Two Year Old Dragged Into Lagoon By Alligator At Disney Resort

Gators can climb fences. Bottom line is this is the first gator attack at Disney resulting in death. Millions visit each year. As much as I feel the pain of losing a child there is a no swimming sign. It is there for a reason. You do not go swimming where there is a sign. My family has stayed there. I live not far away.

Also, I hate to say this, but I am waiting for it to come out the father was complacent in the attack. He said he 'wrestled' the gator.

His dad desperately tried to pry him loose from the animal but was unable to and suffered minor injuries on his hands while trying to save his son from the grip of the gator’s jaw

If there was a gator taking my child I would have more than 'minor injuries' especially if you are trying to pry the jaws open. You see if he was able to 'wrestle it' as a father I would have clutched the animal. Instinct kicks in. It happened once with a dog attack and my oldest. Dog ran up and knocked him over, showed teeth and lunged. My arm stopped the dog, I had severe cuts and the dog had a broken jaw because I grabbed and pulled it apart. I almost ripped it totally backwards. You get a rush and strength when afraid...I did not care.

and Where was the mom? She should have been close also if they were preparing to watch the fireworks.

Child was found about 15-30 feet from the incident. Gators, when they drown something, take it under....and away somewhere to where it hides its food.

Sorry, but it all just does not add up. I hate to say but I think there is much more to the story.

a reply to: matafuchs

You are saying a gator could have burst out of the water over a fence and then climbed back over with the kid? That is total crap.

By the way I am not going to put a hand rail on my stairs until someone falls down them. That makes sense.

By the way it probably lived very close to rthe found the body which is a normal gator practice for large prey. Chances are it actually lived in the bank close by. Which is why you don't make an area the two have a high probability of meeting.

I want somebody to seriously explain how having a four foot even decorative fence wouldn't have stopped this.

Every morning grounds crew does a sweep to find gators that got over the fence.

Gators don't typically hide on totally dry land especially in the open on a beach.

If people can't go near the lake then they ain't being snatched into it.

A gator is not taking an LeBron James over the fence grabbing the kid and then doing a par core move back into the water to drown the kid.

Disney has now stated they will be putting up alligator warning signs and, in effect, they're admitting fault and attempting to remedy this failure. As much as it's an admission of some liability, the attempt to remedy the situation will go far in the eyes of the law as far as gross negligence is concerned -- if this were to make it to court. These actions would, perhaps, keep Disney from being assigned a significant amount of punitive damages.

And if this does go to court -- which I doubt it will because Disney will settle -- then a jury would be required to assign a PERCENTAGE of blame...for example they could find Disney to be 85% responsible and the parents 15% responsible.

Personally, I believe Disney would be found 100% responsible. A 'no swimming' sign does not equate to a warning about alligators. If the child had simply drowned from swimming, then I would place much or all of the blame on the parents.

It can also be proven that Disney knew there were alligators in the water because they have a policy for removing them. Therefore, Disney could reasonably foresee this tragedy. Plus, employees have reported that they made management aware of other guests feeding alligators. These facts would probably be enough to prove Disney's negligence was 'gross.'

Anyway, this is how a negligent wrongful death case is handled.

a reply to: luthier

You are forgetting human nature... folks born and raised in florida dont even think about gators... we know what to do and do so automatically.

99.9% of the gators will leave you alone and let you walk right past them... they can easily scale fences, or burrow through them...

The problem comes from gross stupidity of the people that attempt to interact with them.. they are not cute, (well I like them) they are not pets...

As a florida native I would not have a pond in my back yard... water moccasins and gators being two reasons why.

Your not understanding the facts on the ground... if it was easy to find and remove gators... then gators wouldn't be such a pain in the butt in Florida. When they want to hide from you... you cant see them...

a reply to: luthier

I know the exact area they were. A fence will cure nothing as it would take away the entire reason it is built as it is. It is a hotel and not an attraction. This happens with lots of wildlife. It is a lake. You are in Florida. There will be alligators. There are people who work at Disney who do nothing but look for gators. Multiple hotels..multiple golf courses...it is known that there are gators. I do not see anyway you could find them guilty but they will settle as they usually do.

You cannot add water barriers because gators go on land. Add a fence and you lose the beautiful scenery. You may say tough sh$T but people average 10k for a Disney stay. They want nice views. It is secure since you are on premise.

Something though still does not seem right with the whole story.

a reply to: Irishhaf

Not at all you are grossly rejecting to adress the fact a kid climbing over a fence that says beware of alligators is a lot different than wandering over to a nesting location.

Explain to me how the gator jumps the fence grabs the kid and then jumps back over? How does that happen.

How does a gator sneak over the fence after the grounds keepers check the fenced dry land side? You don't think that drastically lowers the chance of attack?

Some of these people don't even speak English.

Disney is legally liable here by the definition without being an ambulance chaser.

They put the customer and a possible hunting ground and nest area together with zero protection.

a reply to: matafuchs

Your comment raises another issue...Disney is liable for any injuries sustained by the father and the emotional distress the family experienced, too.

The fact is, Disney would be found to be not just negligent...but GROSSLY negligent given their knowledge of the danger, in a civil case. They could reasonably foresee this tragedy and took no steps to prevent it or warn their guests.

(I have already gone through this with my husband, BTW, and we have decided he would be wrestling the alligator and I would be digging its eyeballs out with my bare hands and attempting to pull its jaws apart. Would it work? I don't know...but that's our plan in the event of an alligator attack on one of our kids.)

a reply to: MotherMayEye

They also had another kid on the beach so there is that issue to deal with.

