Alligator Incident Discussion/Fence being built at Grand Floridian?

[theSurlyMermaid]

So the feelings of the boy's family means, literally, millions of WDW visitors every year deserve their vacation experiences to be diminished, now and in the future, for what essentially boils down to a bad judgment THEY made?

Sorry, don't think so. Kids have died at WDW before. Life goes on for everyone else.

My gosh, no lounging around on a fake beach. The horror. How will you ever go on.

Here's an idea. If this "diminishes" your WDW vacation so much, go vacation at a real beach.

 

[boltjames]

Look at the extensive warnings on signs that Disney has had in place for riding many of their rides yet nothing about alligators in the waters in front of their resorts. They made an executive decision not to warn their guests and it unfortunately was the wrong decision.

Exactly right, BT. Exactly right.

Two points to make tonight:

1. I am still amazed at how few people in this thread are holding Disney accountable for holding family events in the most dangerous locations and at the most dangerous times in the entire park. These phony beaches look like playgrounds, host movie night's, barbecues, s'mores campfires, viewing parties, and more and are where the alligators live and stalk prey. It's unfathomable that Disney didn't know that there were risks at waters edge at night. It's an outrage.

2. If Disney could catch 8 alligators in 12 hours, and one of those gators turns out to be the one who took the boy, it most certainly means that if Disney had an alligator mitigation strategy specific to the waterways near the hotels and phony beaches this incident doesn't happen and Disney regulars could sleep better again. Sweep these waterways once or twice a week, goes a very long way to solving the problem.

 

[amg35]

My gosh, no lounging around on a fake beach. The horror. How will you ever go on.

Here's an idea. If this "diminishes" your WDW vacation so much, go vacation at a real beach.

Can I ask you an honest question? Do you really believe that an alligator is going to walk on the beach, past the water line with a semi-crowd, and attack someone? Really?

(maybe I'm not done quite yet )

 

[wendow]

But getting in there at NIGHT? Bad idea. Very, very bad. Do people routinely let their young kids splash around in that lagoon at NIGHT? Is that a common occurrence? I ask honestly because I have never been to those hotel beaches at night.

Been down at the beaches many times at night and I have never seen anyone in the water...not even dipping their toe in...

 

[amg35]

Exactly right, BT. Exactly right.

Two points to make tonight:

1. I am still amazed at how few people in this thread are holding Disney accountable for holding family events in the most dangerous locations and at the most dangerous times in the entire park. These phony beaches look like playgrounds, host movie night's, barbecues, s'mores campfires, viewing parties, and more and are where the alligators live and stalk prey. It's unfathomable that Disney didn't know that there were risks at waters edge at night. It's an outrage.

2. If Disney could catch 8 alligators in 12 hours, and one of those gators turns out to be the one who took the boy, it most certainly means that if Disney had an alligator mitigation strategy specific to the waterways near the hotels and phony beaches this incident doesn't happen and Disney regulars could sleep better again. Sweep these waterways once or twice a week, goes a very long way to solving the problem.

Not talking about Disney's culpability at this point, talking about how far they have to take it.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Can I ask you an honest question? Do you really believe that an alligator is going to walk on the beach, past the water line with a semi-crowd, and attack someone? Really?

Can I ask YOU an honest question? Do you go to WDW to hang out on a fake beach?

 

[amg35]

Sure do! One of my favorite things to do is watch the electric water parade on a lounge chair, usually with a nice cocktail! Also enjoyed the movies on the beach, fun to watch outdoors.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

http://video.latino.foxnews.com/v/4...ney-be-held-liable-for-the-alligator-attack/#


A judge explaining Disneys liability in the death of this child

Watch this!!!!

 

[boltjames]

So the feelings of the boy's family means, literally, millions of WDW visitors every year deserve their vacation experiences to be diminished, now and in the future, for what essentially boils down to a bad judgment THEY made?

Sorry, don't think so. Kids have died at WDW before. Life goes on for everyone else.

You've got this completely backwards.

