Disney erecting fencing, posting "danger" signs after gator attack

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Orlando Sentinel

By Sandra Pedicini,

Construction workers have put up a waterfront barrier at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Walt Disney World, three days after a toddler was killed by an alligator at the resort.

Meanwhile, Disney World released a photo of signs it plans to erect at all its resorts with beaches. The red, white and black signs say "Danger! Alligators and snakes in area. Stay away from the water. Do not feed the wildlife."

Previously, signs had said simply "no swimming."

"We are installing signage and temporary barriers at our resort beach locations and are working on permanent, long-term solutions at our beaches," Disney said in a statement. "We continue to evaluate processes and procedures for our entire property, and, as part of this, we are reinforcing training with our cast for reporting sightings and interactions with wildlife and are expanding our communication to Guests on this topic."

FULL story at link.



Read more: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-disney-grand-floridian-fence-sign-20160617-story.html

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. Now if only toddlers could read.......

[christx30]

2. Parents can read. And keep their kids on a tighter leash.

[yeoman6987]

4. This is good. This is how we improve. It's unfortunate that a child had to lose

His life. Hopefully these changes will prevent this from ever happening again. The child can see the picture. No need to read.

[djean111]

19. A child cannot tell from the picture that a gator is dangerous.

Just another cartoon character.

[tblue37]

30. The point is to inform the PARENTS, not the toddler. I bet that if such signs had been

posted at the Grand Floridian beach before the attack, those parents would not have been anywhere near the water's edge with their kids.

Everything the resort did encouraged parents to assume that the beach at night was a perfectly safe environment for family fun:

1. "Beach Night" event, with showing of kids' movies
2. bench swings and beach chairs near the water's edge
3. Not preventing the numerous kids playing on the beach and wading in the water

***Bench swings and beach chairs near the water (the picture can't be embedded--you have to follow the link to the web page):

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/06/16/us/alligator-child-florida-orlando-disney.html#modal-lightbox


***Kids playing on the beach near the water and also wading in the water (and not being prevented by staff):





***The following pics were taken less than an hour before the attack--and in the same spot:




***The blue circle in this picture shows where the screen was placed for the movies shown on "Beach Night":

[djean111]

3. That is not much of a barrier, especially for small children who cannot read.

Yes, their parents should have eyes on them the whole time, but they can, and do, slip away so quickly. IMO, until there are real barriers, that is not a resort where small children are safe.

FFS, they had to know there are gators in there, and a gator will absolutely lunge out of the water for small prey.

[passiveporcupine]

12. that's what I'm thinking too

it should be something that prevents gators from coming up on the beach. I know they normally don't...but...and little kids are just so entranced by mud puddles and water that they will still try to walk under that rope and get to the water. A fence like that is almost a challenge to some kids (like the gorilla kid).

I know they don't want to obstruct the view of the water, but an attractive fence can be built that does not block views.

I hope this is just temporary until they come up with something more permanent? I can wish.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

14. I was thinking a short, maybe 24", fence just inside the water would prevent ambush attacks.

[tabasco]

25. WE MUST BUILD WALLED, DOMED CITIES

TO PROTECT US FROM NATURE!!

[7wo7rees]

5. Too little, too late.

[cstanleytech]

6. You couldnt pay me enough to risk swimming in any freshwater lake or other body of water where

there is a good chance of a gator around, its just not worth the risk.

[EX500rider]

23. It's not really much of a risk..

....about a million and a half gators in Florida and thousands of people swim everyday in our springs, rivers and lakes.
Wild gators stay away from humans. The danger starts when people feed them.
You'd be in magnitudes more danger driving your car to go swimming then you are in the water.

[cstanleytech]

24. With my luck I would end up being on of the unfortunate statistics.

[QED]

7. Carl Hiaasen, no fan of Disney, said this was absolutely preventable

"Disney knew about the gators -- they're in every lake in Central Florida, and you can't keep 'em out. It's criminal that there were no Beware of Alligator signs posted at the Grand Floridian, but classic Disney.

