The Dis Unplugged #2 What a Fiasco!!!

[The Mandorlandarian]

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

 

[CharlestonChew]

To the person who put up an unflattering comparison of Kathy Werling to an old movie monster character, that's a cheap, tacky insult directed at someone who has substantively and consistently contributed to the show that you spend time reading and posting about on some semi-dark web internet forum. Kathy deserves as much respect as everyone else on the team.

 

[The Mandorlandarian]

Sean said:

Pete does not have financial issues. In 2019 he was exploring retirement and he just needed to start learning to spend on a budget (even a high one) compared to how he spends currently. The money would be capped and if he ran out, that's it. So, it was just about getting ducks in a row.

I dont know enough about Craig and Coreys deal for the The DIS to say much, but I imagine the terms didn't work for them.

As far as Pete's announcement to sell MTO. Nobody was 'lying' in the situation. Pete had offered to sell me his half (which he does all the time) and that time we finally started discussing numbers and terms. He just announced it way too early. I didn't even know he said it on his Patreon show until I was told about tattle. He offered me bad terms and the deal kept changing all the time so I backed out. He is now offering his half to other people as well for much better terms but I just dont think hes going to sell it.

I dont think Pete intends to be a bad guy, I do think he tries to do good things for people and give people chances, but then something in his head takes over and feels like he's owed too much gratitude and he just can't separate the good that he does from people not being indebted. I really don't think he realizes he is the way he is.

As far as me being close to the team or them not liking me. I was never close with the team and didn't hang out with them. I quickly understood their position and didn't want to mess with anyones job. If they were friendly with me, Pete might feel threatened. If Pete fell out with me (which was often) and they were still my friend, Pete would be mad at them. If Pete shit talked me to them and they agreed, then he would turn on them once he and I made up. So being close with the team really wasn't an option. That being said, I was told that Dustin was a little aggressive with the team and I people felt he talked to them like he was the owner because he had backing from Pete on things, so I know they felt me coming in was just going to be Dustin 2.0.

Can confirm, Charles hates my fucking guts. He hated me from day 1. As eluded too in the group, Charles and I each have our own 'pasts' and some people just aren't going to be able to get beyond those things, regardless of how much you change or grow. I know Charles and I both joined to change our trajectory in life and to become better people and Pete gave each of us an opportunity that he didn't have to, so I am grateful for that (just not indebted forever) - we both were awarded positions that we weren't qualified for, I admit. However, Charles was very protective of Pete and just didn't feel that Pete and I were a good match and he just felt like I was with Pete for his money. Pete proposed to me a few times and I always turned him down. He offered to make me not have to sign a prenup and I still turned him down. Despite this, Charles still always saw me as the bad guy and Pete wouldn't listen to him and he spiraled. I completely understand someone not trusting someone with a past they don't agree with, but - his past wasn't so hot either and people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones....

From the times I have hung out with the team, they have all been really nice. Ryno and Craig are great guys in person. I do think the pandemic has hurt Ryno and people as a whole have just learned to live in the mess that is work. One of the biggest things that was pointed out to me on tattle and why I made my first video was the professionalism and knowledge. More often than not, shows were not determined until the day of or less than 24 hours before the show. I remember many times showing up to film and still not knowing the topics for the show (and we filmed 4 at a time) - one time, I showed up and me, Fiasco, Steve and Pete (I think was the 4) sat in Petes office and came up with topics on the spot and they chose best appetizers at Epcot. I remember not knowing several apps they discussed off hand, nobody knew the names, ingredients, prices or anything. It was just 'I like that one started at Le Cellier' or whatever. So we start doing the show and the whole time I just felt uncomfortable because it all felt unprepared and I realized I felt that way a lot when doing the show. We also never reshoot anything. If Pete messes up the intro or something is happening badly with audio or something, we reshoot one portion, but for the most part, we sit and it's 1 take. We don't know who will speak in what order and everyone is a little unsure all the time. Also, I had to stop saying my opinions before the show because Pete would take everyone else's opinions that were shared and say them first and then that left me with nothing to say (and it happened to others) so I just felt even more unprepared after. When I started hosting MTO, I ran things that same way because that's all I knew. I gave agents the topics the day before and I had no reshoots and no structure. I think authenticity is a good thing but this method is just unprofessional imo. So I think the burn out from everyone of having to 'fly by the seat of their pants' is exhausting. Nobody really knows what's happening because the company itself has not checks and balances and there's not a set 'role' for each people. You just work for Pete and he can have you in whatever capacity, whenever he needs it and it's mentally draining from my experience.

