the disunplugged : Most liked Posts

Hi everyone,

Sorry I’ve been quiet lately. As you can imagine, this whole story coming out can be a little overwhelming for me at times. I want all of you to know I am doing ok. I’m seeking out therapy. And you all, my friends, family and my wife are standing by my side. Thank you all again for your support.

I’ve discovered new information today. If you read my story, you know that I was incredibly drunk in Hawaii and awakened to Pete performing oral sex on me.
I’ve just been told that Pete admitted that I was drugged by him. He slipped something into my drinks that night. The following morning I felt incredibly hung over and intense shame and guilt. I’ve searched my memories and feelings. And while I don’t not remember this happening. It makes absolute sense and is more than within the realm of possibility.

Pete was just starting a relapse and had countless prescription drugs anyways. I do not know what he put in my drink. But I know now why I had even less control than normal.

This was not the only time. I’ve been told that the first several times we were physical, I was drugged. This was done so that I could not say I wanted out. If I tried to say I wasn’t into it… Pete could point back to handfuls of times that I “was into it.”

This is how he created a relationship with a straight man (in addition to every other horrible thing in my story.)

This information is new and raw. I’m still processing it. I cried when I heard it. But I’m going to be ok. I never want anything like this to ever happen to anyone ever again!

Dustin

Hi friends,

I’m still processing everything that has been revealed today. It’s been unfortunate timing with John’s statement on behalf of the company.

I will say there’s one thing that bothers me beyond everything. We keep squabbling amongst ourselves. We keep pointing blame to everyone else. We keep looking at excuses and accusations for everyone on the team.

While the nuance of inter company politics is very complicated, I want to redirect our focus. And I hope you’ll join me.

Can I make a bold statement? Pete Werner drugged and raped me. Let’s focus our anger on this man. He has resigned from all related positions of power he once held. But I can no longer tolerate his ability to escape this.

This man is the reason we’re having these conversations. If only for my sake, I beg you to redirect all anger, sadness, and hatred to this man.

Dustin

I am back temporarily from my cruise. Ironically, I booked several trips for this time of year, long ago because I just planned to travel and picked this time frame over a year ago. It ended up being great timing.

I’m reading and following along when I can but again, thanks for the continued support. I might do a Dustin style live video at some point before I leave again as well.

I’d like to flesh out my story a little bit and give even more context. I ultimately decided to share here because I felt the overwhelming majority of folks are simply looking for the truth. While I see some judgement and criticism, I understand that when people are in the public eye, I know that’s part of the deal. We can’t grow without constructive criticism.

I know that I’m by no means %100 innocent in anything that happens in my life. I’m not a passenger or some audience member watching my life happen around me. I’m an active participant. I’ll happily take responsibility for any actions that may have led me to make poor decisions. But we also need to find a common ground of what constitutes predatory behavior.

What is taking advantage of? What is inappropriate for an employer to do with an employee? There’s such subtlety in our society when it comes to these things. Movements like MeToo are trying to break walls down and define what’s right and wrong.

I’m simply hoping to find some definitive personal boundaries in MY story. I’m hoping to share my perspective of what I went through and what I deem appropriate for my life. Your mileage may vary and I don’t intend to fight back with you about those things. Let’s get started…

I’m sad to say that I too can look back on these years and realize I was never in love with Pete. I knew even then I was not attracted to him. I had never been attracted to men anyways. Some of you may wonder what my sexuality is. I’ll be open about it. I’ve always identified as a straight man.

After finding myself in a relationship with Pete, it was undeniable to me that I must be somewhere else in the broad spectrum of sexuality. I’m not on the 100% side of being completely straight. Maybe 90%? I don’t even really identify as Bi. I don’t ever really find other men attractive and I’m very happily married to my amazing wife. All I know is that this moment in my life happened and I have no intentions of denying it. Do with that what you will.

I was also not in it for the money or the travel or the opportunities. Those things were great at the beginning. But they were not why I stayed. Looking back, I realize I was paid enough to pay rent and have a decent apartment with decent things. And Pete did pay for nice dinners, travel, and fun electronics. However, most of it was work related and like I said before, the cathartic selling of all of it at my local pawn shop proved to me that those things only ever tied me down.

So why did this relationship ever start? I’m not attracted to men. I’m not money hungry. What happened? I was vulnerable, young, naïve, and at the time a chronic people pleaser. Let’s rewind a few months before I moved to Florida in the summer of 2011.

It’s April 2011 and I’m at an emotional high. My college, VCU, has just made history by going to the Final Four in the NCAA championships. I’m a senior about to graduate from the film program and I have a great group of friends. One of my good friends devised a way for me and him to move in together in Orlando with the goal being to work full-time at Walt Disney World. Then just before graduation, I get a phone call.

My best friend from childhood (we were born 10 days apart and inseparable from then on) had just died in a house fire, alongside his newlywed wife and their poor little cat. I was devastated and depressed to say the least. I had lost a brother. We had gone to different schools, so we grew apart over the course of those 4 years or so. I didn’t get to say goodbye. I went from absolute high to basically rock bottom.

I graduated and me and my other friend still planned on living in Orlando together. That plan was in motion. But now it has become an escape. I escaped Virginia and all the pain that was there. Sadly, I also left everyone there without me. Looking back, I wonder how many of them wanted me to stay or needed me.

I started working full-time at Disney. I was enjoying my job there at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I was dating here and there. Life was seemingly better. One of the things I did to distract myself was listen to the DISUnplugged. I had been listening since basically the beginning. I always thought to myself that the show could easily be made into a video show. I saw that things were going in that direction for other podcasts. I also felt they could use an upgrade in their video presence in general. Ride throughs, media events, etc..

