Tragic News at Disney's Grand Floridian

presley · Jun 15, 2016

SmithOp said:
Looking at these pictures I can see where lawyers will make the argument that Disney should have a fence along the waters edge to keep guests out and gators in the water. The article says Disney was hosting a movie night on the beach they maintain (note the picture of the tractor grooming the sand). There is also a shot of a fenced pool and playground next to this beach.

After reading lots of posts on a Disney forum, I've come to the conclusion that Disney is somewhat responsible because they didn't provide enough warnings. Other resorts in the area have no swimming and alligator warning signs by bodies of water.

Many people posted that they see poisonous snakes in that same lagoon. There are lots of people posting that they thought you couldn't enter the water due to the amoeba. Others have posted that "no swimming" means no lifeguard on duty where they are from.

Disney needs to put signs that say there is brain eating amoeba, alligators and snakes in the water. At the very least, they could post dangerous wildlife. They probably didn't want to do it because maybe people wouldn't want to pay $500..night to stay in the resorts that are on the water if they were scared. Disney held an outdoor movie night on the beach when this occurred. I just don't think they did all they could do to warn visitors how dangerous the water is. A fence around the water will probably help. I do see how they can be liable unless they had a disclaimer on the check in sheet signed by the person checking in that explained what goes on in the water by the resort.

rpk113 · Jun 15, 2016

As a parent of young kids, when I see a no swimming sign. To me it means don't go in. I'm from NY with not too many lakes/non-pools around so my view is subjective. I can imagine other parts of the country where lakes are where everyone hangs out and swims. But in my own narrow view, no swimming = no entry.. My heart aches for the family...

Joan-OH · Jun 15, 2016

presley said:
Disney needs to put signs that say there is brain eating amoeba, alligators and snakes in the water. At the very least, they could post dangerous wildlife. They probably didn't want to do it because maybe people wouldn't want to pay $500..night to stay in the resorts that are on the water if they were scared.

Has any Florida business ever posted a sign warning of the amoeba? My nephew was a victim nearly 6 years ago at a wake boarding facility in the same season 2 other youngsters contracted it who also visited the same facility. No signs anywhere. The facility denies even having the amoeba. It's kept so quiet that my my nephews parents, Florida residents for 10-12 years, didn't even know it existed.

Saintsfanfl · Jun 15, 2016

It is a heartbreaking tragedy to be sure and I hate to sound insensitive but this occurred at night. A toddler allowed to play in murky water at night in Florida really doesn't make much sense to me, but then again I live here. The parents were certainly ignorant but I do not see how the liability should fall to anyone. Gator signs in Florida should not be required because gators are literally in every single body of water that they can get to. The only gator signs necessary are ones asking not to fee the gators because that causes them to go after people for more free food.

Saintsfanfl · Jun 15, 2016

Joan-OH said:
Has any Florida business ever posted a sign warning of the amoeba? My nephew was a victim nearly 6 years ago at a wake boarding facility in the same season 2 other youngsters contracted it who also visited the same facility. No signs anywhere. The facility denies even having the amoeba. It's kept so quiet that my my nephews parents, Florida residents for 10-12 years, didn't even know it existed.

The amoeba occurs naturally in every body of water just about everywhere, even in the north. If a sign is needed for something that rare then you would need a sign listing every possible disease or contagion known to man. It isn't realistic. There is no conspiracy to keep it quiet. It is all over the news when it happens. Fwiw a nephew of some friends of mine died from it from a lake a mile from my house. Heartbreaking.

Saintsfanfl · Jun 15, 2016

After seeing pics of the beach I am changing my tune a little. While I still do not see much sense in a toddler in the lake water at night the beach itself looks very "Disneyfied". Play set right in the background and the large man made beach is obviously there so people can lay around or play in the sand. An alligator can still snag a toddler from the sand even if they are not in the water. I was imagining a more natural lake setting which is what that lagoon looks like 99.8% of the shore but that beach is clearly there for kids to play. I think the resort has at least some level of legitimate culpability.

Marriott's Lakeshore Reserve has water between it and the golf course and it has plenty of gators. They have "no feeding" signs. If they put a nice sandy beach on their shoreline I think it would invite potential problems but I guess it is easy to say after this tragic incident just happened.