 

[The Mandorlandarian]

Sean said:

Fiasco was an interesting person. Pete and I were having dinner at Mounsier Paul one night and Fiasco approached and told Pete he was a huge fan and they hit it off quickly. Pete had been looking for another producer because of the DVC content and other things that were upcoming projects and Ryno and Craig had too much on their plate. He was not hired as a whipping boy or anything over Steve but he did become the butt of the joke often as he had opinions that were different from Pete and Pete isn't one to 'agree to disagree'. I talked to Pete numerous times about how hardcore his audience listens to him and when he devalues a staff members opinion on the show, the audience eventually thinks they are incompetent. One day Fiasco was out filming me for hometours and Pete went out live with Craig on production, there were some mistakes that were made and live audience started ripping Fiasco apart because they assumed the mistakes must have been him, but they weren't. He wasn't even in the studio (it was like a quick live thing so they didn't announce who the producer was) - I explained to Pete that it was his own fault because he had shined so many spotlights on any mistake Fiasco makes that people don't respect him, so he just doesn't stand a chance with the audience now. I stand behind that still, Fiasco never stood a chance with the casual audience.

Drake was never in any sexual relationship with Pete. They were strictly platonic.

Over time you have to take what Pete says as funny or else it will just destroy you and some people can't do that (totally understandable) and you need a really thick skin. I did eventually block him everywhere once I owned MTO and had the luxury too because I didn't know what he was going to call/text and say. I finally had enough when he would just call and yell Stretchmarks and hang up or he would call and just 'Moo' at me into the phone. I eventually stopped bothering to speak to him with any ounce of respect and would just tell him off constantly. I finally developed into someone that was hitting way, way, way below the belt (still above him but that's not an excuse) and I just realized that wasn't the person I wanted to be and blocked him and geared up to move on with my life.

Danielle is one of the people I feel the worst for. She has been a friend of mine since long before I met Pete and Pete was pushing hard for us to have an Admin at MTO. Neither of us knew what the admins actual job should be but he was insistent. Danielle was fresh out of college and wanted to move so I offered the job to her (might as well help a friend if I have to fill a position thats not fleshed out) - Pete wanted her salary to be $3000 per month and that the position would evolve over time to have more duties. Danielle nor I were aware that Pete wanted her to figure out what the position is and find ways to 'earn' her $3000 per month. Pete would get mad at her for 'not doing enough to earn her paycheck' but she would do her job and anything that was asked of her. She was supposed to be 9-5 M-F but she worked all night and weekends too in any capacity that she could. It wasn't her fault we hired her and didn't know what to have her do. So they first day he met her we went to lunch and we told Pete about a trip to Hawaii we had just taken in January 2021 and I explained to him that with the pandemic the flight was empty but this Delta flight was giving everyone on the left side of the plane Goldfish and the right side all got Almonds. I am allergic to almonds and Delta wouldn't swap out my almonds for Goldfish, but luckily people on the plane were nice and gave me theirs. Pete said he was shocked that they would do that to someone in first class and I said, I wasn't in first class and Pete was shocked and said 'well that's what you get in economy' and I said, 'I flew in economy with Danielle (sitting at the table) so she wouldn't have to fly alone and I didn't feel comfortable leaving her and also, it shouldn't matter if I am in economy, I still shouldn't be forced to eat something I am allergic to when they had another option and wouldn't give it to me' and he said 'That's what you get for flying in the back of the plane with the unwashed pigs' and pointed at Danielle. She was obviously devastated and Pete claims after the fact that he only called her 'unwashed' and didn't say 'pig' but he did. Finally, Danielle did everything she could to do her job in the way she was asked and Pete finally decided that she was being paid too much and that we should reduce her pay from $3000 per month down to $1500. She agreed (not that she had a choice) and at the end of 2021, she said the pay was too low and decided to leave the position. Pete then offered the job to his nephew for a salary of $40,000 per year because we were 'being left with no admin.' I told him the reason we are being left with no admin is because he wanted to change her pay form $36,000 to $18,000 per year and she left with the low wage, so he then wanted to fill it with a family member at more than double her salary. It was - in a word, ridiculous.

 

[The Mandorlandarian]

From Sean:

I believe that anyone can become anything they set out to be, but that doesn't mean you can fit a square peg in a round hole and that's kind of what Pete does. He hires people based on emotion and vibes rather than facts. I hired in because Pete said he knew I could be amazing but didn't quite know at what. He continuously told me to 'stick with him and he would change my life' - to be fair, he said change, not improve. (I do have more money now but money definitely doesn't buy happiness).

