An unthinkable tragedy at WDW tonight child death UPDATE

Clueless Midwesterner here. That photo of the alligator in the pool: does that happen a lot? They go/stay in chlorinated water?

I didn't mean to imply that they would be comforted by his remains... Just that they would at least know his whereabouts. 

They can dig too. They dig holes to make a nest to lay their eggs, so it's not inconceivable that they could dig under a fence also. 

More than just clueless tourists from non-alligator US areas, you have a ton of people from other countries visiting WDW every day. A simple "no swimming" sign doesn't mean much (as has been stated before). A "no swimming" sign with pictures of alligators and snakes so that non-English readers easily understand why they shouldn't go in the water gets the message across. There are so many people worldwide that aren't familiar with alligators (or other animals foreign to their country) who visit Disney and other Florida attractions.

When I was growing up, there were times at the Jersey shore when "no swimming" signs were posted, but a reason was given. "No Lifeguard on Duty" is different than "Jellyfish Swarming the Water" or "Strong Undertow". Yes, a "no swimming" rule is a rule, but sometimes "no swimming" doesn't mean you can't enter the water to cool off your feet either, especially with a watchful parent right there.

ETA- like previous posters have stated, "no wading" is different than "no swimming". Also, I'd assume that if the water is safe enough for me to rent a jet ski and buzz around the lake (with the possibility of falling off into the water), then it must be safe enough for me to at least go wading in a foot of water by the shoreline. 

I feel very badly for this family. I can't imagine the pain and sadness right now and in the future. I am sure this is not something they ever expected, just like I am sure the mom of the toddler who got into the gorilla pit never expected that.

However, I don't hold WDW responsible. There is NO way for them to know every liability and mitigate EVERY risk in their parts. I guess I am in the camp of how much signage would be enough? It always blows my mind what signs/rules are made and how many people either ignore or misunderstand them when they seem pretty simple. To me, "no swimming" means not entering the water at all. It didn't say "no lifeguard on duty, enter at your own risk". Regardless of whether there are snakes, alligators, no lifeguards, etc. To me it doesn't matter WHY Disney says not to swim, juts that there is a sign to not do so. If a property owner tells you not to do something, you should heed their warning without having to be told why or what the risks are. They know the risks and put the sign up. Personal responsibility (which seems to have gone by the wayside) is that you heed the signs.

That precisely. I may have thought that the no swimming signs were due to no lifeguard or whatever so if I was standing next to my toddler paddling in 6 inches of water I would consider that it wasn't a risk in my situation. If it said no swimming because...... different story!

Well, I see I stand corrected....however, this is an extremely rare occurrence, I'm sure.

And gators are relatively slow when on land vs. in the water.   I was told, if you ever needed to run away from one to run in a zig zag formation vs straight...they can make pretty good timing running in a straight line.    But in the water...all bets are off...this is their domain and they are king.

Yes gators can climb fences.

youtu.be/7Qp_bUYPrTg

I'm not sure how to make this a clickable link, sorry!

Edit - I see someone beat me to this!

They're looking for water, and don't know it's chlorinated until they get into it. They can survive it fine. They couldn't stay there for months at a time, but they'd happily stay there a few days, or until they couldn't find any food. They can also go into salt water for a while, too. Their natural habitat is fresh water, but other water bodies won't hurt them for a time.

But, as clueless foreigner...they WEREN'T swimming. And with no knowledge of alligators, I might have done the same. Paddling is different. Imho the signage should say something about not going in the water due to alligators. Much clearer.

Clearly this gator was feeling vulnerable in this situation,  They are most dangerous on the waters edge...this is where they hunt albeit, typically in the reads that hug along the shorelines of lakes but the gator's existence is solely to hunt...that's it.

To answer for my own thinking-

- I did not know it was connected to other bodies of water. When I think of a man-made lake, I think of one that has no connection to a river, canal, etc. An underground spring maybe, but not something that would let in an alligator.

- Of course the alligators don't know or care that it's Disney property, but with all the human activity going on there (jet skis, boats, etc), I'd expect an alligator would prefer a much quieter environment with fewer people around to disturb them.

- Most tourist places have plenty of signs warning of dangers, so I'd expect that if alligators are a threat in a large body of water which looks like an inviting beach, there would be signs telling me just that. I'm somewhat surprised there have been no alligators seen sunning themselves on the beach there, if there are so many in the water. They like to lay in the sun by the side of the road sometimes, so why not the beach at WDW?

- On the road trips I've taken to Florida over the years, we've seen so many signs for zoos and other tourist traps with alligators in their exhibits, it's easy to forget that not all the snakes and alligators are safely contained. When your only exposure to such creatures is on tv or at a zoo or preserve, you're not going to expect to see them on a crowded beach at a hotel.

For me, there are a few reasons. The biggest one is probably ignorance, being a Midwesterner, alligators are not really on my radar as something I need to worry about. Another big one is the machine that is Disney. Disney has some amazing controls on security, marketing, and the whole image of a magical Family Vacation. I would expect to see alligators out in nature, but Disney is such a controlled and almost fake nature. One more for me would be the relaxing while on vacation. It's probably not right, but in a place like Disney, I would be a little more relaxed and not really scoping out all the dangers around me. This thread has really given me something to think about!