too, not realizing that No Swimming meant Stay Away!

[Suziepeach]

Aerial view of 7 seas lagoon...  Grand Floridian on the right and across is the Polynesian...  on the other side, which isn't visible, is Bay Lake, it's huge too.

[donovan]

Last I read, they've killed 4 already looking for any sign of the child. None of the 4 showed signs of being the one who snatched the child.

I can't imagine the horror the parents are going through. 

[Snoopp]

I'm aware of alligators in canals and such but since it was a man made lagoon it didn't really occur to me that alligators were in there as well.  And I know I walked near the water on that very beach without a second thought.  I guess most bodies of water in Florida are connected and will all have alligators.

[Deanie]

---

@RazorSharp wrote:

Are there any eye witnesses?  This seems a little suspicious to me.  Surely every inch of Disney is covered by surveillance cameras.  

---

When I first read this, I was appalled at the tragedy.  I also thought there were independent eye witnesses to the attack.  However, I am now reading that there were not? This is bizarre.  We are supposed to be going there for Holiday in the Fall sometime, I will cross the Floridian off my list of places to stay now. Next...

[bri20]

Any body of water in Florida, I would assume, would contain alligators.

I bet all the signage in Disney is changed ASAP.

[Fifi1]

This is our favorite hotel to visit at DW!  It's just a beautiful property.  We had our young son (at time) on the grounds there late at night and felt very safe!  We've been back several times over the years.   Who goes to bed early at DW?!  Who would ever imagine what could be lurking!  The  7-Sea Lagoon is a beautiful area. I'm very sad to hear this news, and don't believe for a minute the parents weren't attentive to their child.  Such a sad story. 

When we lived in NC we would occasionally spot an aligator come across the street from the swampy area to yards!   It never stopped me from being outside or allowing my child to play outside, but always watching!!!

[faeriemoon]

I agree with those who have said that the signage needs to be changed.  There is much more impact with a sign that reads. " ALLIGATORS-- DO NOT APPROACH WATER", than a sign that reads," NO SWIMMING".

I believe that there was some PR involved in not using the word "alligators" in the signage prior to this tragedy.

Although this is a horrific event for the family, it is going to have an unfortunate impact on the wildlife in the park.  Hopefully these creatures can be removed and relocated (or at least barricaded) safely.