Child pulled into water by alligator near Grand Floridian

[cbreg1]

Such heartache.

 

[sndral]

http://www.wesh.com/news/so-child-d...r-disneys-grand-floridian-resort-spa/40058064

According to this article the alligator was about 7' long. Seven Seas Lagoon is a large body of water, I assume several alligators live there.

 

[disney world dreamer]

i'm watching the news conference live on WESH.
it has not been held as of yet but they gave an update that it should start in about 10 minutes.

 

[LisaS]

According the Orange County Sheriff at the press conference, the family was relaxing on the beach and the child was playing in the water when the attack occurred.

 

[cbreg1]

Little boy - family from Nebraska. Little boy was in the water close to land when alligator came up to child. Father wrestled with alligator to regain his son. Watching the live press conference on CNN. Devastating.

 

[ebclay]

Is there signs advising not to be the water?

 

[LisaS]

Is there signs advising not to be the water? I assumed since River Country's closure that people should not be in that water.

Yes there are signs but they don't state WHY you shouldn't go into the water. I imagine some people think it's just because there is no life guard on the beach. Perhaps the signs should say "There are alligators, venomous snakes and brain eating amoebas in the lake. Do not go into the water."

 

[Oswin]

Is there signs advising not to be the water?

Yes. Posted in multiple places.

 

[cbreg1]

According to the Press Conference- there is a sign posted- and there was a lifeguard on duty during this time. Family Movie Night.

 

[TeamSy]

Yes there are signs but they don't state WHY you shouldn't go into the water. I imagine some people think it's just because there is no life guard on the beach. Perhaps the signs should say "There are alligators, venomous snakes and brain eating amoebas in the lake. Do not go into the water."

I don't think they have to say why. No swimming means no swimming. It doesn't say no lifeguard on duty swim at your own risk. It says no swimming, the end. It sucks, and is SUCH a horrible tragedy, but there are no swimming signs for a reason...

 

[ebclay]

there was a lifeguard on duty during this time

All things considered, I'm sure this was beneficial

 

[AndersonJNJ]

When watching the fireworks tonight from MK we saw the helicopter circling. Then we exited and were by the boat dock. My 9 yr old boy heard others talking about it and he is so scared. I think because we always do the beach movie and he heard about the shootings the first night we were here. Prayers for the boy's family and witnesses.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Yes there are signs but they don't state WHY you shouldn't go into the water. I imagine some people think it's just because there is no life guard on the beach. Perhaps the signs should say "There are alligators, venomous snakes and brain eating amoebas in the lake. Do not go into the water."

Why does the reason matter?

MG

 

[adisneyaunt]

Such a Tragedy, so horrifying , devastating,
simply ...Beyond words.
Prayers for them and all their loved ones and friends.

 

[Sue M]

Horrible tragedy. I can't begging to understand what this family is going thru.

Sadly many visitors don't understand that there are gators in every body of water in Florida. I've seen a few. Most notably in AK under Flametree lakeside seating area. I'm sure people feed them. Also at CSR lake.
There is a lot of wildlife in Wdw, I've seen deer, wild turkeys, snakes, always hoped to see an armadillo.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen children playing in the water right in front of the signs saying to stay out of the water. People ignore them. Just ask any boat captain on Bay Lake or Seven Seas Lagoon about gators. It's a large body of water and lots of marsh lands. Impossible to keep gators out. Disney does do a pretty good job considering this is the first incident.
Maybe signs do need to be more explicit. Shouldn't have to be. But people just ignore the gentle reminders to stay out of the water sadly.

 

[Bonnie151]

What a terrible terrible tragedy.

I can't remember what the signs say. Is it just "No Swimming"? I grew up in New England and while I've known about the possibility of alligators for quite some time now, if I'm being perfectly honest, for the first couple of visits, I wouldn't have realised there might be alligators in the lake. "No Swimming" to me would have meant exactly that- no swimming, probably because there are weeds that could wrap round your legs and drag you under. That's what it meant where I came from, not that pottering about with the water around your ankles could put your life in mortal danger. Living in Scotland now, no swimming usually means the water gets very cold and very deep quickly, again not that you can't paddle about at the edge. I can understand why people don't understand exactly what the signs mean if they just say "No Swimming".

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Unbelievably sad

I remember back in 1988 the Polynesian had a roped off section of the lagoon for swimming! I have pictures of my kids and our whole family out there. How naive we were

 

[kreckl]

We've seen the no swimming signs, but this family was wading in the water. Not swimming. And of course not understanding that "no swimming" meant " do not enter the water". Obviously. They just lost their child. It's all over the news here in Boston, so heartbreaking.

They were steps from the playground at the Floridian. The baby was in less than a foot of water.

 

[1971DBday]

Not sure. They for sure have been spotted in the Magic Kingdom at Splash and Tom Sawyer Island.

Hard to know facts right now. Orlando Sentinel is saying it was a little boy.

Someone shared a photo on Tikiman's FB page just a couple of weeks ago of one floating by the Polynesian. I hope Disney stops selling sand buckets and shovels in the gift shop since this encourages guests to go in the water. Those signs will have to change to no swimming, no wading.

 

[dwdeb]

This is tragic. And a result of people not heeding the signs posted, which are there for a reason.
I can't fathom the heartbreak this family is feeling.