2-year-old boy killed by alligator at Disney Resort

[ECG]

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said today there's "no question" the missing 2-year-old Nebraska boy who was dragged by an alligator into a lake Tuesday evening at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Bay Lake, Florida, is dead.
Rescue teams were initially hopeful of finding the boy alive, but officials now say the attack was "not survivable." A 15-hour search is still underway for the toddler's body in the artificial Seven Seas lagoon, located on Disney property.
At this point rescue teams want to give the family "closure," officials said.
"This is a tough situation," Demings said at a news conference. "We know this is a recovery effort at this point. Disney is doing everything it can to make the family comfortable."
Walt Disney Resort has temporarily shuttered its resort beach areas and recreational marinas in the wake of the gator attack.
Demings said there are 50 personnel from the sheriff's office alone working on the recovery effort.

Florida Fish and Wildlife search for a 2-year-old boy early June 15, 2016, after the boy was dragged into the water Tuesday night by an alligator near Disney's upscale Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

A 2-year-old child was dragged into the water by an alligator near Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Orlando, Fla., pictured June 15, 2016.

"Everyone here at the Walt Disney World Resort is devastated by this tragic accident. Our thoughts are with the family. We are helping the family and doing everything we can to assist law enforcement," Jacquee Wahler, vice president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement.
Dozens of rescue crews -- including the Florida Fish and Wildlife, Reedy Creek Fire Rescue and the Orange County Sheriff's Office –- are actively searching the lake with sonar equipment. Experienced alligator trappers were also brought in to help with the recovery effort, officials said.

Deputies in Orlando are searching for a child who was apparently dragged into a lake by an alligator at the Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office on June 14, 2016.

Deputies in Orlando are searching for a child who was apparently dragged into a lake by an alligator at the Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office on June 14, 2016.

The boy was "playing" in the water when the alligator snatched and dragged him into the lake, officials said. The attack occurred around 9:15 p.m. Eyewitnesses saw the child grabbed by the alligator, Demings said.
"The father entered the water and tried to grab the child from the gator, but was not successful," Demings said.
The boy's parents then alerted a nearby lifeguard that an alligator had attacked the boy.
Officials estimate the alligator was between 4 and 7 feet long.
Counselors and victims’ advocates are with the family.
There are no warning signs of gators in the area, but there are notices posted against swimming in the man-made lake.

Source with video.

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

I can't imagine how scary that must have been for the boy. Of course I feel awful for him, but once again this is a case of parental stupidity. Clearly you're not allowed to swim in the water, clearly alligators are abundant in Florida, and alligators or not, your 2 year old shouldn't be playing in the water themselves anyway.

 

[djmcbell]

I nearly registered at Theme Park Review to say this to Robb Alvey (and probably get banned - I got banned from their Facebook page for telling him the video controls frequently hide the ride location, and the recent France thing was amusing to watch), but I get to vent here instead.

First off, this is a tragedy. No two ways around that, and surely everyone here would like to express their condolences to the family.

Yes, there are "no swimming" signs, and nobody goes swimming there. The Disney resort does have an air of safety about it and, though I'm not surprised that there are alligators within the resort (which are promptly disposed of by Disney's on-site team), it still never crossed my mind that there would be.

Next - the boy wasn't swimming. According to reports, he was barely wading. The Guardian says:

“He was about a foot in, maybe ankle-deep or a little higher,” Williamson said.

I'll be honest, I have a two-year-old son. I would let him wade a short distance (whilst holding his hand, of course). Would my presence have stopped him being dragged off by a pretty darn huge gator, if it so wanted? And, on Parkz, an upcoming Disney cast member said:

Basically, Disney has previously allowed guests to stand in the water up to their ankles, any further and they'd be told to get out. A lot of the lifeguards have said quite rightly that guests have an illusion that Disney is safe so they needn't worry about the risks associated with Florida wildlife.

I don't know. Maybe this is a case of parental stupidity, but surely it was also a case of being lulled into a false sense of security. Obviously, also playing against myself here (let's not forget, I would let my two-year-old son wade, but also keep a good eye on him - not because of gators, but because I'm probably overly protective), we could also say "Disney shouldn't have built the lagoon with the sandy beaches if they didn't want people to wade in", which is something I definitely don't agree with.