I listened out for any opportunities where the team was doing meets in the parks and I eventually met several members of the team. Eventually I connected with Corey and he hired me to do a freelance video of the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in the Fall of 2011. This was all intentional. I made myself known to the team and I was eager to help their website. I wanted to be a part of the team. I wanted them to be my friends.

The first time I ever met Pete in person was at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter DISApalooza in December 2011. He was smoking a cigarette in the smoking section. I joined him and talked to him about the video I shot for them. It was a short conversation that apparently he has no recollection of. But nonetheless I think this helped put me on his radar.

This all led up to the Disney Fantasy media sailing. This was meant to be my tryout. If I nailed this, there was the idea that I’d get a full-time position with the DIS. It was a success and I was offered a full-time position as their Director of Video and New Media. I cannot remember exact numbers but my starting salary was somewhere in the $30,000s. By the way, this was actually an upgrade from Walt Disney World.

At the start, I was working from my own home like anyone else in the company would. I had invested in setting up my own little office area. I was covering media events and special parties. But then came time to start working on the video show. This involved working out of Pete’s home for a large amount of time. I was installing equipment in the studio (two bedrooms with the wall knocked out), going on shopping trips at Best-Buy and Sam Ash, and working on the floor plan. I had set up shop kind of temporarily there and most of my days were spent there.

Around this same time. Pete’ personal friend from back in New Jersey, Kevin (a different one) had reappeared in his life. I remember the two of them having private conversations like they were two teenagers in high school. Sometimes giggling, sometimes Kevin reassuring Pete while he was crying. I wasn’t allowed in the office during those times. Those were private moments.

Then one day during all of this, I get called into the office. Pete comes clean to me about how he has feelings for me. I assume spending all that time together at his house sped this process up. We got along great when there was no external pressure. I thought to myself at times that I was working for a really funny person who understood my passions and we had a great collaborative relationship.

So when he told me, he asked if that would be an issue for me. I said no. Again I had this great working relationship and I foolishly thought I could work around the knowledge of my boss having a crush on me. I say “crush” cause that’s what it felt like. He and Kevin going off and giggling or gossiping. Kevin pulled me to the side and tried to give me advice. I now know that this was all a manipulation. I’m confident he sent Kevin to talk to me, become my friend, get information about how I really felt. It was all very high school-esque.

I was somehow able to manage to keep things separated for a few months. By October 2012, we were off to London and Paris for a private Adventures by Disney tour hosted by Dreams Unlimited Travel. Of course, during this adventure we were sharing a room the whole time, to help reduce the costs and occupancy of the trip. This had happened before during some hotel reviews and I was never fully comfortable with it, especially after he had told me he had feelings for me.

So just to push pause for a second. I want you to remember that I’m very vulnerable. I’ve lost my best friend and I’m desperately trying to find a new friend, a new group, a new family here in Orlando. I find a person who’s great to work with, our personalities mesh pretty well, and we’re having fun. He tells me he has feelings, but I don’t want to lose the friendship and I don’t want to lose the job. I’ve made it very clear that I don’t have feelings, but I’m willing to put up with the awkwardness to continue doing my dream. Right now, the happiness to misery ratio is probably 85 happy to 15 miserable (on the sliding scale.)

We’re in London. Almost immediately into this trip, he uses a brand new phrase: “Emotional Relationship.” I find the timing interesting. He was OK existing as is back at home. The minute we're overseas, far from home, he has a conversation with me TELLING me that we’re not friends. How could we be? The way we work together and the laughter and fun. He TELLS me this is an emotional relationship. There’s no physical touch, but this definitely isn’t a friendship.

I’m secluded. I can’t drive home. I have to go to the same hotel room every night with this man for 2 weeks. I have no escape. Then he brings up this new development to the relationship. I push back at every instance. He cries and misses out on several parts of the adventure. I have to cover for him by the way; coming up with excuses for his absence (this became a recurring theme that even Sean has pointed out.)

At some point in the trip, during one of our multiple hours-long late-night conversations… I cave. I admit that logically I can see that this is more than just a friendship. There’s something special here. Never in my heart did I think it was romantic. But he latches on to my acknowledgement like I’ve never seen before.

All of a sudden, the trip wasn't so bad. Nothing has changed internally for me really. I’m able to enjoy myself. I feel like I acknowledged his feelings after very long intensive grill sessions… and we can move on.

On one of the nights, we were in London, I was asleep in my bed. There were two full/queen beds during this trip (thank God.) Pete had gotten pretty upset with me. I was late for a podcast recording in London. Everything ultimately went fine, but I had gotten held up at the London Eye with John and Kevin and the rest of the group. That experience was on our Itinerary, and I still don’t fully understand why he was upset that day. Pete went to bed upset and I went to sleep pretty tipsy (after hours of deep conversation and telling me why and how I can be better.) I woke up groggy to this man on his knees, next to my bed, reaching under my sheets and touching me inappropriately.

I didn’t know what to do, so I pretended to be asleep, shake him off me, and roll over into the opposite direction. I was now wide awake in the bed, pretending to be asleep. I think realized he almost got caught. He went back to his bed. I never mentioned this encounter to him ever again.

What should have I done? Confront him right there? Yes. I know that now. I’ve had over 10 years to relive this moment. This moment set the stage for how I approached the next 3 years. That sliding scale of misery I mentioned earlier… we’re sliding now. Sliding further and further down.

Initially I had shame. Shame that a man had touched me. Forgive me, but I grew up in a society where it was taboo to be gay even though I never felt that way personally. On top of that, I never identified as gay or even curious. Who could I tell? If I told anyone, they’d tell me what I was doing was wrong, they’d tell me to give up my entire dream or they might kill this man .

