The Orlando Sentinel interviewed a witness of the attack, a Bill Wilson of New Harmony, Indiana who was sitting on his balcony at the Grand Floridian:

“I looked over and here comes one of the lifeguards. He said ‘Everybody get out of the water. The mother was there and she was frantic, running up and down looking.”  Everything unfolded in less than 30 seconds, he said. A minute later, the alligator was gone. Wilson said he had seen the group walking near the water’s edge and noted it was very dark at that site. They weren’t standing under a light, he said. Wilson said response was quick from Disney personnel and first responders. He saw helicopters, fire department members, lifeguards, pontoon boats at work.  “Disney did every damn thing they could do to help,” he said. Hotel guests were not notified of the situation Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, he said.

In response to these recent events, Walt Disney World today cut all jokes related to children and crocodiles from the Jungle Cruise attraction at the Magic Kingdom. Among the jokes, the attraction famously asked parents to “watch their children, or the crocodiles will.”

Tom Corless