The company pretends it can control every aspect of their parks and resorts -- wild predatory reptiles don't fit the family-friendly Disney image, so let's not mention their presence. Why worry our tourists?

The death of this child was an absolutely preventable tragedy."

https://www.facebook.com/CarlHiaasen/?fref=ts

More on new signage:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/16/us/alligator-attacks-child-disney-florida/

[passiveporcupine]

15. I agree it was preventable.

They'd had close calls and thirty years ago, an eight year old boy was attacked (his sister and brother beat off the alligator to save him) in a Disney camp ground about three miles from this Disney resort. I don't remember what year. He's grown up a lot now, but he says he still has the scars on his thigh. The gator was trying to drag him into the water (came up out of the water to get him) and his sister grabbed him under his arms and pulled back, while his brother beat the gator with a stick till it opened it's mouth and he got away.

Disney knew this could happen, and they also knew that people coming from inland or any state that doesn't know about gators, will not be paying attention to gator problems while engrossed iwith the Disney experience.

I totally blame Disney for this.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/06/16/30-years-ago-another-boy-was-attacked-by-an-alligator-at-disney-here-is-his-story/

[hollysmom]

26. you don't truck in a beach and then tell people not to swim and expect them to not wade

[passiveporcupine]

27. I agree

Especially not kids. And the sign didn't say no wading...just no swimming.

[steve2470]

17. yep, totally agree with him nt

[RAFisher]

8. Tourist were feeding the Alligators and that is why this happened

Now thanks to tourist committing a crime and illegally feeding alligators, a child is dead.

[passiveporcupine]

13. Do you have a link to that?

[djean111]

18. I live near between Bradenton and Tampa, near the Alafia River, and LOTS of lakes and ponds.

Gators become more bold, if fed, but gators will absolutely lunge out of the water to grab a small dog, a cat, a child, or - if mating season, an adult. If they have a nest anywhere nearby, the danger is magnified exponentially. Then they stash their prey underwater until it decomposes. Evidently those Disney "lagoons" have drainage connections to other bodies of water, so gators could really come and go as they pleased.

This is ALL on Disney. All of it. They should have signs, barriers, and some sort of mandatory informational mini-session about gators, but then that would spoil the illusion of "fun".

[csziggy]

21. And Disney employees who knew about the feeding did NOT stop it

Some lower level employees raised objections to management and management did nothing.

The tourists almost certainly did know that feeding gators was illegal and why it is not a good idea but the resort should have provided warning signs to inform their guests. Florida state parks, which need the revenue stream of tourist visits even more than Disney does posts signs that explain why to not feed the wildlife.

[JCMach1]

9. They are also finally warning of Water Moccasins. The last 3 times I have been to Downtown Disney

I have seen them. The last time I saw 3.

[Little Tich]

10. This tragic event could have been prevented. Makes me sad and angry. n/t

[SwankyXomb]

11. That's like signing a blank check

Lawyers will be salivating over this.

[COLGATE4]

16. No. Remedial measures are not allowed in evidence

in a negligence suit.

[rexcat]

20. As I see it...

those who live in Florida (I was a former resident) know that alligators are dangerous and need to careful around water given that is where alligators tend to congregate. This includes the multiple species of poisonous snakes that inhabit Florida. Tourists on the other hand tend to be clueless when it comes to the Florida environment. I have seen many instances of people getting out of their cars and going up to a alligator and to take its picture which is not a good idea!

It is truly sad about the toddler that was killed. I suppose the State of Florida should make all tourists coming into the state sign a document of understanding about the dangers of Florida wildlife and what to do and not do when in Florida. Of course this is utterly a sad commentary on the lack of intelligence of tourists.

[magical thyme]

22. it has nothing to do with lack of intelligence

and everything to do with lack of knowledge.

I don't expect people who come to Maine from Florida to know how to drive in a blizzard. Likewise, living in the north, I wasn't aware how ubiquitous alligators are in the south. I thought they lived in the everglades; not in Disney Orlando luxury resorts.

