Oh why don't these people value life?

I still can't believe some people are trying to lay the blame on the parents for this terrible tragedy. Alligators are dangerous wild animals, so surely the water should have been fenced off to prevent anyone from entering the water or the alligators from entering the holiday resort/park.

Poor little boy and poor parents too.

drama - I agree. It should say don't enter the water at all. And if N&G was there last week and saw kids paddling, I should have thought Disney would be aware of that happening. As has been said, these creatures do come out of the water. Surely the beach should be cordoned off from the lake edge, or banned altogether. I think the facility on offer is wrong, and to be fair I probably wouldn't have taken small children there. An appalling tragedy. N&G I do feel for you too, as you had such a wonderful and memorable holiday, and have come back to this sad news. I imagine you can't get it out of your mind. So awful.

I disagree that Disney is primarily for children. Obviously they are a key market but kids don't pay for vacation - parents and adults do.

I think you would be surprised to know 1/3rd of all visitors are adults without children .also this particular resort ( it's a hotel with the usual amenities) is priced at 65% more than more child friendly option so there is a very high proportion of adults there.

By the parents maybe Jings ??

If it was some wild piece of land and an alligator killed someone, then there would be no one to blame. You could say, alligators are natural species. But this is part of a huge money making business. Responsibility needs to be taken.

Surely, Disney World is primarily for children. It's marketed for children. So children's safety should be the main consideration.

Then they should close that part of the attraction. The life of a child is more important than big business.

It seems utterly ridiculous to me.

I disagree Jings .

And maybe that's the problem with the world today. We need to dumb down to the lowest common denominator...does that not mean we'll all be stupid in time?

I'm sure the parents will sue Disney. After all they need someone other than themselves to blame.

If the beach is owned by Disney, they have responsibility, especially if they know there are likely to be alligators in the water. Alligators can and do come out of the water, so No Swimming signs are not good enough. Do the signs explain why no swimming is allowed? Do they warn parents not to let their children paddle? Even if the water isn't crystal clear and inviting, children will want to paddle in it. A terrible tragedy which could have been avoided by implementing some common sense safety precautions.

No they haven't Jings an alligator ( a native species) killed the child because the parents showed incredibly poor judgement.

Unless you have seen the site you wouldn't really understand why a fence is not feasible but in light of this accident I think a shark net would be good . I'm not sure if it would work though due the rain raising the lake level in hurricane season. But I'm sure better heads than mine are on it this morning.

Like I say, they know their customers. They should cater for all levels of commonsense. All safeguards should be in place where children are going to be around. It would be in this country. And over here a chief executive or two would, quite rightly, end up on prison. Corporate manslaughter.

And what's wrong with a six foot fence or the shark net? Disney can afford it.

They have killed a child.

No he wasn't * Jings * he was in the water..... dark black, unattractive water where you could not see your hand in front of your face.

I am not making Disney out to be 'saints' BUT I am saying I was there a week ago and saw parents allowing their children into water that I as a grandmother and parent would not even dream of setting foot in.

Any fool could see the danger... I wasn't even thinking alligators, I was thinking snakes, underwater weeds that could tangle in a child's feet etc.

So yes, they disregarded the signs.

And yes. The zoo where the boy fell into the gorilla pit should be prosecuted too. Things are obviously very lax in the US.

Disregarded the signs?! Excuse me! Was the little boy swimming?!

Of course it's down to the (obvously 'sainted' by some on here) Disney.

You are right - it was Seaworld x

This is close to my heart as I was in this hotel just over a week ago.

I do not believe Disney failed in their duty of care. We sat out every evening by this very beach. There is signage every few metres that says no swimming - this beach is also about 20 metres from a very child friendly pool.

We saw quite a few toddlers paddling in the water. The water is pitch black as its run off from the pine forests , so its neither attractive, nor if you believe the signage safe. Do not for one moment think this is a clear blue water lake . I was brought up by the sea and have a built in respect for water.

If it says no swimming there is a reason.

There are many, many other places ( complete with sand) and lifeguards where these parents COULD have taken their child. Instead they disregarded the signage and common sense and paid a price I can't begin to imagine.

This IS Florida, alligators are native wildlife. In my 30 + years of going to Disney I have only once seen an alligator, about 3 foot long in a water run off, not accessible by people. However, common-sense tells me that spiders, alligators and even such things as squirrels can injure and you should be on alert.

So whilst my heart breaks for these parents and the loss of their child , short of erecting a 6 ft fence ( and we all know how effective that is when faced with curious toddlers - thinking on the recent fall into the gorilla pit)or putting in a shark type net several metres out in the water, what more could Disney have done?

Nonnie Disney has no performing animals outside of the Animal Kingdom which is a safari style park where the animals live in 'natural' extensive habitats. You're thinking of the Orca at SeaWorld. Not a Disney owned park.

Maggiemaybe, you are right. It was my knee jerk reaction to the loss of a child in the care of it's parent. I apologise for that remark, but feel angry.

The signs are everywhere. Those lakes look ominous

Disney does have a lot of faults - I mean look at their treatment of the Orcas for one thing. Nothing stops the Disney machine, not even lives lost.

I hate the modern trend of demanding that parents be brought to book for an obvious error of judgement. Why? If it's to teach them a lesson I'm sure that ship has already sailed.

Disney have failed in this very tragic incident.

The saddest sentence on the news report I heard was "There is a search going on for a two year old taken by an alligator"
H and I looked at each other and just shook our heads. I know they have to go through the motions but............

The pictures show a lovely beach beside the lake. The kind of place families apparently do sit and picnic etc. The warning notices (apparently -I haven't been there- ) say no SWIMMING so maybe on a hot day a toddler might want a paddle. The little child was in inches of water. I can't begin to think how the family must feel. Rather thsn blame them I would have notices along the beach; ok there were warning notices outside it (I gather). And also, dont alligators come out of the water, so if there is a beach couldn't one land and attack anybody? Shouldn't the beach be made unavailable, or the water have a low railing for example? I think we need to feel great sympathy for these parents and whatever good would prosecution do anyway ? Disney needs to put it right.

I'm not commenting on that particular couple! Wouldn't dream of it. But Disney should cater for the lowest common denominator. They must know they get all kinds of visitors there. Some are going to be more sensible than others.

If what you say regarding warnings is correct Jings, then yes, Disney have a lot to answer for. I am not commenting on the metal ability of this couple as I do not have a clue, but Disney must do their up-most to protect everyone.

Disney should be well versed in the mental capacity of all its customers. The lake seems to be part of the theme park attraction. Heads should roll.

We don't know the full facts of this tragedy, only what the news services tell us.
I does appear likely that the parents were negligent or just plain stupid, either way prosecuting them will achieve nothing. No way could they feel any worse than they are feeling right now, my heart goes out to them.
Prosecuting them, would not deter others, if this tragedy does not do that, nothing will.