Petes main slogan is 'throw pasta against the wall and see what sticks' and I think thats a better internal plan that a company running motto, but it's how a lot of things run. A lot of people are just random hires and it's people that are fans of the show and they are already in love with Pete before they start working. They come on board and then things change. Ill use myself as an example. When I started the big thing was Dustin West, Dustin was the ex boyfriend who was going to come back to work full time and changed his mind (I assume he was reminded of the rollercoaster ride but idk) and this devastated Pete. I was the starchild and so I would go to dinners and hang out with Pete and he would tell me all these horrible things about everyone else and how they ungrateful they are. He created this whole company and works so hard to keep everyone employed and give people opportunities that they wouldn't have had otherwise and nobody appreciates it. Then I looked around and agreed with his assessment because people seemed unhappy and ungrateful. We were going on cruises, dinners I could have never afforded, VIP tours, fireworks cruises, AbD's etc and people just seemed numb to it all. Then I went on my first real date because I liked what I was seeing and he was definitely a quirky person but he seemed generous, he would hype me up, he was always doing stuff for me and buying me gifts and it worked on me just like anyone else. Then over time, I had other things I had to do......like my job. Since he was the owner he always pushed for me to shirk my responsibilities In favor of being around him. So, all those dining reviews that last 4-5 hours, we leave and Pete goes home and is done. I would have to go home and answer travel agency emails and book vacations through the night, Fiasco would need to go home and start editing because the show needs to be ready in 24 hours to go up because Pete didn't book a restaurant soon enough (Pete cancels A LOT. He will be in a mood last minute and just cancel things and then we wouldn't have any content to post so It would all have to get done last second). I also did enjoy traveling a lot but I told Pete many times that I couldn't properly care for my travel agency clients when Im halfway around the world for weeks at a time and I didn't feel comfortable asking another agent to step in for me because I can't possibly return the favor because Pete might book us a last minute trip somewhere. Beyond having work responsibilities, I (and anyone else who is starchild) have other responsibilities and friends. Eventually, you can't spend every day with Pete and you end up saying 'sorry I can't make it to that dinner you just planned right now because I have friends coming into town that night and I already made plans with them. How about another day?' and Pete will accept that a time or 2 but very quickly, Gabby Gabby starts getting pissed. Pete is paying you and you are always on the clock technically and he will just make it a work thing and require you to be there. Then you go and hes visibly angry and you know you're going to leave and get a mile long email at 3am explaining why you're the worst person that ever lived and that you need to start looking for a new job. So, you wake up and the next 2/3 days is damage control and you have to hope Pete finds a new target quickly. If you can survive that, he eventually finds a new starchild and you are now just one of the ungrateful people he bitches to the new person about.

I truly don't believe that Pete has ever had real friendship. HIs friends are either people he pays or people that are his fans coming into it.

It is shocking how fast Pete's opinion of you can turn. I remember there was a time when Steve Porter was put on the content team and the content team didn't love that. He's a nice guy but they had their system and Steve really wasn't assimilating to their way so Jackie and Corey (maybe Deni had just started I can't remember) went to Pete and said he's not working out and not doing the things they are telling him to do and they are his manager and something needs to change. This went on for a while and Pete finally emailed Steve and told him that he better change ASAP or else he would be fired and that he was going on a vacation and would decide Steves fate when he got home (Steve is a nervous guy as it is so I can imagine that was a very long couple of days/weeks). Steve emailed Pete a lot, text him and really got rebuilt his personal relationship with Pete and by the time it was all said and done, Pete had flipped on Jackie and Corey (and Pete offered to pay for Steve and his wife to join us in Hawaii the next month at Aulani). Accusing them and saying they were on a witch hunt against Steve and it was all lies they came up with to hurt his friend. So they had to back down, which led to the system not staying in place and things got wonky. Steve is a great guy and that wasn't to knock him. It's to show how everything is just whatever your personal standing is with Pete on a given day. Then you have to adjust the processes of the company to fit Petes current mood and you eventually can't keep up with it and it falls apart.

Nothing is about the customer or the viewer. Pete reminds us all the time 'I don't care what the audience says about you, you are playing to an audience of 1' and he's right. Someone can be the completely wrong choice but if Pete wants them, they stay and can do whatever they want.



A few people asked about the previous realtor that ran Moving To The Magic......

