My Official Statement

[Rsbuxt1966]

Thank you, John.

To the haterz who have clamored for a statement but are still complaining in light of this post, just stop. Take a break, or take your vitriol somewhere else. John, Corey and the team are dealing with change and with running a successful business.

Take the snark to a gossip site, but we do not want or need it here.

It was a horrible statement! No mention of the victims...unless you count themselves in John's eyes! I get it, you're circling the complicit wagons, but read the room Kathy!

 

[OKW Lover]

Thank you John. It's good to know that steps are being taken to resolve the conflict. I know the process will take a bit of time to get the new organization up to speed. And there may be some stumbles along the way. But I really hope your leadership will set the right course.

No doubt this has been especially stressful for you. I'd give you a big hug when I see you this weekend, but then again I know you're not a hugger.

 

[Flynn_Rider]

Thank you John. It's good to know that steps are being taken to resolve the conflict. I know the process will take a bit of time to get the new organization up to speed. And there may be some stumbles along the way. But I really hope your leadership will set the right course.

No doubt this has been especially stressful for you. I'd give you a big hug when I see you this weekend, but then again I know you're not a hugger.

“Resolve the conflict” is the nicest way to say “address the drugging and raping of an employee” Ive ever heard.

Of the many folks this has been stressful to, I think John isn’t the one who needs a hug the most.

Revealed victims and those yet to be named, you are supported and loved

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Even though we've had our differences, I do give credit to the mods currently for keeping all of this open. And while I fundamentally disagree with both of yours posts in this thread, I ask you this with total respect:

Is it possible to voice our concerns, our questions, our anger, our confusion, our disappointment... and not be considered "haters" or "attacks" or "trash talk"?

This is my own personal opinion. I think it's valid and important to raise concerns.

I also think there is a difference between voicing concerns and accusing people of knowing what was going on and not doing anything about it when they have said that they didn't know and when those who were attacked have defended members of the DIS Unplugged and Dreams UT team and said they did not know. I believe them when they said they did not know. I believe them when they say that there are going to be changes.

People may have been discussing these issues for a long time, but the management team did not know about it until a couple of weeks ago.

I don't work for them, nor am I privy to what they discuss behind closed doors. What I have witnessed, and continue to believe is that John is a stand-up guy. He's facing a no-win situation at a bad time for them - hosting an event for people that paid a lot of money while working to ensure clients and agents are protected. On top of that, he's having to read accusations against him, Kevin, and others for something they didn't do and weren't involved with. Dustin has repeatedly asked that we not attack the others. What I'm seeing are people legitimately concerned and also people that relish drama and want to hurt a company and the collateral damage to the several Dreams agents and others that have been working in good faith, and are depending on John to continue to ensure that they have a place to work while serving their customers.

I've seen legitimate concerns and I've seen trash talk. For me, at least, it's not hard to differentiate between the two. Legitimate concerns are valid and the Admin team is giving space for that. I also believe that they are reading, learning, and will act on it. Trash talk only hurts and tears apart people and lives without regard.

If it were me being talked about, I would be more apt to read the thoughtful responses, and disregard the attacks being from people that don't know me. Again, this is just me talking, and I'm part of the community on these boards, and friends with pretty much all the people that are being talked about here.

And, I'm not ignoring the ones who really have been hurt. Dustin and I have communicated recently, and I believe Sean and I are okay, too (though he barely knows me).

 

[Tyler Crouch]

I’ve seen Pete talk down to you. I know they haven’t paid you for so much of the work you’ve done. You deserve so much more.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I’ve seen Pete talk down to you. I know they haven’t paid you for so much of the work you’ve done. You deserve so much more.

I’m not really talking about Pete, though, and personally, I’ve been friends with Pete. They didn't "pay" me because I was a volunteer and enjoyed it, but I was compensated. Thank you for trying to stick up for me, but I have no beef.

Having said that, this isn’t about Pete and me. This is about a victim in particular, and other stuff. I’m not the focus and not going to detract from the really important issues here.

 

[Jangles]

There are a number of haters here who have repeatedly made attacks and insulted the team.

