ugh...a horrible story from Disney World - a 2 year old boy was attacked by an alligator...

[Ohio Guy]

and dragged away. Reportedly the father tried to stop the alligator from taking his son away, but wasn't able to do so. This happened last night a little after 9pm and as I'm typing this they haven't found the kid. I can't imagine how this family feels. Reading this makes me sick to my stomach.

Alligator attacks 2 year old at Disney World

 

[Tony20]

and dragged away. Reportedly the father tried to stop the alligator from taking his son away, but wasn't able to do so. This happened last night a little after 9pm and as I'm typing this they haven't found the kid. I can't imagine how this family feels. Reading this makes me sick to my stomach.

Alligator attacks 2 year old at Disney World

Read that as well. Swimming and/or wading in that water has been prohibited for years. One kid was in a play pen 30 yards from water and this one wasn't. Can't imagine what the parents are feeling like. Unfortunately for life probably.

 

[mike41703]

and dragged away. Reportedly the father tried to stop the alligator from taking his son away, but wasn't able to do so. This happened last night a little after 9pm and as I'm typing this they haven't found the kid. I can't imagine how this family feels. Reading this makes me sick to my stomach.

Alligator attacks 2 year old at Disney World

Yeah. I can't imagine that. My youngest is two.

My wife wants to go back in 3-4 years when he's older but due to cost and overall boring experience I think I will be able to convince her otherwise.

 

[Cream&Crimson]

When I was growing up my uncle lived in Daytona and managed hotels. Sometimes we stayed at one of his properties in Ormond Beach, and it had a pond out back with a young gator in it. We would lure it out of the water with bread. It finally got big enough that my uncle contacted whoever it is that controls gators and they took it away. Looking back now, that was all probably pretty stupid of us, and him.

 

[Ohio Guy]

When I was growing up my uncle lived in Daytona and managed hotels. Sometimes we stayed at one of his properties in Ormond Beach, and it had a pond out back with a young gator in it. We would lure it out of the water with bread. It finally got big enough that my uncle contacted whoever it is that controls gators and they took it away. Looking back now, that was all probably pretty stupid of us, and him.

That is pretty scary.

I remember my biology teacher in high school telling a story about a gator that lived in a lake on a golf course behind a retired couples' house. They'd throw scraps of food to it now and then and basically they were getting it used to being around humans and expecting food. The details are hazey (high school was 23 years ago for me), but these peoples' grandkids came to visit and the gators ended up grabbing one. I remember him being pissed off, going off on a rant about respecting wildlife/wild animals. He said that gator attacks are rare, but they usually happen because people don't expect them to be around and they vastly underestimate their speed and strength.

 

[Rakkasan29]

Damn, Orlando just isn't having a good week.

 

[twenty02]

and dragged away. Reportedly the father tried to stop the alligator from taking his son away, but wasn't able to do so. This happened last night a little after 9pm and as I'm typing this they haven't found the kid. I can't imagine how this family feels. Reading this makes me sick to my stomach.

Alligator attacks 2 year old at Disney World

Just awful. I saw the satellite picture of that area,, and vaguely recall it....do they really have beaches and let people swim in those lakes/lagoons? No way in hell I'd get in that water, and definitely wouldn't let a toddler near. When we had a place in SC on the lagoon, I was always leery of letting the dog get too close to the water. Gators everywhere down there.

 

[Moops]

That's Crazy.

 

[Ohio Guy]

Just awful. I saw the satellite picture of that area,, and vaguely recall it....do they really have beaches and let people swim in those lakes/lagoons? No way in hell I'd get in that water, and definitely wouldn't let a toddler near. When we had a place in SC on the lagoon, I was always leery of letting the dog get too close to the water. Gators everywhere down there.

They definitely have beaches, but I don't believe swimming is allowed. My guess is that these people weren't breaking any rules by being where they were.

 

[Hank Reardon]

Just awful. I saw the satellite picture of that area,, and vaguely recall it....do they really have beaches and let people swim in those lakes/lagoons? No way in hell I'd get in that water, and definitely wouldn't let a toddler near. When we had a place in SC on the lagoon, I was always leery of letting the dog get too close to the water. Gators everywhere down there.

No, it's clearly posted that you're not supposed to be in that water. There's no way anyone should be letting a two year old kid stand in one of those things (he was a foot deep, apparently) gators or no gators...and at 9 PM? Sucks for the kid, but damn what the hell were those people thinking?

 

[IUJIM]

If you ever take an airboat ride thru the Everglades, you will see literally 100's of alligators. You will also, more than likely, see quite a few fishermen, in their waders, not more than 10's of feet away from the gators. It is quite shocking to see, and if you ask the guide, his most likely response would be that during the day, it is ok to do that, but at night, no way. At night, there are 2 things in the water, alligators...and alligator food.

 

[Tony20]

They definitely have beaches, but I don't believe swimming is allowed. My guess is that these people weren't breaking any rules by being where they were.

Signs posted saying no swimming for years. Tragic situation. I hesitate in commenting anymore. One kid was in a play pen 30 yards from water and the 2 year old wasn't?

