Another lawsuit has been filed against the Walt Disney Company.
Disneyland’s Fantasyland
According to the Daily Pilot, a former Disneyland Cast Member filed the lawsuit in which she alleges that she was wrongfully terminated in 2023 after having her cell phone turned on while on-stage as a ride operator in Fantasyland. When you become a Disney Cast Member, you are introduced to the Five Keys that Disney uses as a set of core values. Of those five values, safety is Disney’s number one priority, especially for ride operating Cast Members.
The plaintiff and former Disneyland Cast Member, Jody Hunter-Deno, was hired as a Fantasyland ride operator in 2011. Two years prior to her employment with the Walt Disney Company, her son was diagnosed with mental disabilities, and she has been his ongoing primary caretaker.
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Her son worked for Disney in August and September of 2022, and Hunter-Deno was notified any time her son had an aggressive outburst while on the job. A year later, in September of 2023, she was granted intermittent family leave to take care of her son to allow her to go to his aid if needed. The lawsuit states that she told one of the Fantasyland Leaders that her son dealt with psychological issues and that she needed to have her phone turned on so she could monitor his condition and respond to an emergency.
“it’s a small world” in Disneyland
In December of 2023, Disneyland management asked Hunter-Deno about her phone, and she told them once again that she kept it turned on in case her son needed her. The suit goes on to say that she also explained to her supervisors that she only checked her notifications during breaks and not while she was operating Fantasyland rides. This is important as Disney does care about safety, and checking your phone while operating a ride could cause a critical safety error.
Fantasyland
Disney asked for a change-of-venue motion, and a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, Christopher K. Lui, granted this motion, stating that the plaintiff’s case belongs in Orange County, where Disneyland is located. Disney’s attorneys claim that this move was needed since the events alleged in the filing of the suit and all records and witnesses are located in Orange County. The plaintiff’s lawyers say that the pleadings should be in Burbank, which is located in Los Angeles County, since the decision to fire her was made there.
Dumbo at Disneyland
After the lawsuit was filed, the first Fantasyland Leader that Hunter-Deno claims she spoke to after her son’s outburst denied knowing anything about her son’s condition and proceeded to tell her she had violated the park’s phone policy by having the device turned on.
Storybook Land Canal Boats
We will continue to monitor for any updates regarding this story. To stay up to date on all the latest Disney news, follow along with us at the Disney Food Blog!
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Parenting is so hard, especially when there are problems in the family. I hope this works out for both parties. I’m torn.
Safety is always first. So I have to side with Disney on this one. I understand her situation, but she can’t expect Disney to change their safety policies just her. She should have asked to be transferred to a different position that was not as critical and that required her undivided attention.