My only complaint or concern about Disney

Walt Disney World
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I 1000% agree that “No Swimming” in my mind does NOT equal “Alligators swim here.” Especially when you can rent a paddleboat in that same body of water. I’m from New England and after the incident did feel a little naive when I heard of how native Floridians treat all water as gator-laden, but I honestly don’t know how else you would educate guests about the risks.

But if you look at all of the water at Disney World I think that you’d need to have signs absolutely everywhere to really cover every, single potential use case. I also think that everyone has agreed that the attack is just SO SO rare. I am not sure what water the OP is talking about, but all of the photos I have seen from GF, CBR, Poly beaches, etc, look like the best case scenario for Disney. They provide a concrete barrier that guests would need to purposely climb over (as opposed to open beach that I personally had waded in many times). I guess there is the “swampy” area that I’m familiar with at both PO resorts that you can’t easily barricade, but aren’t quite as enticing as an open beach. I think at that point you are looking at the regular risk inherent in being outdoors.A tree could fall in a tragic accident on any property, but you cannot eliminate that risk unfortunately.

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I don’t want to get this off topic. However I remember when you could actually swim off the shore of Poly. However - my point being - and once again I do NOT want to understate the tragedy of that particular incident - but rather respond to the general scope of the initial statement.

To a degree - and especially after that incident - people need to take it upon themselves to be cautious around the grounds. There are TONS on alligators on the golf courses, snakes, and other wildlife. We are in FLORIDA and OUTSIDE. There have been and are more signs that warn of wildlife. It needs to go off in people “wildlife - they aren’t talking about chipmunks and robins”.

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23

The movies under the stars event is a family event, not for the kids’ club. Therefore all kids were, or should have been, supervised. But the incident didn’t happen during that event, nor was it anything to do with the kids’ club.

The whole thing was horrific. But there is, as always, a balance between protecting people in areas where previously people did exactly what that poor family were doing, and erecting huge concrete barriers along every stretch of water on property. I think Disney have done well in increasing awareness.

Incidentally, years ago when there was lake swimming at the resorts, were there fewer gators in general in Florida? What happened from then to now. I mean in general, not just at Disney.

But I think most visitors to Florida should know about gators, it’s pretty well known (I’m from the UK and see stories all the time about flood water etc and gators). I’ve seen them alongside roads all over Central Florida. But people also need to take responsibility and pay attention to signs, if it says “do not go in water”, then don’t. A child running off is far more likely to be hit by a car. Or drown. You cannot prevent tragedies from happening, you mitigate the risks as best you can and within reason.

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And now people are aware of the dangers, I’m sure they will be more cautious. I know I will.

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For what it’s worth, the kid was restless during the movie so the father took him away from where the supervised event was being held and brought him to the beach where the attack took place to play in the water where it said no swimming.

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The Seven Seas Lagoon behind the upscale hotel is off limits to guests, and there are ‘no swimming’ signs posted nearby - but none of them warned about possible alligators in the water, like the signs posted at the Polynesian Village hotel next door.

Walt Disney World had shut down all of its Florida resort beaches and marinas immediately after the attack out of precaution after the incident - the first such death in its 45-year history.

The beaches have all since been reopened but a fence has now been erected and signs put up warning of alligators and snakes in the area.

(the signs throughout disney should be consistent and should say more than just “no swimming”)

They should make it clear to everyone from across the world of the danger of alligators

People from outside of Florida would have no idea there were alligators in there simply from a sign that just says no swimming

The signs around epcot say “beware of wildlife”

I just feel it’s too nice and not stern enough for people to realise the danger

Clearly disney felt the need to change the signage in one location after the tragedy but why no consistency in their message around the resorts?

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27

I don’t want to cause an argument, but if a sign says no swimming, it doesn’t matter why. There is a reason. I see a sign anywhere that says no swimming, I take it to mean stay out of the water. I don’t need to know why, the fact there is a sign there saying so is enough for me to know it’s not safe.

Crocodiles are prolific in my area. Our signs say no swimming. They warn of crocodiles. In English and other languages. Clear images showing no swimming and crocodiles. People do it anyway, knowing full well. It doesn’t matter what you put on the sign, people will choose to obey or disobey regardless.

As people have already mentioned, attacks are rare. Believe it or not, we actually don’t appeal to them as a yummy foodsource.

