Orlando can't catch a break :(

[liverandonions]

First it was the Christina Grimmie murder, then the massacre, and now this. I can't imagine being in those parent's shoes right now.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/deputies-gator-drags-child-into-water-near-disney’s-grand-floridian/ar-AAh40fF?li=BBnb7Kz



Deputies: Gator drags child into water near Disney’s Grand Floridian

ORLANDO, Fla. — Deputies were searching for a young child who was dragged into the water by an alligator near Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

The 2-year-old child was dragged into the Seven Seas Lagoon about 9:30 p.m., Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Rose Silva said.

Deputies were searching the waters and put crime-scene tape around the water. Multiple emergency vehicles filled the front drive of the Victorian-style hotel.

Silva said the child had not been found.

The hotel is an upscale luxury resort owned by Disney. It is one of three hotels on the monorail line, just one stop away from the Magic Kingdom Park.

The child’s name was not available.

It was not clear if the child or his family were guests at the hotel.

No other details were immediately available.

[Deleted]

Jun 15, 2016 0:26:10 GMT -5 11d said:

Is this their own water on the property or the ocean/river that the hotel juts up against? If it's their own property I'd want to know why it wasn't scrubbed of alligators regularly.

I just can't imagine what they are going through.

I chuckled at scrubbed of alligators regularly. It doesn't work like that. It's not like leaves in the pool.

And I feel horribly for that family.

[liverandonions]

Jun 15, 2016 0:26:10 GMT -5 11d said:

Is this their own water on the property or the ocean/river that the hotel juts up against? If it's their own property I'd want to know why it wasn't scrubbed of alligators regularly.

I just can't imagine what they are going through.

Based on this map I'm guessing it's not their property.

[sydney02]

I lived in Florida for 15 years and people are way breezy about alligators. It was almost like you just weren't cool if you were afraid of gators. The people born and raised there were almost obnoxious about not being afraid of them. So I can totally see how a person would let their kid by the water and not even think of an alligator grabbing them. We had a pond behind our house with gators and our neighbors would swim in it and laugh at us for being horrified at it.

Anyway, how absolutely horrific for that child and the parents. Heartbreaking.

[1confused1]

:-(

[VillainV]

Welp, I'll be having nightmares now. Signed, mom of a 2-year-old who visiting family in Orlando in a few weeks....

[bigoleworm]

The seven seas lagoon is a part of Disney property. We visit Disney several times a year and I had no idea there were gators in that water.
I feel for those parents. What a nightmare.

[auntie]

So tragic.

That's Disney property. They own 40 square miles; 25% of which is permanently set aside as wilderness preserve.

They are classified as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.



bigoleworm, when my parents bought their place in FL they asked a neighbor who is a native Floridian if the lake behind their homes had gators in it. He looked at my dad and drawled "Is this Florida?" and dad said "yes" and the man answered "Then there's gators in it."

[morecoffeeplease]

The article I read said the family was on a small beach area and alerted a lifeguard. So they let people swim in those waters??

[thecatinthehat]

Jun 15, 2016 5:21:59 GMT -5 morecoffeeplease said:

The article I read said the family was on a small beach area and alerted a lifeguard. So they let people swim in those waters??

The articles I read said that the area they were in had no swimming signs.

[bigoleworm]

Jun 15, 2016 5:24:12 GMT -5 thecatinthehat said:

Jun 15, 2016 5:21:59 GMT -5 morecoffeeplease said:

The article I read said the family was on a small beach area and alerted a lifeguard. So they let people swim in those waters??

The articles I read said that the area they were in had no swimming signs.

There are signs all over the place that you can't swim. We were told the reason you couldn't swim in the waters anymore was because of the high amoeba content, but I'm wondering if that's only part of the story.

And people are very blasé about the water there. There's a gator that you can see in the water by the beach club hotel. People walk near it trying to get a picture. It's almost as if people believe the hype that nothing bad happens at Disney.

[morecoffeeplease]

Gotcha. The article didn't make clear if it was an area with a lifeguard because they allow swimming or they grabbed a lifeguard from a nearby pool or something.

[Saint Monica]

Awful

[Deleted]

Reading this last night had me in tears.

Were they on a beach?

[cinnamoncox0]

I thought it was later at ugly like fireworks time they were on a blanket or something.
Two year old got snatched, not sure if gator came out to get him or if he went in water first, dad tried to save but to no avail
Is part of Disney property
Signs around no swimming
It was a family of five from Nebraska
May not have expected a frigging gator at Disney, Florida or not.
There are plenty of things in Florida proper that I wouldn't expect to see at Disney, if that makes sense.

[morecoffeeplease]

Jun 15, 2016 5:39:25 GMT -5 @lazerus24 said:

Reading this last night had me in tears.

