Toddler dragged into the water by an alligator at Disney

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/us/alligator-attacks-child-disney-florida/index.html

Lake Buena Vista, Florida (CNN)[Breaking news update, posted at 4:41 p.m. ET]

The 2-year-old boy who witnesses said was pulled by an alligator into a lagoon near a Walt Disney World hotel has been found dead by the Orange County dive team, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings told reporters at a Wednesday news conference in Orlando.
The body of the boy, Lane Graves, was found intact at about 1:45 p.m. ET, not far from where the boy was grabbed Tuesday night, Demings said.
He likely drowned, Demings said.
"Of course, the autopsy has to confirm that, but there is likely no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator," Demings said.
Demings said the body was located not far from where the boy was grabbed Tuesday night.

 

I would agree that "No Swimming" is not even remotely the same as "Beware of Alligators" or "Alligators may be nesting in this area". It may be enough they are not held liable as it clearly implies no entry into the water. However, I personally would not have sensed danger of a beast given the dining areas nearby ( food for gators ), the sand, the steps leading to the water's edge. It will be interesting to see what happens although I'm sure they will settle with the family.

 

Not only does it not mean "Beware of Alligators" it also doesn't mean no wading.

I spent about 15 minutes looking through instagram hashtags, as seemed the most logical way to find current pictures from today. All the pictures of any no whatever signs are ridiculous. Small little things.

Here's a video someone has provided, for example, apparently really close to where it happened. If true, it's moronic. You don't put all that stuff up and in place, at a resort SPECIFICALLY geared for children and families, and then not anticipate people will swim, even if there are giant f'ing billboards with pictures of alligators. these are young kids we're talking about. Yes, parents need to be vigilant, but as any parent will tell you, there's vigilance, and there's just not going somewhere. The solution here would have been to just not go.

The story above about a family a couple of weeks ago being chased off, I've seen a couple of pics of alligators out at night now from that resort in the parking lot, and then the environment Disney is promoting... there is no level of settlement, clearly, that makes this ok, but the paycheck Disney is going to write should be freaking enormous, imo.

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Just to hammer it home one more time for anyone thinking the sign is "good enough"... below is another picture.

Yes, absolutely, the parents will beat themselves up forever because there IS indeed a sign. But EVERYTHING else about this picture says "come on in!".

To make another imperfect comparison, you don't go out to a buffer restaurant, and get to the desert, only for their to be ice cream out there, but a sign saying "don't eat the ice cream"... and not expecting someone to eat it, especially a youngster.

It's just mind boggling.

I have lots of young kids, so this really pisses me off.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/jessicaknapke">@jessicaknapke</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KatherinePopp">@KatherinePopp</a> I could not. Shame on Disney for their so called beach <a href="https://t.co/XAm3ZXbXhH">pic.twitter.com/XAm3ZXbXhH</a></p>&mdash; Louis Skolnick (@Lou_Skolnick) <a href="https://twitter.com/Lou_Skolnick/status/743177800899768320">June 15, 2016</a></blockquote>
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its the parents fault for leaving they kid unattended

 

They are in Florida, why wouldn't there be an assumption that alligators could potentially be in just about any body of water? I think there ought to be an expectation of potential risk so I don't really see why Disney would be at fault here.

 

the kid wasn't unattended. The dad was just a few feet away and saw it happen - he ran into the water (the kid was only ankle deep) to get the kid but it was too late.

 

crap, I didn't know there were Gators in Lake Grapevine..good to know as it is a huge recreational lake with beaches and lots of boating/skiing/swimming going on.

I live off Trinity & 820 and after a heavy rain a few years ago, they caught a 12ft Aligator off Trinity and Precinct Line. Literally a mile from my house.

 

Completely on Disney for not properly caring for it's guests, they could easily wall off a section of water, keep it CLEAN/VISIBLE and have a small swimming area....

I feel for that family they thought it was a safe area, and clearly that is what Disney wanted them to think as it is set up for beach lounging.

DD

 

Looks like no to little lighting there and the story of running through pitch black by tourists being chased by gator 2 months ago align with that. So consider also night time. Who would have seen a gator getting out of the water and onto the sand? You don't have to even touch the water. Really a bad setup.

 

Disney made the beach so it implies they encourage being in the area. I doubt they encouraged swimming or being in the area during the dark, when alligators are much more active and harder to spot.

At some point in life, accidents happen and are not always someone's fault. I'm not sure what Disney could've done to prevent this. Signs aren't foolproof, and may discourage some but it's bound to happen eventually. Perhaps a fence around the usable area with underwater fencing that extends a few feet high?

 

Terrible man...

 

Also, campers near alligator infested waters are recommended to be at least two feet above the waters edge in addition to 165 feet distance from it. So Disney certainly should be thinking about those two feet as well if they knew about the Alligators, which still has to be proven, but logic says they knew.

 

They should have at least put a fence/wall type thing up. Sure it isn't full proof as alligators get on land and can easily walk around it, but shame on Disney for even letting people (especially tourist whom most are probably not familiar with alligators) near water where alligators are. They shouldn't even have that beach knowing of the dangers. ESPECIALLY when the entire park caters to young children.

What a terrible tragedy and I feel terrible for the family. That has to be one of the worst nightmares to see that happen right in front of you..

 

Disney has nightly fireworks shows that you can see from the resorts. If that's not encouraging enough to go down to the beach area, I don't know what is.

Sound like a great place to watch fireworks if not for the gators

 

Too many idiots in here today with Reeko and now this guy. Have some respect.

 

#‎NotAllAlligators‬

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Body of 2-year-old boy dragged into water by alligator at Disney hotel has been recovered. <a href="https://twitter.com/KerryNBC">@KerryNBC</a> starts us off <a href="https://t.co/rOb7QR73le">pic.twitter.com/rOb7QR73le</a></p>&mdash; NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNightlyNews/status/743209428183285760">June 15, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

I've lost faith in many posters' intelligence after reading some of the dumbassery that's been posted in this thread.

 

Fatal Alligator attacks are fairly rare. While I wouldn't leave a toddler unattended in a Florida marsh, it isn't something that happens often enough for Disney to think it needs to wall off the resort.

Attacks might be up slightly, but it seems to be consistent with rise in population. The majority of alligators avoid people.