Gator at Disney

[DuckFlats]

They are everywhere. I have seen them in salt marshes, pools, porches, and the beach. It would be very difficult to completely remove them from that size of a lake.

 

[snickerd3]

when we were planning our disney vacation 2 summer ago, I considered the alligator factor in selecting hotels.   That place has prime gator habitat so it was crossed off the list.

 

[Road Guy]

I put good money on Disney putting together some type of plan to get the majority of them removed from their lakes from now on though...

Couple rednecks in an airboat with a 30-30 every day should do it

 

[snickerd3]

the gator patrol.  

 

[kevo_55]

Swamp People.

 

[willsee]

Wife was born/raised in Miami and she said the same thing "if it's water, it has gators".  We started looking at some houses thinking of moving to Florida and if it was anywhere near a manmade lake or water it was a no-go. 

Truly tragic event either way.

 

[DuckFlats]

I'm a 6th generation Floridian and grew up in a house built on an old gator farm. Sure you can get rid of the Gators you see, but they move around a lot. I watched one walk across an on ramp to state road 417 to get to a tennis court sized pond on my way back from the PE exam. He was about 8'. Florida is strict with how gators can be killed. We don't have the rules like Louisiana where you can run around and shoot them. Has to be done with a bow or hook. They have to be finished with a bang stick.

 

[snickerd3]

bang stick...like a stick of TNT?

 

[DuckFlats]

bang stick...like a stick of TNT?

Like a rod with a .357 mag at the end. You get the gator close and hit the sweet spot behind the skull. No trigger, the head has to be pushed down, like a stapler.

 

[MA_PE]

Like a rod with a .357 mag at the end. You get the gator close and hit the sweet spot behind the skull. No trigger, the head has to be pushed down, like a stapler.

that made me LOL.

Some news reports I've seen said that Disney closed the lake due to water quality issues.  They had a massive search for the little boy and ended up killing ~5 gators.  Given the number of gators in/around the area that doesn't sound like too many.  I've been to the Orlando FLA amusement a few tiems in my life and truthfully I've never considered the liklihood of encountering a gator in or around the parks and especially Disney.  Being a new englander we just never gave it a second thought....I will now.

 

[jeb6294]

To have a truly gator free area Disney would have to put a (pretty significant) fence around the entire property, including through any water from the surface down to the bottom.  Ain't gonna happen.  The funny thing is, they've always done all kinds of stuff on that lake that have people in the water, i.e. jet skis, water skiing, parasailing, etc.

If you want another blast from the past, one of my favorite water parks ever was River Country at Disney.  You can still see the ruins of it on Google Maps down by Fort Wilderness.  It had kind of a Tom Sawyer theme and used filtered water from the lake.  Some kid died from some brain eating amoeba that they tried to say came from the water park.  I'm sure that didn't help, but I've heard the reason it closed is because it became too popular but was too small to support that many people.

 

[jeb6294]

BTW, even though it was filtered, it was still fresh water so there's nothing to say a gator wouldn't wander over and make himself at home in the park.

 

[DuckFlats]

Best way I could describe it haha.

 

[DuckFlats]

Very big fence, non chain link. They can climb chain link fences.

 

[mudpuppy]

"We'll build a wall.  It'll be Huuuuuuuuuuuuge!  We'll make the gators pay for it."

 

[NJmike PE]

and on that note, A gator killed a child?! Ban all gators.

 

[knight1fox3]

Disney was built on a swamp, and is surrounded by swamp. It truly is terrible what these parents must be feeling, but in a state where more than 90% of fresh and brackish water bodies have gators, it should be known to stay out of the water. I don't see the difference in no swimming and keep out, alligators in water. Both say to stay out of the water regardless if there is an immediate threat. I live about 10 minutes outside of orlando, and grew up 40 minutes from it. It has been a crazy few days to say the least. It is pretty amazing to see how the city has come together during everything.

lusone:

 

[Road Guy]

Overall I agree with the sentiment that animals do animal things and this isn't anyone faults  (except the parents), I am just a problem solver at heart.  I do think if Disney employed a "ranger' with a special use permit from the state they could eradicate most of the gators, but it would be a full time job.  Since Disney pretty much owns the state  I don't think they would have a problem getting a permit. sort of how the states will giver farmers special permits to kill deer at night in pecan fields, etc..

Maybe Florida has done too good of a job with the wildlife management of gators that they need to increase the hunting in the surrounding counties a bit.  

A few years before we moved here a mountain lion snatched a young girl off a trail who had run ahead of her parents outside of boulder (they never found the child).  Here in elementary school they teach the kids what to do if they see a mtn lion or a bear, but I would imagine if a mountain lion snatched a 3 year old kid off the edge of the ski slopes at one the family friendly resorts like Keystone, there would be some " reaction" on the part of the resort.

 

[Sapper PE LS]

Hey @DuckFlats, whereabouts did you grow up?  I'm a product of the Polk County School System myself.  Grew up in Davenport, graduated from Haines City High School.

Now, about the gators.  Yes, it is a well established fact that Florida's water bodies are generally inhabited by gators.  However, people visiting Disney are not going to be aware of the threat species of the area.  They are going to Disney to have a fun-filled family vacation and assume that Disney does what Disney does, make things tourist proof.  Nobody expects anybody to bone up on their Florida wildlife survival skills before going to Disney, I mean, let's be honest here.  These parents made no mistake.  They did nothing that any other parent wouldn't have done, and the kid wasn't "swimming" in the water, just wading.  Regardless of the signs, kids will splash in water when it's hot out.  Don't kid yourself and think that you or your kids would have behaved differently.  If there doesn't appear to be a threat and you are in a cultivated place with a beach and lifeguards (LIFEGUARDS people, LIFEGUARDS, so tell me that swimming is truly discouraged) and it's a hot day and you're spending hundreds of dollars a night to enjoy a world famous vacation spot, you're gonna let junior splash around a little bit, tell me you won't... I dare you.

Now that said, I don't really think Disney is at "fault" on this per se, either.  They did have signs saying no swimming.  Gators are indigenous to Florida, just like sharks are indiginous to the ocean.  You can't go around putting signs out in front of every body of water saying that there is a chance (a very low probability) that you might become a reptilian stool sample if you wander into the water.  I mean come on people, this was just simply a very terrible tragedy that devastated the family and no doubt devastated the other guests and the cast members who worked there and the sherrif's deputies who responded.  It's a horrific event, but nobody really did anything wrong.  It just sucks, that's all.

Of course, you all are 100% right though about the fact that Disney will end up paying this family to settle.  I guarantee they've already comped the family the entire trip, probably comped all guests at the Grand Floridian their hotel stays because this kind of thing tarnishes everybody's experience.  I'd also be willing to bet that Disney won't even try to fight it.  They recognize it was a horrible tragedy that happened on their watch and at their property and will just pay.  They have the money, they will own it, and they will implement some sort of control to keep it from ever happening again.

 

[P-E]

^yes