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Wanting people to relax a bit and have fun is one thing, but promoting a false sense of safety that encourages people to completely turn off their brains is quite another.
Exactly. And that's why I keep going back to the idea of Disney's negligence in this. 1) Knowing that there is a specific risk. 2) Knowing that your brand puts out an image of fantasy, and dare I say, safety. 3) Deciding not to let your guests know about said risk.
Yeah, like I said, this will keep the lawyers and other experts busy for a while.
We should note that this is the first and only time this has happened in nearly 50 years.
And Disney used to allow people to swim in that lagoon until the 90s. From what I've read, they say they no longer allow swimming because of the dangers from motorized boats. They still allow canoeing and water skiing, two activities where people could be in the water. A few sites claim that Disney still hard swimming events in that lagoon, although I could find out what specifically.
Did Disney previously believe there weren't alligators in the lagoon? I find it hard to believe that Disney allowed guests to swim in a body of water with known alligators. So while this is the first time happening in 50 years, were there always alligators in that area of the lagoon where people used to swim?
We should note that this is the first and only time this has happened in nearly 50 years.
It may be the first time it's happened at Disney World, but unfortunately it's absolutely not the first and only time it's happened in Florida over the last 50 years. Disney World is located in Florida, and however hard they try, they simply CANNOT keep their guests 100% safe from all the natural hazards to be found in Florida (which include alligators).
In Florida, closely approaching fresh water can be dangerous. There's just no getting around that fact. Visitors (especially parents of small children) need to be warned of that fact.
Visitors to Florida just do not understand that gators can be anywhere here, including in developed areas with man made lakes and ponds; resorts, golf courses, etc.
We are from NY and moved to Florida about 10 years ago. We live in a Golf Development just feet from a man made pond (water hazard) on the course. I have seen gators in this pond many times, including Mamas and their Baby Gators. A couple of times I have seen them sunning themselves on the banks. People are warned, and we hear it many times, to not let their pets outside to roam free. I worry about letting my cats outside on my screened in lanai all alone. Unfortunately, what can happen to your pet, can also happen to your child.
Visitors to Florida need to know this. We certainly didn't coming from NY. I understand that the Hotel had a sign posted at this Lagoon saying "No Swimming", which these parents weren't actually doing. HOWEVER, they need to tell the people WHY. No Swimming. ALLIGATORS possible. It is a very real possibility with any body of water, especially during the Summer Rainy Season in Florida when these ponds and lakes get higher. The gators can swim through the underwater drainage systems from place to place.
Horrific tragedy but if an additional warning can save another child's life, do it.
So now it's the hotel's fault? It's everyone else's fault but their own.
I suppose you could make the argument that we go to beaches with all sorts of dangers (sharks, jellyfish, rip tides etc..) but these things can't come up on the beach, grab you and pull you in.
Exactly. And that's why I keep going back to the idea of Disney's negligence in this. 1) Knowing that there is a specific risk. 2) Knowing that your brand puts out an image of fantasy, and dare I say, safety. 3) Deciding not to let your guests know about said risk.
You have a point here, and theme parks like this not only project an atmosphere of safety but I would imagine they also incorporate robotics and animatronics for theme rides, etc.. Would one necessarily expect to encounter a real live dangerous Alligator on such a property? I can honestly see some guest thinking it might be animatronic if they did see one.
To a degree it reminds me of a movie from the 1970's called "Westworld" a wild west shoot e'm up resort where robotic gunslingers challenge guests to a draw, but the guest always wins until the computer program goes uncontrollably haywire and the bots start gunning down the guests.
So while this is the first time happening in 50 years, were there always alligators in that area of the lagoon where people used to swim?
What has happened is that the American Alligator's population was nearly wiped out by the 1950s, and it was placed on the Endangered Species list in the 1970s. Once it was federally protected as an endangered species the population of alligators began to increase, and by 1987 the population had increased enough that the American Alligator was able to be removed from the Endangered Species List. (https://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-l.../alligator.pdf).
So, no, there were not always alligators in the lagoon. For much of the 20th Century they were very rare, and Disney would have been able to keep them out of the pond with little effort. But now that the species has become common again, activities that were once perfectly safe (at least as far as encountering gators is concerned) now carry some risk. More people in Florida + more gators = more risk of a bad event happening. It's a pretty simple equation.
I heard these people were from Nebraska. They probably had no idea that alligators could be in Disney World. Alligators were probably the last thing on their minds to worry about. Were there signs about alligators along with the No Swimming signs.
Last edited by RcHydro; 06-15-2016 at 12:10 PM..
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