Banned for life...

[Planogirl]

Has anyone here ever said anything really stupid? I'm not saying that it's OK that he said it but I doubt that most haven't done or said something where later we wonder what we were thinking.

It really doesn't matter what I think though. It's up to Disney of course.

 

[JoWiJo]

Am I the only one with mixed feelings on this? I'm trying to look at both sides of the story.

On one hand,

...He was clearly frustrated and felt ignored. Regardless whether he had realistic expectations of Disney, the fact remains he was frustrated. It is very easy to say the stupidest things when one is upset. Add to this particular situation that it was late and he was probably tired as well, so the odds of him saying something absolutely stupid seems all the more plausible to me. Fatigue can work against the brain much like alcohol. While such certainly doesn't excuse his behavior, I believe we should try to understand it before we snap to judgement.

Secondly, he didn't say that he was in the process of building a meth lab, or that he would build one. He merely said that he could build one.

Thirdly, he hasn't done anything to show that he is a genuine and immediate threat to public safety. He made no actual threats.

On the other hand,

...After having the time to think things through, if he thinks that saying that he could have built an atomic bomb would have been a better choice of words, he clearly didn't learn his lesson. That would have been worse to say.

The CMs and their supervisors aren't going to play a game of grammatical analysis and quibble over words like coulda/woulda/shoulda. If they hear anything remotely like this, they have the duty to respond immediately. As others have pointed out, this is a subject that one just doesn't simply joke about. Calling law enforcement was the correct thing to do, and so was throwing him out of the hotel.

And even though he didn't threaten anyone, because his statement (1) forced Disney's hand to call LE, which (2) undoubtedly caused some some guests to freak, and (3) meant that those officers were not available to respond to other emergency calls, he has certainly established himself as a severe nuisance.

IMHO, he should certainly be banned from the hotels. No question on that one. The amount of disturbance he caused calls for it. Disney did the right thing by evicting the whole room that night. They also did the right thing by NOT banning the rest of the family (they can return freely). But I doubt that he actually seeks to be a nuisance. And he isn't one of those who tries to defend their actions, he admits his fault. So I think he should be allowed to return to the parks, but on very thin permanent probation.

-----

They could fix the yeti before he got service.

 

[str86diesel]

There is definitely more to the story than what we are all reading. My family and I just returned from a trip, staying at the POP. Although we did not see this happen, some friends that I have that work at Disney, were telling me about it and they took the "jokes" very seriously.

 

[PBB]

Just got through the 2 long winded videos on YouTube................

Since, we only have his side of events.........

It is a he said/she said event. He has admitted to stating "I could have built a meth lab in the time it took to find out whether a room was available".

Does this comment warrant a police raid of a hotel room at 12:30 a.m.? Apparently not, because, Orange County Police did not take him into custody.

Did he have any thing in his room that was illegal? The police searched/looked through his room and found no evidence whatsoever. If they did, I would imagine he would be arrested.

Did he say something stupid? Probably, in a heated discussion people say stupid things.

Did his comment to the castmember make a direct or implied threat to the resort or others in the resort? Speaking in a passive manner, I could have built a met lab is different than I built a meth lab.

I personally believe that the Pop Resorts capture a client base that Disney takes a hard stance against. I have heard of entire pop football teams being kicked out of the resort for the actions of a few a couple of years ago.

I believe what happened is a inexperienced castmember (middle of the night, front desk pop century resort) got his nose out of joint pulled the panic alarm and full weight and force of WDW Security and the Orannge County PD came down upon this family.

I understand that in the eyes of some here Disney can do no wrong. However, the Castmembers are Humans as well as the Guests. I have to think Castmembers have endured or heard a lot worse from people after a long day at the parks doing the "Dumbo-Do or Die Tour" as "The Unofficial Guide to WDW" used to call it.

Couldn't a real manager and a security person have called the room back and met the guest in the lobby or outside near the elevator to asses the situation prior to the swat team arriving?? For their own personal security, I don't think a manager should ever go to a room when the feel threatened.

I would love to hear Disneys's side of the story and hear how much experience and training the Castmember was that took the call. We will never hear it because Disney could not charge the man with anything. I feel bad for the LEO's that got called. Even then, the LEO's should have done a better job assessing if a threat was real or not before pounding on the door. This is why Disney and the Police have Managers and Sargeants to use their experience and training to lend clarity to a situation. This did not happen. I think kicking the guest out and banning was done in a spiteful moment by the manager who chose poorly.