The shame, guilt, and the desire to hide this friendship/emotional relationship/relationship was what fueled everything. I couldn’t tell my family. Strike #1. Pete used my shame to guilt me further and further down the path of a relationship. He might say things like “How could I have let things like this happen if I wasn’t into it?” So that’s Strike #2. My friends and co-workers knew parts of it but I was hiding most of it. The balancing act that built for another 3 years eventually tipped that misery scale to 100% into the opposite direction.

This is just the beginning. This is the "why." This is only less than a year into working at the DIS. I’m leading a double/triple life. I’m lying to friends and family and pleasing the one person who gave me the ultimate piece of bait dangling from the hook. He could be my real friend. Something I had so recently lost.

The next few years played out on screen for a lot of people. After reading this, I challenge you to go back and watch my smile being forced through my teeth. I’ll continue the story. There’s so much more to dive into. It doesn’t end here.

The Mando said:

Haha thanks. I feel like I’m as patient as I can be. I rarely lose my cool and I have good spacial awareness so I try to be courteous to everyone, but Pete is another story.

That man dragged me for filth every chance he got for months when I met him. I’ve never met anyone that both praised and trashed anyone before. When Pete was happy, I was perfect, beautiful, Linda Evangelista and when he was mad, I’ve never heard a human being that claimed to love a person say the things he would say. I wouldn’t even expect someone who hated my guts, to call me the names he would call me.

I eventually just lost my patient and would just cut the crap at the beginning and start the fight as seen below. You can clearly see I got 236 other texts to get back to, I don’t have time to talk about Chinese Food, I’m busy trying to run a company at 2:50am.

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The DIS Unplugged #7: Congrats Pete on Having Great Chinese Food!

DISbored said:

Charles Boda just commented on DIS boards supporting Dustin this is insane.

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From Dis Boards - By Charles Boda here:

Pete confessed to me the truth of what he did to you after almost two years of villainizing you as the one who "broke his heart." Here is how that played out:

As most DIS fans know, I have a felony. What they don't realize is that the "domestic partner" everyone thinks I stabbed was actually an abusive roomate who drugged my drinks and sexually assaulted me. We were never in a relationship, and although I suspected he was obsessed with me, I wasn't entirely aware of the assaults until he showed me pictures of them. I vomitted. The next time he put his hands on me I defended myself. My abuser even tried to visit me in jail to get me to move back into the apartment we shared. Instead, I became homeless but my abuser continued to stalk me for months.

Cut to a few years later. I was living in Pete's spare bedroom and working for the DIS. Pete was my sponsor in an addiction recovery program. He was sitting in his office with me and explained his true behavior to you in some detail. No one else on staff knew, and they likely believed his fictional account of how you "broke his heart."

I told Pete what he did to you was essentially what my abuser did to me. Pete replied that he decided to be my sponsor (after initially thinking I was hot and then finding out I was straight) because helping me would be making amends for what he did to you. This was an emotionally damaging revelation (I was his penance for abusing someone else) and I felt like a fool for letting another abuser get close to me. I did not give him the judgement-free response he thought he was owed. After 3 days of checking my bathroom for hidden cameras (he admitted he had used them before), I moved out of the house but could not afford to quit the DIS.

I continued working and tried not to focus on what I knew about him. I didn't want to be homeless again after so much work turning my life around. I was scared and confused. Eventually, on a trip to DL, I lwt Pete know I was upset that he was involved in fat-shaming Kevin and John at a work dinner without them present. Pete does not accept any criticism from anyone, so he immediately cut me off from certain jobs responsibilities. I spoke with my girlfriend about his behavior when I got home and she helped me confrot what I'd been trying to block out the entire time. Pete is a narcissistic sexual predator who controls eveyone he knows, friends, family, employees, by getting them on his payroll somehow and using his money to exert power over them. Things that were treated normal by Pete ("take close-up pictures of that hot singer at at Tiana's Place, I'm gonna ask the Maitre D' if I can get a private meeting. They know who I am here.) that we'd just avoid and get back to our real work suddenly couldn't be avoided.

Once I faced that reality, I couldn't pretend anymore. I couldn't even look Pete in the face without revulsion. I refused to be controlled, left the DIS, and went freelance.

I internally debated coming out openly about what I had learned, but telling my story meant telling yours. I didn't think it was right to bring you into a public discussion. The internet can be very cruel and victimshaming.

Please forgive my lack of communication, but I have a lot of PTSD about what happened to me by my abuser and then Pete's confession after years of lying to me to gain my trust.

While working for the DIS I loved my job and my coworkers. Few people enabled Pete, most folks were just controlled or extorted by him. There are a lot of victims to go around.

I don't know if this reply will see the light of day. Life has been much more healthy and happy since I left the DIS. I don't want to open up Pandora's box of internet cruelty. Even if I have, I guess it's important to remember what was at the bottom of that mythical box after all the negative forces were set loose on the world: Hope.

I hope you're well. I hope you forgive my silence. I hope someone, somehow, learns from this.

TLDR: I knew, Pete confessed to me, I'm sorry

DISbored said:

Again you saved so many people from this potential behavior. Thank you for your story dude I just hope you can make a come back somehow in the Disney vlogger atmosphere as the professional and passion you had drew me into the podcast.

Was that really your wife in the chat last week?

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Haha thanks so much! Yeah that was her! She was fired up. When I tell you I met my true soulmate, my best friend, my biggest cheerleader.... i can't even begin. She will fight to the death to protect me... and me for her. I've found happiness. I have all the support I'll ever need.

DisneyVloggerFails said:

Just want to state this for the record.

I have every right to be here. I have every right to express my opinions on a topic I find interesting and that I am passionate about.

I do not appreciate the gang-up type mentality I am seeing here. I do not appreciate not being taken seriously.

