The Dis Unplugged #5 Stay Out of the Damn Employees

[WDWUO83]

As much as I enjoy Craig and Ryno, I can’t continue to support any of the Dis content. The Dis Unplugged was the first theme park channel I subscribed to back in 2018 when I decided to save for a WDW trip. I loved all of the shows, even if the past year has been less entertaining. There’s just no way I can contribute to a man who reportedly sexually assaults people. I completely agree with @Jafar when he says that the term “predator” is tossed around far too easily (towards gay men in particular). I also agree when he says that Pete appears to be predatory.

Thank you, Dustin and Sean, for sharing your truth with us. It takes a lot of courage, and it’s evident that you have both put in so much work to heal.

To say this is heartbreaking is an understatement.

 

[2020planner]

Who were the celebrities that you got to meet?

I'm hiding them so people can just scroll by if they want.

Spoiler: People I Met / Dealt With

• Charles Shaughnessy from "The Nanny" wanted me to find games / videos for his kids to watch. He was nice.
• I had to coordinate getting RX meds for Danny Glover. He wasn't very friendly.
• I retrieved band-aids for Ray Romano's kid; Ray would also come down the stairs at 6-6:30 a.m. and wave to me every morning he was there. Nice guy.
• I had to get extra baby cribs for Rosie O'Donnell; her sister was a bitch.
• Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were sweet; brought us back dessert from Flying Fish. Steven's room was under the fake name: "Nanny Tipps." Don't know why but it was funny.
• Cuba Gooding Jr. kept calling saying someone was pranking him. He was an ass.
• I had to arrange to board the dog of Nancy Lopez, the golfer.
• Clint Eastwood was funny and kept setting off Dante Culpepper (football player) car alarm on his Lincoln Navigator. Clint was interested in looking at the car (it was a new model back then). Clint would hang out at the GS desk.
• Bryant Gumbel from the old-school NBC's "Today" show only wanted me to deal with his laundry / dry cleaning for whatever reason. He was nice to me but yeah... Calvin Klein briefs. Banana Republic pants. It pains me that I know this.
• NFL Football Players - Boomer Esaison, Jim Kelly, Warren Moon, Bernie Kosar, and Vinnie Testaverde... there for some sports event. Bernie was most friendly. Vinnie was a sexist drunk pig.
• Giorgio Armani. I argued with his personal assistant bc Giorgio wanted to eat the Cape May Cafe and all I pictured was Armani in a lobster bib standing in a seafood buffet line and knew he didn't realize what the Cape May Cafe really was like. So I argued with his PA and told him I'd book him at the Yachtsman Steakhouse. The PA said Armani wanted seafood and not steak, I told him he'd get it there. The PA said it'd be my head on a platter if I messed this up but then the next day, came back and said "Mr Armani wanted me to personally thank you for the recommendation for dinner." So that was pretty cool.

Other random stories -

• We had to return Walter Cronkite's wallet to his room after he drank too much at Martha's Vineyard (the bar at the Beach Club) and forgot it.
• Samuel L. Jackson would stroll through the lobby wearing his signature cap.
• Drew Carey tipped the valet $100 for opening his door.
• Mariah Carey's credit card got denied when they added it to her room for room charges.
• Michael Jordan's room reservation was under the name "Michael Hanes." If any of you recall, he used to be in Hanes underwear ads.
• Former First Lady Barbara Bush stayed at the Beach and Secret Service were everywhere, yet no where, if that makes sense. It was interesting to see them blending in.

Funny side note when I wasn't on the clock -

George Lucas ran smack into me at Virgin Megastore back in the old West Side of Downtown Disney. I knew there was a VIP in the store but didn't recognize him (I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan) Then he bumped into me bc he was holding a stack of CDs and didn't look where he was going. He apologized. I said no biggie, basically, and moved on. Then afterwards, I realized (was told by a CM) that he ran into me (they were watching him).

That's all I can remember at the moment.

 

[bten1989]

Who else is buying the bullshit story that John and Kevin haven't been on a Live show because of Kevin's mobility? Kevin's been using a scooter for as long as I've watched the DIS. Not buying that shit one bit.

