Florida Wildlife at WDW

[DOOM1001]

I've seen a large buck with huge antlers just strolling along in an empty MK parking lot.

 

[Goldilocks07]

I strongly feel that this was purely a horrific ACCIDENT.
A case of "it could never happen to me" story, or "that couldn't possibly happen".
Clearly, no one goes to Florida with the assumption that they are taking a risk of being eaten by an alligator.
Clearly, no one goes to Disney World, or ANY theme park or family friendly 'safe' area, thinking an animal will attack them.
Clearly, no one thinks that alligators have the capability of living in the lakes at WDW.
And CLEARLY, if anyone actually considered any of the above, they would have warning signs up all over, mesh wire netting (still no guarantee) as a safety filter, and no parent would go within feet of the lagoons.
This poor family. What a grotesque tragedy - what a horrific loss. And to think of those last seconds of trying to get the child out of the gators' grips and then losing him. I'm at a loss for words. So terribly sad.

I feel it is a difficult case with no one really to blame- certainly not the parents. Certainly not Disney World. I mean, do we sue Mother Nature?
I was in tears hearing this news, reading about it- with my 2 year old nephew right in front of me eating popcorn out of a red Solo cup.

Our generation is full of worry.
Worry about drunk drivers.
Worry about terrorists.
Worry about gun violence.
Worry about school shootings.
And worry about animal attacks in places where we should feel the MOST safe.
(obviously the list could go on and on...)

I pray for all the families who have lost so much this week. Poor poor Orlando.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

While on the boat ride to Disney Springs at Port Orleans Riverside, someone asked our boat driver if there were alligators in the river and he was upfront about it. He said, yes, there was, and there were alligators in other bodies of water on property, too. I wasn't surprised to here something like that.

This was a tragic accident, but at the same point, something that was probably an inevitability.

 

[baildrk]

just to clarify first i am not talking about the boys family just the people on the news, I just don't understand how people can't put water = alligators in Florida, I am from MN and I know that. Ignorance, when people say why didn't they have signs warning that there may be alligators, that's why people put fences around their pools in Florida.

 

[AFwifelife]

just to clarify first i am not talking about the boys family just the people on the news, I just don't understand how people can't put water = alligators in Florida, I am from MN and I know that. Ignorance, when people say why didn't they have signs warning that there may be alligators, that's why people put fences around their pools in Florida.

Not exactly. It's for insurance purposes to prevent drowning accidents.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

I think WDW needs to add to their signs "Do NOT feed the wildlife" and fine people for doing so. There was reporter on a cable news that while on a Disney dinner boat he and his family were encouraged to throw rolls in the water. He said he saw gators coming up to eat them. Posters on this board mentioned feeding gators and other animals at WDW.

 

[Candice1873]

I don't post here much. Mainly a lurker...but this is so OUT OF LINE!

Do you people not get that 2 parents watched an alligator snatch their 2 year old BABY!!! Knowing there was basically no chance he would survive? Imagine how scared that poor child was while in that alligators mouth. Who cares whose fault it is!!!! It CAN'T happen again! If it is on Disney property it is their responsibility....plain and simple. A BABY IS DEAD! And parents watched it happen! They will relive this moment in their heads EVERY HOUR OF EVERY DAY for the REST OF THEIR LIVES! Could of, should of, would of - a baby is dead. Period. Disney needs to correct the situation to ensure it doesn't happen EVER AGAIN.

Imagine if it was you....and you read the comments on here. Seriously - show some compassion for someone else's grief. A BABY IS DEAD. Disney is a multi-billion dollar company....they will do what is right....regardless of what is said on here.

I am going to go cry now for these poor parents and siblings that lost a child in a most horrible way....a horror story burned into their minds for the rest of their lives. Disney life will go on....unfortunately for this family it will not work that way.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

I don't post here much. Mainly a lurker...but this is so OUT OF LINE!