Pete has been apart of all of our lives, some of us more intimately, some of us from a business perspective, and some of us just as viewers. I have a right to speak here.

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I think you’re trolling but I do think everyone has the right to their own opinion. They have the right to question us and the right to not believe us and they have the right to voice that view.

Speaking as one of the sources of the situation I can only sum up my account. And I get that being an escort can change people views on my side of things. That said, Pete and I entered specific agreements for transactions. I knew what to expect and he knew what to pay. When things shifted and I was brought on and working for him, I was given money in exchange for work, like any other job. This came with strings attached that I wasn’t aware of, which was a ‘relationship’ - that was essentially baby sitting.

Most of it didn’t even occur when I was at home. It was usually when he had me somewhere outside of Florida and it was where I had very little options of where I could go to remove myself from the situation.

I actually didn’t realize the situation until I read Dustin’s account and was like, wow this is crazy and then realized it was a very similar story to mine. I had just become numb to the whole ordeal. And I think I blacked out a lot of the memories anyway.

On the off chance you aren’t a troll - I also do not feel sympathy for you. You don’t like getting ‘ganged up on’ for your opinion?…..I got to read thousands of posts ragging on everything my weight to my opinions.

If I can take it in stride, so can you. You’ll live.

I’d like to say thank you to everyone for all the well wishes. Sorry I haven’t been as active in here. Obviously it’s been a very busy couple days on here. Plus I’ve been quite busy at home. It means so much to see a group of people read our stories and show compassion and understanding. In the next several days (after I have some time away from work) I plan on adding to my story. I’ll try my best to answer more questions as well too. Thanks again everyone!

Hi everyone!

I just wanna say I really appreciate the vast majority of people on here who can recognize the subtle nuances of me and Sean’s stories. It really means a lot that you’re all standing with us! I’ve been super busy with work, but keeping up on this conversation.

I’ll address a few things really quickly. I never came in here looking for any action other than telling my story and helping others. After me putting the story out there… I understand that it will take a life if its own.

Also I want to make it very clear. In my particular case… the rest of the crew had no idea what was happening. They tried their absolute best to be my friends during the time. But I was hiding the truth from them. So they were only working off of the information presented to them.

I’m not even positive Pete fully understands what he did/does. Hopefully, when he reads this, he will see it in a different light. But in truth, he lives in his own narrative, and that is doubtful to happen.

I plan on writing part 3 and 4 this weekend and I so look forward to it! I’ve been digging through my work/travel history while I was there. I uncovered trips that I completely forgot I took! For example I completely blacked out that I went on an ABD to Arizona/Utah.

After doing the math I realized that during my whole time there…AT LEAST 1 week out of every month on average was spent traveling with Pete. It just hits home for me that his ideal scenario is escaping away from home/reality and pulling power moves in a hotel room. And it’s no wonder why I’ve blacked some of this out of my memory.

I’ll do my best to be active! But again, thanks to everyone who has been so supportive. Can’t wait to drop the next portions of my story!

~Dustin

We talk so much shit on here but can anyone else agree that they are incredibly happy for Craig and his family?

So here we are. Part 2 of the grand story of Dustin working at The DIS and the tumultuous road we all walked down. This story all leads to the “Destination Disneyland” or “Beyond the Parks” portion of our adventure. A trip where, I, Pete, Craig, and Shaun Thompson traveled to Aulani in Hawaii, took an Alaskan cruise on the Disney Wonder, and ended up on the Backstage Magic ADB in Southern California and Disneyland.

I will admit. The trauma of the whole situation has made my memory of the whole and complete 3.5 years a little foggy. The details, however, are very clear. I’ve taken the time to put together a timeline of the major projects, travel, and events that were going on so I can piece together my thoughts. I don’t know if anyone else has gone through a trauma like this, but your brain is pretty good at glossing stuff over to protect you. Once I’ve been able to unlock the timeline (by meticulously going through email, texts, YouTube videos, etc.) the story unfolds. I’ll share the timeline for Part 2 with you now so you can follow along.

November 2012

• Boardwalk Resort Hotel Review
• Took a trip home to VA

December 2012

• New Fantasyland Media Event
• Podcast Cruise 4.0 on the Disney Fantasy
• Took a trip home to VA for Christmas

January 2012

• New Years Eve at Beach Club / Epcot
• Filmed 7 Resorts in 7 Days

February

• 02/05/13 – First Live Video Show

March 2013

• Flower and Garden Intensive Coverage
• My Brother and Sister-in-Law visit Orlando

April 2013

• “DIS Team Goes West” Disneyland trip / “Memories of” series
• New Jersey DIS Meet

May 2013

• Took a trip to Richmond VA with Pete (He relapsed on alcohol)
• Disney Beyond the Parks - Aulani / Alaska Cruise Disney Wonder / Backstage Magic ABD

What I’ve laid out for you here is pretty typical for the early years of me being there and the video show. I’m covering 7 months and already I notice that I either traveled away from Orlando or did an on-site hotel review at least 10 times. Throughout those 3.5 years there were other personal trips and random cruise that aren’t even accounted for. Basically, at least once, if not twice a month, I was gone from my home for at least a week. Why I bothered signing leases and paying rent I’ll never know. When you consider the rest of the time was spent at Pete’s house / office.

I’m just going to go chronologically. Some of these events were juicier than others. I’ll do my best to recall every detail I can. Let’s take it one month at a time, shall we?

November 2012

• Boardwalk Resort Hotel Review
• Took a trip home to VA

I have very little recollection at all of the Boardwalk review. I’ve put this here because I see that we did a show based on it. I don’t believe anything major happened during that review. I do however remember my trip back home to Virginia.