In my opinion, there is absolutely nobody to blame here. Disney do apparently have a very good system of ensuring dangerous wildlife and tourists don't meet, and I have no reason to doubt that. One slipped through the net (and there have been others in the past - a child was attacked in 1986 at Fort Wilderness, though not fatally), but like all nets we have to accept that freak accidents occur and try to ensure they don't in the future. And whilst it's likely that Disney will - and should - accept some responsibility, it's difficult to see anything more they could do to prevent this - except maybe not build parks in Florida!

As for the parents - as I say, you believe it is safe. There's a nice sandy beach, the lifeguards are watching and making sure we don't go far out, it says no swimming, but wading? As I say, you think it's safe. And whilst I wasn't surprised by alligators in Disney World (it is a huge place, and would be pretty good gator territory), it's not something that would have crossed my mind in the slightest.

EDIT - the signs on the beach at Grand Floridian do indicate "no swimming", and are located on the beach a few feet from the water. However, signs at Polynesian (just a bit further down the shore) do warn of gators. I probably still would have let my son wade, though be with him. But if he was older and more capable on his own, yet I trusted him not to go further in, I probably would have been alright keeping an eye on him from a short distance, as these parents had done (apparently they were approximately 6 metres away).

 

[Robbie]

I think you're right about false sense of security. It's very easy to condemn the parents, but it was the end of probably a long day and there had just been an event on the beach. You wouldn't really expect Disney to do a family event on the edge of a lion enclosure, so here you'd think it would be a safe place.

I suppose it could have been worse - what if the five (so far) gators in that lagoon had gone for the open buffet laid on for them?

It might affect the aesthetics but I'd have thought some form of barrier would divide the beach and water, even if it's a low rope fence. By having a a runoff into the water some yards from a play area and seemingly-safe, expensive, gated community it does look like something like this was going to happen sooner or later.

 

[Hyde]

Disney World is the Happiest Place on Earth. Of course a parent let their children wade in the water, because they are in the Happiest Place on Earth. And in the Happiest Place on Earth, you can let your children wander and wade.

However the Happiest Place on Earth is also literally built on top of a swamp. And a swamp has a lot of wild life, including natural predators. And sometimes those natural predators of the swamp get past the thin barrier between the swamp and the Happiest Place on Earth. Because to them, water is water, and a swamp is a swamp.

There is no blame to be assigned here. We are on nature's turf, and nature doesn't recognize property lines. It is a tragedy, a horrific event, and something that could have happened to anyone who was wading ankle deep in water in the Happiest Place on Earth that was built on a swamp.

 

[nadroJ]

Letting a TWO year old paddle in water unattended? A TWO year old. Can we take a second to comprehend what a TWO year old is, guys? They're walking and talking, sure, but they're not that certain on their feet, fall down easily etc. Gator or no, letting a child that young near a **** lake is irresponsible in the first place.

Of course, Disney World, false sense of security, wouldn't expect there to be gators at Disney World, all valid points. And of course this is a tragic accident. But if the child had drowned would we still be calling it a tragic accident or neglectful parenting? There are so many dangers associated with the water, including potential wildlife hazards. They weren't being careful enough in my opinion.

 

[nealbie]

Very harsh Taylor, the dad was clearly with him if he was trying to snatch the boy back off the gator.

Staff clearly weren't stopping the kid from paddling with his dad, poor form on them tbh if it's not allowed. Is this lagoon known to have gators? If so why are there no signs? If not, why were staff not enforcing the standard "no swimming" signs? There were staff/lifeguards there to be told about the gator attack, so why were they not doing their job and telling the dad to get his kid out of the water?

This is a horrible and tragic event, but if any blame is to be apportioned it's on Disney and their staff, there is literally zero parent stupidity here.

Edit for Jordan: the article clearly shows the child was not unattended and his dad was with him. It would indeed be stupid to leave a two year old in a lake on their own.

 

[Gavin]

It's a lake. In Florida. With "no swimming" signs. There are no lifeguards because there's "no swimming". Putting lifeguards on duty at a "no swimming" area would be stupid because it would send the message that "yeah, we say no swimming, but we don't mean it". Lifeguards are placed to protect swimming areas. That's. The. Point.

It's not Disney's fault that there are alligators in a body of water in Florida.

It's not the parents' fault that they were a bit lax; the kid was paddling with a parent.

It's a freak accident. That's it. No blame to be attributed.

No doubt the parents will get millions, Disney will fence off all access to any water and a crapload of alligators will be killed because of a one-in-a-million event which would never have happened again anyway.

