Alligator Drags Toddler Into Lagoon at Disney Resort

[MissGotRocks]

This whole story makes my insides wretch. I cannot imagine the hell the parents are living in right now. My husband said the same thing about the no swimming signs - he reasons that if the signs say no swimming that means you should not go in the water at all. While that might make perfect sense, I know that unfortunately some folks are so literal that they wouldn't swim in the water but will wade in it on the shore because that is not considered swimming. The sign posted above regarding 'no swimming, alligator sightings' would be much more appropriate to leave no doubt about the dangers in that body of water. However, as Kenny pointed out, I'm sure that Disney wants to make everything as friendly as possible because it makes a lot more money that way. They will pay this family a big settlement based on the scenario I laid out above and I'll bet that their signs will be a little more informative in the future.

Just a sad, sad set of circumstances. We took our family to Disney twice when they were growing up. I'd like to think that presented with those circumstances, I wouldn't have let the kids even wade in the water but I am just not going to pass judgment on them. I'm not there and can't see the exact place for myself. I can't fathom trying to wrest my child out of the jaws of an alligator (although I'm sure that was just a split second occurrence - they are very swift and very fast) so I will keep that small child and family in my heart tonight. I can't begin to imagine their mental state at this point but I am very glad that they found his little body intact. The images I had all day were the stuff nightmares are truly made of.

 

[Lovinggems]

Comments on a parenting forum mention that this area, while posted as a No Swimming area, is a sandy beach that is a common place for guests to gather and watch the nightly fireworks. Also, there are water sports that occur in this lake. Jet skiing and waterskiing were mentioned. Apparently, waterskiing lessons are available here. This would certainly lead people to believe that the environment is safe. It is just such an awful situation.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

If this is correct, people can stop blaming the parents. This is a horrible tragedy.

 

[sonnyjane]

We have Crocodile attacks here all the time, people swim in places they shouldn't, they fish where they shouldn't not everywhere is signed but when it is it looks like the signs below. Places with lots of tourists and children should have adequate signage for people who are idiots. When the lady got taken by a Croc two weeks ago here they captured it sedated it and flushed it's stomach contents out to make sure it was the right one. On the flip side of that when the child at the zoo who climbed into the Gorilla enclosure was happening literally at the same time here a large shark off the coast of Western Australia took an experienced diver and they captured and killed the shark. Two days beforehand in the same area a surfer had his leg bitten off and later died from a shark attack, they hunted and killed that shark too. I was reflecting at the time about the social media sentiments for the Gorilla at the zoo that was killed to save the child yet the exact same time we were hunting and killing sharks that killed people who not only went into the sharks environment, but actively knew there were large possibly aggressive sharks in the area at the time.

The lady that got taken by a Croc two weeks ago here;

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-03/%27target-animal%27-caught-and-killed-after-fnq-crocodile-attack/7476572

These were the shark victims;

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/06/05/female-diver-killed-in-another-wa-shark-attack/

These are some examples of signs that are at popular tourist areas having said that there are many areas that are not tourists spots where there are Crocs too up in Northern Australia, I think they try and sign as many places as they can with Croc signs where tourists go and they put some in multiple languages, but even despite the signs sometimes people are idiots and go near the water in these areas anyway;

The way some parts of Australia deal with the shark "problem" is infuriating to me.

 

[arkieb1]

sonny so help me understand...

what about what I was wondering...

if a shark kills/goes after a human can we deduce that it has learned to prefer and / or is actually choosing humans.

(ETA I'm sure it's not as black/white as this...but could we with some certainty deduce if it does it once it might do it again.)

To be quite frank, I can't think of many examples of a shark that has attacked a human and been PROVEN to be a repeat offender. One that comes to mind were the Matawan attacks of 1916, which were perpetrated by a bull shark, perhaps the most aggressive species. What made that shark desperate enough to attack multiple people is unknown. It swam upriver, perhaps away from normal prey, perhaps it was distressed and going after anything it saw, etc. Sadly many times sharks that have killed humans are killed in retaliation which is why I don't think we really know if they'd go after them again are not. We are certainly NOT the most desirable food choice.

Sometimes they kill bears that get into campsites because the Bears learn to associate humans with food. I don't agree with that either. We're packing up picnics and bringing it into their habitat and then getting upset when they're tempted.

I agree with you, that was the point I was making in my post, the irony was not lost on me of the massive outrage of the death of the gorilla at the zoo, meanwhile at the very same time no one seemed to care that the authorities here were hunting and killing two great white sharks which are also listed on the endangered species list because one attacked the surfer who died and another took the diver. What I also didn't get was why the diver went into the same waters 2 days after the attack of the first guy, but hey that's just me.

