Child pulled into water by alligator near Grand Floridian

[Tom P.]

Are you kidding? Alligators kill people! Jump in the water with an aggressive alligator? NO!!!

If the alligator were dragging a 2-year-old boy to his death? Hell yes, I would be in there in an instant doing everything I possibly could!

 

[moobar25]

Redbudlover said: ↑
Are you kidding? Alligators kill people! Jump in the water with an aggressive alligator? NO!!!

To save a child? I would try

I agree.

The thing that boggles my mind, as a parent, is why didn't the father or the mother (one of them) wouldn't go after the gator. I know the reports say that both tried to grab the boy but were unsuccessful. But, and this is just my mindset as a parent, there's no way in hell I would leave the gator without trying everything. I mean if the gator grabbed the boy then you go in and hang on tight and keep fighting. Even if that means going down with it. I would rather die trying to save my baby girl than walk out of the water with scratches and live to tell about it.
And yes I do realize that there are 2 other children to think about -- hence why I mentioned one of them should have went after.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I COULD NOT AGREE MORE WITH YOU! I've bene RIGHT near that "Shore" line myself....could happen to anyone. He was not "Swimming". And for those that are commenting on the lifeguard not helping- I would imagine this was the lifeguard at the pool....

As a former lifeguard I have to say what do people think the lifeguard was suppose to do??? Trust me, lifeguards at most places are not trained on gator rescues and Disney is probably not an exception to this rule. I am not sure what I would have been able to do. Nothing in my training covered a wild animal carrying off a kid. Yes, I guess I could have hung on to the gator, but folks you have to realize they are probably stronger then the guard and the gator was probably going to win that battle. It's not like you can distract it like a dog!

 

[Opie100]

Yes, and the reason is because some people are not too bright. I took everything I posted out of the dictionary. Learning and stuff

The reason is that there is a commonly understood difference.

 

[mjr0483]

I considered taking my kids tubing one year but when I read up on the brain eating amoeba, there was no freaking way. Alligators was the last thing on my mind.

 

[Strikan]

This is a terrible and tragic accident. However, it is an accident. I am not sure it is right to blame the parents or Disney for this.

The parents probably never realized there was this potential danger. I must admit, it never really occurred to me all the times I was at Disney. Yes, I knew there were alligators but I never thought they would be this aggressive. I live in New York so do not have the experience. Not sure I would let my kid play by the lake at that time of night to be honest, but I also do not feel right laying blame at the parent's feet here either.

As for Disney, the real question is just how often do alligators attack people in resort type locations? It seems from reports that it is extremely rare. If so, I am not sure it is right to blame Disney either. The mere potential existence of an animal does not mean you need to stop people going anywhere near them or warn them constantly if that animal never really interacts with people. Do we get a whole page warning from every hotel on a Florida beach about sharks? Do we get a warning from any business in Florida about snakes or spiders? No, because these warnings are just not necessary when the risk is so remote.

I know this is horrible. I know there is a need inside us to somehow fix this, especially after the Pulse tragedy this weekend. We are all raw and feeling lost anyway. However, at the end of the day, this is an incredibly rare terrible accident and I am not sure anything could have happened differently.

 

[colleen costello]

When a horrible accident occurs it can be so shocking that I think it is human nature to second-guess. Those poor parents will be doing that for the rest of their lives. Not being from Florida they likely never realized how fast and strong and stealthy alligators can be. Part of the problem in my mind is how manicured the beaches are. They are so tidy and clean and "not swampy" that the same parent who would not let a kid get near a soupy lake sees that white sand and assumes all is well. But local gators are probably used to occasionally grabbing one of the shore birds or ducks that wade in the shallows of Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon... and this time what the gator grabbed was tragically a child.

When I was a kid in the 1970s we swam in that same lake every day of every vacation. We always camped at Fort Wilderness and they not only had the beach open with lifeguards, they had a permanently-moored floating "dock" for sunbathing. It had a slide on it, and we would slide into murky lake water well over our heads. We also drove down from New Jersey with our travel trailer to get to Disney, with no seat belts and my little sister often sitting on my Mom's lap in the front seat of the car. In my fifty years the idea of what is "reasonable risk" has changed greatly.

I think from now on people will keep a closer eye on children anywhere near the shoreline, especially after dark. This was a horrible accident that parents won't forget and I expect an immediate change of the signs, which probably should have shown an alligator icon all along.

 

[mjr0483]

I can see signing a waiver when you check in saying that you were informed. "Welcome to Florida" please don't go into or near any lakes, streams or ponds as there may be alligators.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I live in Detroit and understand there are alligators in Florida. The no swimming sign means more than worries about drowning. It refers to the brain eating parasites found in the water.

And sadly, I think you are in the minority. We disboarders know a lot. It was on this board I learned about the parasite. My travel agent, guide book or the Disney website oddly enough never warned me about that.

And I'll add it was long after my first trip that I learned about the parasite issue.

I'm saddened but not surprised at how many people (not referring to the quoted poster btw) are quick to judge and blame the parents. But not shocked. On an online forum its easy to knock our words around, be experts all while our own children are safe and not the victim of something as horrific as this.

But I think some of us need to visualize a young family, playing on a beach, on a beautiful night at the Happiest Place on Earth. Think of their happiness and how they obviously had no idea what was going to happen. Think about how different today is for them from yesterday.

We all need to stay out of the damn lakes for sure. And some of us need to stay off the damn computer and focus on compassion. Because any of us has made a bad decision or two out of ignorance or a false sense of security. Thankfully it almost never ends the way it did for this family. But for the grace of God, there go I.

