Boy Taken By Gator at Walt Disney World

[irishnd31]

Unreal.

Demings: 'No question' 2-year-old boy dead after Disney gator attack - Orlando Sentinel

 

[NDdomer2]

i thought it was at a hotel nearby? is that property owned by Disney too?

 

[calvegas04]

i thought it was at a hotel nearby? is that property owned by Disney too?

From what I understand it is a lake right in the middle of the disney world resort

 

[wizards8507]

i thought it was at a hotel nearby? is that property owned by Disney too?

The Grand Floridan Resort and Spa is located on Walt Disney World property, yes. It's across the lagoon from the Magic Kingdom.

 

[ACamp1900]

OMG, I can't even imagine... very disturbing.

So I understand... this is a man made lake if you will, made by Disney, and an alligator made it's way into it despite the efforts of Disney to keep such wildlife out??

 

[irishnd31]

Yes. The Grand Floridian which I believe is Disney owned. If I'm not mistaken it is very close in proximity to the Magic Kingdom park.

Sorry, wizards beat me to it.

 

[ACamp1900]

The thought of this happening in front of me to one of my little girls literally makes me sick/dizzy.. this poor family.

 

[wizards8507]

From what I understand it is a lake right in the middle of the disney world resort

 

[irishnd31]

OMG, I can't even imagine... very disturbing.

So I understand... this is a man made lake if you will, made by Disney, and an alligator made it's way into it despite the efforts of Disney to keep such wildlife out??

From what I am hearing, there are entry points connected for any wildlife to get in that is "off property"

 

[irishnd31]

They apparently are killing any gator that they find and cutting them open to try and find the boy. I agree Camper, it makes me sick to think about.

 

[wizards8507]

So I understand... this is a man made lake if you will, made by Disney, and an alligator made it's way into it despite the efforts of Disney to keep such wildlife out??

Kind of. The Seven Seas Lagoon is man-made, but it's connected to Bay Lake, a natural lake.

 

[Booslum31]

Brutal week for Orlando. Prayers for the fallen and their families!!

 

[Blaise]

So upsetting... Yes there was signs that said no swimming, but the kid was playing in a foot of water... shocking and couldn't imagine seeing a gator take a kid right in front of his parents

 

[NDohio]

Apparently the boy was wading in the lake and the gator came up and grabbed him. The father jumped on the gator to try and pry the boy from it's jaws. I can't even imagine this scenario.

 

[wizards8507]

So upsetting... Yes there was signs that said no swimming, but the kid was playing in a foot of water... shocking and couldn't imagine seeing a gator take a kid right in front of his parents

A toddler shouldn't be playing in a body of water by himself, alligator or no alligator.

 

[Irish Insanity]

OMG, I can't even imagine... very disturbing.

So I understand... this is a man made lake if you will, made by Disney, and an alligator made it's way into it despite the efforts of Disney to keep such wildlife out??

They apparently are killing any gator that they find and cutting them open to try and find the boy. I agree Camper, it makes me sick to think about.

It was reported this morning they had already removed 4 gators overnight. Not sure what the number is up to now.

Apparently the boy was wading in the lake and the gator came up and grabbed him. The father jumped on the gator to try and pry the boy from it's jaws. I can't even imagine this scenario.

A toddler shouldn't be playing in a body of water by himself, alligator or no alligator.

It was also reported that it's clearly posted no swimming in the lagoon.

 

[ACamp1900]

A toddler shouldn't be playing in a body of water by himself, alligator or no alligator.

If the father was close enough to jump on the gator I would imagine/assume he was right next to the child...

 

[Irish#1]

Apparently the boy was wading in the lake and the gator came up and grabbed him. The father jumped on the gator to try and pry the boy from it's jaws. I can't even imagine this scenario.

That's what I had heard this morning. They also stated that WDW has barriers in place to make it difficult for gators to get in and have people monitoring the area for dangerous wildlife all the time. Some how this one got through.

So sad, prayers for the boy and his family.

 

[wizards8507]

It was reported this morning they had already removed 4 gators overnight. Not sure what the number is up to now.

FWIW, the animal control people where I lived in Davenport (about 15 minutes SW of WDW) wouldn't even answer a call about an alligator less than six feet long. Alligators are completely normal down there. The unusual part wasn't that there was an alligator in the lagoon, the unusual part is that it was aggressive. A normal year has zero fatalities state-wide. I think the worst year on record was eleven attacks and three deaths.

It was also reported that it's clearly posted no swimming in the lagoon.

Right. It doesn't make it any less tragic, but this wasn't some kind of flawed system. It was just a freak, terrible thing.

 

[beryirish]

Absolutely horrific - I have a 3 year old boy and near 1 year old twin girls.

I really do get a pit in my stomach when I think about this and if I was that dad.

I know the dad did everything he could to free his son. I would do everything in my power to make the gator turn it's attention to me in order to free my son even if it means my life.

Absolutely, absolutely horrific.