It's not about the feelings of the boy's family. It's that life doesn't go on for everyone else. Maybe for folks who live in Florida and always knew that there were thriving alligator habitats at Disney World. For the rest of us, this is a shocking and unbelievable discovery. I still can't wrap my brain around it. For decades we thought Disney was doing something to keep the place from being the Everglades. Now that we know they never did, we don't want to go back and peer around every darkly lit walkway, be afraid to let our kids rent water sprites in the lake, listen for strange grunting sounds in the brush, worry about an encounter coming back from a late night at the park.

 

[KBinCO]

Exactly right, BT. Exactly right.

Two points to make tonight:

1. I am still amazed at how few people in this thread are holding Disney accountable for holding family events in the most dangerous locations and at the most dangerous times in the entire park. These phony beaches look like playgrounds, host movie night's, barbecues, s'mores campfires, viewing parties, and more and are where the alligators live and stalk prey. It's unfathomable that Disney didn't know that there were risks at waters edge at night. It's an outrage.

2. If Disney could catch 8 alligators in 12 hours, and one of those gators turns out to be the one who took the boy, it most certainly means that if Disney had an alligator mitigation strategy specific to the waterways near the hotels and phony beaches this incident doesn't happen and Disney regulars could sleep better again. Sweep these waterways once or twice a week, goes a very long way to solving the problem.

hardly MOST DANGEROUS.

 

[wdwrule]

Wow!!! What is wrong with you? You might want to be more compassionate and you clearly don't understand the law. Listen to a judge explain Disneys liability here. Posted above.

Some people drink the Disney kool-aid heavily. Bottom line Disney screwed up....big time. During the following morning of the incident before he was even found they were tearing down hammocks, closing "beaches" at all resorts, and not showing news in club level lounges. Signs said "no swimming". He wasn't swimming. Most resort CM's playfully refer to gators at the resorts as "resident pets". Because, you know, Disney is so magical. It's so devastating that it sometimes takes a tragedy to happen to finally put up non-sugar coated signs. And it's not like the area was a roped off construction site. The incident took place where they're encouraged to lounge and build sand castles. If Disney knew inches away there were alligators then they should've done something a long time ago. That spot is way too easily accessible and hardly warned, especially for what they were using the area for. All they could come up with was "no swimming" to keep it upbeat and magical.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

Exactly right, BT. Exactly right.

Two points to make tonight:

1. I am still amazed at how few people in this thread are holding Disney accountable for holding family events in the most dangerous locations and at the most dangerous times in the entire park. These phony beaches look like playgrounds, host movie night's, barbecues, s'mores campfires, viewing parties, and more and are where the alligators live and stalk prey. It's unfathomable that Disney didn't know that there were risks at waters edge at night. It's an outrage.

2. If Disney could catch 8 alligators in 12 hours, and one of those gators turns out to be the one who took the boy, it most certainly means that if Disney had an alligator mitigation strategy specific to the waterways near the hotels and phony beaches this incident doesn't happen and Disney regulars could sleep better again. Sweep these waterways once or twice a week, goes a very long way to solving the problem.

Totally agree!

 

[wendow]

Sure do! One of my favorite things to do is watch the electric water parade on a lounge chair, usually with a nice cocktail! Also enjoyed the movies on the beach, fun to watch outdoors.

Yep! Us too. Sure we could go on a 'real beach' vacation but then we wouldn't have the Disney parks. Our family doesn't want just the beach and not everyone can afford multiple vacations a year so for our family, going to WDW and staying at a 'beach' resort is the best fit for us. We are ok not getting into the lake. My kids have dipped their toes in a few times and gotten water from the lake for building sandcastles. And we totally go down there for the EWP and fireworks but we stay away from the water completely at night.

 

[amg35]

Okay, at this point I'm going to believe some of you are just arguing for fun! My boyfriend just yelled at me for taking a message board seriously!

Cheers everybody!

Looking forward to booking next year's trip this Tuesday!

