Disney sacks and rehires worker after tweeting about alligator ‘policy’

AN INTERN at Walt Disney World in Florida was sacked and then rehired after going public about an apparent policy “misleading” guests about alligators.

AN INTERN working at Walt Disney World in Florida has been sacked — and then rehired — after she went public about an apparent policy “misleading” guests about alligators at the park.

Disney has been in damage control since a toddler was taken and killed by an alligator at Walt Disney World at Orlando last month.

In the wake of the tragedy, the company has quietly removed references to alligators and crocodiles from its Magic Kingdom resort in Florida — such as axing the character of the Tic Toc Croc from the Festival of Fantasy Parade at Magic Kingdom — and set up new signs around the park warning guests to stay away from potentially alligator-infested waters.

FILE - In this Friday, June, 17, 2016 file photo released by Walt Disney World Resort, a new sign is seen posted on a beach outside a hotel at a Walt Disney World resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., after a 2-year-old Nebraska boy killed by an alligator at Disney World. Matt Graves, the father of the toddler killed by an alligator at Disney on June 14, told rescue officials two alligators were involved in the attack, according to emails from the Reedy Creek Fire Department. (Walt Disney World Resort via AP, File)

Now, according to the Orlando Sentinel, an intern working at Walt Disney World was recently dismissed after she tweeted a picture of a sign in the break room instructing staff about the “correct and appropriate” response to guests’ queries about alligators.

The sign told employees that should a guest inquire about whether alligators lived in the park’s waters, they should reply: “Not that we know of, but if we see one, we will call Pest Management to have them removed”.

This is the sign in question. Disney says it was unauthorized and goes against company policy. pic.twitter.com/vji05pcL6C

— Sandra Pedicini (@SandraPedicini) July 15, 2016

The sign reportedly continued: “Please do not say that we have seen them before” and “We do not want our guests to be afraid while walking around Frontierland”.

Sullivan told her bosses she thought the sign was misleading and posted a picture of it to Twitter. She was then fired.

“I was very offended by it and I was pretty vocal about it,” Sullivan told the Orlando Sentinel of the sign.

This undated family photo obtained June 16, 2016 courtesy of the Orange County Sheriff's Office in Orlando,Florida shows Lane Graves. A US family's desperate search for their toddler son, who was snatched by an alligator off the shore of a lake at a Disney resort, ended jUNE 15, 2016 when divers found the two-year-old's body in murky water. The two-year-old victim was identified as Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska -- a suburb of Omaha. His parents are Matt and Melissa Graves, Demings said. The nightmare at the Disney World complex is the latest horror to hit the central Florida vacation town of Orlando reeling from Sunday's massacre at a gay nightclub in which 49 people were killed -- the deadliest mass shooting in American history. / AFP PHOTO / ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT / FAMILY HANDOUT / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

She later added: “At this point it became my morals and my integrity and what I believe in. I thought if I lose my job because of that, it’s worth it to me.”

In reference to the death of toddler Lane Graves last month, Sullivan said: “I think you need to be telling people to be cautious, letting them know this could happen.”

Disney said the sign was not authorised and that it had been removed from the park.

Sullivan got her job back after a personal visit from the park’s vice president Dan Cockerell. She will continue to work until the end of this month, when her internship was originally set to end.