I'll echo what IUJIM said. Go near water in Florida during day is risky but safer. Go near water at night you are asking for a snip. Just the way it's always been.

 

[jet812]

and dragged away. Reportedly the father tried to stop the alligator from taking his son away, but wasn't able to do so. This happened last night a little after 9pm and as I'm typing this they haven't found the kid. I can't imagine how this family feels. Reading this makes me sick to my stomach.

Alligator attacks 2 year old at Disney World

Yeah, the family is gonna suffer no doubt, the part that makes me cringe is thinking about what the last few moments of that kid's life were like.

 

[BGunn]

Yeah, the family is gonna suffer no doubt, the part that makes me cringe is thinking about what the last few moments of that kid's life were like.

My thoughts were with the father and the fact that he almost rescued the child. I'm not sure how you go on after watching an alligator eat your child when you were that close to saving them. Especially when the parents were so negligent to begin with. I'm sure they'll still sue and Disney will settle.

 

[Ohio Guy]

My thoughts were with the father and the fact that he almost rescued the child. I'm not sure how you go on after watching an alligator eat your child when you were that close to saving them. Especially when the parents were so negligent to begin with. I'm sure they'll still sue and Disney will settle.

I'm not sure how you'd call this negligence on the parents' part. It's not like they snuck down there or left the child unattended. There were other people on the beach watching the fireworks display. I also saw a report that Disney had a portable movie screen on the beach, so they could have been there for that as well.

The father was holding his son's hand and supposedly attempted to wrestle the gator as he was dragging his son away. I'm not sure what more they could have done. Given that Disney World get 10-20 visitors a year and this is the first gator attack on record, I'd guess they weren't on high alert for this type of thing to happen. Sometimes Mother Nature just wins - I don't know that there is any negligence or fault here. It's a terrible accident.

 

[BGunn]

I'm not sure how you'd call this negligence on the parents' part. It's not like they snuck down there or left the child unattended. There were other people on the beach watching the fireworks display. I also saw a report that Disney had a portable movie screen on the beach, so they could have been there for that as well.

The father was holding his son's hand and supposedly attempted to wrestle the gator as he was dragging his son away. I'm not sure what more they could have done. Given that Disney World get 10-20 visitors a year and this is the first gator attack on record, I'd guess they weren't on high alert for this type of thing to happen. Sometimes Mother Nature just wins - I don't know that there is any negligence or fault here. It's a terrible accident.

I've been to Disney with my kids many times and every pond and/or lake have millions of signs that say stay out of the water. The kid was standing in a foot of water from the reports I've read. How is that not negligence? Agreed it's a terrible accident and perhaps even if the kid wasn't in the water the gator would have got him.

 

[Coach Pete Bell]

When I was there last year there was an alligator inside the park by Tom Sawyer Island. Found a video on YouTube of one by Splash Mountain six years ago.

 

[crossfire74]

and dragged away. Reportedly the father tried to stop the alligator from taking his son away, but wasn't able to do so. This happened last night a little after 9pm and as I'm typing this they haven't found the kid. I can't imagine how this family feels. Reading this makes me sick to my stomach.

Alligator attacks 2 year old at Disney World

Worked several drownings/recoveries over my 20 year career. It's truly a horrifying feeling as a responder to be searching for a child and the heartbreak and utter despair from the family side. Sounds as though these parents tried to save him, but it just wasn't meant to be. The truly disappointing thing is most drownings occur for two reasons. Either way too much alcohol is consumed and/or the victim was swimming where they were not suppose to be (prohibited by warning signs).

In this case, it appears the parents were out of bounds, so again, as horrific as this is, it could have been prevented by simply following the rules. So since the parents were breaking the law, do you charge them with child endangerment or trespassing or is the death of the child punishment enough?

Again, in my years of recovering victims, I have seen people cited for trespassing in prohibited areas, but that's about as far as it goes. The hot topic the past couple weeks has been do you charge the parents for endangerment for letting the kid fall into the gorilla pit? Don't recall them being charged but it was at least discussed.

 

[Moops]

That's crazy.

 

[FrankTGucker]

Saw gators pretty regularly when I lived in NC. I don't f- with freshwater in the south.

 

[IUJIM]

I've been to Disney with my kids many times and every pond and/or lake have millions of signs that say stay out of the water. The kid was standing in a foot of water from the reports I've read. How is that not negligence? Agreed it's a terrible accident and perhaps even if the kid wasn't in the water the gator would have got him.

I don't know. The picture that I saw of as part of an article I read on the attack, the water certainly appears to be rather "inviting", complete with a beach and chairs. Every article that I read on this refers to it happening on "the beach" in a foot of water. I would think Disney is writing a big check here, and the number of alligators that you see on Disney property will be significantly reduced going forward.

 

[Hank Reardon]

I don't know. The picture that I saw of as part of an article I read on the attack, the water certainly appears to be rather "inviting", complete with a beach and chairs. Every article that I read on this refers to it happening on "the beach" in a foot of water. I would think Disney is writing a big check here, and the number of alligators that you see on Disney property will be significantly reduced going forward.