We have more issues with jellyfish and stingers in the ocean than with crocodiles. Despite clear signs, in several languages, saying to swim in the stinger net.

All the issues we get with wildlife here is from people deciding not to follow signage. I’d say more often locals than tourists.

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You can’t expect the world will be completely safe and can’t expect businesses or individuals to promise you that. A good deal of the state of Florida is made up of swampland that is very likely to contain alligators. Realistically, we can’t wall it off and declare ourselves gator-free. Disney has miles and miles of drainage canals (which keep the parks and resorts from becoming swamps themselves) and they can’t fence them all off. For sure, there are some people who are unaware of that and somehow won’t notice the signs all around waterways on Disney property, but at some point, it’s up to us as visitors to understand the (minimal) risk and act accordingly.

It’s a horribly sad story what happened to one family of the millions and millions of people who’ve visited Disney World in over 45 years the parks have been open and the company chose to make rather dramatic changes in signage and fencing. I think they’ve done more than their part and more than just about any other place in Florida to protect their guests from themselves.

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Perhaps we need signs warning guests about brain-eating amoebas that live in the waters.

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It’s clearly a culture thing

I guess if you live in a country where there are alligators or crocodiles etc living in your waters then “no swimming” means something far more serious to people who read it and you would know why

You live in th UK and “no swimming” on a beach would mean the wind might be bad today and it’s dangerous to go out swimming as the current might take you. It wouldn’t make you think you can’t walk on the edge of the water.

And don’t forget a man made beach has been made to attract you to the water in the first place

I can only speak for myself and all I can say is the signage doesn’t give me any indication or idea there are alligators in that water and what the danger might be.

The child of course was 2 years old and wasn’t “swimming” in that water

You clearly don’t need to go “swimming” in the water to be at danger

Clearly just being close to the waters edge and paddling and you are at risk (however small that risk may be % wise you are at risk)

The other thing is that to someone not aware of the history of Disney being built on a swamp which I suggest would be most tourists you could never imagine that a resort built for families would be built in an area where alligators are present. You wouldn’t know the waterways are linked to outer areas. They just appear like man made water features and scenery etc. They look like lakes - not linked waterways to swamp land that can’t be controlled etc.

My prior knowledge of alligators in Florida was that you would have to pay to travel to the Everglades to go and view them

That’s why I say it seems to me to be a cultural thing based on the replies of a lot of you guys

What seems normal risk and common place to you guys seems bizarre to people not used to the idea to living alongside alligators

I guess when you live in a country that is used to alligators or corocdiles and they are part of your way of life then you don’t view them as a big risk and as scary as we might. But also you are educated about the risks of approaching water. In the UK where we have beaches and lakes and streams etc young kids take fishing nets and go trying to catch fish and like the child on a beach we take buckets and spades and build sand castles. We don’t associate these activities with any danger at all.

Swimming doesn’t come in to it and no swimming signs anywhere would mean a different activity and different type of danger to us

Coming from the UK we have nothing like this to fear and we kind of view alligators as terrifying and couldn’t imagine being near them and would run a mile if we knew! As we don’t know as much about them as you guys

You read of a child being taken by an alligator at Disney and it’s like two ultimate extremes - disney has alligators near their beaches?? It doesn’t seem possible to someone who doesn’t know the area.

The parent of the child was from Canada. I’ve no idea if he knew there were alligators in that water. I can’t imagine he did. If he did then I’m staggered he would let his child go anywhere near to the edge of the water let alone to paddle in there

If he didn’t know then I can understand that he wouldn’t realise the danger and be oblivious to it. You would then be like a Brit parent with kids at a beach in UK and just be making sure they didn’t go in too deep etc

The fact that there’s potential he didn’t know is enough for me to think the signage should make the dangers far more clear and just saying “no swimming” isn’t a strong enough warning. The fact signs were changed in that area the next day suggests someone thought the signs hadn’t made the danger clear. The fact all of the signs in disney weren’t changed at the same time to give a consistent message I find strange

I would guess being close to the edge of the water is a danger area and people should be warned not even to approach the waters edge?