We have bull sharks here where I live. The reason they attack multiple times here is they get lost swim into a maze of canals with houses along them, can't find their way back out to open waters again, kids, people, dogs and lots of boats, all live, play and go into these canals and every now and then someone gets attacked by a bull shark, who become aggressive because they are not in their natural environments and are unable to find their way away from man, and back out to sea.

 

[luv2sparkle]

I am sick about this story. I can't imagine how you actually go on after something like this. I hope it is true that they found his body intact and that he died of drowning, because the thought of a toddlers terror at being torn apart by a gator is too much to bear.

Many prayers for this poor family from mine.

 

[Gypsy]

People are really hypocrites. If a young woman gets black-out wasted from binge drinking in public, it's okay and she is not going to be held accountable if something bad happens to her. She has no responsibility to educate herself and keep herself safe. But now these poor parents are at fault that their kid got killed by an alligator? Because they were not being responsible somehow (when it still isn't even clear if this is the case)? Come on. You can't have it both ways. They were at a resort with tons of other vacationers. Nowhere has any article stated that the parents were in a restricted area or doing something wrong.

Are you kidding me? Seriously?

If someone drinks to excess and walks out into traffic and killed, that action is on them. If someone drinks to excess and is sexually assaulted, NO, I don't hold them responsible because ANOTHER PERSON MADE THE CONSCIOUS, NON-ACCIDENTAL CHOICE TO ASSAULT THEM. You don't slip and fall and rape someone.

I have always respected your posts, Laila, but insinuation you've made here is disgusting.

Drinking and getting drunk are legal activities.

Trespassing in restricted areas is not.

​

 

[Garnetgirl]

The body of a two-year-old boy who was snatched by an alligator Tuesday evening at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., has been recovered, according to Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings.

Divers found the boy's intact body around 1:45 p.m., and they were able to remove it from the water around 3:30 p.m., Demings told reporters at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Man-eating Nile crocodiles found roaming Florida swamps
Demings identified the boy's parents as Matt and Melissa Graves, and their son as Lane Graves, of Omaha, Neb.

The boy had been wading in the shallow water at the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World around 9 p.m. Tuesday night as his parents sat nearby.

Demings, along with a Catholic priest, informed the parents that the body of their son had been recovered.

"The family was distraught," said Demings. "But also, I believe, somewhat relieved that we were able to find their son with his body intact."

The boy's body was found near where he was snatched, said Demings.

"It took some time to go through and make certain. The waters are kind of murky, but our divers were able to locate the body," said Demings.

"But it's likely no question in my mind that the child was drowned by the alligator."

He added that the boy's body was found about 10 to 15 metres out in about two metres of water.

Wildlife officials earlier caught and killed five alligators from the lagoon to examine them for traces of the boy, said Nick Wiley, head of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

 

[Rockinruby]

My heart goes out to the family of the little boy who was attacked. It looks like children have played there without incident many times before.

https://gma.yahoo.com/orlando-nurse...ere-gator-200208496--abc-news-topstories.html
Orlando resident Jordan Ranges takes her grandson Collin to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Bay Lake, Florida, almost every week, where the 3-year-old loves to play along the shoreline of the Seven Lagoon Seas. It’s the same area where a 2-year-old Nebraska boy was dragged into the water by an alligator Tuesday night.

Now, Ranges said she won’t ever let Collin near the man-made lake again.

“He thinks that’s his pool,” Ranges told ABC News. “He goes and plays right there at the water’s edge. He won’t again.”

 

[AprilBaby]

Disney will never go to court, they will settle out of court for whatever it takes.

The child was 10 ft from shore in icky tangled weeded water. It's not a restricted area but common sense would tell you not to go in there because of how filthy and weeded it is. And dark at 10 pm. The area is available as beach only to watch fireworks. A gator was not likely to come up on land as they are afraid of humans.

Should they have gators signs? Probably yes. And brain eating amoeba signs.

As I have an granddaughter his age my heart breaks for the family. But no means no. No exceptions.

 

[BeekeeperBetty]

I think you're thinking of a different beach? We were on that beach last fall during our last Disney trip, with a child that age, walking near us but not hand in hand. It's a clean sandy beach area where they show the movies under the stars. The family was there watching the movie from the beach. It would imply, at least to me as a guest, that the beach is safe to watch the movie from after dark. We've watched those movies from Disney beaches before. We normally choose to stay at the Beach/Yacht Club, and they have a similar set up. Chairs in the sand on the "beach" with a bon fire to roast smores by, and they play a Disney movie.

This is utterly heartbreaking for this family. They will never get over it. Such a tragedy.

 

[Gypsy]

This is very much like the McDonald's coffee case.

Coffee is hot. It burns. Woman got 3rd degree burns. Sued and was granted a huge damage reward.