No question that Disney will be writing a big check. But it's still asinine for a parent to allow a two year old to be in foot deep water like that at 10 PM in an area with a bunch of signs that say "stay the 'eff out of the water." That'd be dumb even in Nebraska.

 

[twenty02]

I don't know. The picture that I saw of as part of an article I read on the attack, the water certainly appears to be rather "inviting", complete with a beach and chairs. Every article that I read on this refers to it happening on "the beach" in a foot of water. I would think Disney is writing a big check here, and the number of alligators that you see on Disney property will be significantly reduced going forward.

I agree...I just looked at pictures of that "beach"....it sure looks inviting to anyone...particularly a 2yr old. Honestly didn't know they setup their outdoor area like that, but that seems pretty careless. That's just gut wrenching to think of watching that happen.

 

[crimsonlaw]

We should just kill all of the alligators. Then no more alligator attacks.

 

[plaxico80]

Stayed at the Grand Floridian many times. Had my little one out by the pool many times for the movie nights.

Crazy, but living in Florida, gators are EVERYWHERE and they can be in any body of water.

R.I.P.

 

[FrankTGucker]

We should just kill all of the alligators. Then no more alligator attacks.

Correction, we need MORE alligators to prevent further casualties of alligator attacks. If only someone else with an alligator were there they could have stopped that kid from being eaten.

 

[TheOriginalHappyGoat]

No question that Disney will be writing a big check. But it's still asinine for a parent to allow a two year old to be in foot deep water like that at 10 PM in an area with a bunch of signs that say "stay the 'eff out of the water." That'd be dumb even in Nebraska.

The signs say "no swimming please." They don't say "danger: alligators." The family was from Nebraska. They probably have no clue about the risks of being in water at night in Florida.

 

[Hank Reardon]

The signs say "no swimming please." They don't say "danger: alligators." The family was from Nebraska. They probably have no clue about the risks of being in water at night in Florida.

Fair point, but alligators aside most people aren't allowing a 2 year old to wade in unfamiliar foot deep water after dark anywhere.

But that aside, yeah. Disney will be writing a check here. I'm not even suggesting that they shouldn't.

EDIT: Fixed quoted text.

 

[T.M.P.]

We should just kill all of the alligators. Then no more alligator attacks.

BUILD A WALL!

 

[Ohio Guy]

just saw reports that they found the 2 year old's body. No more details than that at this point - they're going to have a press conference in a little bit.

 

[Mr. Jim]

The signs say "no swimming please." They don't say "danger: alligators." The family was from Nebraska. They probably have no clue about the risks of being in water at night in Florida.

True, the signs say no swimming. But if you are wading in ankle deep water, are you really swimming? Not sure if the signs were specific enough. No signs that said beware of gators.

I'm sure Disney is going to pay a boatload of money to keep this matter from ever seeing a courtroom.

 

[whobop]

Correction, we need MORE alligators to prevent further casualties of alligator attacks. If only someone else with an alligator were there they could have stopped that kid from being eaten.

Or if he had a gun he could have shot the gator

 

[Ohio Guy]

and now this story comes out. A British family was on the beach at the Polynesian resort a few weeks ago and an alligator 'chased' them. Not sure if this is any type of foreboding, but it would seem that Disney probably should have given its guests more of a warning about the dangers of alligators in the waters.

Brit family chased by alligator at Disney

 

[NickStromboli]

[

and now this story comes out. A British family was on the beach at the Polynesian resort a few weeks ago and an alligator 'chased' them. Not sure if this is any type of foreboding, but it would seem that Disney probably should have given its guests more of a warning about the dangers of alligators in the waters.

Brit family chased by alligator at Disney

I was staying at the Polynesian that week and was at the fireworks display the night after they saw the gator...Jeebus.

 

[crimsonlaw]

BUILD A WALL!

And make the gators pay for it!

Or if he had a gun he could have shot the gator

Haven't you seen swamp people?

 

[NickStromboli]

And make the gators pay for it!



Haven't you seen swamp people?

Alligator is delicious. I bet those fat Disney gators are especially good.

 

[PtownHoosier]

No question that Disney will be writing a big check. But it's still asinine for a parent to allow a two year old to be in foot deep water like that at 10 PM in an area with a bunch of signs that say "stay the 'eff out of the water." That'd be dumb even in Nebraska.

I'm not defending parents here but did any of the signs say stay the f*** away because of alligators? That's a whole different deal then a simple keep out sign.

 

[SuperHoosier]

Given that Disney World get 10-20 visitors a year and this is the first gator attack on record

Might want to check your numbers....seems a bit high to me

 

[The Orange Onslaught]

So what I am hearing is kids are good bait for gators? Haven't had much luck using cats. Thanks for the tip.

 

[mike41703]

My wife asked me to meet her at a restaurant tonight with my two boys. I had to dress my youngest who was two. Didn't realize it til he was dressed but I put a "see you later alligator" shirt on him.

Shit.