I look at this man and he admitted to taking his night time med's and he is disabled. I assume he was medicated in some capacity along with being tired. He said something stupid. Well, the Kennedy's have used the Ambien excuse to get out of their legal troubles, LOL. Seriously, according to him, he did not threaten the Castmember, the resort, or fellow guests. He made a flippant comment. If wit and flippant comments were illegal, I know I would be in prison for life or given the chair.

Since Disney called Orange County Police and allowed a raid to be conducted based upon a Castmember's statement and no one was arrested makes me think Disney management failed not only this guest but all the other guest who were sleeping at the hotel who got to hear watch a false police raid. Disney was very quick to release facts about the drunk who drive the golf cart into the lake at Ft. Wilderness campground a few months back. The "no comment" line is deafening.............I hope Disney has replaced or retrained staff. I hope someone in Management does the right thing.............

I base these comments on the two video this man has made on YouTube. If Disney comes out with other facts that change or challenge his assertions then my opinions could change. I just believe it could have been handled much better........

 

[minnie mum]

Just got through the 2 long winded videos on YouTube..........

For the sake of brevity, I didn't quote your whole post. Just a couple of thoughts.

First. It wasn't in the middle of the night. And he wasn't talking to anyone at the front desk of the resort. Whether you dial a resort phone number or hit the "front desk" button on your resort phone, you are connected to a call center which may not even be on property.

Secondly, no swat team surrounded the room, nor did the "full weight and force of Disney Security and the OC PD" come down on them, it wasn't a raid ; just OC Sheriffs, knocking on the door, asking questions, and performing a room search. As for your statement about the rest of the resort being awakened and witnessing the incident, I haven't read of any such thing. Perhaps you can tell me where you read that ( I admit I haven't read the whole thread,)

Calls are monitored. The resort manager and LE would have had access to the conversation. Obviously they considered that the content of the call warranted police presence to investigate the situation. Neither you, I, or anyone else knows exactly what was said, how it was phrased, the tone of voice used, or any other parts of the conversation that may have contributed to the concern. All that we have is the subjects version of events. We also don't know what other history the subject had with Disney or if he had already been pegged as a problem guest from previous encounters.

I think you are giving far too much credence to someone who chose to take a self serving public stance instead of actually following the procedure for the appeal process.

 

[PBB]

I give the man credence because I have no other information from Disney nor Orange County Sheriff to discount what was said. Wouldn't the Sheriffs Office had filed a report? I have not seen a copy in the news. It is not obvious to me that the sheriff or Disney was justified in their actions. Their silence on this matter is interesting.

The man's YouTube videos are posted explaining the time of the events and his side of the events. I would suggest watching them. I am not his attorney nor am I trying to take his side in this matter. If his statement is accurate then Disney acted poorly.

 

[DVCcurious]

I've been known to say some pretty stupid stuff so I feel for this guy. But I think a meth lab was the wrong way to go. If you're gonna try to be funny but actually just be way over the line you gotta use current events. He shoulda said something like "In the time it's taking you to resolve my issue I could have called my buddy Jared Fogel and....."

See? Massively inappropriate. Not funny at all. But at least it's a current event. It shows you're paying attention to the news.

 

[ckcnj]

His unfortunate last name will not help his case

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Just got through the 2 long winded videos on YouTube................

Since, we only have his side of events.........

It is a he said/she said event. He has admitted to stating "I could have built a meth lab in the time it took to find out whether a room was available".

Does this comment warrant a police raid of a hotel room at 12:30 a.m.? Apparently not, because, Orange County Police did not take him into custody.

Did he have any thing in his room that was illegal? The police searched/looked through his room and found no evidence whatsoever. If they did, I would imagine he would be arrested.

Did he say something stupid? Probably, in a heated discussion people say stupid things.

Did his comment to the castmember make a direct or implied threat to the resort or others in the resort? Speaking in a passive manner, I could have built a met lab is different than I built a meth lab.

I personally believe that the Pop Resorts capture a client base that Disney takes a hard stance against. I have heard of entire pop football teams being kicked out of the resort for the actions of a few a couple of years ago.