The VICTIMS here are primarily the men who have posted their SA stories. They have repeatedly made it clear that NO ONE on the team knew the depths of that abuse, yet a handful of armchair quarterbacks here think they know better.

The existing podcast team has shared some toxic workplace stories, the cause of which should now be resolved. Let them detox and reboot their workplace and the show with changed leadership and a new start in a new studio.

As far as financial improprieties, those are internal to DU and will not affect clients or employees.

John, DSNYDREAMER and others have explained that DU’s model passes your payment info directly to your travel vendors (cruiselines, hotels, Disney, etc.) DU is financially stable. Dreams earns commissions after travel is complete, so anyone divesting now will not be paid on future travel.

Those involved are dealing with issues as necessary. Listeners can choose to continue to listen or not. But be kind. No more attacks. Take the trash talk somewhere else.

The majority of clients and listeners have been extremely supportive and empathic. I know the team truly appreciates the many messages of love and support during this chaotic time.

With the greatest respect, if you amended your post to state, ‘The VICTIMS here are primarily the men who have posted their SA stories. We are as horrified as you, and thank the majority of clients and listeners who have been extremely supportive and empathic towards them. We also wish to offer our love and support.’, the change in emphasis would resonate with many.

I suggest that it’s just a matter of prioritising and acknowledging the true/source victims, and then going on to acknowledge the ‘ripple effect’ victims.

I really do feel for all of you, particularly the volunteers. You have been left in an untenable situation.

 

[Ruttangel]

I cant see any reference to offering support to the former employees anywhere, reaching out to them would be the olive branch most of us would expect.

As for the statement in general, you are a company in crisis act like you know how to deal with one.

 

[Friendly Frog]

This is all so tragic.

 

[Hunterr]

I will say I stopped listening to the Dis sometime after JL left. When she was gone and literally no one said why and she wasn’t given an exit I had to consider what was going on behind the scenes.

For what its worth, while JL didnt have a final goodbye on the main show, she did do a final episode on the Universal Edition (i felt Craig probably pushed for that at the very least).

I remember she said she cant say where shes going, but if you follow her on socials, you'll find out (i think at the time she had gotten another disney related job).

 

[MK2010]

This is my own personal opinion. I think it's valid and important to raise concerns.

I also think there is a difference between voicing concerns and accusing people of knowing what was going on and not doing anything about it when they have said that they didn't know and when those who were attacked have defended members of the DIS Unplugged and Dreams UT team and said they did not know. I believe them when they said they did not know. I believe them when they say that there are going to be changes.

People may have been discussing these issues for a long time, but the management team did not know about it until a couple of weeks ago.

I don't work for them, nor am I privy to what they discuss behind closed doors. What I have witnessed, and continue to believe is that John is a stand-up guy. He's facing a no-win situation at a bad time for them - hosting an event for people that paid a lot of money while working to ensure clients and agents are protected. On top of that, he's having to read accusations against him, Kevin, and others for something they didn't do and weren't involved with. Dustin has repeatedly asked that we not attack the others. What I'm seeing are people legitimately concerned and also people that relish drama and want to hurt a company and the collateral damage to the several Dreams agents and others that have been working in good faith, and are depending on John to continue to ensure that they have a place to work while serving their customers.

I've seen legitimate concerns and I've seen trash talk. For me, at least, it's not hard to differentiate between the two. Legitimate concerns are valid and the Admin team is giving space for that. I also believe that they are reading, learning, and will act on it. Trash talk only hurts and tears apart people and lives without regard.

If it were me being talked about, I would be more apt to read the thoughtful responses, and disregard the attacks being from people that don't know me. Again, this is just me talking, and I'm part of the community on these boards, and friends with pretty much all the people that are being talked about here.

And, I'm not ignoring the ones who really have been hurt. Dustin and I have communicated recently, and I believe Sean and I are okay, too (though he barely knows me).

Thank you Mary Jo for finding the exact words to communicate my thoughts. I'm going to go in a couple of different tangents off this post. First, I want to say how much I enjoyed meeting you, I think it was on the Cruise, but maybe it was the last GKTW DisUnplugged fundraiser. You were so very kind.

