Disney World's Alligator problem

[reason10]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/06/1...igator-signage-after-attack.html?intcmp=hpbt3
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/06/1...igator-signage-after-attack.html?intcmp=hpbt3
A Disney official said Wednesday the company plans to “thoroughly review” its alligator warning signage around a resort where a 2-year-old boy was killed by a reptile that snatched him out of shallow water.

Are you [Unwelcome language removed] me? This is going to be the lawsuit of the century. That couple from Nebraska is going to wind up OWNING the Disney Grand Floridian Resort before this is over. And here's why:

1. It is ILLEGAL to feed an alligator in the wild. This is because even ONE feeding creates a nuisance alligator.

2. It is a fallacy that feeding an alligator causes it to lose its fear of humans. An alligator brain is about the size of a lima bean. (Kinda like the average liberal Democrat voter). It doesn't know about fear. It doesn't know anger. It just knows FOOD. And it remembers a food source along with the time of that food source. Alligators do not just come out and snatch up little dogs or little kids standing on the land unless they were fed earlier and have come to expect a feeding at that same spot.

3. Once a nuisance alligator has been created, it has to be removed from the spot where it comes in contact with humans. It either has to be relocated to an alligator preserve, maybe the middle of the Everglades, or it has to be killed. It has been programmed with a feeding impulse and it's just too dangerous to be left in the canal, or the lake, or the river where there are houses owned by humans. (Oh, and a non-nuisance alligator is also very dangerous if you go hunting it in the wilds, especially if you find a gator den.)

4. The fact that Disney had to put up a sign warning about alligators means the company had constructive knowledge of nuisance alligators. A first year law student wouldn't have to work very hard to win a billion dollars in that kind of a negligence lawsuit. And if Disney's execs have any brains whatsoever, they'll hire professional trappers to clear out ALL alligators from the resorts where their hotels come in contact with the water.


This never should have happened. That child's parents were paying a fortune to stay at that resort. It wasn't their kid's fault that he got snatched by that gator. There was no contributory negligence on the part of the parents. The Disney company has unlimited amounts of money. They could have made that area safe. And now it's going to cost them millions of dollars.

 

[as seen on tv]

I agree there's going to be a lawsuit.

its going to be settled out of court.

a preview of the "behind closed doors" arguments:

(plaintiff's attorney) "You build a resort in the middle of gator infested swamp? What were you thinking?"

(Disney attorney) "the parents had imbibed numerous cocktails in the 2 hours before the attack, and took their child to the edge of the swamp - "marked no swimming" and encouraged him to enter the water while they went back to their drinking"

 

[PhilFish]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/06/1...igator-signage-after-attack.html?intcmp=hpbt3
A Disney official said Wednesday the company plans to “thoroughly review” its alligator warning signage around a resort where a 2-year-old boy was killed by a reptile that snatched him out of shallow water.

Are you [Unwelcome language removed] me? This is going to be the lawsuit of the century. That couple from Nebraska is going to wind up OWNING the Disney Grand Floridian Resort before this is over. And here's why:

1. It is ILLEGAL to feed an alligator in the wild. This is because even ONE feeding creates a nuisance alligator.

2. It is a fallacy that feeding an alligator causes it to lose its fear of humans. An alligator brain is about the size of a lima bean. (Kinda like the average liberal Democrat voter). It doesn't know about fear. It doesn't know anger. It just knows FOOD. And it remembers a food source along with the time of that food source. Alligators do not just come out and snatch up little dogs or little kids standing on the land unless they were fed earlier and have come to expect a feeding at that same spot.

3. Once a nuisance alligator has been created, it has to be removed from the spot where it comes in contact with humans. It either has to be relocated to an alligator preserve, maybe the middle of the Everglades, or it has to be killed. It has been programmed with a feeding impulse and it's just too dangerous to be left in the canal, or the lake, or the river where there are houses owned by humans. (Oh, and a non-nuisance alligator is also very dangerous if you go hunting it in the wilds, especially if you find a gator den.)