The previous agent was a guy named Eric Gross. I don't know him well personally but I felt he was not a fan of mine in any way. I think he blames me to a degree for what happened to him and maybe he should but I didn't purposefully do anything to him (that im aware of)

Apparently, 15 years ago, Pete had a groundbreaking concept that nobody had ever thought of in the history of mankind before him, real estate. What if people made a business out of selling homes near Disney World? He works tirelessly for 12 minutes to make this a reality and when it didn't magically fall into place, he shelved it. Flash forward to 2019, I am with Pete and he was in the middle of negotiations to sell The DIS and Dreams to Corey and Craig. I am pretty good with keeping a budget so I offered to help Pete get his finances in order because he had a lot of credit card debt and he needed to Pay them off because he spends too much to ever retire. I wanted to help get him used to living on a fixed income so I limited him to $10,000 per month in personal spending outside bills in order to fasttrack getting his credit cards paid off. He was upset but he went with it. He aggressively paid down credit cards and actually got them all paid off throughout the year, he did a good job of that. Meanwhile, I looked over areas to see where Pete could save money and this lead to the Eric fallout.
In the Ross and Rachel from hell saga of me and Pete, we broke up again in 2018 and Pete went on match.com to find dates (this is actually when Gio first came into the picture as well - Gio is the current guy) and one of the guys was Eric Gross. They went on a date or 2 and Eric had his real estate license. He had worked with his brother and a team selling homes and he was off doing it on his own now. He had sold 2 homes, so he was very new to real estate (but more experienced than me when I started) and Pete approached him about running a real estate program for him on the DIS. Eric let Pete know that he wasn't romantically interested in him at this point but still wanted to real estate job and Pete said ok. That show launched in November of 2018 with the marathon show and nobody knew how it would do. Pete was concerned that Eric wouldn't be making any money and agreed to pay him $2000 per month flat for his content. So Eric was getting $2000 per month plus all his real estate money (he worked for a broker that only charges $500 per transaction and Pete wasn't licensed and couldn't receive any commissions). In 2019, Eric closed 6.7 Million in real estate, not including things he put under contract for new builds that didn't close until 2020. At that time the average commission was 3% to the buyers side so he made roughly $200,000 from sales and an extra $24,000 from Pete. I explained to Pete that Eric was making a lot of money and that Pete should at least stop paying him the $2000 per month and charge Eric an advertising fee. Pete did this and dropped the $2000 and started charging Eric $3000 per month for advertising. This was a still a great deal for Eric so he took it. Meanwhile, I got my real estate license because I was doing a lot with DVCstore and I wanted to be licensed in case an opportunity ever came up for me to use that with DVC. (Pete flipped out on me when I got my real estate license, he was sooooo mad) - I got my license and I asked Eric, how to become an 'active' agent with his brokerage because I wanted to at least hang my license somewhere. You have to be in an active status for 2 years in order to become a broker, so I figured I should at least hang my license somewhere even if I didn't actively use it. Eric said he said me up with his broker (Oct 2019) and it turned out that he hadn't. Also, he couldn't because that's not how that works and I didn't know better. I contacted his broker directly and hung the license. She spoke with me about Eric and how much she loved him and how great he was doing etc etc and explained to me that Eric went to an event recently and she was there and when asked about his business, he said that he runs the business with his brother and that he came up with the name Moving To The Magic because he worked with the Orlando Magic basketball team. She said she was confused because she had seen the shows and knew Pete wasn't his brother and was asking if I knew anything about it. I obviously didn't and I told Pete what Eric's broker told me. You can imagine what happened next. Pete lost it on him! Eric denies saying any of those things and I don't know what the truth is, but Im not sure why his broker would lie about it? So he might've said it. Regardless, it was the straw that broke-r'd (ha) the camels back and Eric left. I then stepped in because all these people were customers and needed help and I was the only person with a real estate license so I had to step in and learn real estate. The only thing that off put me to Eric specifically in that was he started claiming that Pete was holding his phone number hostage and wouldn't give it back. That was half true. Erics phone number was with Dreams Unlimited Travel (so he had no phone bill) and Pete had recently bought him a new laptop and iPhone for work and Pete wanted it back and he said he wouldn't release his number back to him until he returned the items since they belonged to Dreams Unlimited Travel. Eric posted about it and just said 'Pete won't give me my phone number back' and people got upset, but once he returned the items, Pete did release the number.

 

[Jjjg]

I saw Craig's wife post on their struggles to have a child and 6 years of IVF. So happy for them it finally worked.

