Tragic Incident: Autistic Five-Year-Old Drowns in Disney World Area Hotel Pond

Home » Theme Parks » Disney Parks

Tragic Incident: Autistic Five-Year-Old Drowns in Disney World Area Hotel Pond

in Disney Parks, Walt Disney World

Posted on June 14, 2025June 15, 2025 by Rick Lye

12 Comments

Aerial view of a large resort complex with two main buildings facing each other, multiple pools, lounge chairs, and umbrellas in the courtyard, surrounded by water and parking areas.

Credit: Westgate Hotels

A five-year-old autistic boy was pronounced dead by Osceola County deputies after he wandered off from his family at the Westgate Town Center Resort. The boy, who has been identified only as Ashton, was visiting the resort with his family and heading to the Central Florida theme parks before tragedy struck.

Aerial view of a large resort with several pools, water slides, lounge chairs, and tall yellow hotel buildings surrounding the water park area. — Credit: Westgate Hotels

The Osceola County deputies were called to the resort around 10 a.m. on Friday after a report of a drowning. When police and paramedics arrived, a bystander was performing CPR on the boy, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Osceola County deputies ruled the death an accident.

The boy’s mother, Lyonetta Taylor, told News 6,

Everything about my son, I’m going to miss… Hearing him scream, saying, ‘Mom.’ I had to get McDonald’s every day. I don’t care. I would do that again 1,000 times. Seeing as he has autism and he’s nonverbal, it’s very heartbreaking. He couldn’t cry for nobody. He couldn’t call for nobody. If there was a gate around the pond, Ashton wouldn’t have gotten in.

A large resort with multi-story beige buildings, red roofs, and balconies overlooks a pond with a fountain and palm trees under a blue sky. — Credit: Westgate Hotels

The resort is about two miles south of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and seven miles from the Walt Disney World Resort Center. According to the Resort’s website:

Westgate Town Center Resort offers the perfect locale where you can reset, regroup and rejuvenate while on your family vacation to Kissimmee, Florida. This full-service resort has it all! Splash around at our Shipwreck Island Water Park, take in a Disney movie in our cozy movie theater, savor made-to-order dishes at our onsite restaurants, or simply kick back and relax in your spacious villa.

A dock with swan-shaped paddle boats sits on a pond in front of several large, multi-story apartment buildings under a clear blue sky. A small wooden hut is on the dock's right side. — Credit: Westgate Hotels

According to the resort’s map, several smaller lakes/ponds are on the property. Taylor is calling for the resort to add fencing and gates around all the ponds to prevent this from happening to another family. She also asks the resort to have lifeguards on duty 24 hours a day and institute stronger safety measures around its water features.

A colorful illustrated resort map shows buildings, pools, roads, lakes, and labeled amenities for Westgate Town Center Resort. A legend on the left lists icons for activities, dining, shopping, and services. — Credit: Westgate Hotels

The Westgate Resorts said in a statement:

We are working with the family to help care for their needs during this difficult time.

The resort did say that it has CPR-certified staff on duty at all times.

View Comments (12)