UPDATE: In a statement provided to Fortune, Walt Disney World Resort Vice President Jacquee Wahler 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.”
Bob Iger is in Shanghai this week for the unveiling of his company’s massive and long-awaited new theme park, but a pair of tragic events have pulled the Walt Disney CEO’s attention back to Florida.
Only days after Iger issued a statement of support for the community following the horrific mass shooting in Orlando, the home of Disney World, the CEO also reached out in response to Tuesday night’s deadly alligator attack that claimed the life of a two-year-old boy at that theme park’s Grand Floridian resort.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Iger offered his “deepest sympathies” to the boy’s family. “As a parent and a grandparent, my heart goes out to the Graves family during this time of devastating loss. My thoughts and prayers are with them, and I know everyone at Disney joins me in offering our deepest sympathies,” Iger said in the statement.
A Disney spokesman confirmed that Iger also personally called the Graves family on the phone in the wake of the tragedy, while George Kalogridis, the president of Walt Disney World Resort, flew back to Orlando from Shanghai shortly after learning of the alligator attack. Meanwhile, Disney World also closed all of the beaches at its resorts on Wednesday following the attack.
In China, the Shanghai Disney Resort is finally set to officially open today with a lavish, three-day opening celebration planned featuring musical performances and former Chinese basketball star Yao Ming. The theme park, which cost $5.5 billion to build and has been in the works for more than a decade, is Disney’s first park in mainland China and it is expected to be a big part of Iger’s legacy at the helm of the entertainment giant.
