The man-made, 172-acre lagoon only featured signage that said “no swimming” and warned of deep waters, but now permanent signage at all of Disney’s resorts will warn guests of lurking alligators, Disney said.
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Authorities said the father and mother both tried to wrestle the child from the gator, but it was too late.
The beaches on Disney World’s property in Orlando are closed Thursday after the body of Lane Graves was found Wednesday following an alligator attack.
On Saturday, Lane’s parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, released a statement saying they weren’t ready to speak publicly about their son’s death.
Disney Chairman and CEO Robert A. Iger called the Graves family and released a statement about the boy’s death. We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely hard time. While it’s an unwritten rule for Florida residents to keep small children away from ponds and lakes in a state with an alligator population estimated at more than 1 million, many out-of-state visitors aren’t aware of threat posed by the reptiles.
In 2015 there were nine major unprovoked attacks in Florida, with one fatality. Lane’s family was visiting from Nebraska, and the company has faced questions over whether it warned out-of-towners about the dangers posed by alligators.
“We’re going to make certain that we have the alligator that was involved, and that we remove it from the lake”, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Executive Director Nick Wiley said in a statement. So far, search teams have captured and euthanized at least five alligators caught as searchers scoured the water for the boy, officials said.
Disney said Thursday it would close its beach areas add gator warnings, but had not mentioned anything specifically about a fence.
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While announcing the new signage and barriers, Wahler also said the company will be encouraging its staff and guests to stay vigilant.
