Here's the letter I wrote to Disney:
To whom it may concern;
On May 10, I decided to take my two children to Typhoon Lagoon by myself for the first time. I recently began a different shift at work, which no longer allows me to have the same days off as my husband. Therefore I was a bit hesitant to go without him but I knew the children would have a good time.
We were enjoying the day at the park and at one point around 12:45, my son wanted to use the childrens slide at the wave pool. I assisted him up the stairs then I ran to the end of the slide to catch him (as he doesnt know how to swim). I waited at the end of the slide for about one minute, then wondered why he had not gone down. I sent my 9year old daughter up the stairs to find out what the hold up was and she came down the slide advising he was not there. I immediately ran up the stairs and notified the lifeguard that my son was missing. The lifeguard called someone on the phone and about 5minutes later, a white male employee arrived to assist me. I immediately notified him of the situation. I asked him to have the gates secured, so that no one would walk away with my son; my request went unnoticed. I asked him if all the lifeguards at the park had been notified that a child was missing; my request went unnoticed. I asked this employee to announce over the PA system that a child was missing; again this request went unnoticed. At one point he told me they were working on making an announcement for my son to meet me at a location. How can a 3 year old recognize that an announcement is being made for him? I was very distraught and feared the worst. I saw no action and no one seemed to be concerned. As a law enforcement officer I understand that in a missing children case, the first few minutes/hours are crucial and therefore I grew more and more worried as the time passed by. Nearly 10minutes into the situation I decided to call 911. I requested this employee to do so; again another request unnoticed.in the end a Good Samaritan went looking for my son and found him in the kiddie pool area. The Good Samaritan said that the lifeguards in that area where not aware that there was a missing child, even when I asked the employee repeatedly if all lifeguards had been notified. The outcome of this event was a good one. My son simply decided not to go down the slide and wondered the other way, as I waited for him at the bottom of the slide. Rest assure the feelings I felt during this 20-25minute ordeal were extremely troubling. I hope no one will ever have to endure what I went through, yet I know its very real and chances are that they may.
I am writing this letter in an effort to have Disney analyze its current measures and responses for missing children calls. I must say that I had very high expectations from Disney, as the largest children attraction in Central Florida. As such I expected the following:
· I expected a lock down as soon as I notified the staff that my child was missing. Had a person kidnapped my child, he/she could have walked out of the park without any trouble. I understand that a lock down is inconvenient for guests, but a lock down should be implemented at least until a full description of the child is obtained, at which time the staff by the exit should carefully watch for such. Everyone can relate to a child because the majority of the population has a child that they love. Therefore Im positive that if you explain the situation to your guests they will not be troubled and will be willing to assist with this task.
· I expected all pool areas to be evacuated just long enough to look at the pool and eliminate the fact that the child may still be in it. It is much easier to find 1 child in an empty pool, than in a pool full of guests. It only takes seconds for a child to drown. Therefore this task is critical in attempting to save a childs life. Once again, I realize this may be an inconvenience for your guests, but we must think about the safety of the children first.
· I expected the police to be called. If there is foul play, law enforcement must be notified regardless. Why not have them respond as a precaution? I had to call the police myself because your staff would not.
There was 1 staff member assisting me and then a manager came along. The first staff member that assisted me (if you call it assistance) did not seem concerned at all. He had an earpiece and therefore I had no idea what he was communicating to others. He provided no comfort and to all my requests the answer was; were doing everything we can. Communication was slow, as I mentioned earlier my child was in the kiddie area and those guards were not aware of the situation. My son had been missing for nearly 25 minutes at this point. It should not take that long to notify all staff that a child is missing. If your staff did everything they could that day, then I must say your safety measures are extremely poor.
I understand that Typhoon Lagoon is a large park, yet I know its not impossible to perform the tasks that I had asked for that day in minimal time. After this experience we wont be returning to the park for a while. It saddens me because I know my children enjoy the water and we had purchased annual passes (which expire this July), however I must think about my childrens safety first. As I share my story with family and friends theyre stunned at your staffs response to the event. I hope that some changes are implemented and that my situation may help any other missing children in the future.
0 comments