Around 9 p.m. on June 14, 2016, tragedy struck for a vacationing Nebraska family of four when an alligator surfaced from the water and snatched the family’s son away. A 2-year-old Lane Graves was found about 16 hours later about 15 yards from where the attack happened and six feet under water. Lane’s body was found completely intact. The Graves family was on the Grand Floridian Resort on the beach area while little Lane was wading in about two feet of water when the accident occurred. After the father tried and unfortunately failed to save his son, tremendous efforts were done to rescue the boy. The search went on through the night and into the afternoon of June 15, when Lane’s body was finally recovered from the man made Seven Seas Lagoon. If you aren’t that familiar with the Magic Kingdom area at the Walt Disney World Resort, the lagoon is what separates various “Magic Kingdom Hotels” and the transportation and ticketing center. Guests board the ferry boat that takes them across the lagoon and to the park. The lagoon stretches many miles wide and is tied to many different canals that go past Disney World itself. It was truly a miracle that this boy’s body was found at all. The autopsy reported that Lane’s cause of death was drowning and trauma from the attack. Many have speculated about Disney and the Graves family itself saying that the company doesn’t do enough to keep its guest safe and that the family should have been taking better care of their son. Amid the accident that occurred, Disney has made several changes to the resort.
Photo Courtesy of cheapskateprincess.com
Photo Courtesy of Chaparrel Construction
Effective immediately after the recovery of Lane’s body, Disney parks began to fence of the Seven Seas Lagoon and add new signs that indicated alligators and snakes in the area. Visitors are warned not to feed the wildlife, and fishing has been banned from the resort, but allowed only in specific excursions.
Photo Courtesy of News.com
Photo Courtesy of wdwmagic.com
The fencing can be seen in the pictures above and have been placed to temporarily keep guests out of the water. A future permanent fence is in the works to keep guests out completely. Prior to the attack, signs only read no swimming and the beach on the lagoon was very inviting with several beach chairs to lounge on.
In Magic Kingdom itself, the Walt Disney World Company has removed alligator and crocodile characters from the park. In Disney’s new castle show, ‘Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire’ featured a trumpet playing alligator, Louis. Unfortunately, now Louis has been removed from the castle show entirely.
Photo Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog
The Jungle Cruise in the Magic Kingdom is known for its sarcastic humor and Disney Cast Member interactions with its guests. A specific line that notes, “Watch your children… or the crocodiles will.” Has now been removed from the script as well.
Lastly, the very famous tic-toc Croc that Captain Hook has been running from for many, many years has also been removed from the Festival of Fantasy parade. Captain Hook you can finally stop running
The accident that happened almost a month ago changed a lot of things for the Disney Company and changed the Graves family in the worst way possible. It is often said that no parent should ever have to bury their child. The graves family is turning their grief into a miracle for other families and using all the donations they have received for a better cause. A church back in their hometown of Nebraska has set up a service for people to donate cards. Stay safe this summer as gators can be found in any body of water, and come out to hunt at night. Rest In Peace Lane Graves
Please mail your cards to:
St. Patrick's Parish
20500 West Maple Rd.
Elkhorn, NE 68022