It's a freak accident

 

[TilenB]

^ Agreed! How often does something like this happen in Florida, that a kid would get killed by a gator? They aren't really known to be particularly aggressive towards humans.
Orlando is just cursed this week...

 

[Ben]

Yeah I'd literally never in a million years go near an open body of water in Florida. Like, ever.

I'd never swim in the sea off Sharm el-Sheik for the same bitey reasons.

I am overly cautious when it comes to not wanting to be eaten alive but still I don't understand how they don't click?

You remember that woman that got spited by one when out for a run by a river? Who do you sue then?

As far as I'm concerned they were in a lake marked no swimming, in Florida, at night, it's not Disney's fault. Can you really blame them for being out there? Maybe not, but it just so happened to be on Disney's land it could have been a few miles up the road.

This is Florida, sometimes gators spite people.

 

[TommyAlex]

If an alligator can get a child who is a foot into the water, what's to stop the, from coming onto the land surrounding it? There's no blame here. The father was obviously pretty close, but even if the father was right beside the child, I highly doubt he could fend off an alligator going at the child. There is no blame here.

 

[djmcbell]

If an alligator can get a child who is a foot into the water, what's to stop the, from coming onto the land surrounding it? There's no blame here. The father was obviously pretty close, but even if the father was right beside the child, I highly doubt he could fend off an alligator going at the child. There is no blame here.

Precisely. Most people know that Florida is inundated with gators and, whilst they wouldn't be surprised to discover that they exist inside the Disney World resort (albeit they are heavily policed), you just wouldn't expect to have to consider it. I'd have let my two-year-old son have a paddle in the water. I may even have let him run ahead of me a little. Done this on beaches a few times with him, though I have been brought up by the sea and know it can come in pretty quick at times. I very well could have been the father in this story (though I'm unsure whether I'd let go of his hand at night, unless it was a well-lit area).

If anyone is at fault (and I don't believe anyone is), it should be Disney. Their signs at Polynesian warn of gators, but not at Grand Floridian. But again, I don't think anyone is truly at fault. It was a tragic accident.

For those arguing that no swimming = no paddling, that seems tenuous. I've been on beaches which have had "no swimming" signs up, but paddling is generally perfectly acceptable.

 

[djmcbell]

Ugh, the fence looks ugly as sin. I was afraid this would happen and, whilst Disney do need to react and show they're doing something in this situation, I just really dislike that it will spoil the look and feel of their beached areas.

I would have preferred it if their "no swimming" signs could be changed to say "do not enter the water" and that was it (which, maybe, that's all there needs to be).

 

[lachlan]

They've put a fence up and it doesn't look too bad.

Not sure why anyone would step into that marshy water

A bit pointless because if people still go in the water after this tragedy, then they deserve to get eaten.

An alligator will crawl under that.

I don't think anybody has said this yet - if Disney built a pond in Florida, why was it not fenced off properly. If there were no alligators in it when they built the pond, a good fence would keep them out.

 

[djmcbell]

An alligator will crawl under that.

I don't think anybody has said this yet - if Disney built a pond in Florida, why was it not fenced off properly. If there were no alligators in it when they built the pond, a good fence would keep them out.

I think it's more to keep people out than keep alligators in.

I really don't think there's any way Disney could have prevented gators getting into their water network. Disney World is HUGE and has a few lakes, a few inlets, rivers and so on. Gators will be able to come and go as they please, and the only thing Disney can do is try to keep an eye on them and remove them wherever possible.

 

[Crazycoaster]

Yeah, just take a look at a google maps satelite image of Disneyworld and you'll see just how extensive the water system is. They had to build over 50 miles of canal before anything else.

 

[furie]

They've put a fence up and it doesn't look too bad.

An alligator will crawl under that.

They could but they won't. The sign says "Beach Closed" and alligators are well renowned for their obedience of signs.

 

[davidm]

To be fair, if you can see the alligator wandering along the beach you are unlikely to shuffle your 2-year within striking distance of the thing. The problem with them in the water is that they aren't quite so visible!

Hardly surprising that the family felt safe there though; they are essentially in the hotel (not wandering the backwaters of the Florida swamplands).

Horrible story all round obviously.

 

[Robbie]

That fence is exactly what I imagined when I wrote my post the other day. It's enough to say "don't go in the water" without being too intrusive.

 

[lachlan]

^Yes hopefully now people will have more time to retreat if they spot a gator.

But still, Disney built a beach beside a lake they knew had gators in so it was an accident waiting to happen.