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2 year old boy grabbed and taken by gator at Grand Floridian


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From WDW Magic...

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All Walt Disney World Resort beach areas closed along with a suspension of watercraft service

14 minutes ago

Disney has suspended all watercraft operations on the Seven Seas Lagoon and all resort beach areas and recreational marinas are closed.

A search and rescue effort is currently underway in the Seven Seas Lagoon for a 2 year old boy who was taken from the Grand Floridian Resort beach area by an alligator.

Sonar equipped boats, dive teams and helicopters are on the scene.

The tragedy took place after-dark last night around 9pm, with the boy reportedly standing in 3 inches of water, a foot inside the lagoon.

Overnight efforts from 50 rescuers were unable to locate the boy or the alligator.

Additional bus transportation is being provided in place of the watercraft service and Magic Kingdom ferry boat. The monorail service is continuing as normal.

 

Article Posted: Jun 15, 2016 / 11:09am EDT

 

http://www.wdwmagic.com/resorts/walt-disney-world-resorts-information/news/15jun2016-all-walt-disney-world-resort-beach-areas-closed-and-suspension-of-watercraft-service.htm

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As much as it hurts, and brings up very bad memories, this story is stacking up to be very true. The father has wounds from wrestling with the gator to try and rescue his son. This family needs lots o

I am the first to point the finger at the Disney corporation when it does something wrong, but I don't think it's fair to point the finger here. Look at what Disney did when the thought there was

Too many people blame the parents.  It was a horrific accident and I grieve for them.  But, I don;t blame them.  I grew up in Florida.  I understand alligators are everywhere but never thought about i

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10 minutes ago, CJHokie said:

ICBW, but I thought the signs say no swimming or wading.  I don't think they mention alligators, though.

CNN has a picture of a sign from the GF.  It's hard to read, but it looks like it says no swimming please with the slashed circle like the above picture.  It may say no wading also, but I can't tell between my eyes and the picture quality.

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When we were down in December a CM at the fort mentioned they had been trying to catch a large gator which had been eluding them for several weeks...On the same trip we spotted a "have a heart" trap on shore in Frontier land when the park first opened...A few minuets later We spotted this small gator about 20 feet away...So even right in the middle of the Magic Kingdom  they can be found...

gator1.jpg

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4 minutes ago, Clark W Griswold said:

When we were down in December a CM at the fort mentioned they had been trying to catch a large gator which had been eluding them for several weeks...On the same trip we spotted a "have a heart" trap on shore in Frontier land when the park first opened...A few minuets later We spotted this small gator about 20 feet away...So even right in the middle of the Magic Kingdom  they can be found...

gator1.jpg

Is that the one that was in the Rivers of America?

 

I have pictures of him also.  He was hanging out near the boardwalk by the end of Splash Mountain.

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1 hour ago, fotofx....Steve said:

That is the normal way for gators to hunt. They are ambush predators that wait for prey to get close to the water's edge then lunge forward at high speed to strike and drag their prey into the water. After that initial burst they do not run fast enough to catch a healthy human adult (about 8-10 mph) and can't keep it up for long but for small children or non-healthy adults it could be a problem. Most attacks are on people who are ambushed and did not expect to see an alligator such as happened to the boy at the Fort or the child in the original post. It might behoove Disney to inform guests verbally about alligators and emphasize the need to stay back from the water since many are not aware of their presence.

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32 minutes ago, keith_h said:

That is the normal way for gators to hunt. They are ambush predators that wait for prey to get close to the water's edge then lunge forward at high speed to strike and drag their prey into the water. After that initial burst they do not run fast enough to catch a healthy human adult (about 8-10 mph) and can't keep it up for long but for small children or non-healthy adults it could be a problem. Most attacks are on people who are ambushed and did not expect to see an alligator such as happened to the boy at the Fort or the child in the original post. It might behoove Disney to inform guests verbally about alligators and emphasize the need to stay back from the water since many are not aware of their presence.

Yes, I think stay out of the water is much clearer than no swimming. Along with a specific alligator warning.  Ironically, I always feared letting my kids go in the ocean if there was any possibility of undertow. But I wouldn't have thought about wading at the edge of a lake at Disney without a stronger warning than "no swimming."  