I believe what happened is a inexperienced castmember (middle of the night, front desk pop century resort) got his nose out of joint pulled the panic alarm and full weight and force of WDW Security and the Orannge County PD came down upon this family.

I understand that in the eyes of some here Disney can do no wrong. However, the Castmembers are Humans as well as the Guests. I have to think Castmembers have endured or heard a lot worse from people after a long day at the parks doing the "Dumbo-Do or Die Tour" as "The Unofficial Guide to WDW" used to call it.

Couldn't a real manager and a security person have called the room back and met the guest in the lobby or outside near the elevator to asses the situation prior to the swat team arriving?? For their own personal security, I don't think a manager should ever go to a room when the feel threatened.

I would love to hear Disneys's side of the story and hear how much experience and training the Castmember was that took the call. We will never hear it because Disney could not charge the man with anything. I feel bad for the LEO's that got called. Even then, the LEO's should have done a better job assessing if a threat was real or not before pounding on the door. This is why Disney and the Police have Managers and Sargeants to use their experience and training to lend clarity to a situation. This did not happen. I think kicking the guest out and banning was done in a spiteful moment by the manager who chose poorly.

I look at this man and he admitted to taking his night time med's and he is disabled. I assume he was medicated in some capacity along with being tired. He said something stupid. Well, the Kennedy's have used the Ambien excuse to get out of their legal troubles, LOL. Seriously, according to him, he did not threaten the Castmember, the resort, or fellow guests. He made a flippant comment. If wit and flippant comments were illegal, I know I would be in prison for life or given the chair.

Since Disney called Orange County Police and allowed a raid to be conducted based upon a Castmember's statement and no one was arrested makes me think Disney management failed not only this guest but all the other guest who were sleeping at the hotel who got to hear watch a false police raid. Disney was very quick to release facts about the drunk who drive the golf cart into the lake at Ft. Wilderness campground a few months back. The "no comment" line is deafening.............I hope Disney has replaced or retrained staff. I hope someone in Management does the right thing.............

I base these comments on the two video this man has made on YouTube. If Disney comes out with other facts that change or challenge his assertions then my opinions could change. I just believe it could have been handled much better........

I give the man credence because I have no other information from Disney nor Orange County Sheriff to discount what was said. Wouldn't the Sheriffs Office had filed a report? I have not seen a copy in the news. It is not obvious to me that the sheriff or Disney was justified in their actions. Their silence on this matter is interesting.

The man's YouTube videos are posted explaining the time of the events and his side of the events. I would suggest watching them. I am not his attorney nor am I trying to take his side in this matter. If his statement is accurate then Disney acted poorly.

Frankly the fool should be lucky that Disney did not press charges and only banned him. Anyone that makes that type of comment in today's world needs to understand it is totally unexceptable . Not to.mention by even making the comment he is threating not only the well trained CM (Who I applaud ) but also all the people in the resort.

THE mentioning of making making a prosonous bomb, which a what a meth lab is, is a threat to everyone in the resort.

This is not a joke or just a loose comment, it's a threat hands down.

This kind of situation is not a symantec exercise to play word games with. It's a serious security matter.

He lucky he wasn't taking down hard and is only banned...I think jail time.is warrentted.

AKK

 

[greyslay3r]

disney doesn't like bad PR.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

A bit off topic, in all my experience in various forums on many subjects, I have never seen anyone who thinks Disney or any other company or people can never be wrong. However I have seen some people that assume , often with limited information at Disney is always wrong.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

There's a TON of difference between "I could have made a .... in the time it took..." and "I'm going to MAKE a ... in the time it took... (Which doesn't even make sense, BTW.)".

 

[BrdwayBoy]

There's a TON of difference between "I could have made a .... in the time it took..." and "I'm going to MAKE a ... in the time it took... (Which doesn't even make sense, BTW.)".

Thank you.

I think a lifetime ban is a bit much for what was actually said/happened. I think having a staff member check the room first, and then having the police called if anything seemed suspicious is what should have happened. A full-on police raid? A bit much, in my opinion.

But then again, maybe there is more to the story than we're being told.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Thank you.

I think a lifetime ban is a bit much for what was actually said/happened. I think having a staff member check the room first, and then having the police called if anything seemed suspicious is what should have happened. A full-on police raid? A bit much, in my opinion.

But then again, maybe there is more to the story than we're being told.