Now, common sense says coffee is hot liquid and hot liquid burns.

In this case, common sense says: lake in Florida= gator danger.

That doesn't mean Disney isn't going to be liable. McDonald's certainly was.

The questions that would be asked are as follows:

1. Was the event "gator attacking guest on beach" reasonably foreseeable?
2. Was there a duty to warn on Disney's part?
3. Was there adequate warning of the danger by Disney?
4. Could the event have been avoided if there had been adequate warning?

And of COURSE, I don't know the particulars and there seems to be some conflicting information about whether this was a restricted and off limits area or not. But if it is true that the area was COMMONLY frequented by the resort guests and the MANAGEMENT KNEW about that, and didn't take steps to make it inaccessible, then it may be largely irrelevant that it was a restricted area because they may have still had a duty of care and a duty to warn of the gator danger.

So if the answer to the above is as follows:
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No
4. Yes

Then Disney would be liable. And they may not be able to settle. The plaintiff has to consent to settlement. And some plaintiff's WANT a court trial.

Disney actually has a problem right now. If they start putting up signs ASAP then that may be used against them.

 

[sonnyjane]

This is very much like the McDonald's coffee case.

Coffee is hot. It burns. Woman got 3rd degree burns. Sued and was granted a huge damage reward.

Now, common sense says coffee is hot liquid and hot liquid burns.

In this case, common sense says: lake in Florida= gator danger.

That doesn't mean Disney isn't going to be liable. McDonald's certainly was.

The questions that would be asked are as follows:

1. Was the event "gator attacking guest on beach" reasonably foreseeable?
2. Was there a duty to warn on Disney's part?
3. Was there adequate warning of the danger by Disney?
4. Could the event have been avoided if there had been adequate warning?

And of COURSE, I don't know the particulars and there seems to be some conflicting information about whether this was a restricted and off limits area or not. But if it is true that the area was COMMONLY frequented by the resort guests and the MANAGEMENT KNEW about that, and didn't take steps to make it inaccessible, then it may be largely irrelevant that it was a restricted area because they may have still had a duty of care and a duty to warn of the gator danger.

So if the answer to the above is as follows:
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No
4. Yes

Then Disney would be liable. And they may not be able to settle. The plaintiff has to consent to settlement. And some plaintiff's WANT a court trial.

Disney actually has a problem right now. If they start putting up signs ASAP then that may be used against them.

I quite detest frivolous lawsuits, but I think this one would be justified. I think that a "no swimming" sign doesn't properly convey the dangers of doing so, and while Disney can't control the behavior of a native, wild animal, hosting resort events like movies and fireworks viewing right there without somehow making guests aware is negligent *in my opinion*, especially since Disney said that they routinely remove alligators from the lake - in other words they're aware of the population there and try to decrease it.

 

[missy]

The poor family will never get over their devastating loss of their beloved son. Period. And the no swimming signs were just not enough. Period.

I saw the area on the news this morning and it just doesn't speak to the dangers that are there. Looks like a sweet sandy beach. With no ALLIGATOR WARNING signs anywhere. There are/were only No Swimming and that is not enough. We need to have literal signs that state plainly (and perhaps shown pics) the message they want to/need to convey. No question about that.

Disney did not adequately warn of the dangers. I have no question of that in my mind. And now a little boy is dead. And a family devastated forever.

 

[Rockinruby]

For those of you following the story, here is an updated link about the signage:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...er-reptiles-near-resort-NO-warning-signs.html
Disney will 'thoroughly review' its lagoon safety signs after boy was killed by alligator - and admits it 'routinely' catches huge reptiles but has NO warnings about them
Images have emerged showing an alligator being captured at Disney World
It was caught in same lagoon where Lane Graves, aged two, was killed
Already five alligators have been caught and killed in the same lagoon
Disney has admitted it routinely catches killer reptiles around its resort
Firm is under fire for not displaying signs warning of alligators in water

 

[kenny]

I wonder how many lawyers have contacted the parents.

 

[kenny]

It shouldn't be, but this tragedy is even more heartbreaking after seeing the boy's face.

 

[AprilBaby]

No I have the right beach. See photo of another child playing at the same spot. It's clear for about 1-2 ft then it's all full of tangled weeds and icky brown water. I wouldn't swim in there without gators.

 

[BeekeeperBetty]

Apparently this kid was wading about as deep as that kid in the photo was. I'd let my kids put their feet in the water there, supposedly icky or not. Feet are washable. And the beach is used often for the movies under the stars, and fireworks viewing, and is a beautifully maintained white sand beach. It is obviously intended for guest use, especially after dark. In addition, as posted above there is parasailing and other water sports in the Seven Seas Lagoon, so most guests, like us for example, assume that the no swimming signs are to protect Disney from accidental drownings and not being eaten by gators.

