The Spirited Seventh Heaven ...

[GoofGoof]

And that's discrimination. You might want to keep that under your hat especially if Disney is doing background checks on posters. Don't want to open yourself up to possible llitigation.

It's perfectly legal to inquire about criminal background and it's also legal to not hire someone who has a criminal record. It's only discrimination if you pass on hiring one person because they have a record and then hire someone else to the same position who has a similar criminal record.

 

[Lee]

Look I am not trying to be combative here....I really am not...just asking questions. How do you know 100% that they are not taking action? Just because a problem exist doesn't mean they are not doing anything.

Oh, I'm not 100% sure.
I just haven't seen anything that would instill confidence in what they are doing.

 

[tirian]

I'm not discrediting the idea behind the story; my judgment was based on how CNN seemed to imply that Florida's theme parks were a unique case in the US.

The reality is that disgusting, sick people can work anywhere, including WDW. Parents are delusional and stupid to think they can let their kids run off unsupervised because "it's Disney." But unfortunately, it's no different than the variety of people who work in the average shopping mall.

It shouldn't be happening anywhere.

Except it wasn't. I haven't heard one person contradict something presented in that story as fact. Hell, they allowed Disney to make it seem like it was an 'insignificant' issue based on numbers.

As a former CM at the white collar level, one would think you'd be aware of some of the horror stories ...

 

[lazyboy97o]

When I hire people, as I have in the past, I have made every effort to make sure that I wasn't hiring anyone who had ANY criminal issues.

Yes, huge companies like Disney, UNI, SW absolutely have some control ... to what degree, I'm not sure. But neither are you.

We do know what can be done because convictions are a matter of public record. Allegations of sexual misconduct also have a strong tendency to be reported on, making discovery of a pattern also possible. One of the biggest issues facing all sexual crimes is reporting. That is how crimes can be committed for years and unfortunately without a criminal act there is no crime.

Not really with the definition I used. Yes, I looked it up before I posted.
"Choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others; having complicity."
But, whatever...

Disney isn't doing anything to purposely facilitate this behavior, as I see it. They simply aren't going out of their way to stop it. Reminds me a bit of the old Ford Pinto problem. The "cheaper to pay off the victims than to solve the problem" mindset.

And how could they prevent? Without an answer to that question such assertions lack merit. Why aren't you doing more to prevent world hunger?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I'm honestly shocked by the amount of folks who appear, on first glance at least, to have more of an issue with people reporting pedophilia and discussing it then it actually happening.

I guess that's how you win debates. You don't actually pay attention to what the other person is saying.

 

[WDW1974]

Which is it? There can't be a real underbelly for the theme park companies if they are not complicit, even if through negligence.

Not getting into a semantics debate with you. Sorry.

I do believe they bear some responsibility ... if that makes them complicit legally, then so be it. I broke my mother's heart and never got that worthless law degree, so I don't know.

 

[Magenta Panther]

It's horrific. How Kim Irvine has managed to hold on and head up these kinds of projects is completely beyond me. That the same division responsible for BVS could so totally annihilate NOS without a smidge of good design sense - the mind reels.

Oh dear. I haven't been liking what I've been reading about it, but I didn't know it was that bad...

 

[WDW1974]

You're contradicting yourself.
You clearly said (and the news too) that noone of them were "caught" doing anything bad in the parks themselves.
They were doing that OUTSIDE with direct contact (like that employee offering "his services" to underage kids via online)

The Port Orleans CM was soliciting children (outside of WDW, according to CNN) from his computer at work at WDW.

 

[Trauma]

Oh, I'm not 100% sure.
I just haven't seen anything that would instill confidence in what they are doing.

My question would be is there more they can be doing within the scope of the law.

If yes then heck yeah there is a problem.

Since I am not a lawyer or a expert on Disney/ universal employee monitoring practices I can only speculate.

Maybe someone here with a more in depth legal perspective can shed some light on the matter.

 

[tirian]

@WDW1974

CNN should do an investigative report on how some of the character performers live when they're off duty...and how some Imagineers make friends...and how many straight-up pervs are on the college program.

In the words of the legendary stick up boy Omar a Little, "You come at the King, you best not miss."