Were they on a beach?

I read they were wading in a small beach area.

[kaybee85]

I think many people are blase about alligators because in general they do not hunt during the day and are pretty sedentary (which is when most people see them). We used to live in Gainesville and at a popular trail to see gators (LaChua trail) there were signs that said, "After dusk, if it moves, it's food." There should be warnings like that at Disney, especially since many people visiting are not familiar with Florida wildlife. This poor family.

[cinderbella]

This is so, so awful.

[jreeds]

This is terrible

[circa1978]

So sad. I would sure as hell never be found in a pond in Florida near dusk (or any other time, really) - no matter where it was located but tourists have no idea about alligators and in my experience are nearly always the ones attacked. (That makes me seriously side eye Disney if the 40s beach thing is true - even if there are signs not to use it.)

OTOH, I never found native floridians or people who have lived there for some time to be blase about alligators. I mean, you get used to the threat, because they show up in your neighborhood retention pond and on your front porch and at the parking lot at work but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous.

[gummybear]

This is horrific. I consider myself to be a pretty paranoid and anxious person and this would never cross my mind. When we were at WL, there was a small beach area set up with beach chairs, play structures, volleyball and kids all over it. Wasn't it a movie night? I know they watch movies on the beach, and if I can recall it's right after sunset which would be around 9:30 PM this time of year.

I am sick for that family.

[meganew]

Omg that poor family and that poor baby. As a tourist I would assume if there weren't signs warning about alligators that I shouldn't be worried about alligators. That might be stupid, but I know nothing about Florida wildlife. Fuck. That's a fucking nightmare.

[gummybear]

I think that Disney has this reputation as a utopia and as a danger-free zone. It has a certain Stepford vibe and "the happiest place on earth" is taken quite literally. They work hard to keep that image up. And like all the previous posters have said, if you are a tourist, you can really fall into that trap of thinking nothing can go wrong. I remember being worried (and later coming home and researching) deaths at Disney bc I felt like the busses went too fast and drove erratically and all these kids were unrestrained, no one wore life jackets on the ferries etc. It seemed shocking to me there were not more accidents.

The details about the attack are almost too much to bear. I cannot imagine what this poor family is going through.

[cheeseandcrackers]

so horrific

[cleo29]

We were just there last month. My girls were on that beach, by the water line looking for shells. We did not let them go into the water, but thinking about this makes me feel sick. That poor child and his poor family. C did mention seeing a snake in the water one day, so I think at the very least, we knew that there might be things in the water that would make swimming not safe.

I am just heartbroken for that family.

[clseale]

Jun 15, 2016 7:05:15 GMT -5 meganew said:

Omg that poor family and that poor baby. As a tourist I would assume if there weren't signs warning about alligators that I shouldn't be worried about alligators. That might be stupid, but I know nothing about Florida wildlife. Fuck. That's a fucking nightmare.

It's FL. If the water is larger than a small puddle, you should be worried about alligators. They're a natural part of our habitat (even in man-made bodies of water), so I don't think every place is going to warn about each specific threat (versus just advising to stay out of the water), because there are multiple reasons to stay out of the water. Of course I understand that not everyone would realize that, so perhaps an area with a lot of tourists should be more specific...but it does seem that there was signage. Such a terrible accident. I'm so heartbroken for them.

[BaliHai]

I had to turn the news off this morning when they started talking about it; so horrific, I can't even imagine.

Can't wait to read the unwashed internet masses start blaming the "negligent" parents for this one, too.

ETA- Oh, and since my new favorite form of self-flagellation is to read comments on news articles, I keep seeing "I would NEVER let my child near the water if it says no swimming!" and like... I grew up two hours from a beach and have been there countless times, and even as an ADULT I don't consider sticking my toes/ankles in the ocean to be swimming, so it's not a stretch for me to think these parents may have thought similarly.

[amandakisser]

I don't even know what to think. The fact that this happened at all is obviously horrifying, but then to know this poor baby's parents witnessed the entire thing? I don't think I'll be able to get this off my mind. I cannot even imagine what they're going through right now.

[pagas]

We saw a small alligator in the Rivers of America in MK. It's Florida, you cannot scrub for gators.

Poor kid.

[Miss Phryne Fisher]

20+ years in FL. The canal we lived near regularly had gators, we watched them on our walk to school. Afraid of them, but we were aware of them and warned how to deal with them, much like driving in NY when deer are around (hit them head on, don't swerve).

If there were no swimming signs, the parents were negligent. However, if they are not Floridians they might just not have known the danger. I can't say I hope that was the case...gators in swimming areas is terribly scary though. The whole situation is awful.