 

[Ahoyhoy]

They're also going on "hiatus" for the Disneyland trip, which Pete is not attending, and will be doing virtual shows for some time, meaning the new studio is not ready yet but they are jumping from Pete's house.

Seems like a messy divorce is incoming.

Also, anyone notice how bad the audio is this episode?

 

[ProfessorFate]

I just want to caution everyone about making unfounded allegations here.

Pete is a very powerful man and he is equally vindictive. It's fine for people to post their opinions and their experiences but understand that Pete has been charged and convicted of NOTHING. Some of the language I have seen here is text book liable and your username can be compelled if a judge issues a warrant to tattle. So I just want everyone here to watch yourselves. You have been warned.

This should be entertaining.

And, it's "libel", not "liable".

 

[GInursemyass]

My main concern right now is I am starting to see this thread turn into a counter culture to disboards. I don't want this to turn into a Pete witch hunt orgy. The members of the community deserve better than that.

I have not been dismissive of anyone's claims or feelings, quite the contrary in fact, it is I who have been attacked.

There are so many facets to what is going on right now. I just want to get the full story from all involved. I think this is a healthy conversation when people aren't throwing around personal attacks. Everyone needs to take a breathe and lets start peeling away the layers of the onion on this thing. There is way more going on here than any single person is privy to.

I can assure you nobody here cares about your concerns. If you want to get the full story, maybe try going back and reading the threads again, as you've obviously missed some important details.
You are not the tone police. We are having a conversation here, and if you would like to add something productive that is great, but telling us we are not having the conversation you want us to have is just stupid.
Also, it is take a breath, not take a breathe.

 

[dizfan1124]

First of all I want to say, reading what both Shawn and Dustin went thru is making me feel so sick. It is truly eye opening to see such a pattern of a predator. Me (and my two kids) have been long time followers of the Dis and though Pete sometimes felt a bit too drama queen, we always enjoyed all their content and even used their travel agency a couple of times. The last year or two the constant negative opinions about Disney, did push us away a bit but I have continued being a Patreon supporter of theirs.

Now, listening to Pete’s latest solo show made me feel absolutely sick. The man goes on and on about how honest and truthful he is being and blames everything on his depressive state. Then goes on a 15 minute rant about how people turned their backs on him in his time of need, never checked in on him, everything is everybody else's fault and he is soo generous and how people take advantage of him. Such awful victim behavior and not a ounce of responsibility for how he acts and what he does to others. After reading everything here I could not even finish listening because it made me so awfully mad. I feel so sorry for everyone this man has hurt and for ever supporting him with my money. I ended my Patreon today.
If Dreams and the Dis ever wants to survive this, he needs to be removed.

 

[The Mando]

I forgot until now. Pete once tried to get me to start a singing career and wanted me to do this cross promotion thing where I could sing for the show. (Which y’all would’ve had a field day with)

It didn’t make a lot of sense, even at the time. But he wanted me to get with a producer and start some form of a music career. It just wasn’t the right vibe in any way but he was very insistent and I put my foot down to save him from himself.

I also said, ok well I guess I could sing Disney stuff and he didn’t want me to Disney covers. Which would’ve made sense? Instead he wanted Christmas and Christian music.

 

[Murray9000]

An observation:
The first Dis Unplugged thread lasted exactly 2 years and 3 months.
The others (#2-4) lasted around 3-6 months each.
#5 will last around 8 or 9 days.
We're in Tracker territory for longevity shortness .
I want to nominate "Stay Out Of The Damn Employers" for a second term: "Stay Out of the Employees Part 2". (It was such a good title to be wasted on such a short time).

 

[Ahoyhoy]

I just want to caution everyone about making unfounded allegations here.

Pete is a very powerful man and he is equally vindictive. It's fine for people to post their opinions and their experiences but understand that Pete has been charged and convicted of NOTHING. Some of the language I have seen here is text book liable and your username can be compelled if a judge issues a warrant to tattle. So I just want everyone here to watch yourselves. You have been warned.