4. The fact that Disney had to put up a sign warning about alligators means the company had constructive knowledge of nuisance alligators. A first year law student wouldn't have to work very hard to win a billion dollars in that kind of a negligence lawsuit. And if Disney's execs have any brains whatsoever, they'll hire professional trappers to clear out ALL alligators from the resorts where their hotels come in contact with the water.


This never should have happened. That child's parents were paying a fortune to stay at that resort. It wasn't their kid's fault that he got snatched by that gator. There was no contributory negligence on the part of the parents. The Disney company has unlimited amounts of money. They could have made that area safe. And now it's going to cost them millions of dollars.

given that alligators are indigenous to florida, this is not a high hurdle for any attorney..

 

[Craig]

This is a man made "lake" inside a resort. Yes, it's true alligators are common in Florida, but to have them here seems a bit odd to me.

I don't see a lawsuit beyond any initial filings, if at all. I see a quick settlement in the millions and a change in the way the Seven Seas Lagoon operates.

In the heart of Disney World lies the Seven Seas Lagoon. Its the large body of water the monorail circles and the ferryboat crosses. Magic Kingdom, the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary and the Polynesian all call it home. It is placid and iconic, but did you know it is man made?

The fact is that land was too swampy to be developed. So Disney opted to dig it out and turn it into a recreational area. Original plans called for swimming areas and a giant wave machine to simulate real ocean waves. Surfing was encouraged on it.

However the waves from the machine caused too much erosion on the beaches and made it more difficult for boats to navigate the water. And swimming was discontinued for liability reasons.

Today guests can rent boats and take guided fishing tours on the Seven Seas Lagoon. That wave machine turned into a nice reef for fishing.

The Seven Seas Lagoon is essentially a pretty big hole, so what did they do with all that dirt? You’re standing on it when you’re in Magic Kingdom. The soil was used to cover the giant Utilidor structure that most of Magic Kingdom sits on top of.

http://www.wdwsecrets.com/little-known-disney-world-facts/

 

[Craig]

This is a man made "lake" inside a resort. Yes, it's true alligators are common in Florida, but to have them here seems a bit odd to me.

I don't see a lawsuit beyond any initial filings, if at all. I see a quick settlement in the millions and a change in the way the Seven Seas Lagoon operates.

In the heart of Disney World lies the Seven Seas Lagoon. Its the large body of water the monorail circles and the ferryboat crosses. Magic Kingdom, the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary and the Polynesian all call it home. It is placid and iconic, but did you know it is man made?

The fact is that land was too swampy to be developed. So Disney opted to dig it out and turn it into a recreational area. Original plans called for swimming areas and a giant wave machine to simulate real ocean waves. Surfing was encouraged on it.

However the waves from the machine caused too much erosion on the beaches and made it more difficult for boats to navigate the water. And swimming was discontinued for liability reasons.

Today guests can rent boats and take guided fishing tours on the Seven Seas Lagoon. That wave machine turned into a nice reef for fishing.

The Seven Seas Lagoon is essentially a pretty big hole, so what did they do with all that dirt? You’re standing on it when you’re in Magic Kingdom. The soil was used to cover the giant Utilidor structure that most of Magic Kingdom sits on top of.

http://www.wdwsecrets.com/little-known-disney-world-facts/

Researching my questions...

...Frank Mazzotti, a professor of wildlife ecology at University of Florida, said the fact that the Disney lagoon was man-made matters little. Alligators pop up constantly in man-made canals, golf course lakes and retention ponds that dot the state. “It’s really impossible to keep them out of any body of water,” Mazzotti said....

...Alan Sykes, a professor at Stanford Law School, said the Walt Disney Co. could be held liable for the incident if there is proof of negligence.

“The hotel owes a duty of care to its customers to take reasonable measures to make the premises safe,” said Sykes, who stressed that he didn’t know all the details about the incident in Orlando. “That would include if there are hidden hazards in a lagoon on the hotel property.”

He said a key question would be whether the resort had prior knowledge of alligators in the water near the hotel and what it had done to mitigate that issue, or at least adequately warn tourists of the potential dangers. “A simple ‘no swimming’ sign might be deemed insufficient,” he said. “If it gets litigated, it’s most likely a case about reasonable warning.”