Every now and then I could convince Pete to agree that I had a life… That I needed to go home and see my family and friends. This particular instance I went back home to my hometown of Lynchburg, VA. I remember having to constantly come up with the excuse of “having to go for a walk” at least 3 times a day so I could go have an hour-long conversation with Pete on the Phone. Sometimes my parents, family, or friends were just twiddling their thumbs waiting for me to return and he was just talking to me about the inanest details of his life. He refused to let me off the phone without throwing a major hissy fit.

So right then and there a major part of my time is balancing my family and friends at home with phone conversations with Pete. Ugh. But one night on this trip I decided to go out with a few friends to some local bars. We had quite a good time. All of a sudden, I have a few girls from my high school who kind of see me in a new light. I end up making out with a few of them at the bars. It’s crazy. Part of this is mental retaliation on my part. “I have to prove that I’m straight!” The other part is just pure release. I put my phone on silent and I had one hell of a night.

I woke up the next morning to a bunch of missed calls, emails, and texts. I believe I admitted to Pete to going out with friends and getting drunk, but never to making out with women. If Pete is reading this right now it will be the first time he realizes that (whenever that may happen.) This was 100% me acting out on confusion. I look back now and realize this was an escape as well. I needed to ground myself in friends, family, and what I know to be true about myself. It was also a way for me to just have fun. Something I hadn’t done in months.

December 2012

• New Fantasyland Media Event
• Podcast Cruise 4.0 on the Disney Fantasy
• Took a trip home to VA for Christmas

I remember the New Fantasyland Media event being incredibly stressful. There was soooo much to cover and only a little time. We were so concerned about our competition at the time. I remember thinking that Ricky Brigante was going to go out to his car and upload his videos. The amount of stress put on us to be the first (not the best) was intense. I do, however, remember having a great time with Corey at this event.

The build up to Podcast Cruise 4.0 on the Fantasy was intense. The live show was going to tease our new video podcast releasing in February. We put in a lot of work leading up to this and a lot was on the line. Me a Pete worked really hard to make those teasers and live shows really good. I’ve watched them recently and recognize that we could’ve done so much better. But there was a lot of personal drama going on. So, only so much energy can be put into certain things.

I cannot remember the details. But I believe I distinctly remember that on Podcast Cruise 4.0 I had my own State Room. For appearances only. I, however, was required to stay in whatever presidential suite Pete had booked. I always felt bad for the State Room Attendant who had my room. He probably thought I was a serial killer or something because I was never there, and he never had to clean. I did personally leave him a tip in case you were wondering. I don’t remember anything overly terrible happening on Podcast Cruise 4.0. Other than just my general state of being of course.

Let’s remember that with every passing day. I’m being guilted further and further into a deeper relationship with a man that I’m not attracted to and don’t really like anymore. Honestly, It’s all the little (not little) things that add up. Getting jealous if I talk to my friends or family. Pushing a wedge between me and my good friend who was also my roommate. Taking all my free time, alone time, at home time. I’m slowly losing my sense of self and becoming a servant of the betterment of Pete.

The last note in December is that I took a trip home for Christmas. Based on pictures, I know for a fact that I did. Sadly, I have no recollection of this trip. I don’t know, I was probably drunk on Christmas morning, however. We’ll notice a trend through all of this that from the very beginning my drinking started getting heavier and heavier with each passing month. I’ve never gotten to the point where I think I have a serious problem. But it is a coping mechanism. I gained weight and drank more heavily toward the end of it. I like to think now that I drink for fun, not for need.

January 2012

• New Years Eve at Beach Club / Epcot
• Filmed 7 Resorts in 7 Days

I remember at the New Years event in Epcot, I was miserable. We did a show on it and he raved about how it was the best experience ever! But we spent that whole time fighting about Me not committing, not coming out, and spending too much time with friends and family.

That argument continued into the filming of the first 7 in 7. I remember that being so miserable. At one point he got angry at me for shaving my beard. I even told him it was an accident. I had set the guard on my clippers too low and he legit got mad at me. Just the little stuff. The little arguments that ultimately tied into the bigger picture stuff. I think He was constantly paranoid that I didn’t want to be with him. And he was right! The problem was he would then go on to have never-ending night-long conversations convincing me why I should be his boyfriend/lover/soul mate.

February

• 02/05/13 – First Live Video Show

I actually look back fondly on the beginning of the live video shows. Those were really fun. It was my hard work coming to life. They weren’t perfect. But no one else at that time could’ve done it the way we did.

March 2013

• Flower and Garden Intensive Coverage
• My Brother and Sister-in-Law visit Orlando

March was quiet as well. We spent a lot of time at Flower and Garden festival at Epcot. It was the major focus cause it changed so much that year. Another personal note is that my brother and sister-in-Law visited me and my friend and we had such a good time going to a concert downtown in Orlando.

April 2013

• “DIS Team Goes West” Disneyland trip / “Memories of” series
• New Jersey DIS Meet

This is where my long term / bigger picture memory problem becomes a real problem. You could’ve told me that my “Memories of Disneyland” and other videos were part of the big Beyond the Parks trip and I would’ve believed you. I’m telling you; I’ve been on so many random cruises and trips to Disneyland, I can’t even keep track now. I’m not saying that to sound cool. I’m trying to convey the intensity and instability of my day-to-day life at that time. So needless to say, I remember filming those videos, but I have no real recollection of that trip in general.

I believe the New Jersey DIS Meet to raise money for Give Kids The World may have been one of the first times people probably started speculating about me a Pete having a relationship. We were sharing a room, and that trend continued. Otherwise, nothing major happened that I can recall.