It has definitely helped my faith in the remaining team, that Dustin (God Bless him) has stated that no one was aware. When horrible things happen, as humans, we always look for someone to blame. And, the bigger our hurt/disillusionment is the more we want to spread the blame around. I understand why people would think John HAD to have known what was going on. However, they had VERY different roles within the companies that didn't intersect in the physical realm perhaps as much as it might appear. While perhaps, John should have separated his posts, I can only imagine what he and the rest of the team are going through. This is a lot to process/manage, plus redirect a company and its subsidiary, plus be the contact person for a massive group trip ABD and a Disneyland event. (As a TA ,not with Dreams, trust me, those group trips are a lot. You are on call 24/7.)

I'm not the most well spoken, so I hope I haven't fumbled the ball here and overstated. But, I would like to reiterate 2 things. First, our concerns have been voiced and they are obviously taking steps to address those (i.e. Pete is out as CEO). Further accusations will get us nowhere unless additional proof comes to light. Secondly, these boards have been the beginning of so many magical trips and incredible friendships for many people.

I posted this on another thread, for those of us who have been around a bit, before we post, let's ask ourselves, "What would Heidi do/say?" Let's grant each other kindness, patience, and above all magic.

To EVERYONE affected whether owner, staff member, TA, webmaster, moderator, or fan I wish nothing but the hope for your disillusionment/hurt to be healed and that this place can be somewhere we can grieve together and move forward to a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.

 

[Strikan]

I think it is clear that Dustin and Sean did not tell the other team members about the sexual assaults. I don’t think it is fair to blame the team or hold them responsible for not being aware of these sexual assaults.

However, the assaults are just part of the story. The other part is the bullying and manipulation of both of them, plus many other employees, over time. That does not happen in a vacuum and should have been clear to John. Now, if John was completely unaware of that, then I think he failed his responsibilities as a co-owner and co-leader of the company. It was part of his job to know if his co-owner was bullying employees.

So John either knew about the bullying and did nothing, or didn’t know, but should have known. Either way, it is not a good outcome. As a result, I find his immediate focus on how he and Kevin are victims of some harsh words over the last few days misguided and tone-deaf. It is also insulting to the real victims here and incredibly disappointing and disrespectful to everyone.

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

I cant see any reference to offering support to the former employees anywhere, reaching out to them would be the olive branch most of us would expect.

As for the statement in general, you are a company in crisis act like you know how to deal with one.

I don’t know if we should expect a big company response from a small company. It’s a bunch of non-crisis-experts giving crisis management a shot out of necessity.

Hopefully they are or at least will make an effort there

 

[Rsbuxt1966]

This is my own personal opinion. I think it's valid and important to raise concerns.

I also think there is a difference between voicing concerns and accusing people of knowing what was going on and not doing anything about it when they have said that they didn't know and when those who were attacked have defended members of the DIS Unplugged and Dreams UT team and said they did not know. I believe them when they said they did not know. I believe them when they say that there are going to be changes.

People may have been discussing these issues for a long time, but the management team did not know about it until a couple of weeks ago.

I don't work for them, nor am I privy to what they discuss behind closed doors. What I have witnessed, and continue to believe is that John is a stand-up guy. He's facing a no-win situation at a bad time for them - hosting an event for people that paid a lot of money while working to ensure clients and agents are protected. On top of that, he's having to read accusations against him, Kevin, and others for something they didn't do and weren't involved with. Dustin has repeatedly asked that we not attack the others. What I'm seeing are people legitimately concerned and also people that relish drama and want to hurt a company and the collateral damage to the several Dreams agents and others that have been working in good faith, and are depending on John to continue to ensure that they have a place to work while serving their customers.

I've seen legitimate concerns and I've seen trash talk. For me, at least, it's not hard to differentiate between the two. Legitimate concerns are valid and the Admin team is giving space for that. I also believe that they are reading, learning, and will act on it. Trash talk only hurts and tears apart people and lives without regard.

If it were me being talked about, I would be more apt to read the thoughtful responses, and disregard the attacks being from people that don't know me. Again, this is just me talking, and I'm part of the community on these boards, and friends with pretty much all the people that are being talked about here.