Do you people not get that 2 parents watched an alligator snatch their 2 year old BABY!!! Knowing there was basically no chance he would survive? Imagine how scared that poor child was while in that alligators mouth. Who cares whose fault it is!!!! It CAN'T happen again! If it is on Disney property it is their responsibility....plain and simple. A BABY IS DEAD! And parents watched it happen! They will relive this moment in their heads EVERY HOUR OF EVERY DAY for the REST OF THEIR LIVES! Could of, should of, would of - a baby is dead. Period. Disney needs to correct the situation to ensure it doesn't happen EVER AGAIN.

Imagine if it was you....and you read the comments on here. Seriously - show some compassion for someone else's grief. A BABY IS DEAD. Disney is a multi-billion dollar company....they will do what is right....regardless of what is said on here.

I am going to go cry now for these poor parents and siblings that lost a child in a most horrible way....a horror story burned into their minds for the rest of their lives. Disney life will go on....unfortunately for this family it will not work that way.

Yes, we do get it. There are multiple threads where we showed sympathy for the parents of this horrific accident. That is not what this one is about...imo. I pray that people will read the threads here and become more informed so this doesn't happen again.

 

[fla4fun]

Wait, there are brain eating amoeba in Florida? Wow, there definitely needs to be warnings about that! Lakes near me (north) sometimes close because of e coli, but that will make you sick, not do permanent damage! And here, whenever the bacteria counts are high, there are very clearly posted signs telling you why you can't go in the water.

It's not just in Florida. I have heard of people contracting it as far north as Minnesota. It has to do with the temperature of the water. Any fresh water lake anywhere can be an issue . It does tend to be more prevalent in southern states because we tend to be warmer, but personally I don't swim in lakes anywhere because there is always a risk unless the water is cold (which I wouldn't want to swim in either). The worst risk is near the shoreline because that water is the warmest and the parasite is typically lying at the bottom, which gets stirred up as you enter the water. Most times it's ok if you boat out to the center of a lake and then you swim, because the water is deep enough that the parasite either isn't able to survive or can't be stirred up.

 

[sunshine1]

 

[rance]

Disney is and was aware that alligators were on property and did nothing to ensure the safety of their guests. There is a big difference between a sign that says no swimming and one that says DANGER ALLIGATORS!
There should have been fences around the resort beaches separating it from the water.

Were the signs lite so they could be scene at night?

These parents suffered a horrible tragedy and in no way are they to blame.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

Disney is and was aware that alligators were on property and did nothing to ensure the safety of their guests. There is a big difference between a sign that says no swimming and one that says DANGER ALLIGATORS!
There should have been fences around the resort beaches separating it from the water.

Were the signs lite so they could be scene at night?

These parents suffered a horrible tragedy and in no way are they to blame.

So what you are saying, someone needs to be blamed? Why, it is why it is called an "ACCIDENT". Accidents happen. When you go to Florida and are surrounded by water, guess what.....WILDLIFE call this home and there is not much you can do to deter them from making it their home.

 

[Jennasis]

Well, to all of you who didn't know,never dreamed, couldn't have imagined there were gators in the man-made lakes or elsewhere at WDW...now you know. Now everybody knows. What a terrible price to pay for that knowledge. I hope this encourages people to more closeness research their vacation destinations anywhere in the world.

 

[Easto]

Why are people trying to blame Disney?

The alligator was in it's natural habitat. Blows my mind how people think this is Disney's fault.

There are a few unfortunate things about what happened:

1. A 2 year old child is dead
2. Disney will end up paying out the a$$ in some sort of settlement/lawsuit

At the end of the day no matter what Disney does alligators will end up on their property. Disney was build on land inhabited by alligators and they will keep coming back.

 

[rance]

So what you are saying, someone needs to be blamed? Why, it is why it is called an "ACCIDENT". Accidents happen. When you go to Florida and are surrounded by water, guess what.....WILDLIFE call this home and there is not much you can do to deter them from making it their home.

If you can't deter them you can certainly do things to make the guests aware of the dangers that are present...
1) provide pamphlets at check in advising that there are man eating alligators near the beaches.
2) Better signs ... DANGER ALLIGATORS is different then no swimming.
3) have a fence between the water and beaches.
4) Illuminated signs so they can be scene (read) at night.
5) Have staff tell guests to get out of the water if they see people in it.
6)don't put recliners and lounge chairs on the beach where you know there are dangerous alligators feet away that encourages guest to hang out at said water.

