“They’re not saving that baby”: Former Disney World safari driver says staff are trained to drive away if someone falls into crocodile pit

A former safari driver at Walt Disney World says cast members on Kilimanjaro Safaris are trained to drive away if a guest falls into the attraction’s crocodile pit, a worst-case-scenario protocol meant to prevent additional casualties, not mount a rescue.

The revelation, shared in a viral TikTok with over 12 million views, shocked viewers who assumed Disney staff would attempt to save anyone who fell into the enclosure.

William Rath detailed Disney's supposed protocol in a clip on Feb. 23, 2026.

"We are trained to drive off as soon as possible," Rath said, grimacing. "If there's like a baby or something or a person that falls into the crocodile pit, they're not making it. We're told to drive off to limit the amount of victims."

In a follow-up video, Rath pointed out that although the pit is dangerous—and the crocodiles are “giant and right below your feet”—to date, no Disney guests have actually fallen into the pit.

But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be afraid of.

"Every time I drove over that bridge, I made sure to not look down," Rath admitted. "And I probably drove over that bridge a thousand times, and I never once looked down."

Disney World's brutal pit-victims-left-behind directive surprised people who assumed park staff would be trained to rescue any unfortunate guests from the pit. And if they aren’t, why have such a potentially dangerous feature at a family attraction?

Rath said it’s all about the immersive effect created by the crocodile pit and proximity to danger.

In an email to the Daily Dot, Rath wrote: "It’s astounding the amount of people that don’t know the difference between an alligator and a crocodile."

"They're not saving that baby"

The former Disney safari driver replied to a user’s comment, “Is it true that the safari drivers are trained to immediately drive off if someone falls into the crocodile pit???” Short answer is yes.

Rath claimed that if you fall into the pit, you’re as good as dead. “If like a baby falls off and then there's a parent that's like, oh, I wanna jump in and save them, they're not saving that baby. And so if they jump in, they're not getting saved either."

Drivers are trained to drive off to limit additional casualties.

Rath assured viewers, “No one has fallen in this crocodile pit.” He suggested the pit is a feature at the park because it promotes “a really immersive experience."

The former driver described walking over the crocodile bridge at Kilimanjaro Safaris in a harness. It was a controlled experience, but even he was scared of the crocs. 

“But why is there a disney crocodile pit people can easily fall into??” commented @sargeantsomersault.

@turbulentsiren joked, “Disney said, ‘We only paying out one lawsuit’”

“That’s not very magical of Disney!” wrote @amandagiannaxo.

The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here.