1. We aren't profiting off of these rumors, so no damages can be assessed

2. Pete is a public figure; libel is almost impossible to prove for public figures even if it's run on a newspaper/news site

3. No judge is going to subpoena Tattle to release user data based on rumors for what would be a civil case

 

[Bullybuster]

As a gay man, I am cautious to use to word predator. That word gets thrown around far too much about gay men

I throw the word around anytime I hear about an employer consistently abusing their power to bed employees.
I throw the word around anytime I hear about an employer using company funds to put a prostitute on the payroll.
I throw the word around anytime I hear about an employer requiring employees to share hotel rooms "to save money"

Let's not confuse the issue here with political correctness.
He's a groomer and a predator, and if this were young women being abused by a horny old man then charges would have already been filed.

Instead of worrying about Pete being victim off homophobia, how about a little empathy for the victims who are being ignored because their men.

They're the actual victims of bias here.

 

[The Mando]

What's funny about working for Disney is, IMHO, it really depends on where you get cast.

I moved down here to Orlando in '98 after graduating from college and within a week of moving, applied to Disney, passed the phone interview they did at the time (not sure if they still do that), got an in-person interview with my "casting agent" and got hired.

He hired me off the street into a Guest Services role (which I later learned rarely happens bc you have to know so much about Disney for this role) and gave me pick of Caribbean Beach, the Contemporary, or the Beach Club to work at. I let him pick. He picked Beach Club.

So I ended up at the Beach Club and would also get put over at the Yacht Club frequently... doing dining reservations (then called "priority seating")...selling park tickets...answering questions...sprinkling "pixie dust" and all that blah blah. I also met a slew of celebrities, musicians, sports stars, etc. and sought out and / or did mundane things for them (I'm not a big "celebrity" person so it was cool and I can rattle off names if anyone cares, but I never went bonkers over it)

I made $6.35/hr. plus benefits as a FT employee. (which wasn't my lowest pay; I made $4.25/hr. working at McD's when I was 16 back in 1992 and $4.75/hr when I was bumped to FT Swing Manager at 18 ... and I'm sure others on here can share even lower rates)

I'm not sure if any of you have been backstage at the hotels but the Yacht and Beach had / has a HUGE backstage area with a gigantic restrooms, an entire wardrobe / costume area, and even a cafeteria to eat at which was, in essence, the breakroom (there were also multiple smaller rooms you could go in).

You could order burgers, different sandwiches, fries, etc. at the cafeteria and there were TVs, booths, tables, etc., and such, refrigerators if you needed to store your lunch from home, etc. Prices were steep, IMHO but the food was made-to-order by a short-order cook right in front of you and it was super tasty.

When Cirque du Soleil first came out, I learned the *new* to the Y&B computer system super fast that they were using to issue tickets off of and it was the same system they used routinely at the Swan and Dolphin just for regular park tickets (the hard tickets were issued differently when people purchased them from Guest Services at the Y&B).

So my management (who also managed the Disney Reps at the Swan and Dolphin) sent me over to the Swan and Dolphin to work as a Disney Rep from time to time. Which was basically just a person who guests bought park tickets off of who were staying at the Swan and Dolphin, answered questions about Disney, etc.

When at the Swan and Dolphin, you got to go for an absolutely FREE lunch on your lunch break down in the employee area of the Dolphin which ALSO had a huge ass cafeteria, booths, TVs, etc. and you'd just go through the line and take whatever the hell you wanted!

A lot of it was surplus food from conventions they were doing. I remember one lunch I had a friggin STEAK with baked potato, veg, salad, etc. and huge slice of chocolate cake - all free.

Night and day from your experience.

So, TL;DR... I think one's experience at Disney really depends on where they're cast. It's pretty interesting to me, in that regard.

Oh yea plenty of people have great things happening there. I always tell people that half the people working there want to die and the other half would work for free if it was legal. My husband was Great movie ride and absolutely loved it.

I hated my role but it was a lot of little things and I kept getting in trouble because I would call out guests that were liars. People would come up to my fastpass line and scan and it’s blue and I’m like ‘nope y’all don’t have a reservation for this ride’ and they would get combative. They would ‘claim’ they made reservations not minutes before with a cast member at a fastpass area and I would point toward Splash Mountain and say ‘oh did you do it at the kiosk right over there by Splash Mountain?’ And they would say ‘yes! I just came from there’ and I’m like ‘well there isn’t one over there so….’