And I assure you guys that a sign with an image of an alligator would be enough to keep us Brits (at least) miles away from that waters edge

We all agree at least that we would hate to see a repeat of anything like this and I just don’t think the signs are strong enough and I do think all areas should be fenced off but that’s just me being a worrier

At the Dolphin and Swan Hotel and roundabouts there near their beach and pool area there were no fences or rocks built up up the waters edge to prevent others doing the same as the 2 year old

Just signs that I then had to explain the risk to my own family about due to my knowledge of that incident last year and due to reading up on google

That’s why I know tourists don’t realise the danger as three of my family didn’t until I explained to them

And I’ve got pretty bright kids. They just don’t know the area, the history and the risks etc

I accept UK tourists probably view alligators as far more scary and dangerous than they really are but like I say that is due to us not living with them and being as educated about them as you guys hence all my points above

It’s a cultural thing and we Brits are ignorant in respect to the of water and alligators in Florida. And we just wouldnt know to expect any dangers to our kids in disney grounds.

Only reason I would think that water was unsafe to my kids is if they went in it and drowned or it had bacteria in it that if you swallowed it could make you ill

I wouldn’t associate paddling in the water as having any danger at all

That’s just honest feedback from an ignorant tourist before now

And my point is most Brits would be the same in this respect

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I was thinking similarly. I saw bears on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. We hear of wildcats in backyards.

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I would be more concerned with water snakes. Sharks at the shore are not as threatening as jellyfish that sting.

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We’ve got nothing like this in UK

Just pets and farm animals and fish!

Tbh

The only place we would encounter a dangerous animal over here is in a zoo

It’s pretty boring in that respect!!

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34

Please don’t. I can’t help but think about that every time we’re walking back to our resort every night lol

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Funny, this story (and this thread) hit me hard because I was at the Poly with a toddler, that I love dearly, right before this happened. I am an educated Disney traveler. I did not allow the toddler on the sand or anywhere near the water- not because of the alligators- but because of my fear of the “brain eating amoebas”. I never even considered that alligators.

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The signs did say no swimming. I’ve always had an urge to bypass rules myself, but have learned over my (now long) years, that it’s best to just play by the rules.

It was a horrible tragedy. We all said many prayers for that family, and every time I get reminded of it, I say some more.

People can make mistakes, tragedies unfortunately (& in this case, horribly) happen. Sounds as if that poor family landed up handling it well, with dignity and faith.

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In the same manner though… If someone is visiting from overseas, he or she should be well read on local threats and customs. I went to school in Italy for nearly six months and didn’t just go blindly. To clarify… I am not parent shaming. What happened was horrific. I watched the entire ordeal from MCO, pregnant with my 2 yr old in tow. My heart hurt very badly for that family. At some point though, the guests have to meet Disney halfway… Whether they are from Florida or Texas or China. Disney put up more signs and guests need to be aware of what the signs mean.

We used to go walk at a state park here with signs that said very clearly, “beware alligators”. People still went in the water. No matter how clear the signs sometimes people will still disobey. I also think fencing the entire bodies of water is not aesthetically pleasing. Not to mention, a waste of money. We have known gators in our resaca here and even then not everyone puts a fence up at the water’s edge.

I understand not everyone thinks this way, I respect that not everyone has encountered dangerous wildlife. So maybe my opinion is useless. We’ve shot everything from rabid skunks, to rattlesnakes, to coral snakes, to bobcats in our backyard… So I am just always on alert. If there’s a warning… I just naturally believe it’s there for a reason.

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I agree with what you’ve just said

If the signs at disney said “beware alligators’” and " picture of an alligator I would have no complaints re the signage at all

That’s the only message me an my family would need to see to stay well clear! Trust me

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I wasn’t going to comment again on this thread, but I’m just going to point out again that the sign did say no swimming, but the child wasn’t swimming. It should have said that there were alligators in the water. Would people still ignore it? Some would probably, but they would have gone in the water understanding the risks, and Disney would have been able to say in all honesty that they had warned people of the dangers.

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Once again - I underscore the tragedy of this particular incident - however going back to the initial comments that spurred this thread. READ and HEED the signs. Just look back McDonalds had to put a warning on coffee that it was hot - is this where we are. NO Disney shouldn’t have gates, and fences etc around every water way etc. Take a look at what just happened with the two hurricanes - people were told time and time and time and time again - evacuated - and yet they didn’t and then they were dumbfounded that they needed to be rescued. People need to take SELF RESPONSIBILITY.

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