My Official Statement

[JimmyV_2.0]

All the victims signed NDA's

Not just the victims, but his former assistant and accountants (who managed the pay-outs to the victims) as well. The point being that one doesn't need NDAs if people don't know anything about what it is they aren't supposed to talk about. So just right there we have at least one former assistant who was not herself an abuse victim but knew of it, and one accountant who again was not himself a victim but knew of the payouts. I am not equating the DIS situation to the Weinstein Company, but the general point is that evil such as this is really hard to hide and keep contained.

 

[Strikan]

I've read through this entire thread now, and it sounds to me like there are a lot of people on here who think they know a lot about toxic work environments or working with/under a narcissistic abuser just because they've read about it secondhand. Everybody likes to think "if I was in that situation then I would have done the right thing! I would have spoken up and spoken out." I'm here to tell you, as a person CURRENTLY in a small company where there is one toxic, narcissistic leader who is making everyone's life hellish, that it is REALLY HARD TO SPEAK UP or stand up for other people when you know FROM EXPERIENCE that then all the **** will rain down on you. We are not dealing with SA or anything on that level of awful, so I can only imagine HOW MUCH WORSE it would be if we WERE.

I say all of this to hopefully gently point out to people on these boards that EVERYONE who works under a narcissistic abuser gets beaten down, gaslit and abused. Even if you are not the direct target of SA or verbal abuse, you are still swimming in that **** soup. I think that EVERYONE on the DIS team, especially people like Craig, Ryno, Erica, etc. who are just Millennials like me, trying to make a living, support themselves/their families, is a victim to some degree in this scenario. And I think that ALL of them deserve compassion.

You can hate what Pete did, what he perpetrated on undeserving people like Sean and Dustin, and you can still NOT let that hate spread onto other members of the DIS team. You can think "why didn't anyone say/do anything about this earlier?!?!?" and STILL recognize that they were dealing with a toxic environment that YOU have not experienced and GIVE THEM SOME GRACE. And for the people on here who will come back at me with "oh no but I HAVE experienced this," then I will just say to you: if you know what it's like to walk a mile in these people's shoes, how hard and scary and stressful it was, then you should be the FIRST PERSON to give them grace, to wish them peace, safety and healing.

The issue here is that John is not Pete’s employee. He is co-owner and leader of the company. He had a responsibility here when it came to employee bullying at the very least.

 

[aymiewilson]

The issue here is that John is not Pete’s employee. He is co-owner and leader of the company. He had a responsibility here when it came to employee bullying at the very least.

This isn't actually that different from the work situation that I'm alluding to in my original post either. In our case, there are 3 people at the top vs 2. John does have responsibility as a leader/co-owner to protect his employees, but he is also just a fallible human being, like all of us. Remember that he was also in a relationship with PW in the past. Wouldn't surprise me if he dealt with abusive behavior from PW too, because tigers don't change their stripes.

At the end of the day, the reason I left the comment that I did is because it saddens and baffles me to see so many people on this thread and others name calling and being extremely demanding of the DIS team - leadership and staff. It saddens me to have a fun online space/fandom get so much vitriol spewed into it. And it baffles me because... isn't the reason we are all so upset because PW created such a horrible, toxic work environment at the DIS and made everyone's lives (some to MUCH greater degrees than others) hellish? If that's what we're all mad about... then why are we coming here onto the DISboards and creating MORE hateful/churlish/mean/angry comments? Doesn't make sense. Let's stand with and support victims of PW's abuse and also give grace and compassion to the larger DIS team who are trying to pick up the pieces.

 

[Slygathor]

The issue here is that John is not Pete’s employee. He is co-owner and leader of the company. He had a responsibility here when it came to employee bullying at the very least.

As someone who's worked at a company with mutliple owners, 1 whom was amazing the other whom was a giant toxic POS, I can safely say it's not that easy to just stop someone who's also part owner, especially one who's that toxic. There's a lot of stupid BS legal stuff that has be gone through. And I'm sure John was trying to deal with it until everything just exploded. Again, we don't know everything especially what was going on behind closed doors between everybody. I think like aymiewilson said, we really need to give them some leeway to deal with this. Especially the people who likely didn't know and aren't involved. The whole Dis and DUT doesn't need to sink just for Pete's terrible actions.

 

[PUSMMA]

Paragraph 3 was not necessary. It was also the largest paragraph. I do not think I am alone in this view. Read the other comments.