And they would just stare at me and ask for a manager. So then I had to get a coordinator and the coordinator would get mad at me and let them through anyway and then tell me I had to be better towards the guests. And I’d explain that they are lying and we all know it. The system literally shows your next fastpass selection, I can clearly see that you have fast passes for other rides and not my ride and I deny entry. I get a write up. Then people started not having a reservation so I just let them through and guess what? I got a write up again for letting through people without a fastpass. I was told ‘what’s the point in having fast passes if we just let everyone through?’

I used to get paid $8 an hour to just show up to a battlefield and die in 45 seconds from getting fake shot in the face. Now I took a pay cut to have the Miller family reunion screaming in my face to get on Big Thunder Mountain and calling me f****t for not letting them on a ride and my boss won’t back me up? I was 100% out lol.

 

[Blessyourheart]

I went over to the Dis boards last night to see if anyone was talking about this even though I knew it would be deleted in a hot minute. Everyone at the DisUnplugged knows about this thread, people who read other Disney vlogger threads on Tattle are glued to this one right now.
---


Yes, he would say this often. Looking down his nose at people who chose to have kids and not have the disposable income to blow on a cuntcierge vacation. Or dare I say take vacations that fit within their budget and not have credit card debt?

Doesn't he own Dreams with John Magi and someone else? I have no sympathy for John or what ever mess he's in now because he's known Pete the longest and has supported his behavior. I contacted Dreams years ago for quotes and the slow response and inattentiveness really turned me off

I only was torn away last night by the Financial
Guru Live by Jennbo Tracker. What a shit show that was. Maybe Pete should go to her for advice on tackling his debt.

 

[justthisonce]

Is everyone just waiting to see what happens with today's show? if there will even be one...... it's like the calm before the storm.

 

[Cinnamon1]

I don’t care what.
We just need a new thread title for #6.
I just grabbed a couple of suggested titles to consider (in no particular order)
The actual title may end up being different that these or a hybrid.





Mesh of @Happiest & @pembertonheights posts:
Pete Werner Throwing Sh1t At The Wall To See What Sticks



Any more suggestions??

The Emperor Can No Longer Afford His Gaudy Clothes

 

[Bullybuster]

I just want to caution everyone about making unfounded allegations here.

Some of the language I have seen here is text book liable and your username can be compelled if a judge issues a warrant to tattle. So I just want everyone here to watch yourselves. You have been warned.

Here's some language for you:
Pete Werner is a serial groomer and molester.
You are a trolling cunt.

 

[Blessyourheart]

Am the only one who likes Ryno? He puts it out there- he tells you who he is - you can take it or leave it. I don’t always love his complaining, but again he puts himself out there. I do think he might thrive outside the Dis. Do a big nerd YouTube - I don’t know.
I met him once with Steve Porter and they were both super nice.

 

[The Mando]

Correct me if I'm wrong, been a while since I was active with a business AmEx, but aren't AmEx cards specifically meant to be a stopgap card that gets paid off every month? I always thought that was the prestige in having them, that you could afford to pay them off quickly.

Other than the prestige (which I never got) wouldn't it be better to run up a debt on a million other cards?

I have the exact same platinum and delta cards that Pete has and the platinum has to be paid off monthly and has no specific limit but there is a ‘flagged’ limit where they will do kind of a ‘wellness check’ because you are spending outside your habits.

There is also a negotiable ‘revolving’ credit but that caps, which Pete’s cap was $40,000 and it still must be based on the minimum payment due.

Theoretically, this would be one months worth of spending but I can’t imagine what he could’ve charged on a card that would cost this much in one month, outside of a hit man to kill me but feels like a cash purchase. So I’m at a loss

 

[The Mando]

Obviously this is not real, nor a few recent posts on here because they are awkward, at best.

 

[da_FUQ]

He did to me, individual people and fans as a whole. Also staff. Told me many times how he was gonna fire Jackie and Michael Bowling.

Michael Bowling is the best thing they have left on that channel as far as on-air talent goes. I get the impression Michael does the show out of love for Disney, not because he has to.