I dunno. I can't call them stupid because they lost a child. But, in typical fashion of a woman who lost two pregnancies, I am...incredibly...aware of every danger presented to my youngest. I don't bubble wrap him, he gets to fall down and he gets to eat things he probably shouldn't, and he plays outside without moccasins on, but baby gates and double latches and sunscreen SPF 900+ and extra food / water / blankets / first aid kit when traveling and so on... The idea of allowing him to play in a posted no swimming zone where I KNOW (because I have the internet and have read stories about it plus I've been to Florida and seriously) that crazy shit can happen because Florida...Nope. It would never happen. Not even to the point that he was wading in it.
Those parents are idiots. Why they weren't carrying an automatic assault rifle Muslim extremist is beyond me.
Surely somebody at SyFy channel is acquiring these rights as we speak. I mean, they did Sharktopus, Dinoshark and Piranhaconda. The tagline for that last one is: Half Fish, Half Snake . . . All Death. What's the tagline for Gorillagator?
Holy shit, have ya'll never been to Disney World? First, yes it's a man-made lake, in the middle of a swamp. Map Link. The gators were there before Walt Disney was born. Second, as you can see on the map, the lake is bigger than the Magic Kingdom. Disney runs ferry boats on it in parallel to the monorail to transport visitors. Third, as Rush pointed out, they were playing on a fucking beach built by Disney outside their resort. Sure, there are no swimming signs, because there's no lifeguard on duty. Presumably, Disney did not view gators as a threat in that area. Why would a family from Nebraska think that stepping into the water on a sandy beach built specifically for recreation would result in instant death for their toddler? Why would you call them stupid for using facilities in the manner they were intended? They didn't find some pond in a remote area that they jumped into in the middle of the night, but some of you are characterizing it that way. I've seen signs from South Carolina around the coast to Texas warning of the presence of gators, but unless you've seen those signs why would you think gators are a danger? That's why they put up the signs - it's not obvious to visitors! There are warning signs on the river between Old Key West resort and Downtown Disney, but I've never seen any in or around the Magic Kingdom. Disney is going to pay out a large settlement over this. Unfortunately it won't bring their baby back.
I'd read one of the parents went to the lifeguard after the father wrestled it. Was that a mistake, and there are no guards?
Maybe Chili's will? This spot is RIGHT next to a couple swimming pools. It may have been one of those lifeguards.
Based on what my buddy told me (he's been there several times and sent me a recent picture of his kid standing at that water's edge in the daylight), this is where it happened. The yellow arrow is the area shown in the other picture I posted. I didn't find a clear map in any of the news reports, but I may have just missed it.
Okay so... Looking at that water? Fuck. And you. That shits gross. I mean. I get the idea of a lagoon...but all I see is bacteria and predators.
Predators, yes. Especially since they quite easily nabbed 4 gators in just a few hours. But, bacteria? I doubt it. Those type of wetlands are quite clean - that's why environmentalists and conservationists are always keen on saving them or re-creating them. They are quite good at filtering out all the junk. No different than swimming in your local lake - well, apart from the gators.
I got prissy in my old age. I don't get into lakes anymore because it's weird feeling. I got picky I guess.