 

[angelflight87]

As a DIS fan for years, and someone who has used their sponsors (including DVC Resale Market, Magic Candle Company, etc) and contributed to their Patreon in the past, I'm a little shellshocked by some of the revelations here. Every business has it's drama, but this ranks up there.

I started watching because I wanted to keep up to date with the parks news and I enjoyed Pete's famous takes. We go to WDW roughly once per year and finding a podcast network that filled me on what was going on was entertaining and fun. This morphed into enjoying the DVC Show (and into purchasing a small DVC resale contract) and eventually the Cruise Line show and finally Moving to Orlando.

However, The DIS isn't fun anymore.

As much as I like some of the content they produce and enjoy some of the personalities, I feel like the quality has gone downhill.

They need to make some serious changes and it needs to start at the top. The 8/23/22 episode was one of the worst produced, nonsensical and unprofessional shows they've done. It wasn't fun in an "Off the Rails" riff-on-one-topic kind of way, it was a complete shit show. I've listened to amateur podcasts that were more thought out than that show.

There's a big difference in not wanting an overproduced, scripted show and being completely unprepared.

This year, the 7 in 7's were half assed or didn't happen, the dining reviews have been mostly quick service (because apparently it takes a year to get reimbursed), the Tuesday show has been dominated by DCL and how great concierge is, apparently prepared topics aren't allowed anymore and B-roll doesn't exist (because none of the staff seem to go the parks or resorts).

If you're going to talk about Mickey's Not So Scary (which is a big deal in the World of Disney bloggers), you might want to have the pricing history ready for your audience. Aren't you really a travel company masquerading as a Disney news podcast? Wouldn't pricing and accurate event information be important?

Half the staff has checked out (literally) and the other half have checked out mentally. Craig can't do it all.

If this is the future, count me out.

Sean, I honestly hope you get some closure with everything. We all make mistakes and deserve to not be punished for them for the rest of our lives. You also deserve to be happy. Partners shouldn't make you feel indebted or less-than. You have a knack for relating to people and I wish you nothing but the best in your real estate career. Build your new channel and Facebook group and continue to grow professionally.

I also hope you continue to better yourself and find yourself a good therapist.

 

[GInursemyass]

That’s because liberals are manic drama queens. They lack foundation. Zero respect for Western civilization. They should take a stroll through the slums of Kinshasa. They couldn’t get on a plane fast enough back to the states.

Again, Zuckerberg built a wall around his mansion and mega property in Hawaii. The hypocrisy. Like I said, liberals don’t like to live liberal lifestyles. Those that do end up in a depressive state because they lack foundation.

And that’s why they frantically respond to benign photographs and cannot even begin to synthesize reality from their brainwashed id. Remember, almost all liberals today, in 2022, are embracing concepts that no human being did 5 years ago. It’s one thing to convert and change your mind; it’s another to insist these new ideas that they never had until 5 minutes ago are now core to their being.

It’d be hilarious to introduce these ideas to their 2015 selves. Their 2015 selves would look at you crazy. Their 2022 selves would see a 2015 version of themselves and couldn’t even fathom looking at such an unreasonable person. Remember, when Romney ran 10 years ago, he was the second coming of Hitler. Today, woke liberals can’t sing enough praise about Romney. And they won’t own it nor realize the people they called the worst slanders are now the ones they say are great paragons of character. Ooooookay?

You seem like you are a ton of fun at parties. Let's try to keep this thread on track. We are here to talk about The Dis.
Is anyone here headed to Discon?

 

[PinchersOfPower]

When we last left our thread ...

Fiasco: He was either fired or quit. Or he quit and then Pete fired him. Either way, it's a win-win all around. Fiasco gets to join the list of people who got their lives back from Pete's cult--Oliver, Dustin, Jenilynn, Charles, Steve "Palate" Porter, Pete Scheidle, Eric Gross, Jerry Sido.

Deni: Great voice for mundane things. Jesus's wingman.

Jackie: it's like kicking a puppy to say anything bad about Jackie.

Sean: Getting married, but not to Pete. Still stuck with Pete as a business partner. Probably looks at John and says, "that's me until Pete dies."

John and Kevin, Kevin and John: The Tango and Cash of the DisUnplugged world. Consensus is that the only thing that should be unplugged is Kevin's power chair.

Paul Krieger and Craig: still hitting above their weight by being married to Amy and Kylie, respectively.

Ryno: changing his name to Whine-o next week.