And, I'm not ignoring the ones who really have been hurt. Dustin and I have communicated recently, and I believe Sean and I are okay, too (though he barely knows me).

I desperately wanted to believe the team didn't know what was happening, but reading the recent comments from JL, it's impossible to believe I'm afraid.

 

[TwoMisfits]

It was a horrid statement. Not b/c it doesn't reference the alleged crimes, b/c legally, the lawyers would have had his head if he did.

But b/c he didn't know where to stop. He's stressed, he's upset, he's overwhelmed...but he's the boss that has to manage this storm. And to manage the storm, you don't put your feelings in your statement. You keep it professional. You're a CEO, not an intern. This line "For those on these boards who have decided it is OK to be mean, nasty and threatening to Kevin and myself I must say I am totally and completely appalled " is the Bud Light line. Trashing customers in aggregate in a professional statement - that's an unprofessional move from a company who is facing a crisis b/c of how unprofessionally and toxically it was run by certain parties.

The statement should have been the 1st 3 paragraphs and the last one - that's what the lawyers would have approved if they saw this before it got posted.

 

[yorkieteacher]

I realize this is over simplifying the situation at the DIS, but I’ve been trying to put it into a perspective I can relate to from the team’s point of view, which of course I don’t know. But that is what we are all speculating and drawing conclusions on.I’ve worked for toxic bosses before, though no SA was involved. My choice was to avoid conflict and confrontation as much as possible or quit a job I enjoyed and had tried hard to get. My supervisors tried to smooth the ******* coming from the top to make things bearable. It seems the DIS team knew Pete was insufferable many times, but did not know about the SA. He had started and owned the company, so he didn’t have HR to answer to. I can see how the confrontations about things like being condescending and dismissive like we sometimes saw on the show could possibly make things worse, and just hope that these attitudes wouldn’t last long. There were times he seemed cheerful and upbeat on the air. It seems the team members bolstered each other up and John was the one who tried to keep Pete calm. This is all based on them not knowing about the SA, but just that Pete had an addictive personality at best and seemed quite bipolar at times. Everyone agrees now that he has serious mental health issues, and before the AMEX and then SA came to light we all were aware about his admitted mental health issues. I’m going to wait and see what changes are made now in DU and these boards ( already I am seeing more is being allowed to be said) and hope things only get better from here. As I’ve said before, these boards and the DISunplugged show have helped me on 6 WDW trips and 3 Disney cruises since I joined in 2014. i hope they can continue to help people go from Newbies to Veterans, because we all can agree to do Disney now it helps to be a Veteran.

 

[nolypops83]

R

Thank you, John.

To the haterz who have clamored for a statement but are still complaining in light of this post, just stop. Take a break, or take your vitriol somewhere else. John, Corey and the team are dealing with change and with running a successful business.

Take the snark to a gossip site, but we do not want or need it here.

Read the room Kathy. It’s not snark, it’s genuine shock and disgust at the situation and concern for the victims. This could have been handled better and the tone of Johns post is not helpful.

 

[Slygathor]

I think this is only the first time I've posted, I mostly use my account to learn for my trips. That said, I'm glad to see you guys moving full steam ahead with the company sans Pete. But everyone being absolutely disgusting, can go kick rocks. No where in this post or Johns statement did they discount the experiences/trauma of those affected. Is it a boilerplate response? Sure, but that's because they can't say much until after the suits are handled. How hard is that for people to understand?

 

[JD80b]

Might as well take down all the old Unplugged episodes with Pete. Can’t imagine that anyone could look at them anymore without feeling sick and disgusted.

That should have been done last week. It should be done now if he really is gone from here.

Maybe you can go put them on a new channel with some old Cosby Show reruns.

 

[Nikki210]

I can understand how Pete is no longer going to be involved with DU since there are two other owners with him but how is he not going to be involved with and profit from the DIS? Werner Entertainment (Pete's and only Pete's company) owns the Dis and the boards and the shows. He's not going to willingly sell. While he might not be "involved" with the Dis on a daily basis he will still profit from it. I feel horrible for Ryno and Craig being stuck in this spot. Unfortunately I don't feel like either of them can leave at the drop of a hat but being in this situation is horrible.