The gator tragedy

[Len90]

Ultimately this tragedy is going to bring changes to the resort grounds as well as the open water ways in the theme parks. Do I foresee Disney closing the beaches at the deluxe resorts forever... no. I do sense a change more permanent than the fencing that will allow guests to sit on the sand but not have to worry about the wildlife. There will be some sort of barrier built to keep the wildlife and guests from interacting.

As far as the monorail colors pink and purple... I believe there was a very small cameo by monorail pink in the resort TV loop for a few years after the incident. I personally will never forget about that incident as I was in WDW when it happened. I actually photographed both monorails hours earlier when I was in EPCOT.

[Wizzard419]

But, which is the big problem for Florida... pretty much doing anything short of removing all water from the lagoons and waterways in guest areas will not be able to mitigate the animal risk. Either that or having a giant skimmer run through every hour. The running joke for the region is that you dig a hole, add some water and wait, you will have at least one gator.

[horizons1]

Speaking of whether or not there will be any big changes, we still cannot ride in the front of the monorail seven years after the accident.

[jderoche5]

Ultimately this tragedy is going to bring changes to the resort grounds as well as the open water ways in the theme parks. Do I foresee Disney closing the beaches at the deluxe resorts forever... no. I do sense a change more permanent than the fencing that will allow guests to sit on the sand but not have to worry about the wildlife. There will be some sort of barrier built to keep the wildlife and guests from interacting.

As far as the monorail colors pink and purple... I believe there was a very small cameo by monorail pink in the resort TV loop for a few years after the incident. I personally will never forget about that incident as I was in WDW when it happened. I actually photographed both monorails hours earlier when I was in EPCOT.

I though I remember reading after the accident both pink and purple were retired. The two were eventually used to make 1 functioning monorail, Monorail teal. Monorail peach was then added to the fleet a couple of years later consisting of the remaining cars from the crash and brand new cars used to complete the vehicle.

[Amy]

I though I remember reading after the accident both pink and purple were retired. The two were eventually used to make 1 functioning monorail, Monorail teal. Monorail peach was then added to the fleet a couple of years later consisting of the remaining cars from the crash and brand new cars used to complete the vehicle.

I heard something similar to that as well.

[TikiTikiRoom]

It's just crazy to think that my cousins and I would go play in the water on the beach at the Polynesian years ago and dealing with gators never crossed our minds. Another interesting point that my uncle brought up a few weeks back was that there actually used to be a small water park on Bay Lake, which is obviously connected to the lagoon. Crazy.

[Wizzard419]

You're talking about river country? That wasn't technically connected, the swimming areas in the park were never directly in the lagoon, it is similar to hotels that will build massive pools right on the beach. It is easier to control/watch swimmers when there is a fenced in area they can go.

You actually used to be able to swim in the seven seas lagoon until the 90's, when they removed it due to safety issues from the increased demand for rental watercraft. Though, between the garbage, oil/gas, fertilizer, animal waste, probably human waste, etc. (not even counting apex predators, venomous animals, and amoebas), that water is pretty gross to begin with.

[Amy]

It's just crazy to think that my cousins and I would go play in the water on the beach at the Polynesian years ago and dealing with gators never crossed our minds. Another interesting point that my uncle brought up a few weeks back was that there actually used to be a small water park on Bay Lake, which is obviously connected to the lagoon. Crazy.

River Country was on Bay Lake but it was separated with a barrier so nothing would have come in there...at least not in theory.

[TikiTikiRoom]

Yeah i read up on it more after posting. I can't believe it's still just sitting there to this day....rotting....

[Amy]

Yeah i read up on it more after posting. I can't believe it's still just sitting there to this day....rotting....

Very sad

[Len90]

So after 8 days in the world I can share some of the things I learned:

1. Rivers of America: There no longer will be any tolerance for gators living inside the Magic Kingdom. If a gator is spotted in there it will be immediately removed. In the past small gators were allowed to live there.
2. The fences: Look to be permanent. I don't anticipate any rock work coming to the Yacht/Beach like it did at GF. But the posts received that copper topping to them to ensure they last.
3. Beaches now have hours: In the past you were able to hang out on the benches at the Yacht/Beach at all hours of the day. Now the beach closes at nighttime with signs brought out stating the beach is closed. People seen on the beach when it is closed will be asked to politely to leave the beach
4. Jungle Cruise: Rode it a few times to confirm. The jokes regarding the crocodile/alligator are gone. They'll mention Ginger but nothing else is said. No more "looking for a handout" or "Ginger snaps".
5. The sings are ALL OVER. You go by any little area of water in Disney and you will find those warning sings now. They're around by the Jungle Book Show, Fantasmic, everywhere.

As for the monorails:
The colors Pink and Purple were retired out of respect to the incident. Monorail Teal is composed of cars 1-5 from Pink with Car 6 from purple. The cars 1 and 6 are the two nose cars. Monorail Peach was composed of the undamaged middle section of Purple with two brand new nose cones.

[horizons1]

Thanks for the detail, len. I wish I could say I'm surprised but it's all playing out as predicted in typical Disney lawyer fashion.

[Wizzard419]

Putting the signs up would be legal's response. Everything else is just an attempt at good PR. Odds are that legal has been on their case about wildlife attacking guests for longer since this has happened before, but without fatalities. While it's cool to be able to say "We dredge the lake for predators every day" or some other thing, it has always been a losing battle since they are common throughout the state regardless of how developed the land is.