Bad week in Orlando

[BackInTex]

First Christina Grimmie on Friday
Then the massacre at Pulse Sunday morning
Then last night a gator grabbed a 2-year old off the beach at the Grand Floridian resort. They are currently in a recovery mode as they have yet to find the gator in the 200-acre 7 Seas Lagoon.


Deputies search for body of missing toddler after gator attack at Disney hotel

A father wrestled with an alligator on the shores of a lake at a Disney hotel Tuesday night, trying to pry his 2-year-old son from the animal’s jaws. But with scratches etched into his skin, the Nebraska man’s efforts weren’t enough to rescue the child before the gator dragged him underwater.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t found the boy, who has not been identified, and is continuing their search under the premise that he is now dead. The boy, his parents and a 4-year-old sister had been staying at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa since Sunday, according to a Disney spokesperson.

The priority now, Sheriff Jerry Demings said Wednesday, is recovering the corpse to bring closure to his family

What a nightmare, each event, and in the aggregate.

[silverscreenselect]

Apparently, they found the child's body.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/us/alliga ... index.html

[Estonut]

I understand that there are lots of dangerous creatures in Florida. I can't believe that Disney has a property on water that contains alligators and that they thought a few signs would be enough to protect their guests. I'm pretty sure that a wild animal attack is near the last thing on most people's minds while spending time at Disney.

[Jeemie]

I understand that there are lots of dangerous creatures in Florida. I can't believe that Disney has a property on water that contains alligators and that they thought a few signs would be enough to protect their guests. I'm pretty sure that a wild animal attack is near the last thing on most people's minds while spending time at Disney.

A) Apparently it's more than just "a few signs" and B) save for fencing off the lagoon (which would not help with the ambience) what more would you like them to do? I suppose a vigorous campaign to rid the lagoon of gators, but not sure how easy that would be.

Updated to add...never mind...while there are signs, apparently none of them say anything about gators. Which blows my mind (it's been ten years since I was last at Disney. I had forgotten what the signs actually said).

[BackInTex]

I understand that there are lots of dangerous creatures in Florida. I can't believe that Disney has a property on water that contains alligators and that they thought a few signs would be enough to protect their guests. I'm pretty sure that a wild animal attack is near the last thing on most people's minds while spending time at Disney.

A) Apparently it's more than just "a few signs" and B) save for fencing off the lagoon (which would not help with the ambience) what more would you like them to do? I suppose a vigorous campaign to rid the lagoon of gators, but not sure how easy that would be.

Updated to add...never mind...while there are signs, apparently none of them say anything about gators. Which blows my mind (it's been ten years since I was last at Disney. I had forgotten what the signs actually said).

Yeah, from what I've read they have "No swimming" signs but nothing to indicate why, or even to imply danger of any kind, even when wading, which is what this child was doing.

[Estonut]

I understand that there are lots of dangerous creatures in Florida. I can't believe that Disney has a property on water that contains alligators and that they thought a few signs would be enough to protect their guests. I'm pretty sure that a wild animal attack is near the last thing on most people's minds while spending time at Disney.

A) Apparently it's more than just "a few signs" and B) save for fencing off the lagoon (which would not help with the ambience) what more would you like them to do? I suppose a vigorous campaign to rid the lagoon of gators, but not sure how easy that would be.

Updated to add...never mind...while there are signs, apparently none of them say anything about gators. Which blows my mind (it's been ten years since I was last at Disney. I had forgotten what the signs actually said).

I think if they can keep them out of the Kingdom, Epcot and the other parks, they should be able to figure out a way to keep them out of their resorts.

[ghostjmf]

My sister dozed off on a park bench in Florida, many years ago. There were no warning signs in the park. When she woke up, she had company, alligator or croc I don't know, & maybe neither did she. But she moved away very, very, very slowly.

[silverscreenselect]

There's a moderate sized lake on the University of Florida campus called Lake Alice that is home to a number of alligators, as well as turtles and other indigenous wildlife. It's about the size of two city blocks, and it's a protected wildlife area. It's about two blocks from the law school (I used to drive by it every morning on my way to class) and right across the street from some married student housing. The gator problem there is exacerbated by the fact that it\s the school mascot and a lot of students think of the alligators as some form of pets, leaving food out and occasionally some idiots trying to get close for photo ops. Usually they stay very close to the lake, but occasionally one will wind up wandering right in the middle of campus.

