^Transportation of the body and the funeral will be very expensive. My nephew’s costs were about $25,000. 
I think it should also be noted that Disney created this danger. That pond was built by Disney to have a water feature around their hotels.
^ I absolutely agree.
I have stayed at other Disney World Resorts that were more affordable.
I looked up this resort and rooms are going for $569/night to almost $2000/night so I would assume that the guests were able to afford such accomodations. Just the idea of staying at a resort surrounded by a lagoon bothers me with the shoreline so close to the resort. Knowing about alligators in Florida would keep me away from the water. Having said that I have taken a boat tour and have seen baby alligators. The closest I’ve been to seeing a fullsize one is the fake one at Rainforest Café.
Going forward I hope there is more signage alerting guests of the dangers in the area. I am not sure Disney created this danger as alligators were already residing in the area before Disney World was built.
The Shades of Green hotel on Disney property does have signage warning of alligators on property, so it is not accurate that Disney does not warn patrons of the dangers of alligators . There has never been an incident like this in the park before.
I don’t think SOG is Disney owned.
@mom2twogirls You are right. It is a government owned MWR building on Disney property.
@eyemamom Of course, they know there are alligators in there. As I mentioned earlier, there are gators in virtually every body of standing water in SC, GA, and FL. And, as I also mentioned, Disney does inform guests about the gators. It’s in the welcome package of information that you receive when you check in. Does everyone read this? Probably not but the information is there.
This is a horrifying tragedy. It truly is. I have walked along those beaches with my grandchildren, although I would never have been anywhere close to the waterline, let alone putting my feet in that nasty water. We were there for a week last summer, and I didn’t see anyone with even just their toes in the water. It would be virtually impossible to keep alligators out of that lagoon. It’s a very large body of water and as others have mentioned, gators often cross land to get to another body of water. That is not at all unusual.
I so very much wish that that Dad had taken that beautiful child to the Alice in Wonderland splash pad, which they were RIGHT next to, to let him play, rather than allowing him to go into that lagoon water.
http://nypost.com/2016/06/16/gators-routinely-removed-from-lagoon-where-toddler-was-attacked/
According to this article, guests lure the alligators by throwing food to them from their balconies.
Enough with the “Midwesterners don’t know about alligators” speculation…you think people in the Midwest dont know alligators are dangerous & that Florida has alligators? You think those are secrets that the folks on the coasts have discovered, but the hayseeds in the middle haven’t quite gotten wind of?
That’s a little unfair, @moooop. I’m sure Midwesterners do know that alligators exist in Florida and are dangerous, but that’s a far cry from anticipating that they would be lurking (much less be allowed to lurk) along the shore of a man-made lake adjacent to a fancy resort in the middle of Walt Disney World. In fact, as a New Englander, when I wrote those words, they sounded downright ridiculous. Maybe Floridians are aware that any body of water or shore anywhere in the state could hold life-threatening wildlife, but the rest of us just don’t think in those terms. When I go to the beach near home, my biggest worry is seagulls taking my lunch.
I “know about” tornados but would I know what to do if one was coming? Would I even recognize that one was coming? I don’t normally watch TV, listen to the radio, or have weather alerts on my phone, so… I would appreciate staying in a resort with big signs directing me to the tornado shelter and also telling me where to tune in for warnings and how I should get alerts on my phone, etc.
I very much doubt that this family is going to need a gofundme page to cover funeral costs or anything else. I’m sure that Disney has already comped all of their costs at WDW and will pay for the funeral costs, including transporting the body. Not to mention the inevitable settlement.
“Are barriers the only way to add safety? Is it possible to have the gator guy come around every day and check for new arrivals? Parks do morning safety checks of the roller coasters every day.”
I doubt the gators would stand still to be counted, and they are difficult to spot when only their eyes are exposed. Short of draining and filling the lagoon there is no way to prevent them; in fact they are often spotted near Tom Sawyer’s Island and in other spots within the Magic Kingdom.
http://buzz.blog.ajc.com/2016/06/16/heres-where-lane-graves-was-standing-when-the-gator-attacked/
A post from a woman whose son was there 30 minutes before the other boy was attacked.
For those who are unaware of the alligator dangers in Florida, you probably also aren’t aware that there are dangerous snakes of all sizes there too. And that there are crocodiles in a few location there as well. And sharks and jellyfish off the coasts. And none of these critters respects fences or vacations or Walt Disney.
Some of this reminds me of the story of the city guy who drove into the country and scoffed at all the “Deer Crossing” signs. When he got back to the city, he said, " Those hicks think that deer will obey the signs that they put up telling them where to cross."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Seas_Lagoon
“The lagoon, despite being man-made, is home to native Florida species such as alligators, snakes, and turtles.”
The lagoon was 14 feet deep
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-disney-alligator-history-20160615-story.html
Disney has now agreed to post signs warning of alligators:
I’m sure no one will ever be seen wading in the waters of Disney again.