There are certain phrases in the English language that should function as warning enough on their own. “Free alligator encounter” is near the top of that list. Yet here we are, reporting on a lawsuit filed by a South Florida man who visited an Orange County airboat attraction and came away with considerably more than he bargained for, including a face-level introduction to one of Florida’s most prehistoric residents.
Edil Kasenov, the plaintiff in the case, visited Airboat Rides at Midway, located in the small Central Florida community of Christmas, back in June 2025. The attraction offered a complimentary “Alligator Encounter” as part of its experience, which presumably sounded like an entertaining detour from whatever else was on the itinerary.
Things went sideways in a fairly significant way when the alligator in question bit Kasenov in the face, leaving him with injuries serious enough to result in hospitalization and what the lawsuit describes as disfigurement…