Gator at Disney

[Road Guy]

The other horrible news in Orlando covered this story up but anyone see this about the gator grabbing a two year old at a Disney Park /Resort?

unreal and so sad for the child, not sure why parents cant keep a hand on their kids lately...

 

[knight1fox3]

I didn't see this!  Very tragic indeed.

 

[MA_PE]

There was no covering up of this story.  It was all over the Boston news this morning.  Three awful tragedies in Orlando two senseless shootings and a horrible death for a 2-year old.

just awful, awful happenings.

 

[Road Guy]

Not an actual "cover up" just edged out the story is what I meant....

 

[Ramnares P.E.]

Parents weren't to blame for this one RG.  From the news that I've seen the parents both tried to fight the gator to get the kid back but were unsuccessful.  Apparently there are signs saying no swimming/playing in the water etc. but no signs or warning from Disney that the water was inhabited by gators (it wasn't one rogue gator, they found at least five (5) while searching for the child). 

The problem seems to lay with Disney on this one.

Tragic incident, especially considering where it occurred. 

 

[mudpuppy]

The problem definitely is NOT on Disney.  All water in Florida has alligators.  People get them in their backyard pools.  No different than a swimmer getting bit by a shark, it's on the swimmer.

 

[Road Guy]

Disney will pay up in court...

There is a big difference in "no swimming" and "keep out Alligators present"!

Especially since we all know how smart the average Disney guest is...

Still just terrible can't even imagine..

 

[Ramnares P.E.]

Disney will pay up in court...

There is a big difference in "no swimming" and "keep out Alligators present"!

Especially since we all know how smart the average Disney guest is...

Still just terrible can't even imagine..

This is exactly my point.  Disney caters specifically to families with small children.  If the boy had drowned, it would still be tragic, but I would say it's not on Disney since they had signs posted.  Getting grabbed by a gator in an area where Disney presumes is safe for families is definitely Disney's fault.  

 

[DuckFlats]

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.

 

[Ramnares P.E.]

There is a clear difference in the dangers inherent to "No swimming" vs "Dont get in the water, gators present" 

I may be wrong, but the news article didn't mention what state the family was from. We should not just assume that everyone who goes to Florida knows the waterways are gator infested.

 

[kevo_55]

^^ The parents were from Nebraska.

It's very tragic. Of course this could have been prevented. I'm sure that Disney will need to pay up in the end.

 

[SNAPE/SMOTT PE]

The problem definitely is NOT on Disney.  All water in Florida has alligators.  People get them in their backyard pools.  No different than a swimmer getting bit by a shark, it's on the swimmer.

This gator attack happened the same day a 5 year old was attacked by a shark at a local beach. News covered both.

Can't say who is at fault in the gator attack (Disney or parents). Very sad situation, but the family can bury the boy and get closure now that the body has been found.

I have personally seen people bait the water with blood to attract sharks (fishing for them) at our local beach. So is it really the swimmers fault if they are unaware the water is being baited, and end up being attacked?

 

[DuckFlats]

There is a clear difference in the dangers inherent to "No swimming" vs "Dont get in the water, gators present" 
I may be wrong, but the news article didn't mention what state the family was from. We should not just assume that everyone who goes to Florida knows the waterways are gator infested.

That's similar to saying our state water management districts should be responsible to post "alligators in water" at every public access point to state managed waters. I can assure you, they do not. If the lake is totally private, then Disney will probably have to pay. I just don't think they should. Especially if they had a sign stating to not be in the water.

 

[mudpuppy]

If someone gets eaten by a bear at Yellowstone, is it the park's fault?  What if they get eaten by a bear on a private ranch?  The ranch is liable because they didn't warn people there might be bears?  How about someone gets stung by a bee in my back yard and dies because they're allergic... am I liable because I didn't warn them there might be bees?  At some point common sense has to take over.  The natural world is naturally dangerous.

If Disney had deliberately stocked the lake with alligators and then didn't warn people about them, they yeah they'd be liable.  But this was a naturally occurring alligator in the wild, which is common in Florida.  No warning should be necessary

But I do agree that Disney is going to pay, and it will be long before this goes to court.  They're already getting plenty of bad PR on this, and the last thing they'd want is more PR from going to court.

 

[MA_PE]

How sad is it that in this country, everytime anything horrible happens the first questions are "who is responsible?" and "who's going to get sued/have to pay?"

Truly a tragic event but I can't really say that disney is to blame.

The toddler was just a complete tragedy.  The local news had a story of a NH guy who was attacked by an alligator at Disney 30 years ago. He fortunately survived but he's still got some nasty scars.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/06/15/nh-man-recalls-alligator-attack-disney-world/ 

"Not an actual "cover up" just edged out the story is what I meant...."

RG:  I knew what you meant but the media coverage of the story of this little boy at least equaled the shooting news around here.  The senseless killing of the Voice singer kind of got lost in the fray, though.  Awful stuff...all of it.

 

[jeb6294]

[SIZE= 16px]The rule in Florida is, if it's fresh water, it's gonna have gators in it.[/SIZE]

I've heard reports that there were signs saying "No Swimming" and that there were "No Swimming" signs and signs about alligators.  Either way, it could come down to who has the best lawyer(s).  It's been 30 years, but I've stayed at the Grand Floridian where this happened and THERE'S A BEACH AT THE RESORT!!!  Signs or not, if you don't want people going in the water, then why is there a beach?

 

[mudpuppy]

They used to allow swimming, prior to about 1990.  I haven't found a definitive reason why they no longer allow it, wikipedia says due to the ferry traffic, others speculate due to issues with brain eating amoebas.

 

[Road Guy]

Yellowstone is a great example. There are literally thousands of signs saying "yes there are grizzly bears here and they will kill you" -they even have Signs inside the bathrooms.

You also can't camp east of Yellowstone without being in an RV. There are signs...

And I do agree that it's crap that lawyers will get paid, but that's the world the baby boomers

Made for us

Ironically there are no signs in the Colorado wilderness that say you can fall to your death climbing mountains...

 

[DuckFlats]

They used to allow swimming, prior to about 1990.  I haven't found a definitive reason why they no longer allow it, wikipedia says due to the ferry traffic, others speculate due to issues with brain eating amoebas.

Usually the amoebas are in very shallow stagnant water bodies. I would think that lake is a little deeper, but there are a lot of places along the St. John's river that are nasty in the summer time.

 

[Road Guy]

I grew up spending a month or more in Florida every summer , my grandparents lived in vero beach. We used to sit on back deck and watch the gators travel from one canal to the other..

Was just at disney in March (unfortunately) never honestly crossed my mind that there would be gators on Disney property. Considering the great lengths they go to make the park what it is..