May 2013

• Took a trip to Richmond VA with Pete (He relapsed on alcohol)
• Disney Beyond the Parks - Aulani / Alaska Cruise Disney Wonder / Backstage Magic ABD

At some point in early May of 2013, Me and Pete took a trip to Richmond, VA. I don’t remember why, but I have proof of it in my photos. If I remember correctly, He wanted to try to connect with my friends. Me spending time with my friends was always a sore spot for him. I think he just has no one. And I have so many people who love me. It’s jealousy and envy. But it was also him trying his best to realize that I was not willing to cut them out of my life (though he wished I would.)

I know that one night, in the hotel we were staying in, he freakin’ cleared out the mini bar. I woke up to him drunk off his ass crying. Sipping on little airplane bottles lying on the floor next to the bed. The next day he seemed to be filled with guilt for drinking after however many years it had been. We got lunch and tried to talk about it. Honestly, and I wish I could say differently, but at that point, in my heart of hearts, I truly didn’t care.

I talked to him and tried to convince him that it was a one-time thing. He could get back on the horse and just continue life. But this moment led to basically a whole year of drinking and smoking weed heavily. IT was not pleasant. I don’t know if any of you have dealt with an active addict using, but it’s not fun. I became a babysitter.

Aulani. This was my first time flying literally “overseas” even though it’s America. We get there and the first few days are filled with capturing Aulani on film and preparing for our live show. It’s an intense couple days with me, Pete, Craig, and Shaun. We eventually take a break from all the intensive shooting and went to this absolutely incredible bar across the street called Monkey Pod. I still would love it and feel nostalgic. We had a blast. And I got Insanely drunk probably due to all my current situations in my life but also because we just had an insane couple days of shooting.

I’ll never forget, in the middle of the night, I wake up this man performing oral sex on me. Up to this point we had acknowledged the “Emotional Relationship.” Nothing physical (with the exception of the big bomb drop in London from part 1) had ever happened. The other guys on the team knew it was a complicated relationship. But nothing was ever explicitly said to them or between me and Pete. I did not want this, expect this, or ask for this. I remember him saying something to the affect of “You’re hard, let me just make you feel good.”

This time, out of fear of repercussion, I agreed in my drunken state. I just wanted to go back to bed and not be in an argument. When I woke up, I remember feeling like my life had changed. Things were different now. I had a morning cigarette with Pete and I was scared to even talk or acknowledge what happened. He did a lot of work on me telling me that it was good that it finally happened.

We went on a wilderness adventure that day in Hawaii and I might as well have been on a different planet. My thoughts and feelings had left my body and brain. I was gone. I felt violated. But I had to push through because yet again, he had chosen the beginning of a 3-week trip in isolation to make his move. I had nowhere to go, did I? looking back I should’ve gotten on the next plane home. But I continued what turned out to be the most up and down trip we ever covered.

Hawaii was like an out of body experience for me. I felt so disgusted with myself. Again, not because it was a man. But because I never asked for any of this. Why does it always happen on the road, in isolation, in a hotel room. In my sleep??? And remember he was DRUNK now this whole time!

The rest of the trip was fraught with turmoil. Fights with me and Pete. The other guys not understanding and getting caught in the middle. Honestly it was all whirlwind. But I’ll never forget the day after everything went down. We were going on an excursion in Hawaii to a remote island only accessible by a small boat for lunch. I was afraid to get on that boat. If Hawaii wasn’t remote enough. Agreeing to go on that boat meant that I would be even further isolated with this monster.

I wish I had more tea for the rest of that trip. Looking back at the videos I realize I was very drunk for most of them. Yikes!. It was my only escape at the time. 3 weeks in Hawaii, Alaska and California. All the craziness stared on like the 3rd day. I imagine Craig and Shaun could fill in a lot more of the story than I could. Cause once that first event occurred, I disengaged from life.

To be continued…

Ryno, Craig, and Erica did a livestream on Patreon this morning from Hollywood Studios. Erica seemed very relaxed, in fact, a little loopy and out of it.

Hot takes included:

• A new studio has not been secured. They are not sure when studio shows will return or how it will be structured. They may go to an audio only podcast format.
• Erica owns 15 Loungefly bags.
• Ryno owns 10 Light Sabers.
• The DCL Show may not return - there's no one qualified on the team at the moment to take it on. They will, however, have cruise content, but may not have a dedicated show to DCL.
• Craig said that as far as the "controversy" goes, the company has made statements and that is all they can say at the moment until certain legal issues are resolved. They have been given permission to make personal statements.
• Craig said he is still working on his personal statement. Ryno came across a little combative at first during this segment, definitely defensive. Ryno said he knows people want dirty details and he wants to balance the truth with gossip.
• Craig said he is slowly starting to remember stories and things that he clearly repressed. He said he was taken advantage of, but he wants to understand his role in everything.
• Craig said definitely there was manipulation, there was assault. Erica couldn't look up, she seemed very emotional. Her shoulders pulled inward and her body language was speaking for her.
• Craig said he is processing things. He is going through things in his mind over the last ten years and everything he thought he knew was wrong. He said he knows that it was a toxic work environment and that everyone who worked there knew things were not right. He said that PW was a master manipulator - and both Ryno and Erica shook there heads yes and agreed quickly. They agreed that the word narcissist didn't really apply because it was so much more than that.
• Ryno and Erica agreed that everyone needs a safe place to share if they want to. He said he has guilt by association.
• Ryno said Craig probably suffered the most out of these three.
• Craig wants to apologize to people for things he did and said to people, as he believed he was being a supervisor, and doing things he was told to do. But now realizes that he was being manipulated. He knows now that he was being used as a tool by someone else.
• Erica said it didn't take her long to see things were toxic and wrong, but she is very proud of how Ryno and Craig are handling things.
• Ryno feels that the "bogeyman" is still out there and he is working through having someone lurking over his shoulder and is going to be berated. He also mentioned PW doesn't have access to their content so they can say and do what they want without fear. Ryno said PW knows where he lives, so he actually does worry.
• They did not mention Corey. They made reference to John and certain things would be his decision going forward.

