Here is a free article which provides a bit of detail.  Nobody is saying a settlement has been reached, but all indications are that's the case and Disney probably had the family agree to a gag order for a period of time.

 

http://www.wthr.com/story/32488641/parents-wont-sue-disney-over-sons-death-by-gator

A family spokeswoman, Sara Brady, says she couldn't say whether a financial settlement had been reached with Disney World.

Couldn't??

That means a solid yes. A settlement was reached, and deservedly so.

But it is also in the best interests of the family. They are very well off and will be under a tremendous amount of public scrutiny for the incident.

Just gonna leave this here...  

 

They had that guy just stand there and wap a stick at that gator? While guests are tooling by in fiberglass boats? Hopefully he was just there until pest control arrived.

The RO was stuck between a rock and a hard place_ shut the ride down, news gets out: but keeping the ride open is a potential danger.

"If Guests ask if we have gators in the water... the correct and appropriate answer is 'Not that we know of' ... Please do not say that we have seen them before. ... As a reminder, this is a serious matter. Please do not make jokes with our Guests about this."

Just thinking of the times I may or may not have been involved in splash battles by reaching into the troughs of water rides. (Please keep your hands inside the boat at all times) I may be thankful that possible events happened far north of Florida.

The RO was stuck between a rock and a hard place_ shut the ride down, news gets out: but keeping the ride open is a potential danger.

 

The correct choice is obvious to me. Better to have news of a gator get out than risk having a guest eaten by said gator.

Absolutely agreed.

 

The news gets out? As I've said, there are photos everywhere online – especially now – of gators throughout the Rivers of America and other waterways in and around the theme parks. They're out there. It's their habitat. Like a roller coaster casually stopping on a lift hill, the media likely would blow this up into big news ("Alligator spotted in Disney World Theme Park") but it's really NOT news. 

 

If guests were in any kind of danger, I would hope and expect that the ride would be temporarily closed. Period. That's not a rock and a hard place at all!

Absolutely agreed.

 

The news gets out? As I've said, there are photos everywhere online – especially now – of gators throughout the Rivers of America and other waterways in and around the theme parks. They're out there. It's their habitat. Like a roller coaster casually stopping on a lift hill, the media likely would blow this up into big news ("Alligator spotted in Disney World Theme Park") but it's really NOT news. 

 

If guests were in any kind of danger, I would hope and expect that the ride would be temporarily closed. Period. That's not a rock and a hard place at all!

I guess I was thinking more of the immediate news- like the fire at FoF. People seeing the ride offline, than guests saying, "yah, as I recall, there WAS a worker as we rode by totally smashing at the grass there." And it DipDots all out of proportion that way.

And then, ultimately, it would land on the RO, who will have to carry that weight, no matter.

Just gonna leave this here...  

 

 

And Hershey Park's ZooAmerica was having people pet them! I'll leave out the fact that it was about 3 inches long or people won't be horrified. 

And then there's Gatorland!! 

I would never cite ZooAmerica as a paragon of good zoological practices.