Corey and Julie Martin: for once, someone apparently has Pete by the balls. Bravo! And Corey's still not drinking, and happy to not be at Pete's house all the time.

Drake: Pete's new cub? Bi? More questions than answers.

Big Fat Panda: gives a bad name to pandas. Should call himself Big Fat. But is he a bear?

Peter J Werner: vindictive, ill tempered, cheap to his employees, spends gobs of money on frivolous things and LUVS to tell you about it. Has crap taste in coffee and men.

And @Jafar has the best tea!

 

[peteykirch]

Been lurking for a couple of days and seeing the Ryno (and Craig) divide a lot. Wanted to throw in a business pov.

First, I really like Ryno and Craig. They're what kept me watching and my wife still hopes to see Ryno in the park. I think he's a good person, nothing wrong with feeling bad for the dog (they may be robots but their point is to elicit a response), but being vocal is a double edged sword.

For the last two years Ryno has clearly been going through something. There is nothing wrong with that, everyone has been affected by the state of things. The problem however is it has affected his work for a while now. He has literally become the Debbie Downer SNL skit. I don't fully disagree with his feelings but he has a product to sell and that is not the time or place to constantly shit on it. I love the way he and Craig used to criticize things but it's evolved into nihilism. I know some people believe any platform has a responsibility to champion righteousness but if that same act erodes your platform then what good does it serve. There is also the fact that no matter what he does he is still part of the system he's crapping on. He needs to reconcile that or move on. There is nothing wrong with either of those choices. I think it's normal for someone that age (especially for this generation that seems to be raised on zero tolerance towards things) to go through this conundrum. Additionally, he may be going through external things that exacerbate the situation. It's just been going on a bit long. I wish him the best though.

This is just my opinion though.

I think the Pandemic + Current Political Issues have absolutely broken Ryno.

 

[The Mandorlandarian]

From Sean:

Sorry, I also was going to say something about GKTW. I am glad they end up with the money, but the amount of fights I had with Pete about GKTW is ridiculous and it makes it feel more like an ego thing to me, but he thinks I have a huge ego about it, so we were always at each other about them for some reason.

In 2020, GKTW had their first night of a million lights. Steven Amos offered a house to Dreams as one of the companies and Pete asked if I would want to do a house for Moving To Orlando and I said yes. So I started planning the house, I had a whole theme chosen and planned to spend my own money to do it (a few thousand dollars) to make the Moving To orlando house the best house at the place. While I did want the advertising and people noticing it, I also wanted it to be great so people would step up their game and do grander things in the future to make the event more popular (Publix was literally just putting shopping carts in the yard at first) but Pete was really upset that I planned the Moving TO Orlando house without him. He had planned Dreams and was MTO to be similar to the one he did there but I wanted to go a whole different way as I didn't like what Dreams did (I assume GKTW didn't either cause in 2021 their house was on the little trolley tour in the back that doesn't even stop) - eventually we had to just pull MTO entirely because of 'my ego'

Then in 2021, I told Pete that I was going to donate an AbD to GKTW for the auction. I had pushed several times to Dreams to auction cruises previously and they never would. They finally did and it was a hit (who would've thought?) and I said they should do AbD and they said no. So I donated one myself. Pete got very upset that I donated it in my name and not 'Moving To Orlando' and I said, thats fine, but I am the one paying for it, so I put my own name. If I put Moving To Orlando, everyone will just say the Pete donated it and this is expensive for me to do so I am putting my name on it, plus it's my donation and not the companies, so that changes the taxes. He then offered to compensate me half the money if I would agree to change it to MTO's donation and I said no, you have more than enough money to donate 1 on your own too, I told y'all that Dreams should donate one and you didn't, so go donate one yourself. That man never stopped berating me about that for months. Even the day he went on the show and announced how much money it made for the village (over 50k) and talked me up, he had just fought me about it like, right before.

Finally DIScon. We had a MTO booth last year and it was a huge bust (who would've thought?) - I was actually banned from the event and just showed up anyway briefly. We got a total of 6 leads over 2 days and nobody bought anything. So this year rolls around and Pete was supposed to be selling to me and he wanted to know if I was getting a booth at DIScon and I said absolutely not. He was very upset and asked me about 4 more times over the next 5-6 months to reconsider. I still wouldn't get a booth and finally he just got one anyway and sent me an email saying, he got a booth and there's nothing I can do about it. I said I don't care, if you buy the booth and want to operate it, I dont care. I just didn't want to pay for one. Next thing I know, I get a letter from his attorney about the booth. The lawyer said that I am harming MTO by not agreeing to this booth and that MTO has participated and maned a booth 'every year' (it's only ever happened once) and that this is for GKTW and Sean must stop deliberately hurting the companies reputation by not having a booth. So, if anybody goes to DIScon, please enjoy that booth with your whole heart because attorneys had to get involved over it, so I hope it's good.