Disney wants you in their bubble with all the happy marketing that goes with it...bad for business when you warn your guests that there are man eating alligators outside your resort room....this time it caught up with them and a child is dead.

 

[W.E.D.]

with HUGE safety standards - nature does not care

THIS!
Ever hear of a ship called the Titanic? Nature doesn't really give a darn what we think is safe.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

Where do you draw the line? Should there be sings to stay out of the flowers/bushes as there could be a snake in there? Should there be signs by the pools that water is the main cause of drowning? Should there be signs in the food courts that say not chewing your food can cause choking? Will the signs be acknowledged by everyone? How many languages are you wanting these signs in? Should they have signs up that a mosquito bite could cause West Nile or Zika transmission? When are people responsible for any of this on their own?

I travel all over the world for my job and I learn a lot about the places I am going, especially over seas, before I leave. That is just being proactive and smart about my own safety. Millions of people have came and gone down that very beach and this tragedy/accident happened.

 

[W.E.D.]

Fences between the beaches and the lakes? HAHAHAHAHA. What a riot! There were already guests angry because they couldn't use the boats on Seven Seas Lagoon while authorities searched for this poor child. Can you imagine the uproar if the beautiful views were destroyed by fences? C'mon! People think their vacation is ruined if there are too many construction walls up at the parks. Fences. That's funny.

 

[Bay_Lake_Tower]

I think a big part of the problem here is defence of Disney comes across as pointing the finger at the parents when that's not the reality. What happened to those parents is so much worse than even the worst case scenarios us parents can imagine for our children. It makes me sick to think of. I don't place blame on the parents at all.

But that being said, some of the comments made towards Disney are for lack of a better way of putting it, stupid. We all love Disney here, but Disney magic only goes so far. Some of the comments I've seen around the internet in general the last few days are pure ignorance. Everything from people thinking Disney does nothing about alligators, to people thinking Disney intentionally didn't warn guests for fear of losing money. Short of building a dome around the property and taking probably years to relocate every alligator outside of the dome, I'm not sure what people want Disney to do. Alligators don't care that it's Disney World. That's not going to stop alligators from being alligators. I really didn't think it was a secret that there is wildlife (including alligators) on property, but apparently some had no idea. Well now they do, but I still fail to see what more Disney can do.

And you know what? Even if Disney magically found a way to remove every single alligator there would still be something else, because while Disney is awesome they can't protect their guests from everything. Accidents happen, and that's what this was. A terrible, awful accident.

 

[Chevy]

It can be in every body of water in the south. It isn't just Orlando, or FL. The entirety of the south where water temps are high can have the bacteria. Signs do not help, signs are put up for the sake of the lawyers. People will continue to ignore them and tragedies unfortunately will continue to happen.

Signs make a big difference here, in keeping people out of the water for e coli. The one time I saw someone ignore them an employee walked over, told them to get out, and then came back and tied caution tape between the sand and water. Disney has a lot of visitors who don't speak English, so I can see where it's harder to communicate to everyone, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't try. A sign would have made a difference to me. We sat in the chairs that Disney put on their beaches, and I allowed my kids to take their buckets (that they got with their Disney meals) to walk to the water and bring back bucketfuls of water to make sand castles by our chairs. I did not let my kids swim, they stood at the edge and leaned over, and I even made them wear life jackets just in case they tripped. I thought I was being so cautious. But if I had known there were large gators or deadly parasites I would not have even told them there was a beach.

And for everyone saying they can't understand why people think Disney can control nature. I am a mosquito magnet. At home a half dozen can find me while walking from my car to a store. And yet I have never had a mosquito bite day or night at Disney. Apparently I'm one of the few who has never seen a mosquito, gator, or snake there. So yeah, I am one of the guilty ones for going to Disney and feeling like I'm in a magical bubble.

Anyway, thanks for all the info. I'm glad these boards keep me informed.

Won't my kids be surprised on our next trip when we go to the Caribbean Beach Resort and the Yacht/Beach Club and I tell them there is no beach.