I am as horrified and sad about this as everyone, but I also feel sorry for Disney. I don’t believe this was reasonably foreseeable, which is the legal standard. I’m sure they are going to pay a hefty settlement and have to take all sorts of other steps, some of which will be appropriate and some will just be “CYA”. This is the kind of case that will not go to trial. Kid cases rarely do. There will be a settlement. I represented a company that made garage door openers, and we had kid cases. I never had one that was in any way the company’s fault, yet the insurance company would not have dreamed of risking a trial. No amount of money will compensate the family for the tragic loss of their child, and no amount of money will protect against some other sort of unforeseen accident.
At Disney World, you would’ve thought the sight of Capt Hook sans hand would have been the cautionary tale of the dangers of marine reptiles.
Unbelievable that anyone could even think of having some sort of memorial or marker at a site where the tragedy happened? That comment jolted me. Am I that far off base??? I wasn’t thinking it was macabre. I am sure there could be a way to do it without it being macabre. I see memorials all the time put up at the location of a person’s death (albeit usually temporary, but not always) as loving tributes to honor the person or persons who died. At least that is how I view it. A reminder that someone died at a certain spot is not macabre to me. Thinking of a life that was lost and why is not macabre to me. Sad, yes. A reminder that even at Disney, one needs to be aware of danger?
That’s not going to part of the Disney experience- nor should it be.
Disney isn’t going to want to do that. They’d put up signs, fences, and post staff even to keep people from getting in trouble going forward, but I really doubt they’ll allow a memorial.
I agree with MOWC. I don’t think this was reasonably foreseeable either. Sometimes stuff happens.
Mstee. Just think for a moment here. Let’s say Joe Blow and his family are out at a Disney park. Joe Blow weighs 300 pounds (certainly not unheard of at Disney), and he gets overheated from the exertion, has a heart attack and dies. (I’m sure it’s happened.) Would you expect Disney to put up a memorial outside the fried funnel cake stand? Come on now. What other business routinely puts up memorials to memorialize people who died on their premises? People have died on airplanes – I don’t see United putting a shrine to seat 14A where the guy sat.
What possible purpose would be served by the memorial? Do you think that the family is going to walk by it and get solace? And so they’d frighten other people? Is that in any way consistent with the Disney brand?
I just think they won’t do it for brand protection reasons. They will be willing to take steps to prevent it again, but a reminder of the specific event would not be something they will want to do.
Of course they won’t. That suggestion would be shot down within 5 seconds. No marketer worth their salt would even contemplate it.
I agree that it doesn’t fit with the Disney image , and for that reason it most likely won’t happen. That being said, it is not unusual for someone to consider placing one on the site of a terrible tragedy . They have them in NY for the 911 victims, in Pennsylvania for Flight 93, in Oklahoma for the Federal
building bombings.
If this family will request it as part of the settlement they will have to. And this tragedy is very different from the Joe Blow example.
Those are not on the property owned by a corporation that likely will be paying a large settlement to the family, and could definitely be considered negligent in this case. “The happiest place on earth” is different from those examples.
As @Ballerina016 stated no one knows what the terms of a settlement will be. I agree that one will probably not be erected , but making a poster who had good intentions feel badly was unnecessary IMO.
There have been other deaths at Disney World, including children drowning in resort pools. No memorials have been erected, and I don’t think one should be in this instance.
This is not at all the same as a memorial for the Oklahoma City bombing or September 11. Those were mass casualty events of historical significance. This situation, while certainly tragic, is not historically significant.
It’s a touchy subject. I let Pizza Girl’s remarks and the word macabre get under my skin. Must be a sore spot, I guess. I appreciate the more, um, considered responses. Tks. for those. Post #313 makes a valid point, I guess. Still finding this whole topic unspeakably sad.
I don’t understand why people are thinking that the family might want a memorial erected as part of a settlement. They are not ever walking into Disney and passing by that spot again. I would fully expect Disney lawyers to hold firm and not agree to that as part of a settlement. If I were Disney, I would never agree to it under any circumstances. I would agree to a million zillion fences and safety warnings before I’d agree to a memorial for a specific kid’s death in my park. It’s completely inconsistent with the Disney brand. Or any brand, really.
@mstee I was just out on a fresh water lake in central Florida with family a few weeks ago. But we don’t hang out on the banks with our pets and small children. This was an atypical instance but not unheard of. Gators will see animals smaller than them as a food source. Florida is a wonderful place to live. After being going for over 25 years I am glad to be back.
"They are not ever walking into Disney and passing by that spot again.’
While I agree that a marker will not be erected I’m not so sure that they family won’t ever visit that site. Some people do visit the the sites where a member of their family has died. Not now of course but perhaps at some point the parents or the sister when she grows up may.
@rom828 – first visit to Florida was in March to visit Rollins, Eckerd and Disney. Looking forward to many more trips. Thanks for the advice about lakes. I’ll not be wading in any lakes. And will not sit on the shore of a lake watching the sun set. Ocean beaches are safe?That is probably a ridiculous question, but I don’t know anything, just want to be sure.