 

[CapitalistPig]

I take liberals’ perspectives on anything as a form of entertainment. Once their utility bills double, they’ll be begging for gas exploration. Once they realize immigration is bringing in social conservatives and they’re losing border counties that have voted Team Blue since the Civil War, suddenly they’ll want a wall. And they’ll do all of this with a straight face and blank stare when you laugh at them completely oblivious to what you’re talking about.

You can easily find articles from 2012 where Dems were equating Mitt Romney to a Nazi. It got so bad the Romney Campaign reached out to Obama’s to cool it down, and they didn’t. Now it’s 2022 and you hear Dems enamored by Romney and how we need more people like him in the Republican Party.

We can rewind to 15 years ago and the word “Cheney” drove liberals insane. He was Darth Vader. They despised his family. Now suddenly Liz Cheney is the hero for the Left.

Liberals have memories of gnats. Disney used to actually be a very conservative company. They actually had high expectations and standards for their employees. Even Pete reminisces and yearns for “Classic Disney” service; something 25 years-gone. That’s because liberals infected and swarmed Disney. It’s been commandeered from a family-focused theme park to liberal pandering. The quality of employees reflect it. The hiring codes have become far more lax. And now everyone complains about the service decline. That’s because even liberals don’t like actually living with liberal policy outcomes. The richest people in the world are liberal, but their lives are mega-conservative. They do everything they can to insulate themselves from the liberal reality around them. Buffett wants every dime and efficiency out ofhis businesses. He owns a major railroad and aspires to be fully automated. So much for workers and unions eh?

 

[Ghost of Bob Varley]

If you win dinner with Pete, does he leave you sitting alone at the table ten times to go out for a smoke? Because I'm not bidding if he's going to be with me the whole time.

I want the full experience: The smoking, the ordering of steak, the extra salt, the berating of the waiter. Ill even sit around and let my food get cold while he goes out and has another smoke.

If you're going to do it, might as well do it right.

 

[ISweatGlitter]

Just watched the show....you have two people who were JUST at D23 and barely allowed to speak while Pete went on and on about cruising.

The cruising focus was especially annoying this episode. The, "I just upgraded..." live on air is the cherry on top of the elitist cake. Nobody cares. There was so much announced and not announced but like you said, Cryno was barely allowed to talk about it.

 

[Saul's Gal]

Another weird flex today. Pete said they booked every category on the Wonder Alaska cruise so they could showcase (inside, porthole, verandah & concierge). Then mentioned, "Guess who stayed concierge?" What a tool. And, of course, Ryno & Craig got the inside to share.

I am struggling even to watch. It is all about the Pete flex show and him overpowering everyone unless they completely agree with his opinion. I appreciate Craig standing his ground and giving some realistic opinions on DCL compared to other cruise lines. Pete sure didn't like when Craig challenged him by saying that he (Pete) had never done a one-way inside passage so can't truly compare them. HA!

 

[primapancake]

First of all: Sorry for possible mistakes, English is not my native language.

I discovered the DIS-threads on this site only a few weeks ago and am stunned and frankly a bit saddened by all the things that are being revealed here.

For me, watching the DIS Unplugged crew has always been like an escape from reality, a good way to dream about Disney World & Disneyland since I live in Europe and very rarely have the opportunity to actually travel there. I discovered them in 2016/2017 and loved all the content of the team at that time - especially the Tuesday show, with Pete, John, Kevin, Corey & Julie, Ryno, Craig, Steve, Cathy, Theresa... as well as the Disneyland show with the pre Tyler & Katrina team.

But I have to say that for some time now I've also had the feeling that the content was getting worse and worse, which also has to do with the fact that people you slowly get used to and whose insights you eventually really appreciate keep disappearing, like Charles or now Deni. No we know why that is the case, obviously. Thanks Sean for all the information; to be honest, I've always wondered how the relationships within the team were, especially between Pete and other individuals, but nothing is ever said about that. His way of running his business and his employees is obviously unprofessional to the max and with this knowledge it's really hard to continue to watch him and take him seriously. Still find his rants entertaining, even though they‘re so ridiculous sometimes (or maybe because of that).