Look at Corey’s post from a few moments ago. That is what John should have posted. It’s not hard if you can get past your own ego and self interest.

Bingo!!!!

 

[DanielleC]

Not just the victims, but his former assistant and accountants (who managed the pay-outs to the victims) as well. The point being that one doesn't need NDAs if people don't know anything about what it is they aren't supposed to talk about. So just right there we have at least one former assistant who was not herself an abuse victim but knew of it, and one accountant who again was not himself a victim but knew of the payouts. I am not equating the DIS situation to the Weinstein Company, but the general point is that evil such as this is really hard to hide and keep contained.

So very true. It was going to come out at some point. When the damn breaks in situations like this, it really breaks. Every new victim breeds more people who know something, even if it's just a tiny fraction of the whole picture.

I have to wonder in this case though how much John/Kevin knew. John is pretty much insulated from Dis Unplugged and the offender was pretty insulted from Dreams. I think the only time they saw each other was in the studio for the weekly show. I'm sure everything in there was very above board except some of the banter on air. It isn't as if they have an office some place and everyone sees everyone all day, 5 days a week. They have the welcome center in Cocoa but that's where Theresa works and she rarely sees anyone there.

It seems like the offender was able to insulate a lot of people from seeing everything he was doing by keeping them apart in his ongoing campaigns of harassment and abuse.

One of the things that destroys a narcissist is they think they are smarter than everyone else and they won't get caught. No matter how smart you are, someone is smarter.

 

[Stinasmom]

Whew... I've read everything, everywhere, or so it seems, over the last few days... I am so very sad for the victims and the employees who just wanted to work for a company that dealt in what should have been bringing happiness to it's customers.

I'm posting on this thread because there is something I just can't shake: The optics....

Specifically, how it's looked to us when John (and Kevin, although he is not an specifically an own/manager) have been so absent -- taking cruises then ABD trips, and when not on vacation, up to the second home.

It looked like either a) the company was running so well, John didn't need to be around much
or b) it was a work environment (now we know because of Pete) in which they didnt want to be around much

Of course there is the argument that so much work is done at home or can be done remotely, but I am just saying how it looked to us.

Despite not knowing who knew what, I also agree that it looks now like the ball was dropped by allowing Pete such unfettered authority... especially with hiring/firing and the revolving door of employees.

The red flags were there, and John, of all people, knows Pete.

It's taking me so long to hit "post" here as I have been a huge fan of John and Kevin in the past... They were part of the "A" team on the podcast... Again, the optics are that the podcast just isn't important to them.

 

[RedHead0186]

It looked like either a) the company was running so well, John didn't need to be around much
or b) it was a work environment (now we know because of Pete) in which they didnt want to be around much

Or c)there was a perception the company was running so well John didn't need to be around much, when in actuality it was a dumpster fire. From all I've read Pete seems to be very good at manipulating people. Yes, John knows Pete well, but it's possible that Pete was putting up a good front so John thought things were fine. Yes, one could then make the argument that as co-owner it was John's responsibility to ensure things are fine. However, in a smaller company the lines can be much blurrier than in larger corporations that have more clear hierarchies/reporting structures, policies, and even HR people.

If John/Kevin knew, I'm in no way excusing any of that. Just pointing out that any commentary on what John and Kevin knew or didn't know is purely speculation/assumptions at this point, and there are a myriad of scenarios that could have been what actually went down. People like to fill in the blanks when information is missing. Basic human psychology means we do this based on our own lived experiences, schemas, etc.

 

[Strikan]

This isn't actually that different from the work situation that I'm alluding to in my original post either. In our case, there are 3 people at the top vs 2. John does have responsibility as a leader/co-owner to protect his employees, but he is also just a fallible human being, like all of us. Remember that he was also in a relationship with PW in the past. Wouldn't surprise me if he dealt with abusive behavior from PW too, because tigers don't change their stripes.

At the end of the day, the reason I left the comment that I did is because it saddens and baffles me to see so many people on this thread and others name calling and being extremely demanding of the DIS team - leadership and staff. It saddens me to have a fun online space/fandom get so much vitriol spewed into it. And it baffles me because... isn't the reason we are all so upset because PW created such a horrible, toxic work environment at the DIS and made everyone's lives (some to MUCH greater degrees than others) hellish? If that's what we're all mad about... then why are we coming here onto the DISboards and creating MORE hateful/churlish/mean/angry comments? Doesn't make sense. Let's stand with and support victims of PW's abuse and also give grace and compassion to the larger DIS team who are trying to pick up the pieces.

