RIP HARAMBE :(

[HairOfTheDog]

I read conflicting stories so I don't know if the kid was wading in the water or if he was playing in the sand next to the water. If he was in fact in the water then it is somewhat of the parents fault. The first thing I would take from the "no swimming" signs is that there could be bacteria in the water, so my kid wouldn't be in the water and especially at night when you can't see anything.

No one expects a gator to come out of nowhere on a man made beach at Disney World, but still, there are all other kinds of reasons why you wouldn't want your kid playing in murky water and especially at night.

I understood that he was playing on the shoreline and wading in the water near the sand. The sign said no swimming and said there was a steep drop in the water.

I wouldn't have thought about bacteria or alligators under the circumstances and probably wouldn't have been concerned about my kid getting his feet wet while I was watching him from very nearby.

Anyway, you can't put up a warning sign against every possible circumstance, obviously. But, the alligator warning seems like a no-brainer if guest safety is a top priority, in my opinion. Other resorts with similar lagoons near the Grand Floridian had alligator warning signs. I don't blame Lane's parents at all. If Lane had been wading near the shoreline at a resort with the alligator warning sign, then I'd think the parents were partially to blame.