 

 

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26 minutes ago, Seals said:

Yes, I think stay out of the water is much clearer than no swimming. Along with a specific alligator warning.  Ironically, I always feared letting my kids go in the ocean if there was any possibility of undertow. But I wouldn't have thought about wading at the edge of a lake at Disney without a stronger warning than "no swimming."  

 

 

I don't think I've ever been to the Fort where I haven't seen a few kids ankle deep or more in the water around Clementine's Beach.  If I saw them, CM's must have too.  Based on how often I saw it, I assumed that it was OK with Disney if people did that. 

Anyone who ever was at the beach to see the fireworks at the Fort beach can attest to this- kids have always been allowed to play at the water's edge and have their feet in the water.

I've lived in Florida for nearly 40 years now, and raised my kids here.  My kids swam in Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon when it was still allowed.  Never once did I ever think that they were at risk of an alligator attack.

TCD

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17 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I don't think I've ever been to the Fort where I haven't seen a few kids ankle deep or more in the water around Clementine's Beach.  If I saw them, CM's must have too.  Based on how often I saw it, I assumed that it was OK with Disney if people did that. 

Anyone who ever was at the beach to see the fireworks at the Fort beach can attest to this- kids have always been allowed to play at the water's edge and have their feet in the water.

I've lived in Florida for nearly 40 years now, and raised my kids here.  My kids swam in Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon when it was still allowed.  Never once did I ever think that they were at risk of an alligator attack.

TCD

We all used to swim at the Fort beach and at the Contemporary beach. 

Same as you, never thought about a gator. 

Granted, during the day light and all the activity there, the likelihood of an attack was a lot less than a quiet spot at night.

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As we were finishing packing and heading out a cast member was patrolling up and down the canal behind our site - 1520.   

It has been a great two week trip for us. Sadly, many others in the area were not so fortunate. 

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23 minutes ago, The Troll said:

I assume this means fencing will be installed at all the resort beaches.

I think this is going to be a hard one for Disney to deal with. There is no such thing as a "freak accident" anymore. Someone or some thing has to have been at fault and be corrected. 

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12 minutes ago, The Troll said:

Exactly. I'm saying a fence will go up for liability purposes.

If they do put up fencing and it's visible, I'm pretty sure it wont be chain link, I would guess more like those fancier vertical post ones like they have around pools.

I guess they could try to put some out in the water sticking up a foot or two above the surface.  Might be enough to deter a gator if they had an easier place somewhere else to go to.

The lawyers are going to have a field day with this case. 

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4 hours ago, Clark W Griswold said:

When we were down in December a CM at the fort mentioned they had been trying to catch a large gator which had been eluding them for several weeks...

Probably the same one, that guy was talking to us about.  We were there the last couple of days in October to the mid of November (before we saw you at Christmas ^_^) and I can't remember how far into our trip, our conversation with that gentleman was... but if it was towards the end, then it was just a few weeks until we saw you.  So, that makes sense.

 

2 hours ago, Travisma said:

We all used to swim at the Fort beach and at the Contemporary beach. 

Same as you, never thought about a gator. 

Granted, during the day light and all the activity there, the likelihood of an attack was a lot less than a quiet spot at night.

I was wondering that too (about the activity at that time keeping them away).

 

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Some statistics I read in one of the reports. This is very sad but a freak occurrence.

Unprovoked alligator attacks in Florida (1948-2016)

257

The number of attacks that required medical care

23

People who died as a result of those attacks

8

Number of children (16 and under) among the 23 deaths

1977

The year that saw the most attacks requiring medical care (13)

1 in 2.4 million

The likelihood of a resident being seriously injured in an attack

Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (as of April 2016)

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/us/alligator-attacks-child-disney-florida/

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

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As someone who has grown up in Florida and had a close friend lose a brother to an alligator attack and several friends and neighbors lose dogs to them as well, I know all too well not to be near the water at sunrise or sunset, much less at night.  However, I am not the norm.  I don't think there has ever been a time I have driven near the waterfront at FW and not heard a gator along with the frogs.  Do you need to know what you are listening for?  Yes, you do.  Do I make it my knowledge to know?  Yes, I do.  However, I am not the norm.  Like everyone else has said, Disney gives most people a sense of euphoria where they think reality is somewhere else.  I am guilty of it too.  (i.e. WWW, lol)  I feel so bad for this family and hurt for them.  I wish more people would educate themselves before they come to Florida on the aquatic wildlife, even when they are at the happiest place (swamp) on earth so this will never ever happen to another family again.

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