I understand your point. My position is that Pete’s actions are terrible, but I do not blame the employees of DU or DIS. The only person I question in addition to Pete is John, as he had a clear responsibility to maintain the appropriate culture at the company. His reaction at the start of this thread has me completely questioning his focus and priorities here.

 

[drag n' fly]

By now I’m sure most of you have seen my blog post about Pete’s departure from Dreams Unlimited Travel and the DIS. If not you can see it here https://www.wdwinfo.com/uncategoriz...-and-co-owner-of-dreams-unlimited-travel-inc/

I know many of you want my official take on the situation. Due to legalities and under advice of council I am not permitted to comment on the allegations. I may be able to say more in the future but I can’t as of right now.

I can say that Dreams Unlimited Travel and The DIS both have incredible teams of people working for and with us. We are a very strong organization and we will continue to grow and improve, as we have done every year we have been in business. I have the best people in the world working for and with me and I am so grateful for all of them. We are on strong financial footing and our business continues to grow.

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. We have always been nice, friendly and respectful to everyone we have met. The vitriol and hatred coming our way is uncalled for and disturbing. Just because my response wasn’t fast enough for some people you have decided that it’s appropriate to hide behind an anonymous screen name and post whatever you like. You have created false narratives and fabricated stories without knowing the first thing about us.

For those who have been supportive and good friends both on the boards and in ‘real life’ I am eternally grateful to have you in our lives. Your friendship is a blessing and I am humbled by your support.

My virtual door is always open and I have posted my email address on these boards before but in case you don’t have it – John@DreamsUnlimitedTravel.com

John Magi
President, Co-Owner
Dreams Unlimited Travel, Inc.

Appreciate the response.

 

[aymiewilson]

I understand your point. My position is that Pete’s actions are terrible, but I do not blame the employees of DU or DIS. The only person I question in addition to Pete is John, as he had a clear responsibility to maintain the appropriate culture at the company. His reaction at the start of this thread has me completely questioning his focus and priorities here.

Thanks for clarifying! I think we have a lot of points of agreement here. The only thing I'm not in agreement with is your take on John's reaction at the start of this thread, but..... we have different personalities and different past experiences, so I'd expect us to react differently to people's statements.

 

[OKW Lover]

Before all this came to light, I understood that Pete was the sole owner of the DIS, which included these boards and several other associated things. However Dreams Unlimited Travel was owned by Pete, John and Donna. Perhaps that's incorrect. Does it have any impact on the blame game?

 

[doconeill]

How do you get rid of a co-owner in a private company? You can't just fire them. They are not an employee. They have equity in the company. You can't just take it away.

As far as I know, your options are:
1. Buy them out. Which means you have to have the funds or borrow against equity for an agreed amount. And they have to agree to the amount.
2. Ask them to formally transfer the equity to a successor (like an heir, or sell to a new party). But then you don't know if the successor is any better.
3. Let the company implode, where everyone gets screwed.

 

[Strikan]

How do you get rid of a co-owner in a private company? You can't just fire them. They are not an employee. They have equity in the company. You can't just take it away.

As far as I know, your options are:
1. Buy them out. Which means you have to have the funds or borrow against equity for an agreed amount. And they have to agree to the amount.
2. Ask them to formally transfer the equity to a successor (like an heir). But then you don't know if the successor is any better.
3. Let the company implode, where everyone gets screwed.

It depends on what the partnership or similar agreement provides. Often certain bad acts would trigger a takeover and purchase right. All depends on what Pete and John signed.

 

[CookieGVB]

Just food for thought here. Many people have mentioned that they saw how disrespectful they thought Pete was being to staff members on the podcast. Why didn’t anyone think to send a message and mention their concerns to John? If you have, and were ignored, my apologies. If you saw and didn’t say anything, why not?

Just putting it out there.

My support is for the victims here. I hope everyone who needs to, will seek some therapy.

 

[hopemax]

Speculation has been that the Amex lawsuit provides Pete with incentive to sell.

I might speculate that somebody does know where the bodies are buried, the type to lead to actual criminal investigations, and thought that would provide them enough leverage to keep Pete “in line” before things ever were to blow up. The failsafe threat nobody really wanted to use because it looks bad for everyone.