 

[wizards8507]

One thing I've seen in reading about this is that people perceive Walt Disney World to be much more of a controlled environment than it actually is. The individual theme parks are highly controlled, but a great deal of the property as a whole is wilderness, for lack of a better term. My wife worked at the campground and they would see alligators, black bears, and panthers fairly frequently.

 

[irishnd31]

FWIW, the animal control people where I lived in Davenport (about 15 minutes SW of WDW) wouldn't even answer a call about an alligator less than six feet long. Alligators are completely normal down there. The unusual part wasn't that there was an alligator in the lagoon, the unusual part is that it was aggressive. A normal year has zero fatalities state-wide. I think the worst year on record was eleven attacks and three deaths.

.

Its being said that a major issue at WDW is that people are feeding the gators for their own amusement and that the gators are no longer fearful of people. Like you said tho, even if you reported people for doing so, what will ultimately be done about it? Some security guard will come by in a golf cart and tell you to stop. 5 minutes later some other jack hole will continue to do it as soon as he pulls away.

 

[Rack Em]

One thing I've seen in reading about this is that people perceive Walt Disney World to be much more of a controlled environment than it actually is. The individual theme parks are highly controlled, but a great deal of the property as a whole is wilderness, for lack of a better term. My wife worked at the campground and they would see alligators, black bears, and panthers fairly frequently.

Are you talking about the plot of The Jungle Book?

 

[wizards8507]

Its being said that a major issue at WDW is that people are feeding the gators for their own amusement and that the gators are no longer fearful of people. Like you said tho, even if you reported people for doing so, what will ultimately be done about it? Some security guard will come by in a golf cart and tell you to stop. 5 minutes later some other jack hole will continue to do it as soon as he pulls away.

I'm not sure I buy that argument. If people were feeding the gators, this wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened. This wouldn't have happened if the signs had been obeyed. The alligator didn't infringe on human space, the humans infringed on alligator space.

 

[beryirish]

If a sign said no swimming - i'd be like ehhh he's just walking through it. If the sign said Watch Out for Dangerous Wildlife Such as Alligators you can bet my family and I wouldn't come near that water. You also think that Disney does EVERYTHING for customer satisfaction and safety. Disney gives me the peace of mine that they have every bit of my best intentions in mind. I would never think i'd come across any danger such as this when i'm there because Disney would never make that possible. I feel this could get messy for Disney.

 

[ACamp1900]

One thing I've seen in reading about this is that people perceive Walt Disney World to be much more of a controlled environment than it actually is. The individual theme parks are highly controlled, but a great deal of the property as a whole is wilderness, for lack of a better term. My wife worked at the campground and they would see alligators, black bears, and panthers fairly frequently.

I know I'm a goofball that jokes so often I don't even bother with italics... so to be clear. I'm not even joking and this isn't the thread for it:

This is exactly why, just for me, I'm good with Disneyland in the middle of, basically, Los Angeles... this is also why my idea of the outdoors is a Angel/Dodger game or a UCLA football game and why I don't go swimming in the ocean when at the beach. I've been long scared to death of something like this... just last month my wife took my sister and my two girls on a hike in Cali desert mountains, just a day or so after I saw a notice/warning from the local public works that the Mojave Green dens were opening up everywhere 'confirmed'... I was a nervous wreck while they were hiking.. wildlife is just not something I handle well. I'm much more at home/feeling safe in the ghetto with police helicopters and low riders.

 

[irishnd31]

I'm not sure I buy that argument. If people were feeding the gators, this wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened. This wouldn't have happened if the signs had been obeyed. The alligator didn't infringe on human space, the humans infringed on alligator space.

I don't think that feeding them helped in this situation but I agree 100% with everything else.

 

[PANDFAN]

That's what I had heard this morning. They also stated that WDW has barriers in place to make it difficult for gators to get in and have people monitoring the area for dangerous wildlife all the time. Some how this one got through.

So sad, prayers for the boy and his family.

while searching for the boy, they have found 4 other gators as well...all have been killed thus far

 

[NDohio]

If a sign said no swimming - i'd be like ehhh he's just walking through it. If the sign said Watch Out for Dangerous Wildlife Such as Alligators you can bet my family and I wouldn't come near that water. You also think that Disney does EVERYTHING for customer satisfaction and safety. Disney gives me the peace of mine that they have every bit of my best intentions in mind. I would never think i'd come across any danger such as this when i'm there because Disney would never make that possible. I feel this could get messy for Disney.

But don't you do research on a place where you will be traveling? Everyone should absolutely know that if you are in FL, there is a very real possibility of dangerous wildlife in every body of water. Even backyard swimming pools have the threat of a gator wandering into it.

 

[Blaise]

But don't you do research on a place where you will be traveling? Everyone should absolutely know that if you are in FL, there is a very real possibility of dangerous wildlife in every body of water. Even backyard swimming pools have the threat of a gator wandering into it.

In Florida I wouldn't even walk through a puddle in a Little Caesars parking lot