Bunk · Jun 15, 2016

Are there any fresh water lakes in south and central Florida in which swimming is permitted?

ace2000 · Jun 15, 2016

Saintsfanfl said:
After seeing pics of the beach I am changing my tune a little. While I still do not see much sense in a toddler in the lake water at night the beach itself looks very "Disneyfied".

Exactly what I've been saying. The incident occurred right after sunset and there have been no reports of the toddler "swimming" as some have mentioned. He was walking along the shore and standing one foot off the shoreline (in the water) when he was dragged into the deeper water by the gator. It was also on a sandy beach area which probably was available to guests even during the evening hours. I'm sure Disney will be paying. Here's a picture of the beach.

JimMIA · Jun 15, 2016

It's now been announced that divers have found the child's body in the water just a short distance from where he was dragged in. What a terrible tragedy.

dioxide45 · Jun 15, 2016

This is truly horrific. I can't imaging the pain the family is going through. I don't really understand why as a society we must always find blame in everything. Some things are truly acts of god. We already have too many signs, warnings and small print. The family will have to live with the horror of this every day for the rest of their lives, that is truly punishment enough.

nightnurse613 · Jun 15, 2016

Always room for parent shaming. Different time and outcome but a world of criticism. Those who haven't had a close call or a similar tragedy should give thanks every day of their life. Disney has every lawyer within 100 miles on retainer-good luck with a lawsuit. This Time article covered my thoughts.
http://time.com/4352116/cincinnati-zoo-gorilla-harambe-mother/

Rsauer3473 · Jun 15, 2016

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1017719814948788&l=ee7cfd04ff

This photo was taken just outside our room at Old Key West resort in October 2015. It was about 50 feet from our building but closer to the next building. We called the resort to report it. An animal control officer arrived within a half hour. He was sneaking up on the 7 foot alligator when it scampered back into the water.

During most trips to WDW we will see a gator somewhere, but we have never seen one near the area where the child was attacked. Once we saw a partially submerged creature near Wilderness Lodge.

SunSand · Jun 15, 2016

I respect the overwhelming compassion here on Tug for the family. The family is from Elkhorn, Nebaska, an upper-middle class suburb of Omaha. These folks are highly educated and by all accounts an outstanding family. I can imagine they just let guard down, becasue it was Disney. Disney would never allow a child to get close to danger. I beleived that too. Extreme sadness for the family and this is a serious wake-up call to Disney.

Finntastic · Jun 15, 2016

Very tragic for this family. I have to say if I was on that beach I would have a false sense of being safe also.

Finntastic · Jun 15, 2016

Simply heart breaking for this family. It certainly gives me a new respect for alligators, especially when you think because you are on vacation nothing bad will happen. We saw several alligators in the wild while in Hilton Head this March. Most times we were a safe distance and stayed on the board walks. While biking through Sea Pines we did see a 5 foot alligator just at the side of the trail. Kinda scary now.

HappyGoLucky · Jun 15, 2016

DeniseM said:
It is very likely that someone from Nebraska did not know there are alligators in these lagoons.

You can add my family and I to that list. We don't have to worry about the wildlife at home and the thought didn't even cross our minds, the 10 days we were there. At that time, I naively thought it was only near the Everglades. Shame on us.

The most we saw were wild bunnies hopping around Wyndham Bonnet Creek.

dioxide45 · Jun 15, 2016

Reading some of the posts over on Disboards, alligators is the furthest thing from most people's minds and many people didn't even think they were at WDW. I think one problem is that there are so many warnings and signs that we almost become immune to them. They don't mean anything. Kinda like the boy that cried wolf. Perhaps they need some animatronic critters to keep people aware.

TUGBrian · Jun 15, 2016

it is quite fascinating...i never give it a second thought that there are indeed alligators in nearly all bodies of water in florida (salt included)...its just a given being born and raised here and even so people regularly lose their dogs and other small pets to them if they live on lakes/ponds/etc.

Things you take for granted that folks from the midwest or up north would never dream that a gator of any significant size can be sitting just inches from the bank of a body of water looking for a meal.

Truly a tragic situation, one I fear that will cost disney a very large sum of money and probably end up with some significant barricades to bodies of water on their properties.

