Disney Alligator Climbs On Raft With Tourists To Tom Sawyer Island On Rivers Of America [Video]

There is a new and shocking video that shows an alligator at Disney World climbing aboard a raft filled with tourists. Those filming the video can be heard exclaiming fearful and funny sounds as they watch a female alligator climb aboard the raft at Disney World, near tourists who don’t know that an alligator is so close to them.

The video was recorded only one month ago at Disney World, wherein an alligator can be seen climbing onto a log raft that shuttles tourists to Tom Sawyer Island on the Rivers of America.

As reported by TMZ, alligators have grown bolder at Disney World. The publication calls Disney World a haven for alligators. It’s a fact that Floridians might be used to — but not necessarily something known by folks from out of town who visit Disney World on vacation.

Whereas people in Florida might realize that any body of water (or golf course or floating raft) could serve as a home for alligators, tourists visiting Disney World from other states might have assumed man-made lakes at Disney World didn’t contain alligators.

With 2-year-old Lane Graves recently losing his life to an alligator, the explanations that alligators are nocturnal and in their mating season are being listed as some reasons for the rare attack.

However, Disney World was warned about alligators by a lawyer in the past, reports the Daily Mail.

Lawyer says he warned Disney about alligators last year when one approached his son https://t.co/25lY7QFzO8 pic.twitter.com/bjOQCj66fn

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) June 17, 2016

David Hiden is an attorney from San Diego who traveled to Disney World on vacation in April of last year. That’s when he saw alligators near his 5-year-old son. When the 7-foot-long alligator came near Hiden’s son at the Coronado Springs Resort, David was able to grab his son and run away safely.

When David warned hotel managers about the alligators, Hiden said he was told the alligators were “harmless resident pets.” With Lane’s death being the first death in Disney World’s 45-year history, it is now known that the alligators are not harmless pets. Resorts like the Coronado Springs Resort are only a few miles away from where Graves was killed by an alligator at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa.

Concerns about guests feeding alligators abound.

However, Disney World is coming under fire for not having warning signs about alligators nearby — and for reportedly not heeding the requests of Walt Disney World Resort workers to put up fences to protect guests from alligators.

Hiden even took photos of the alligators and showed them to hotel managers. After getting the flippant response about alligators being “harmless resident pets,” Hiden even wrote a letter to the resort that warned them someone could get killed by an alligator.

“And the response, I couldn’t believe it. It was, ‘Those are resident pets, and we’ve known about them for years. And they’re harmless, they’re not going to attack anybody.’ I said, ‘I hope I’m wrong, but at some point, I bet I’m going to read about you guys where one of your resident pets killed somebody. And I hope to God it never happens because it’s gonna be on your shoulders.'”

Sadly, it turned out Hiden was right about the alligator attack. The Rivers of America Disney attraction is fewer than two miles from where Lane was taken by an alligator and drowned. According to Disney’s website, the attraction requires braveness and a spirit of adventure.

“Brave an adventure all your own at this rustic, secret hideaway inspired by the stories of Mark Twain. Journey by log raft across the Rivers of America and discover an idyllic place influenced by the works of Mark Twain. Arrive at Tom’s Landing and embark on a self-guided expedition into the heart of early America.”

[Photo by AP Photo/Jay Reeves]