An unthinkable tragedy at WDW tonight child death UPDATE

Probably on the beach with the baby as he was playing in the sand near the water is my guess.

If they were out there at night, there's no way they could have seen the gator.

Horrifying. That poor baby.

God that's horrible That poor family

That is horrible! I can't begin to imagine what that poor family is going through.

How awful! I had no idea there were real alligators on WDW property!

This is heart breaking. That poor baby!

Okay, I didn't read that into her post. Just that she was wondering where they were, like how did it happen? I didn't read any blame being placed, so chill.

I honestly also did not know that there were alligators in the waters at WDW.

With the ?!? I'm not sure how you could read it as anything other than blame/accusation.

How awful. I can't even imagine the horror the parents are experiencing.

Perhaps it's because I look for the good in people first. We'll have to agree to disagree and carry on. Now, I could see if she asked 'Where the hell were the parents?' That would sound a bit more blaming. Oh, well.

For those that don't think there are real gators in WDW, it's Florida. It's pretty safe to assume there are gators in every body of water. Weather it be man made or natural. I once almost ran right up on one on my morning run in my sub division at 6:00 am. We have, as most all sub divisions do here, retention ponds. It's well known that there are several gators that live and travel between them. I just didn't expect to see one in the middle of the road at 6:00 in the morning.

This is so sad!

Right now it's warm and mating season. The gators are really active.

We spend a lot of time in FL and our family members constantly remind us that any water should be assumed to have gators in it. The kids aren't allowed outside of the lanai at the house as there is a community man-made pond there and we have seen sunning gators there. (You know, because the screen on the lanai, and flower beds around it totally keep gators out right).

How tragic. We spent some time at Everglades National Park, and there were gators just sunning themselves everywhere. You could easily touch them if you were so inclined. I'm surprised one grabbed a child...they seemed (at least in my less than 3 hours of experience with them) to not care to bother with or even notice humans. Just heartbreaking.

ETA: They wouldn't bother you on land. They are completely different in the water. It's fascinating how such a clumsy, prehistoric looking animal can become a stealthy and deadly creature in the water.

Orlando needs a break from all this heartbreak!

I have stayed at the Grand Floridian and yes - this is where you can go to see the fireworks. Lots and lots of parents watched the fireworks there when we were there. I was with my DH but I would not have thought twice about having my boys play right there while waiting for the fireworks.

Dude, it's Florida. If you spit on the sidewalk, 5 minutes later there's a gator living in it.