Now you're caught up.

I’ve decided to do a live show similar to Dustin’s tomorrow or Wednesday, if people have questions or whatever. I’ve never done one myself so we will see how it goes.

minimax said:

GODDD he's such a piece of shit!

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He is. My dad was not a great person and he grew up in a bad home life as a kid.

When I was a kid, he converted to Christianity and he’s the only person I’ve ever known who I truly believe changed.

I know everyone has their own beliefs about God, the afterlife or Christianity and a religion and I struggle with it myself as a gay person but before he died, Pete bought my dad an iPad and set it up with my login stuff.

When my dad opened it, it had all the things that Pete had been sending me and my dad was furious. He was the first family member I had that found out. When he was going into hospice he asked me if I wanted him to kill Pete since he was dying anyway. I told him that I didn’t believe Pete’s life was worth his soul and that I could handle it someday.

And this is the first time I’ve really dealt with that. I haven’t had a lot of love in my life and I wasn’t close to my dad, but my dad was willing to risk his soul to stop that man for me and after he died, Pete asked me what my dad thought of him and I told him he liked him because I was afraid.

I wish so badly that I told him that my dad was willing to kill him for me and that he was the only one who knew and had my back in the whole thing.
---
I know how it all sounds and it’s really awful, but I am rooting for him to get better. I hope he does.

Hi all! Glad to be here in Part 7 of this crazy story!

DisneyVloggerFails said:

I mean, ok I guess? thanks for asking.

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Good I'm glad to hear. I'm doing good too. All things considered, everyone's been pretty supportive and nice. It really does my heart good. What got you into Disney related content.... Disney World, Disneyland? For me it was going on trips with my parents as far back as I can remember to Disney World. It was always my dream to work there, and I finally did!

DISbored said:

@imjenilynn in this office on Monday when they say hey didn’t you work with that guy?

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No, Craig landed a position in one of the most prestigious departments in the company. I’ll likely tell people, “Craig and I are like .”

I couldn’t be happier for him. He’s been looking for and working towards his out for a long time. In truth, he’s been chasing it doggedly. You guys haven’t been able to see it, but that’s where his effort has been.

I am celebrating this for his family. Craig will now have a lot of healing to do. The PTSD will kick in, and he will have a real case of “survivor’s guilt,” but the healing can finally start. I couldn’t celebrate this more.
---

cavamom said:

I wonder if he’s doing something similar to @imjenilynn ??

Click to expand...

He isn’t, but it seems likely our departments will work on projects together sometimes, and that means there is a chance I will get to work sort of with him at some point.

He said:

Hi Tattlers, sorry for the length of this post but I have five years to mentally sift through and I dont really know where to start. I was on the DIS and one of the requirements is The ability to ramble, so I apologize in advance.
I have learned that one of the biggest parts of growing up is realizing that life is your journey but that doesn't make you the hero. I have sat around trying to think of what Disney story my life with Pete was for years and I shifted around. I used to think he was Gaston but that didn't feel quite right. Then I thought maybe he was Prince John from Robin Hood, sniveling over his riches and whining, while not being capable of doing anything for himself, but that would make me Robin Hood and that didn't feel right because Im not him. Then it hit me....he's Judge Claude Frollo - he's self righteous, attacks anyone who doesn't agree with him, and we all know his stuff with Esmeralda (0.0) - however, I am not Esmeralda so the story didn't work for me. Im a friendly guy but she's way better than I am lol.

So, at some point I was out doing showings, thinking through all this and I finally found a winner. This is Alice in Fucking Wonderland! Moving To Orlando, Dreams Unlimited Travel, The DIS and all of it is a complete mindfuck. People are running around, doing nonsensical things that should never happen in a professional job setting and nobody can stop themselves because its all anybody knows. You are so far down the rabbit hole that you truly forget that other places don't operate the way this operates. Joining as Alice, I walked from thing to thing asking people logically, why do we do this?
'Why are you running through the water trying to get dry?' - 'BECAUSE THATS HOW YOU GET DRY!'
'Why do we not come up with topics for shows until the morning of filming?' - 'Because that's how we do things'

I used to stress myself trying to figure out why everything just seems to be done illogically and I couldn't get an answer. Were all mad here, I guess. So, Im just Alice the bystander - who got involved in the wrong hole (no pun intended) and this is all led by the main offender who made Wonderland a shit show, The Queen. The people involved in all companies run by the Queen are playing a game where the rules are decided by the emotions of the Queen's heart. You think you are winning and you have the most points but then the Queen decides that the lowest score wins and it's off with your head! You did everything logically and right but The Queen's power is absolute and the sun rises and sets when she says so and if it doesn't it must be destroyed too.

Once I realized I wasn't the hero in the story, it all made sense. I was Alice. Not a hero, just a person - in a very warped place. And when I broke out of that mentality, I knew I had to go back through the looking glass and smash it on my way out - I just want sanity and peace.. I don't care anymore what they do in that place and the citizens were kind to me but had clearly been infected by Wonderland over the years and I was getting infected too. I Love Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and at one point Anastasia says 'I always thought Wonder stood for 'Wonderful' but I realize now it's "wonder how I'm gonna make it' and I finally understand that statement.......Wonderland can eat my ass.



Now onto Tattle. I like that website because it gives people a place to bitch. Everybody needs a bitchin' place and I dont want to confirm too many things because half the fun is being unsure about the truth. That being said, if Pete ever wondered about the state of his company, he would realize that only having 2 pages of gossip isn't the flex he thinks it is. It means you're irrelevant, not beloved. However, I was sad that tattle didn't put DIS content in the influencer page. Pete hates the term influencer because he thinks they are 'Brain dead girls taking photos in front of the castle for self promotion' and not real work like his - so he never wants to be compared to an influencer - despite that being exactly what he is.