If that's The best CNN can do, I'm sadly disappointed. You do a story like this, you empty all your guns and fire all your bullets. They didn't do that and they came off like a bad college newspaper.

 

[WDW1974]

Then you are guilty of protecting such persons for not using your often discussed connections to bring such negligence to the public's attention.

Classy, dude. Very classy.

I'm protecting no one, but thanks. Oh, and if I haven't made it clear enough for you, I went to folks at CNN with the story last year. I fully expected Disney to kill it fully since that is their MO.

I'll take pleasure in knowing that Bob Iger and his flying monkeys are probably having a miserable night.

 

[John]

My question would be is there more they can be doing within the scope of the law.

If yes then heck yeah there is a problem.

Since I am not a lawyer or a expert on Disney/ universal employee monitoring practices I can only speculate.

Maybe someone here with a more in depth legal perspective can shed some light on the matter.

Hey isn't Mongello a lawyer?........LOLOLOLOL Thought we needed some levity

 

[WDW1974]

Look I am not trying to be combative here....I really am not...just asking questions. How do you know 100% that they are not taking action? Just because a problem exist doesn't mean they are not doing anything.

I think a lot of people are being combative.

The real issue is what is going on at these companies, especially Disney, and what they are doing about it.

Some folks here think I'm joking when I talk of Imagineer/fanboi hookups, but it is a known issue and has been for years. ... Much like Bryan Singer's activities that either walked the line or crossed it.

Those should be the issues, not whether we should discuss this or whether Disney and UNI and SW are being treated unfairly.

 

[Smiddimizer]

And how could they prevent? Without an answer to that question such assertions lack merit. Why aren't you doing more to prevent world hunger?

For starters they could check the cache on those Port Orleans work computers..

 

[WDW1974]

So when is it going to be dropped.Sometime this week or this month?

Likely in a few days. I want to see what coverage this CNN report gets beyond the network.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

In case anyone would like to know how Kim Irvine got into WDI.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Irvine
In the early 1950s Walt Disney asked Irvine to help construct Disneyland. He moved from 20th Century Fox to the Walt Disney Studio in 1952 and became a senior figure at Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI). Until his retirement in 1973, he headed design and planning for all Disneyland attractions including the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. Irvine became executive vice president and chief operations officer at WDI in 1967.

Irvine's daughter Maggie followed in her father's footsteps and also joined WDI.[His son married Kim Thomas (now Kim Irvine, who currently is an art director at WDI) who is Imagineering colleague Leota Toombs's daughter.

 

[cw1982]

For starters they could check the cache on those Port Orleans work computers..

According to earlier posts, the activity you're talking about did not happen at Port Orleans.

Edit: nevermind... I misread!

 

[WDW1974]

Not really with the definition I used. Yes, I looked it up before I posted.
"Choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others; having complicity."
But, whatever...

Disney isn't doing anything to purposely facilitate this behavior, as I see it. They simply aren't going out of their way to stop it. Reminds me a bit of the old Ford Pinto problem. The "cheaper to pay off the victims than to solve the problem" mindset.

As usual, you come up with a perfect analogy. Maybe DD wasn't so wrong about you!

 

[tirian]

They'll hire nearly anyone without an existing criminal record, and look the other way if illegal actions don't cause too much of a stir. It's partly due to an enormous HR department that makes it difficult for people to report problems and even harder for someone to actually get fired.

I would like to know if they did proper due diligence when hiring these people. The story never really got into that. Is that the follow up? If there is any evidence that Disney is not properly screening employees I will be the first person to jump all over them. There should be a zero tolerance approach especially in places that attract these people, but I'm not sure about polygraphs. Best practice is probably to attempt to instill a real corporate culture of zero tolerance that's not just a buzz word or a PR response to a CNN report, but an actual culture. I bet some of these people's co-workers saw stuff that was questionable. See something, say something.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Not getting into a semantics debate with you. Sorry.

I do believe they bear some responsibility ... if that makes them complicit legally, then so be it. I broke my mother's heart and never got that worthless law degree, so I don't know.

There are no semantics involved. Failure to take reasonable measures is a failure. Any organizations or persons who are knowingly aware of such failings are a part of that failure.