JPD · Jun 16, 2016

If you ever go to Shades of Green resort (Military resort) on the WDW property, you will see baby gators all over the place depending on the time of year. We even saw one about 3 foot long hanging out in and around the area where kids activities are. We told the front desk and was told they are always there as it was not big deal. :bawl:

MULTIZ321 · Jun 16, 2016

Police Find Body of 2-Year Old Grabbed by Alligator at Disney Resort - by Camila Domonoske/ The Two-Way: Breaking News from NPR/ National Public Radio/ npr.org

"Update at 4:30 p.m. ET. Body of 2-year-old is recovered:

Police investigators recovered the body of a 2-year-old boy who was dragged away by an alligator at a Florida resort on Tuesday.

After hours of searching, police located and euthanized several alligators. They eventually found the intact body of Lane Graves.

During a news conference, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said the boy was found not far from where he was taken by the alligator. "There's no doubt in my mind that the boy was drowned by the alligator," Demings said.

The alligator attacked the child at a sandy beach on a man-made lake near Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, shortly after 9 p.m. ET..."

15816085407_e9d7e98fb0_k_wide-bc2e6eb3677915c861f74812e46059ee2e56e24e-s800-c85.jpg

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort, shown in 2014, sits on the man-made Seven Seas Lagoon lake. An alligator dragged a 2-year-old child into the water near the resort on Tuesday.
Frank Phillips/Flickr

Richard

pedro47 · Jun 16, 2016

JPD said:
If you ever go to Shades of Green resort (Military resort) on the WDW property, you will see baby gators all over the place depending on the time of year. We even saw one about 3 foot long hanging out in and around the area where kids activities are. We told the front desk and was told they are always there as it was not big deal.

You can also see alligators on Hilton Head Island along some golf courses early in the morning.

Don40 · Jun 16, 2016

This story breaks your heart, especially at the happiest place on earth. So sad, but accidents happen all the time as parents we all have had lapses in judgments and the price we pay can be small or large in this case. At Disney now and earlier this week saw the signs on the beach and wondered why they had no swimming posted. We saw several people swimming and dismissed it without warning. My first thought was the amoeba, not a gator how wrong I would have been.

Prayers for the family as this can tear them apart.

VegasBella · Jun 16, 2016

It was incredibly rare. It's never happened before and unlikely to happen again any time soon. Humans are not normal prey for alligators, even tiny baby humans. The fact the the boy's body was found INTACT suggests the alligator didn't really like the taste. Or perhaps the dad was actually successful in fighting him off but the boy sank and drowned anyway. We probably won't know for sure. But we do know it's very rare.

It's just so heartbreaking. I can't imagine anything worse than losing a child.

rapmarks · Jun 16, 2016

I am a Florida resident, when I see the way that beach is set up I can totally see someone thinking it safe to walk along the shallow edge and let a child play. There have been many reports of an alligator coming out of a body of water and dragging a person who was doing gardening into the water in our area; I don't see how someone from Nebraska would know this.
There is an area near us called Miromar Lakes (in Estero/Fort Myers) which has a beach set up on a large lake, cabanas, lounge chairs. It is advertised as a beach community with 5 million dollar homes. I always wondered how they could have this without concern about alligators.
I cannot imagine that poor family's anguish.

Saintsfanfl · Jun 16, 2016

Bunk said:
Are there any fresh water lakes in south and central Florida in which swimming is permitted?

Hundreds if not thousands of lakes in this area have swimming, skiing, boating, etc. Not high class resorts and such but the people that live here. Hundreds of thousands of houses are on lakes in central and south Florida and residents and guests swim in the water all the time. There are some very cool state parks with lots of swimming. I have been in the water with Alligators visibly nearby many times. Wekiva Springs State Park comes to mind as a place with swimming and paddle boarders with Alligators fairly close. Alligators are not that dangerous unless you mess with them. A fatality from an alligator is extremely rare. Shark deaths or rare as it as especially compared to the numbers in the water but Alligator deaths are far more rare.

Tragic News at Disney's Grand Floridian

presley

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rpk113

Joan-OH

Saintsfanfl

Saintsfanfl

Saintsfanfl

Bunk

ace2000

JimMIA

dioxide45

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nightnurse613

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Rsauer3473

SunSand

Finntastic

Finntastic

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dioxide45

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TUGBrian

JPD

MULTIZ321

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Don40

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