I was brought on to the DIS in 2017 and I didn't know what the DIS was, I didn't even know people had podcasts about Disney, so I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I had been to Disney in 2006 and in 2013 and then moved to Orlando and worked at the parks for a bit in 2014. I did have an annual pass but didn't really experience anything Disney had to offer outside the rides. When Pete asked me to appear on camera, I had no idea what I was supposed to say or talk about. He started me on a live show on a Tuesday and I told him I didn't think I should be on the show because I just didn't know enough to talk about Disney news, but he had full faith in me. That made me feel good, not knowing that it was just because I was the starchild of the month. I was the person who sorts the fan emails and I knew very clearly where the audience stood on everyone, including myself. I was later asked to join Dining shows and I mention it because it's been a topic of conversation for a long time and I want to clear that up. I had NO business being on the dining show, but not for the reason people think. Sidebar - I didn't refuse to eat at Garden Grill because it was Smuckers or whatever. When my family came in 2013 on our trip, we had free dining and Garden Grill was what we arbitrarily chose for our sit down. When we arrived and saw the Smuckers emblem we switched to Tutto Italia because we assumed we had chosen a breakfast place or something.

Dining Shows should not exist in the format that they are in. I think it's a great idea to showcase food from the Disney parks and talk about it, but the way people act like they went to culinary school is ridiculous. I felt so uncomfortable being expected to critique the food but to my credit, I did order a variety of things. I know it was a big deal that I hadn't eaten a hotdog (still havent) and it negated anything I had to say from that point forward. But my family never bought them when I was kid, so I never ate one and as an adult, I just never have had an interest because I know they don't tend to be good quality so I can get a burger or nachos or something that I know I already like. People do have the impression that I was a picky eater and I dont agree, I ate in every restaurant and tried pretty much anything that was ever put in front of me. I didn't gain 80 pounds by being picky. I finally told Pete I wouldn't do Dining Shows anymore after Boma breakfast years ago. I tried everything on the buffet and I just didn't love the food (im not a breakfast person) but I still gave it a 10/10 because I felt it had a lot of variety and the quality was good, it just wasn't my taste. The audience still rip my ass apart, so I just knew there was nothing else to do at that point. The funniest part is, if you watch, Pete orders the same meal EVERY TIME. He only orders steak. Every now and then he will get pork of some kind but 9 times out of 10, he gets steak. He is a chain smoker and doesn't even try 1 bite before he drowns it in salt. When I started (go back and watch if you have nothing better to do than watch paint dry) and you will see that Pete never eats vegetables before 2018/2019 and when he does it is only asparagus or broccoli (occasionally Brussel sprouts) but Pete is BY FAR the pickiest eater of the whole group. He doesn't like any asian except teriyaki chicken and rice, he doesn't like any latin cuisines, he hates seafood, he doesn't like Indian food or anything traditional for that matter. When we went to Japan, Turkey and Romania and I had to beg him to have 1 authentic meal in those countries because he only likes his bubble of things.

Here is a general rundown of a dining review....
We arrive and don't do the intro before the meal. Pete sits and the producer runs around getting B-roll. Pete sits annoyed because he is ready to order since he had time to look at the menu and the producer doesn't. Producer is scolded, comes back and orders and Pete is now annoyed and will take it out on the server. Pete insists on everyone ordering their entree and appetizers at the same time. Pete sits and sighs loudly looking at his phone until someone asks what's wrong and then he says 'nothing, just everyone Is an idiot, im gonna go smoke' and then he has 1 person go with him to keep him company. While he is having to LITERALLY LEAVE THE PARK TO GO SMOKE - we are served appetizers. We sit and wait for Pete because we can't start eating until he has arrived back and given the all clear. The food has been on the table for 5-10 minutes and is untouched, he arrives back and we finally start eating. However, Pete has no salt and is immediately annoyed that the server isn't standing right there to give it to him. He waits for their return and finally gets salt. He drown each bite in salt before he eats it and then says 'this is disgusting, it was clearly sitting in the back under a heat lamp because it's lukewarm and not fresh' - I stare at him with dead eyes wondering if he understands the concept that food gets cold over time while it sits on a fucking table. Then the entrees arrive......but appetizers are not finished and we haven't even begun to pass the camera around to discuss the appetizers. Pete scolds the server about rushing him through the meal and explains that they should be more respectful to paying customers. The server returns the entrees to the kitchen. We eat. They take our plates and Pete makes a nasty comment like 'and NOW you can bring out the entrees, when the guest is done with the appetizer' - Then we get entrees and its eaten....BUT WAIT, it was in the back sitting on a heat lamp! So we go through the whole thing again. Then the meal is done (or is it?) because Pete must leave to smoke again. While he is gone, we are asked if we will be on one check and we say, no we need dessert menus. Pete is gone forever, eventually returns and orders dessert and coffee and is promptly pissed when the server brings the check and says no rush, ill just leave this here, leaving the bill. He then explains to them again why that wrong for him and the server sheepishly walks away. He then gets on camera and says how wonderful the server is before leaving them a large tip and then explaining to everyone at the table what the bill was an how much of a tip he left, reminding us, I used to be a server so I have a soft spot for them. Then we leave and do the intro and the outro, and then we all walk 1 step behind him to the valet and wait with him until he gets into his car and then we all go get in our cars in the regular spots and drive home. Another successful meal!

I dont think that answered any burning questions but I will read through the site and see what I can directly comment on and go from there. But for now I have to go get drunk

Dis Unplugged #8: Charles in Charge