 

[OSUZorba]

Sign and fence installed, great. Personally, I need signs and barriers to keep me from relying on common sense. When I go to ocean beaches, I look for a sign to tell me whats in the water. If I dont see one, I ask someone else to tell me whats in the water and can I go in.

I guess no sign means its safe even though I hear sharks like to swim in water by beaches.

What happened was a tragedy all around. Our society has become less accountable and more blame centric. Blaming parents or park owners for tragic accidents does not fix the problem. Before this happened there was no outcry for more protection. We can only hope tragedy does not hit our home and that we all learn from accidents. We are all accountable.

You mean something like this (every beach in Hawaii has the applicable signs and I think most busy public beaches in the US have some sort of warning signs):

Or a typical Yosemite sign (in the middle of the Federal Wilderness, where people are going specifically to see a waterfall):

I think when a business knows of a specific danger, they should make people aware. I knew alligators were everywhere in Florida, but seeing all of the Disney Resort's ads pushing their beaches made me think they must do something to make them safe, otherwise why the heck would you build a beach next to a swamp and encourage people to go to it?

To be fair, once I got there and saw the no swimming signs I would've realized the ads were a bit misleading and stayed out of the water. But I am very active outdoors man, routinely research dangers in the wild and I had these thoughts, I don't think it is reasonable to assume that everyone just knows that there were gators right along the shoreline. Especially when Disney made the beach, made them connect with the water, advertises for them in all of their resort literature and plans events along the waters edge at dusk and night.

 

[boltjames]

Not talking about Disney's culpability at this point, talking about how far they have to take it.

Here's what they are going to do: Rope off the beaches, put up very informative signs, and relocate night time events away from water's edge.

Here's what they should do: Put up very informative signs, put cast members on each of these tiny beaches to enforce the shoreline, and sweep the lakes and lagoons near the residential resorts twice a week.

 

[boltjames]

hardly MOST DANGEROUS.

If there is something more dangerous towards an unwanted alligator encounter than gathering children within feet of shallow swampy water at night, please let me know what it is.

 

[amg35]

Yep! Us too. Sure we could go on a 'real beach' vacation but then we wouldn't have the Disney parks. Our family doesn't want just the beach and not everyone can afford multiple vacations a year so for our family, going to WDW and staying at a 'beach' resort is the best fit for us. We are ok not getting into the lake. My kids have dipped their toes in a few times and gotten water from the lake for building sandcastles. And we totally go down there for the EWP and fireworks but we stay away from the water completely at night.

We were lucky enough to go to the Bahamas and St. Thomas last year. If you can, St. Thomas has the beaches of dreams.... watch out for iguanas and live chickens in the Bahamas!!! Running free, blew my mind!

 

[boltjames]

I think when a business knows of a specific danger, they should make people aware. I knew alligators were everywhere in Florida, but seeing all of the Disney Resort's ads pushing their beaches made me think they must do something to make them safe, otherwise why the heck would you build a beach next to a swamp and encourage people to go to it?

Exactly.

What we learned this week is that by putting humans in direct proximity to the shallows in the waterways where the alligators live:

Humans are feeding the alligators and making them unafraid of people and looking to us as a food source.

Humans are being enticed to gather at night time events in the very places they are most vulnerable to the largest population of alligators in WDW history.

And only a tragic death of a child makes Disney finally break down and do the right thing, put up signs that are good for their guests but bad for business. I'll never look at Disney or their management the same way again. They have lost my trust and the trust of millions of visitors who never, not once, ever thought they were putting their little ones at risk.

 

[amg35]

You've got this completely backwards.

It's not about the feelings of the boy's family. It's that life doesn't go on for everyone else. Maybe for folks who live in Florida and always knew that there were thriving alligator habitats at Disney World. For the rest of us, this is a shocking and unbelievable discovery. I still can't wrap my brain around it. For decades we thought Disney was doing something to keep the place from being the Everglades. Now that we know they never did, we don't want to go back and peer around every darkly lit walkway, be afraid to let our kids rent water sprites in the lake, listen for strange grunting sounds in the brush, worry about an encounter coming back from a late night at the park.

Now I'm confident in my assumption.