Whatever the particulars, Sykes said the case is almost certain to attract the attention of lawyers seeking to sue the resort.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney ends up settling this, even if they have some decent legal argument,” he said. “It’s a black eye on the Disney resort.”...


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ests-about-alligators/?utm_term=.0e564a0c5da3

 

[reason10]

This is a man made "lake" inside a resort. Yes, it's true alligators are common in Florida, but to have them here seems a bit odd to me.

I don't see a lawsuit beyond any initial filings, if at all. I see a quick settlement in the millions and a change in the way the Seven Seas Lagoon operates.

In the heart of Disney World lies the Seven Seas Lagoon. Its the large body of water the monorail circles and the ferryboat crosses. Magic Kingdom, the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary and the Polynesian all call it home. It is placid and iconic, but did you know it is man made?

The fact is that land was too swampy to be developed. So Disney opted to dig it out and turn it into a recreational area. Original plans called for swimming areas and a giant wave machine to simulate real ocean waves. Surfing was encouraged on it.

However the waves from the machine caused too much erosion on the beaches and made it more difficult for boats to navigate the water. And swimming was discontinued for liability reasons.

Today guests can rent boats and take guided fishing tours on the Seven Seas Lagoon. That wave machine turned into a nice reef for fishing.

The Seven Seas Lagoon is essentially a pretty big hole, so what did they do with all that dirt? You’re standing on it when you’re in Magic Kingdom. The soil was used to cover the giant Utilidor structure that most of Magic Kingdom sits on top of.

http://www.wdwsecrets.com/little-known-disney-world-facts/

I understand why you say this. You don't understand Florida or alligators.

One of the reasons you rarely read of massive flooding in Florida (even though most of our state is pretty damned close to SEA LEVEL) is because for some weird reason (and I think it's a weird reason) Florida knows how to handle flood waters. We probably get close to as much rain as MALAYSIA, but we don't have floods. Why is that?

You look at ANY modern real estate development here (a Walmart, a planned deed restricted neighborhood, a shopping center) and you'll see retention ponds. These are planned. They may stay empty but for the most part when we have a rainy season they stay full. They are lakes. Not even man made. Just depressions in the ground designed to handle flood waters.

The local Walmart where I shop has a huge retention pond. It's not some decorative man made lake. It's just a pond. I've already spotted about 5 alligators, all different sizes. That means they are reproducing in this area. Oh, and because this is Walmart and not some idiot tourist trap, there is a VERY tall fence surrounding this pond. There are warning signs that this is protected land, so idiot rednecks here don't drink a quart of hooch and decide to go in and harvest some of those gators and wind up losing a limb, or worse.

In Florida, if there is water, it's a 99 percent probability of having an alligator or two. A local naturalist explained it to me: There are birds who swoop into gator nests in the swamps and grab gator eggs. Sometimes they drop those eggs on the way to their nests. This happens all the time. And it happens enough that you can bank on almost EVERY retention pond having an alligator.

And whoever owns that pond is liable for anything that could go wrong.

If Disney's lawyers have any brains at all, they'll probably do as you suggest and throw a shit pot full of money at that family to shut them up. And Disney is going to have to reach DEEP into its pockets, because if the case EVER got before a jury...

You can only imagine what would happen.

 

[reason10]

I agree there's going to be a lawsuit.

its going to be settled out of court.

a preview of the "behind closed doors" arguments:

(plaintiff's attorney) "You build a resort in the middle of gator infested swamp? What were you thinking?"

(Disney attorney) "the parents had imbibed numerous cocktails in the 2 hours before the attack, and took their child to the edge of the swamp - "marked no swimming" and encouraged him to enter the water while they went back to their drinking"

Disney's lawyers DO NOT want this case to get before a jury.

 

[Drumcollie]

This is what happens...You build on what used to be lands where the alligator lived...and one day you wake up with an alligator in your backyard...or pond. It's just nature taking it course...Disney could not have stopped this gator. As for what the courts will decide ...did Disney give fair warning by posting signs or do they have more responsibility?