[silverscreenselect]

Yeah, from what I've read they have "No swimming" signs but nothing to indicate why, or even to imply danger of any kind, even when wading, which is what this child was doing.

Of course, leaving a two-year-old to go wading in a lagoon is not a smart move even without any alligators around.

[BackInTex]

Yeah, from what I've read they have "No swimming" signs but nothing to indicate why, or even to imply danger of any kind, even when wading, which is what this child was doing.

Of course, leaving a two-year-old to go wading in a lagoon is not a smart move even without any alligators around.

Unsupervised, yes. But the parents could have been watching from their chairs yards away or also walking along the beach, yards away. It shouldn't be a problem on a flat beach with a 2 year old standing in knee deep (to him) water if the parents are close by. I don't blame the parents here at all.

[Bob78164]

Yeah, from what I've read they have "No swimming" signs but nothing to indicate why, or even to imply danger of any kind, even when wading, which is what this child was doing.

Of course, leaving a two-year-old to go wading in a lagoon is not a smart move even without any alligators around.

Unsupervised, yes. But the parents could have been watching from their chairs yards away or also walking along the beach, yards away. It shouldn't be a problem on a flat beach with a 2 year old standing in knee deep (to him) water if the parents are close by. I don't blame the parents here at all.

I agree, and I think that's what happened. The parents were close enough that the dad was able to wrestle with the gator in an unsuccessful attempt to save his son. --Bob

[Bob Juch]

When I lived on Back Nine Dr. there were signs on the golf course saying, "Warning! Alligators in Water Hazards! Do not enter water!"

[gsabc]

Where there are many signs posted not to do something, one should generally assume there's a reason, even if you don't know what it is, why you shouldn't perform that particular activity in that particular place. There are many reasons why you should not swim in certain water areas, alligators in a Florida water area being only one that can lead to injury or death. Maybe WDW should have been more explicit on the signs about this particular hazard. Visitors from Nebraska and most other non-Florida regions almost certainly wouldn't think of it. However, IMO it was reasonable for WDW to expect people to understand that there is some significant danger and risk to ignoring the signs and doing what they say not to do.

[Bob78164]

Where there are many signs posted not to do something, one should generally assume there's a reason, even if you don't know what it is, why you shouldn't perform that particular activity in that particular place. There are many reasons why you should not swim in certain water areas, alligators in a Florida water area being only one that can lead to injury or death. Maybe WDW should have been more explicit on the signs about this particular hazard. Visitors from Nebraska and most other non-Florida regions almost certainly wouldn't think of it. However, IMO it was reasonable for WDW to expect people to understand that there is some significant danger and risk to ignoring the signs and doing what they say not to do.

The kid wasn't swimming. He was wading. If I saw a "no swimming" sign, I wouldn't be concerned as long as my kid were merely wading in knee-deep water. --Bob

[Bob Juch]

Where there are many signs posted not to do something, one should generally assume there's a reason, even if you don't know what it is, why you shouldn't perform that particular activity in that particular place. There are many reasons why you should not swim in certain water areas, alligators in a Florida water area being only one that can lead to injury or death. Maybe WDW should have been more explicit on the signs about this particular hazard. Visitors from Nebraska and most other non-Florida regions almost certainly wouldn't think of it. However, IMO it was reasonable for WDW to expect people to understand that there is some significant danger and risk to ignoring the signs and doing what they say not to do.

The kid wasn't swimming. He was wading. If I saw a "no swimming" sign, I wouldn't be concerned as long as my kid were merely wading in knee-deep water. --Bob

If I saw a "No Swimming" sign I'd assume there was something wrong with the water, such as sewage. I do know that one lake on the WDW property is close due to brain-eating amoebas.

[silverscreenselect]

I do know that one lake on the WDW property is close due to brain-eating amoebas.

Is that the one where Donald Trump stayed?

[Bob78164]

I do know that one lake on the WDW property is close due to brain-eating amoebas.

Is that the one where Donald Trump stayed?

No. The amoebas there starved. --Bob