Double.

originally posted by: luthier
a reply to: MotherMayEye

They also had another kid on the beach so there is that issue to deal with.

That's why I referred to the emotional distress of the "family." I am sure that little girl will be traumatized for the rest of her life.

a reply to: MotherMayEye

I am sure the parent got torn between making sure the other was safe and acting. Even a split second and the gator is gone or rolling.

Really dumb layout probably grossly negligent.

If it were a vacation site centered on wildlife the guests would not only be different so would the signs.

If that was a wildlife area not a sunbeach again different purpose.

Movie night, not even a roped off area. Mating season, textbook alligator hunting zone. Just a lot of laziness on Disney's part.

a reply to: luthier

A two your old kid can't read. Parents can. You should not take your child in murky water at dusk. A two year old in foot deep water. It would mean the father was holding him. A 2 year old in water does not walk alone. If you have kids you should know this. There is NO way on this earth if something grabbed my child I would not hesitate to save them. As far as mom, dealing with the other kid? Sorry, again, you must not be a parent. You would be RUNNING full force to the sound of the child screaming and your spouse.

A gator also does not kill for sport....

As far as the fence. You still do not get it. It is a hotel on a huge man made lake. It is the aesthetically pleasing part to be able to walk up to a lake. 100's of thousands of people a year walk by that area. Disney will not change.

They will settle and rightly so. There should have been signs about gators to 'reinforce' the idea you are not in an urban setting. You are next to a lake with animals.

a reply to: matafuchs

I read somewhere the mom, at some point, attempted to free the child from the alligator, too.

a reply to: matafuchs

Uh I have three kids.

But I am not Superman. A 7 ft alligator thrashes around.


You guys act like experts but seem you really don't understand how alligators hunt, mate, or live.

Alligators typically hunt on the waterline and wait for animals to drink.

Large prey they kill and then they stash it in their den or gator hole.

Pretty easy put up a fence on the water line. Gators will never be able to pop out of the water and grab their prey.

Disney should know gators hunt at night and be extra cautious during mating season on the waterline.

Period end of story.

Guarantee you that is exactly what a judge would rule.

Yeah...Disney was GROSSLY negligent. And it won't change unless they are made to paid millions in a lawsuit:

Lawyer says he warned Disney about alligators last year when one approached his son who was wading in a lagoon - and he was told they were 'resident pets'

originally posted by: Bramble Iceshimmer
And all because they won't let people hunt these critters to extinction. A child suffered a horrible, frighting death and a family traumatized.

So all animals that could kill a human need to be made extinct?

a reply to: luthier

I will not call myself an expert. That is overdoing it. I have however lived in Florida almost my whole life and i have had gator encounters as well as gators who just hang out back at anytime. Mating season is crazy. You hear them honking all night. There was one at Lake Seminole in St Pete. GAtor was at least 12 feet looking back at pictures we have. People used to feed him chickens Whole chickens. For years. This is on top of the other 1000's of gators out in the lakes. No attacks.

I live on Lake Toho in Kissimme Florida now. We have 4-5 resident 8-10 foot mommy gators who like to hang out once in awhile but they leave you alone. My kids know to NOT got out back with an Adult. Even if just to the dock. Take a flashlight and shoot it out on a lake sometime. All those 'rubies' you see are gator eyes. Ever hunt a gator? Pretty good rush...oh, hey, I guess I do know some about alligators.

A 2 year old to a 7 foot gator is not 'large prey'. Not sure why you keep saying that. Look at the aerial shot. There are no dens on the bank there. If there were, then the father would be a completely at fault. Their 'holes' are out where the water is closer to 10-12 feet deep.

A fence, even if built 'around' this lake by the hotel would not have prevented this. People climb over fences. Just like people go into water where it says NO SWIMMING.

Poor guy didn't think about the death roll. Grabbing the child would only force the gator into a death roll ensuring the death of the child. I'd like to think I'd jump on the gators back pulling open his mouth, but you never know until your in that situation. Poor guy, I hope he stays off the internet and he heals quickly from the loss.

a reply to: theantediluvian

a reply to: matafuchs

A fence actually would help this.

I have lived in east Texas and Carolina

The regular everyday people have such measures in backyards

No kidding they go in land.

They however don't like to hunt in wide open spaces and usually hunt on the water edge.

Like you I have dealt with alligators most of my life.

I would never sacrifice safety for landscape.

A four foot typical iron fence would not destroy the landscape. It would require an alligator to climb the fence to attack a human something it can't do fast enough to actually get a person.


Without the fence the kid didn't even need be in the water. It can easily burst out 10 ft and snatch prey. That what they do.


Total bs if you ask me. Disney was negligent here having known of the dangers and already having warnings.

I used to eat at esters in Port Author where the gators are outside the restraunt and the fence keeps the customers out.

A fence would keep costumers out. If a kid does climb the fence and his parents don't stop him that's not on Disney now is it.

The kid wasn't swimming.

The sign didn't even say keep out of the water.

Fence did not stop the kid in the Gorilla cage. Kids are kids. It is up to us as adults to protect them. I am not siding with Disney but this is like when a bear attacks. Everyone wants all bears killed. You are in their environment. This is separate from the theme park. It is outside. There are controls in place but it is the wild.

If you went to the beach, and went in the water and you child was attacked, would you sue the hotel? You would be on private property there also. There are no shark signs but they are in there.