We've stayed at Shades of Green several times and they have a lovely pond with a water fountain next to the side walk to the Poly, and they have very clear Watch for Gators signs up. It's the only time I've seen signs warning about gators at Disney.

Our last trip to Disney World was pretty terrible, anyway (Disney World and their guests have changed over the years) so I think we're going to stick with Disneyland and their gator-free waters from now on.

I'm still so upset for that family, however. I hugged my kids a little more often and a little tighter since I heard the news. So, so tragic. I hope the parents find peace.

 

[partgypsy]

We were at Disneyworld a few years ago, ate at Kona Café (in the Polynesian) and then walked some of the ground and then to the beach to wait for the boat to take us across the water. As soon as my daughter approached the water, an employee stopped her and told her not to go into the water, it wasn't safe. I can't recall if he mentioned alligators or not. Still I was shocked when I heard the news. I could totally imagine my own kids going into the water because it was tempting, and I'm also originally from the Midwest who would think man-made lake = safe.

 

[ksinger]

Oops. Disney is seriously toast.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3646647/Lawyer-says-warned-Disney-alligators-year-one-approached-son-wading-lagoon-told-resident-pets.html

"Lawyer says he warned Disney about alligators last year when one approached his son who was wading in a lagoon - and he was told they were 'resident pets'

David Hiden went on a Disney vacation with his family in April 2015
He says his five-year-old son was wading in water at the Coronado Springs Resort when he saw a six- to seven-foot alligator approach
The San Diego lawyer grabbed the boy and ran to safety
Hotel manager said the alligators were 'resident pets' and 'harmless'
Revelation comes after a two-year-old boy was killed by an alligator near the Grand Floridian Resort on Tuesday

 

[Gypsy]

Pets? Really?

Morons.

It has to be established that the upper management new about it for Disney to truly be toast. But in the court of public opinion, that's bad.

 

[Matata]

Pets? Really?

Morons.

It has to be established that the upper management new about it for Disney to truly be toast. But in the court of public opinion, that's bad.

Gypsy, isn't it "knew or should have known"? It's that way in Oregon.

 

[momhappy]

I think the hotel is guilty of not having adequate signage, but they are probably not unlike many other public spaces in Florida. If there is a potential threat of gators, then I'd much rather see a "danger. Gators. No Swimming." as opposed to just a "no swimming" sign. I'm guessing the Disney resort will likely be held responsible and I am okay with them sharing the blame. Ultimately, though, it was just a tragic accident, not unlike others that could happen to any one of us.

 

[LLJsmom]

This is unbelievable. They knew. They've caught and removed gators from the water. "No swimming" means the water might be deep and you might drown. It doesn't mean there are gators in the water that want to eat. Get me on that jury!!

 

[kenny]

IMO it's in Disney's business interest to not fight a huge payout to the family.
In the long run Disney will preserve shareholder value better if they just write that big fat check, express regret, improve signage and move on.

A jury hearing the gut-wrenching evidence and watching grieving parents weep in the courtroom will have no difficulty blowing off a judge's instructions to ignore their hearts and strike overruled objections from their conscience.
With this trial the jury is going to ignore jury instructions that protect Disney.
The jury is going to crucify Disney.

Even in the unlikely even that Disney wins a court case they would lose lots of business and goodwill.

This time Disney needs to be seen as remorseful, contrite.
Disney must appear to do what best supports their kid & family-friendly brand.

 

[momhappy]

There have also been reports of guests feeding gators, which only exacerbates the problem.

 

[msop04]

Pets? Really?

Morons.

It has to be established that the upper management new about it for Disney to truly be toast. But in the court of public opinion, that's bad.

Gypsy, isn't it "knew or should have known"? It's that way in Oregon.

Come on, now... I'm pretty sure that was just a typo or voice-to-text fail.

 

[momhappy]

^yes, I'm pretty sure it was a typo...

 

[Matata]

Pets? Really?

Morons.

It has to be established that the upper management new about it for Disney to truly be toast. But in the court of public opinion, that's bad.

Gypsy, isn't it "knew or should have known"? It's that way in Oregon.

Come on, now... I'm pretty sure that was just a typo or voice-to-text fail.

I wasn't referring to the typo for cripes sake. It's a point of law. Management is held accountable for what it knows or should have known. Which essentially means that those who are in charge cannot abrogate their responsibility for something that happens under their watch regardless of whether they have first hand knowledge. They are held accountable for everything that happens in their area of responsibility including the action/inaction of those they supervise.

 

[momhappy]

^No need to get defensive - it seemed as though you were pointing out the spelling error/typo. No harm done.