After the threat was made its highly unsafe to ask to enter the fools room. At that point if there was indeed a bomb/ meth operation, all the fool would.have done at that point is set it off .

It is also not the time to have a.symantic game of * gee just how did he put that*?

I aplauded Disney and the CM for getting the.police and determining just what was going on.

The banning was indeed proper and the correct action

 

[BrdwayBoy]

After the threat was made its highly unsafe to ask to enter the fools room.

A poor choice of words on his part, yes.

A threat? I don't know that I'd view it as a threat. Perhaps had he said something along the lines of "I'm going to build a meth-lab in less time than it takes to get service..."

Police involvement then? You bet.

A lifetime ban after finding NOTHING at all that would indicate any sort of illegal activity? Sorry Disney, you're over-reacting.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

A poor choice of words on his part, yes.

A threat? I don't know that I'd view it as a threat. Perhaps had he said something along the lines of "I'm going to build a meth-lab in less time than it takes to get service..."

Police involvement then? You bet.

A lifetime ban after finding NOTHING at all that would indicate any sort of illegal activity? Sorry Disney, you're over-reacting.

As I pointed out at that time it was not proper to risk a confrontation with someone talking about a.bomb meth lab in his room. He is at best a fool who does not have the sense not to throw around scary wording or a real threat.Anyone bring that up those possiblities, in a resort with hundreds on people has to be.considered a threat.

If he had done that at a airport, mall arena he would have been locked up so he is lucky he's only.banned. I aplauded
Disney for taking action to prevent danger in the future.and protecting there guests.

 

[maxiesmom]

A bit off topic, in all my experience in various forums on many subjects, I have never seen anyone who thinks Disney or any other company or people can never be wrong. However I have seen some people that assume , often with limited information at Disney is always wrong.

You are not flipping kidding! I swear, that is 85% of the Disboards lately--Disney did me wrong, how can I benefit from it?

Sometimes the answer is don't be an idiot to begin with.

 

[HopperFan]

For the sake of brevity, I didn't quote your whole post. Just a couple of thoughts.

First. It wasn't in the middle of the night. And he wasn't talking to anyone at the front desk of the resort. Whether you dial a resort phone number or hit the "front desk" button on your resort phone, you are connected to a call center which may not even be on property.

Secondly, no swat team surrounded the room, nor did the "full weight and force of Disney Security and the OC PD" come down on them, it wasn't a raid ; just OC Sheriffs, knocking on the door, asking questions, and performing a room search. As for your statement about the rest of the resort being awakened and witnessing the incident, I haven't read of any such thing. Perhaps you can tell me where you read that ( I admit I haven't read the whole thread,)

Calls are monitored. The resort manager and LE would have had access to the conversation. Obviously they considered that the content of the call warranted police presence to investigate the situation. Neither you, I, or anyone else knows exactly what was said, how it was phrased, the tone of voice used, or any other parts of the conversation that may have contributed to the concern. All that we have is the subjects version of events. We also don't know what other history the subject had with Disney or if he had already been pegged as a problem guest from previous encounters.

I think you are giving far too much credence to someone who chose to take a self serving public stance instead of actually following the procedure for the appeal process.

AGREE.

One side of the story that honestly seems to be short a few details to warrant the result, quick to get on all media sources to plead his case and get sympathy ..... something more to this story. We don't know that this is all he said. He may have threatened the CM and more. Sounds like he loves Disney and travels there often, maybe he has "notes" in his MDE file. Maybe this was the final straw. WE don't know anything other than HIS "story."

Disney has no reason nor should they discuss this publicly. This has zero impact on other guests and it is none of our concern. This is a legal situation between Disney and the Guest. I don't think banning happens without serious reason. Sounds like he gave them one.

 

[JoWiJo]

We can wish for Disney to come out and state their version of events all we want. It's not likely to happen. If they do make a statement, it will be brief. And the statement will be made by, written by, or screened by a lawyer (perhaps a team of them).

Meanwhile, as we have learned from recent events, it is possible for someone with an indefinite ban at WDW to get the ban lifted. It won't be easy, though.

 

[BugsDaddy]

It is Disney's property and they have the right to refuse service to anyone. Especially idiots with loose talk of meth labs on property, regardless of how it was exactly phrased. It was such an odd comment to make that it should have drawn suspicion and there have been serious problems averted in the past by people reporting things that seem suspicious or weird albeit harmless on the surface.