Orlando has experienced more tragedies in the last month that most cities see in years, including a fatal alligator attack involving a two-year-old child. It came as a shock to many that something so horrific would happen in a place like Walt Disney World, which appeared immune to anything even remotely bad. Days after the attack, a fence and signage indicating the presence of alligators have been placed at the site of the incident, by the lagoon at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, and alligators have been removed from attractions at the nearby Magic Kingdom. I wish I were referring simply to the real alligators that have been sighted within the theme park, but the evicted alligators include characters from Disney movies that formerly were displayed in parades and shows.
The brand new Friendship Faire show performed at Cinderella’s Castle was originally advertised to include characters from "The Princess and the Frog," but Louis the trumpet-playing alligator was removed before the show premiered because of the recent tragedy, according to an employee.
Tick-Tock, the crocodile from Peter Pan, was removed from the Festival of Fantasy parade.
Employees’ scripts from the Jungle Cruise ride were edited to exclude jokes about children being eaten by crocodiles if not supervised by their parents, as were the scripts for Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom that had included a joke about a faulty bridge dumping guests into the crocodile habitat. Live animatronic alligators nevertheless still exist along both rides, also appearing in Living with the Land, Splash Mountain and Peter Pan’s Flight.
There is no question that the alligator attack is beyond tragic, but at what point is featuring alligators and crocodiles in attractions truly insensitive and offensive? I think it’s safe to say, at least for the time being, that not omitting jokes about crocodiles eating neglected children is an appropriate move, but I fail to see how removing beloved cartoon characters from established attractions is appropriate.
Decisions like these could be attributed to the widespread fear said to be instilled among tourists unfamiliar with Florida’s wildlife and uninformed about the rarity of adverse interactions with wildlife on Disney property. I even read a Haunted Mansion cast member’s Facebook post stating that a park guest felt uncomfortable with this iconic painting that has existed since the attraction’s opening decades ago.
The pressure on Disney to do anything it can to make up for and help people forget the incident is both broad-based and emotionally charged. It is clearly imperative that Disney warns guests of natural predators and sometimes dangerously protective animals, existing on property, just as they are found in most of Florida. But balancing the need to protect guests from serious and fatal injury while giving them the chance — and granting their desire — to enjoy the area’s ecology, is a difficult task. It requires both practical protections and a deep understanding of visitors’ perceptions of safety and their relative common sense, neither of which is static.
Disney does not shy from this responsibility, but its guests also should exercise a reasonable degree of situational awareness. As we are reminded time and again from incidents of natural and man-made tragedies around the world, our safety and that of our loved ones and friends is a shared responsibility.
