Beach Areas Still Closed at the Walt Disney World Resort
Due to a recent incident involving the death of a young Guest, all beach areas located across the Walt Disney World Resort are currently closed to the public.
Pontoon boats and Boston Whaler boats may still be rented, while Sea Raycer rentals and Sammy Duval water sports are temporarily unavailable. Additionally, Guests are not permitted to fish on any resort waterway with their personal equipment at this time. Disney's watercraft service is now operating as normal.
Pontoon boats and Boston Whaler boats may still be rented, while Sea Raycer rentals and Sammy Duval water sports are temporarily unavailable. Additionally, Guests are not permitted to fish on any resort waterway with their personal equipment at this time. Disney's watercraft service is now operating as normal.
It would be a shame to see the boat rentals close down. :(
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame to see the fencing along the beaches, i think more signs would have been sufficient. The whole situation is a shame, very, very heart breaking.
ReplyDeleteThe shame is Disney knew they had a alligator problem and did nothing until a two year old got killed.
ReplyDeleteIn 2009 a gator tried to get on Splash Mountain.
“Disney knew these alligators had become desensitized to humans, as they had begun to associate guests with food, and did not act in a proactive manner,” an ex-Disney employee told"
"Mike Hamilton, a custodial employee at the Bora Bora Bungalows, told The Orlando Sentinel he recommended a fence to protect guests, but his concerns weren’t addressed."
Disney needs to shape up and
1) Start having guests arrested(Statute 372.667 makes it a misdemeanor to feed Alligators or Crocodiles.) that feed Gators and ban them from the property for life
2) Start hunting these Gators down that are on property(either kill them or catch them and send far off property)
3) Hire a special team who's whole job is to patrol for Gators
The more signs, barriers and fences are a good start but more need to be done, It's awful a tragedy had to happen to make Disney take notice, Money will never make that little guy's family whole again but I hope Disney has to pay up big for this.
Also how long will be before someone is bitten by a snake at Disney because they have snake problem also, Hey Disney you are running a theme park resort not a wildlife preserve(well except at animal kingdom) keep your guest safe by killing or getting rid of these dangerous animals or shut the park down and turn it into a animal preserve
The happened fact is very sad, but no less real, that in 50 years, and last year with 66 million a record tourists number, only once has happened an attack by a crocodile, is much more dangerous to drive if we do numbers. It's okay to put signs warning of the danger of these animals, but we are in florida, and that is what we have ... crocodiles and alligators ... the use of fences, not solve the problem and breaks with the image of immersion and tranquility that the property must give. I hope to withdraw them quickly.
ReplyDeleteDisney also knows that there is a mosquito problem in Florida, so maybe they should tent all their theme parks and resorts. Yes, Fox, it's a shame, but it's not DISNEY. Alligators are a part of Florida, we have moved into their area. There have been 2 incidents since the 1980's. I've seen alligators at the Magic Kingdom. Especially around Tom Sawyer Island and yes, Disney does remove them. Again, it's unfortunate but not Disney's fault. If the gators want to, they are going to come right through the fences. More signs would have been sufficient.
ReplyDeleteAll of Florida is a "animal preserve" - Maybe just shut down the state? Come on people! It's terrible what happened, but just educate people by putting up more signs and maybe some warnings inside their guest rooms. I agree with anon above. It's not Disney's fault. No fences are going to stop alligators.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Kennedy Space Center, fencing has succeeded in keeping the considerable indigenous alligator population off the launch pads. But the fences would most likely be just as effective in keeping guests OUT of the water as keeping gators IN. In the 45 year history of the WDW Resort in Florida, how many gator attacks have been recorded? As much as our hearts go out to the family involved, we've got to wonder who would want to put their feet in a lake at night ANYWHERE. Between microorganisms, snakes, and alligators, I can't imagine doing so. It's not as if the gator walked into a crowd of people at a picnic and grabbed one like in a Hollywood movie, although wildlife DOES make its way into guest areas at the resort. You've got to wonder if this would have happened if everybody stayed on the sand.
ReplyDeleteSad people blaming the little two year old victim and defending Disney and more worried about a how a fence looks and might keep people away from the water. Not everyone is from Florida at Disney in matter most aren't they don't understand the dangerous
ReplyDeleteDisney don't have trouble keeping animals in Animal Kingdom, Gatorland don't have trouble keeping Gators where they belong, If Dinsey was cheap they could put a wall along the outer edge of the park and make in tall enough so gators didn't get in, The just round up the ones already in the park.
I can promise you if they had problem with with people sneaking in they would find away to stop them
Walls, fences, water, no water, no matter what, gators are going to go where we don't want them. Building a wall won't stop them Fox. I live in Florida and the closest water to my house is about a quarter mile away. We have still seen gators in our development. There are approx 1.4 million gators in Florida. It is a very unfortunate situation, but so are lightning strikes and a lot more of them happen. No one is blaming the 2 year old, it was a terrible accident. But, you can't blame Disney either. Disney is the size of Manhattan, so building a wall around the property, which still won't work, is not even a reasonable solution.
ReplyDeleteJust saw a picture of the "fence". Its just two ropes strung between wooden posts. That will not keep a gator or snake off the beach and it won't keep a toddler from climbing through to the other side. The gator attack was one in a million, but the risk now is of a toddler climbing through and falling in the water. This is a half-measure Disney is taking trying to save face for their flagship resort.
ReplyDeleteYou're right Kubrick. Even though Disney says that these are temporary fences, they are not going to stop anybody or anything from getting through. And, it's not just at the Grand Floridian, they are going to be putting these up at all their resorts. Unfortunate situation, but the fences are 100% unnecessary. A couple of more signs would be sufficient.
ReplyDeleteI have visited Florida several times and I never knew it was a law not to feed the alligators. I have never fed one nor has my family, and frankly, I would not want to get close to one to feed it! A story came out in the US news that people who have been staying at the water villas at the Polynesian resort have been feeding them off their decks. This has probably added to the problem. Disney needs to make it clear to their guests the laws of Florida about gators. This information needs to be posted in resort rooms near the water. It should also be part of the information kit given to resort guests. Guests to Disney need to follow the rules. Don't feed the animals and keep out of the water. All of this could have been avoided if some basic common sense was followed. This was a horrible thing that happened, and I can not even imagine what that family must be going through. There has never been a fatality before at Disney as far as I know like this. We all have to educate ourselves so this never happens again.
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