A few signs posting that alligators live in the waters so don't walk in or along the shoreline would go a long way toward fixing the lack of knowledge.

[Doremus]

28. Exactly this. Who would've thought Disney *wouldn't* keep wild animals from attacking guests? nt

[hollysmom]

29. bull hockey, it is called an attractive nuisance

Disney cleaned up the swamp and put in a beach, that is not natural occurring, natural would be mud. People tend to keep their kids out of mud.
Disney held an event at the beach at night for families.
there was an unlit sign saying no swimming, these people were not swimming they might not have seen the sign.
this is Disney, they have a fake reputation for being kid friendly and safety conscious. They draw people from around the world and they put this kid in danger. Even if he was not wading, just walking on the beach the gator could have come out and snatched him. Yeah some tourists might feed them, people feed bears around here, stupid for sure. But all the areas with bears (miles and miles from my urban place) warn about bears. They don't say don't walk they say don't walk bears are here or watch out for bears. Occasionally the bears leave the woods and walk down city streets, that is an act of god.

I don't consider myself stupid, but I might have waded in water, I did go for a walk in South Carolina and the people I were visiting never told me they had alligators around - who thinks of that when you are from the north? After I almost tripped over one in the suburban development warming itself on the road, I asked and they said they forgot to tell me. They were not people who walk, I walk for exercise. This happens and it does not mean you are stupid. Just like I know the biggest danger in my neighborhood is tripping over a skunk.

I can't have a pool in my yard without a fence around it to keep out small children. There is a reason for that. attractive nuisance.

[rexcat]

31. Anyone who does not...

do their homework prior to a visit is asking for trouble. Americans can be lazy and uninformed. A much bigger problem in Orlando and Florida in general is the crime, especially directed towards tourist because they are in vacation mode a don't think. I stand by what I said.

When I travel anywhere in the world, including here in the US, I do my homework because I don't want to end up in a bad situation. It is not that difficult given the internet.

By the way in body of water in FL has potential for danger. It does not take a genius to figure this out. That said Disney should have posted signs but a lot of tourists would ignore them. I have seen many a touist in FL approach an alligator to get a picture. I am surprised more tourists are killed by alligators.

[hollysmom]

33. seriously, i can't get people to take time to check onwho they vote for in an election and you

expect people to check out every place they visit.
I went to Germany, tried to learn German a bit before I went which was a big mistake because the moment I opened my mouth to say anything german people expected me to be fluent, I finally switched to saying no habla Aleman. And the tourist books were not all up to day, who knew that they changed all the signs that used to be English to Japanese? I don't know what they are featuring now, but that really threw me.
I go to the local park, I don't search for possible dangers, but, in this state, if you are going to parks where there are bears, there are waning signs at the entrance. I don't expect the entire state of Florida to have signs on every pool of water, but when you truck in that sand and encourage people to play near the water - that would be an appropriate place to put one. There was a guy on TV who said two weeks previous, he reported that his kid was playing on the beach out of the water and he sighted two gartors aiming in towards that spot int he water. When he reported it to the desk he was told they were Disney's "pet gators" and not to pay attention to them. Sorry that was someone in the state of Florida who gave them no respect, a Disney employee.

[RobinA]

32. Yep

I'm normally from the "common sense" side of things, but this situation seems a bit much. As someone from the north, I wouldn't expect a beach to be built on water known to be an alligator home. I think a little more information in this instance would have been fair and assisted in the decision making process. I don't know how much info was around and personally I would not touch water labeled even with a generic "no Swimming" sign. However, "No Swimming" means a lot of things in this big country, and t would seem to me that the presence of alligators would merit a bit of a step up in the urgency of the signage. Especially if you are inviting people to the vicinity.

Danger signs have proliferated in recent years to the point where I think many people have warning fatigue. "Don't do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?" A fair warning containing some information would probably have avoided this tragedy.