Disney 'ignored employee complaints about guests in $2,000-a-night bungalows feeding alligators'

Despite Disney official's claims that they do everything in their power to protect guests from alligators at their resorts, employees at the Orlando theme park say the reptiles have become a problem that the company has been ignoring.

Tragedy struck the 'Happiest Place on Earth' on Tuesday when a two-year-old boy was snatched and drowned by an alligator while wading on a beach outside Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. 

In the aftermath of toddler Lane Graves' death, law enforcement officials defended Disney, saying they are proactive about removing alligators from the lake and releasing them in uninhabited areas. 

But employees at the park are now telling a different story. 

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Disney employees say they have warned their bosses for more than a year about guests feeding alligators at the Seven Seas Lagoon - especially guests in the $2,000-a-night Bora Bora Bungalows (pictured)

Guests in the bungalows have private porches on the water and have apparently been seen feeding the alligators that swim by 

Several employees spoke to The Wrap and said that they had complained about alligators becoming a problem over the past 14 months, thanks to guests feeding the creatures.

On Tuesday, two-year-old Lane Graves was snatched and drowned by an alligator while wading in water outside the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa 

The problem has allegedly been exacerbated by the opening of the new $2,000-a-night Bora Bora Bungalows, a an expensive collection of private rooms situated directly on the Seven Seas Lagoon - just across from the beach where Lane was snatched. 

The bungalows have private porches and guests apparently feed the alligators as they float past.  

'Disney has known about the problem of guests feeding the alligators well-prior to the opening of the bungalows,' said an insider. 'With the opening of the bungalows, it brought the guests that much closer to wildlife. Or, the wildlife that much closer to the guests.'

A few employees said they had complained about the bungalow guests feeding the alligators, but alleged that park officials may have been hesitant to reprimand guests staying in $2,000-a-night suites. 

'Disney knew these alligators had become desensitized to humans, as they had begun to associate guests with food, and did not act in a proactive manner,' the insider added. 

Disney officials declined to comment when reached by The Wrap. 

Other employees said the resort wasn't doing enough to warn guests about alligators in the lake. While the Grand Floridian had posted several 'no swimming' signs, none of their signs warned of alligators in the lake. 

Mike Hamilton, a custodial employee at Disney, said he warned his bosses that the gators were swimming too close to the shore and that a fence should be erected to keep them away from the hotels.

If any wrong-doing is found on Disney's part, that could open the company up to a wrongful death lawsuit. 

Other employees expressed concern that the Grand Floridian's signs don't do enough to keep guests out of the water, since they only say  'no swimming' and don't mention gators  

 Police have said the company will be reviewing their policy.

In a statement to Daily Mail Online, a Disney spokesman said: 'All of our beaches are currently closed, and we are conducting a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and protocols. This includes the number, placement and wording of our signage and warnings.'

Wildlife officials have come out to defend Disney, saying the company has worked with law enforcement to make sure that their properties are safe for guests by locating and removing dangerous indigenous creatures from the resort.

Last night, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demmings confirmed the body of Lane had been recovered 'intact' from the lagoon.

It came 17 hours after his father had attempted to to save his son after the gator snatched him, but he could not pry the toddler from the animal's grasp - and the creature disappeared underwater, taking the child with it.

The Graves family were on the third day of their vacation in Orlando when tragedy struck on Tuesday night.

Sheriff Demmings also confirmed it was unlikely that Lane's parents to be charged with any sort of neglect and added that the alligator probably drowned the toddler and abandoned his body on the bottom of the lagoon.

During the search, wildlife officials caught and killed five alligators in the lake and they say they will now use forensics to determine whether they have already euthanized the gator responsible for the attack.

If not, officials promised to continue searching the lake for the creature.

Demings also said his department and the state wildlife agency would look into the issue of signs around Seven Seas Lagoon, where Disney had posted 'no swimming' signs but no warnings about the presence of alligators.