I have also canceled Patreon and catch myself having no desire to tune in on Tuesdays again and again. As I said - that makes me really sad, because this hour in the week was my little happy place for a long time; a small moment not think about work & everyday life but fully engage in Disney magic with people who „get it“, too.

I find the development especially frustrating for Ryno and Craig, because I always had the impression that both work really hard to deliver good content and because they actually love what they do. I always appreciated Ryno's input, because he always considered less privileged people in his arguments, which I think is very important. Always had the feeling that he was my spirit animal and I really wish him from the bottom of my heart that he finds his way and becomes happy.

Personally, I‘d also be interested in the Fiasco-story. How did he get in Pete‘s favor? I know he is a vet, but that can’t be it? To me it always seemed like he was the new Steve - a person Pete could make the butt of the joke whenever he felt like it.

 

[The Mandorlandarian]

I’ve just heard a lot of the stories so if you have a specific question, I might know.

I know Jackie is actually that nice in real life.

Charles apparently quit out in Disneyland in a really dramatic way and then disappeared. He apparently wasn’t even on the return flight with them and left the content writers in a bind.
Pete despises Ryno because he sees him as a threat to his popularity. He’s been looking for a way to fire him for years without upsetting the audience but he couldn’t with Covid and now he can’t because Deni and Fiasco quit.
Fiasco was on Petes list for a long time too because of his views on life. He ‘quit’ technically but I think he was forced out and my guess is that he was offered some kind of escape from his non-compete if he would just leave quietly. Panda was brought in to give Pete the freedom to cut ryno or fiasco and still have a producer.

Overall everyone is just really burnt out. One of the big reasons Deni left was because of the way they make money. Instead of pay increases, Pete shifted to giving advertising deals. So they get a low pay and then get a product to advertise. If you notice only specific people do Patreon and then a different person writes Magic Candle company articles etc. whoever that person is, is getting a cut of the money from that product. The sales from it, is how the person/people make the bulk of their money. The problem is, if they make too much money and the product does too well, Pete caps them. So it will be like 25% of the money Made (with him getting the rest) but then he sees them making more than he thinks they should so he caps it at like $500 per month and ‘guarantees’ them that amount even if the product doesn’t sell much but by that point they have already built up the sales numbers so it makes a lot of money. Then he just has them start on a new product that he will eventually take away when it gets too big for the workers. Deni thought the job was writing about Disney but it really became more of an advertising job.
I believe this is why the quality has gone down because the workers have to put their focus into that kinda stuff to make money instead of the content for the viewers.

Also one of the biggest issues is that people are afraid to spend their money because they might not get paid back. Pete tells people to buy dinners and other things and keep track and expense it back to the company at the end of the month, but if they do and he’s having a bad day or is in a bad mood, he yells at them about it and demands they spend less. He does pay them but by that point he’s threatened them that he won’t pay next time, he calms down and then says for them to go do stuff but they are walking on eggshells so they all started doing really cheap stuff, in case He wont pay them back.

Ultimately Pete bases everything around friendship. It’s never the work, it’s always who went to dinner with him, who texts him and who is his friend and those are the people he puts on things. People join, they get showered in praise and attention and then they have their own shit to do and can’t spend every minute with Pete and Pete turns on them. If Pete can find a new friend then that person is safe and off the radar but if Pete has no new friend to turn to, then that person becomes public enemy 1.

 

[ISweatGlitter]

It's past time for Ryno and Craig to break off and do their own channel. They are the only two that cover anything on the channel. Despite mixed opinions of them on this forum, I think they'd be fine, and happier, on their own. Just let the Dis Unplugged side of things die. I miss the 2016 era.

 

[The Mandorlandarian]

Sean said:

Sorry, In addition....Pete wanted to require the agents to start carrying guns on showings. There was a story out of Virginia about a realtor getting killed by his client last year and it made Pete really nervous and said that all agents must be accompanied by another agent so we could team up on the customer if they decided to shoot us. I told him that I felt that would probably end with both agents getting shot and also, we don't have time for 2 agents to go everywhere together. He suggested us all get our permits and I said that was stupid because, number 1 the agents would have to be prepared to shoot their clients, which isn't ideal. Number 2, we would 100% become a meme as the realtors that carry guns, number 3 while carrying the guns with clients and they ask why, it would be 'to protect myself from you, in case you shoot at me.' Luckily he did drop the issue when I pushed back hard, but these were the constant types of things I would have to deal with and it just got to be too much.

 

[slimcourage901]

The DisUnplugged #3: Did I Mention I’m in Concierge?