 

[Opie100]

With a sign saying no swimming why would anyone think wading would be just fine??? IT means don't get in the water.

As noted earlier in the thread, Disney guests have stood in those waters for decades, without being instructed otherwise.

 

[maltdizzy]

That's great for you, somewhere in Detroit you got the message. I'm in New York City and while I know that alligators are frequent in Florida in undeveloped areas I never thought in a million years that in a man-made tourist attraction they aren't fully controlled and are a legitimate threat. One would think that since Disney warns everyone about just about anything on their rides in the parks that they would have done likewise on the beaches. For me, the lack of warning about alligators means to me that there is actually no threat.

Well...now people will have a better sense of situational awareness. The are alligators in the waterways in WDW...there are alligators in the parks at WDW. Many of us few the wildlife in WDW (gators included) as an attraction in itself when traveling and often keep an eye out to spot them. We've seen them sunny themselves near the Epcot resorts, in the marshes under the monorail between the GF and Poly...and in MK and Epcot parks.

There isn't a single waterway in Florida that doesn't have or hasn't had alligators in it. Within the 42 sq miles of WDW, there are hundreds of gators. And yet,this is the first attack in 44 years on WDW property out of hundreds of thousands (millions) of hotel guests. Only 43 alligator-related deaths in the same time period in all of Florida. It's a rare occurrence and uncommon behavior, and Disney and Florida works hard to balance man and nature. But you can't prevent everything and...as insensitive as it may sound...this family just had horrific luck with tragic outcomes.

I have seen signs about alligators at WDW before, I can't remember where or when.

For those who think gators are just in the Everglades or something...this is were you'll commonly find American Alligators...

 

[HarleenQ]

Are you kidding? Alligators kill people! Jump in the water with an aggressive alligator? NO!!!

They do kill people and I'd jump in without a second thought knowing that if I didn't that 2 year old was definitely going to be killed.

By all means, sit by and watch, but I bet if it was your kid you'd be begging people to jump in and help too.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

There was an Alligator in a river near me recently and I live in Atlanta. Now it was probably some idiot's pet that grew too big so they "released" it, but... it happens!

 

[ryansstitch]

Redbudlover said: ↑
Are you kidding? Alligators kill people! Jump in the water with an aggressive alligator? NO!!!



I agree.

The thing that boggles my mind, as a parent, is why didn't the father or the mother (one of them) wouldn't go after the gator. I know the reports say that both tried to grab the boy but were unsuccessful. But, and this is just my mindset as a parent, there's no way in hell I would leave the gator without trying everything. I mean if the gator grabbed the boy then you go in and hang on tight and keep fighting. Even if that means going down with it. I would rather die trying to save my baby girl than walk out of the water with scratches and live to tell about it.
And yes I do realize that there are 2 other children to think about -- hence why I mentioned one of them should have went after.

Yes, and even if it's not my child, no way could I sit there and watch one person or even just 2 go after him. No judgement on anyone that may have chosen not to help for their own reasons, maybe no one even saw, I don't know the circumstances. but if I saw, I couldn't just let the baby die.

 

[Opie100]

As a former lifeguard I have to say what do people think the lifeguard was suppose to do??? Trust me, lifeguards at most places are not trained on gator rescues and Disney is probably not an exception to this rule. I am not sure what I would have been able to do. Nothing in my training covered a wild animal carrying off a kid. Yes, I guess I could have hung on to the gator, but folks you have to realize they are probably stronger then the guard and the gator was probably going to win that battle. It's not like you can distract it like a dog!

I think the expectation may be to keep people away from the waterline, not to duel with a gator.

 

[Seeker615]

Really, what's the difference?? How fast you flap your arms?
Is the traveling public that stupid they need this clarification?

MG

Well I don't think it is clear to some. If you are from one of the northern states where there are lots of state parks and lakes no swimming means no submerging in the water. When we see that sign it means there is no life guards on duty or it is not safe to submerge in do to high tides or fast currents. BUT - it is still okay to wade in the water or soak your feet in it. We do it all the time. If you don't want people in the water then you need to say STAY OUT OF THE WATER!

 

[mjr0483]

What do you think will happen to Sammy Duvall? Those pictures of kids tubing is not going to go well in the lawsuit.

 

[Dave006]

While this is a very tragic accident, the odds of an alligator encounter like this averages about 1 in 1.2 million. While even one death is to many. This is an unfortunate and tragic accident and appears to be the first one on the Seven Seas Lagoon since the lake opened in 1971.

Note 99.95 of alligators will avoid all human contact unless they are fed. Once some idiotic person or persons start to feed or taunt an alligator, the animal looses it's natural fear of humans.

Dave

 

[JKalai]

Just watched the press conference and they just confirmed the father was trying to pull the boy from the gators grip. No matter what, I don't think they could have released the boy unless the gator wanted them to or they did some serious damage to the gator. The american alligator has the strongest bite force on the planet.

Assumptions are sky high in this thread...

 

[Amy&Dan]

Yes, and even if it's not my child, no way could I sit there and watch one person or even just 2 go after him. No judgement on anyone that may have chosen not to help for their own reasons, maybe no one even saw, I don't know the circumstances. but if I saw, I couldn't just let the baby die.

I'm betting it happened so quickly that it was over before others could react. As for the parents, they both jumped in, but alligators swim very fast. It was dark, they were confused. .