What wasn’t accounted for, was maybe older incidents involving people they thought had been successfully removed from play, gaining enough traction the week of a big event away from home. Sean’s story was apparently out there and it wasn’t enough to be problematic. It took Dustin’s story and the subsequent revelations.

 

[teruterubouzu]

Speculation has been that the Amex lawsuit provides Pete with incentive to sell.

I might speculate that somebody does know where the bodies are buried, the type to lead to actual criminal investigations, and thought that would provide them enough leverage to keep Pete “in line” before things ever were to blow up. The failsafe threat nobody really wanted to use because it looks bad for everyone.

What wasn’t accounted for, was maybe older incidents involving people they thought had been successfully removed from play, gaining enough traction the week of a big event away from home. Sean’s story was apparently out there and it wasn’t enough to be problematic. It took Dustin’s story and the subsequent revelations.

Does speculation like this help anyone? These are real people we are talking about. Not characters on a TV show.

 

[hopemax]

Does speculation like this help anyone? These are real people we are talking about. Not characters on a TV show.

We are in uncharted waters This is not entertainment in *any* way. But insidious behavior begets other insidious behavior, and from my experience we don’t do ourselves favors in the long run by pretending it doesn’t.

 

[jsbowl16]

I've read through this entire thread now, and it sounds to me like there are a lot of people on here who think they know a lot about toxic work environments or working with/under a narcissistic abuser just because they've read about it secondhand. Everybody likes to think "if I was in that situation then I would have done the right thing! I would have spoken up and spoken out." I'm here to tell you, as a person CURRENTLY in a small company where there is one toxic, narcissistic leader who is making everyone's life hellish, that it is REALLY HARD TO SPEAK UP or stand up for other people when you know FROM EXPERIENCE that then all the **** will rain down on you. We are not dealing with SA or anything on that level of awful, so I can only imagine HOW MUCH WORSE it would be if we WERE.

I say all of this to hopefully gently point out to people on these boards that EVERYONE who works under a narcissistic abuser gets beaten down, gaslit and abused. Even if you are not the direct target of SA or verbal abuse, you are still swimming in that **** soup. I think that EVERYONE on the DIS team, especially people like Craig, Ryno, Erica, etc. who are just Millennials like me, trying to make a living, support themselves/their families, is a victim to some degree in this scenario. And I think that ALL of them deserve compassion.

You can hate what Pete did, what he perpetrated on undeserving people like Sean and Dustin, and you can still NOT let that hate spread onto other members of the DIS team. You can think "why didn't anyone say/do anything about this earlier?!?!?" and STILL recognize that they were dealing with a toxic environment that YOU have not experienced and GIVE THEM SOME GRACE. And for the people on here who will come back at me with "oh no but I HAVE experienced this," then I will just say to you: if you know what it's like to walk a mile in these people's shoes, how hard and scary and stressful it was, then you should be the FIRST PERSON to give them grace, to wish them peace, safety and healing.

Why were Millennials mentioned here specifically? Are you saying your situation or feelings are different than other generations? I worked for small companies, had student loans which I paid off, have a family, a rental and now a mortgage, left jobs because of horrible bosses, etc and I am not a Millennial. Are we supposed to give a pass to the Millennial employees of the DIS because you think your situation is so much more difficult than previous generations?

 

[DonMacGregor]

Has anyone heard if the events scheduled for tomorrow, specifically the live chat from the Grand Californian are still on calendar? I noticed there has been absolute radio silence on the pinned thread, and the last post there reads:

Have a great time everyone who's going to the DIS/Dreams event I enjoy watching the DIS Unplugged podcasts and I'm looking forward to be watching the next show. I'm excited to be hearing from the live podcast that's live from Disneyland Anaheim, California say hi to Pete and Craig for me and also say hi to Mickey and Minnie for me.

Not trying to shame that poster, but that was yesterday afternoon, and it suggests there are people with some expectations that aren't going to be met. I can't imagine any scenario where that live show could or would occur, but conversely there are going to be some people wondering WTH is going on if it simply doesn't happen. I guess the same general question applies to the folks who are there for the official paid event: has the schedule for their experience been modified any? The last couple of days have been very loosey-goosey and unstructured, but tomorrow the actual event begins including the live show and the private party in Avengers Campus.