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Disney workers being spat on and harassed by guests who refuse to wear masks

‘I’ve had a guest literally get right up in my face and literally curse me out’

Stuti Mishra
Tuesday 09 March 2021 07:34 GMT
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Disney has imposed strict mask rules in all their properties, however, employees are having a tough time ensuring people wear mask
Disney has imposed strict mask rules in all their properties, however, employees are having a tough time ensuring people wear mask (AFP via Getty Images)
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A Disney World employee said he was spat on by a visitor when he asked the person to wear a mask and stick to the coronavirus safety protocols of the company.

This is one of the several recent incidents at Disney’s properties in the last few weeks, according to a recent report published by Orlando Sentinel, where the guard detailed what he went through.

A member of Disney’s Contemporary Resort hotel in Orlando said he asked a guest to wear his mask before entering the gate last month. But the middle-aged man, whose name was not disclosed by the publication, argued and asked to be left alone because he is a “guest”. 

The confrontation ended up with the guest allegedly spitting on the guard and his saliva hit his forehead. The man then reportedly “hurried inside the hotel” and was nowhere to be found.

Disney has strict mask rules in place and has been widely praised for ensuring Covid-19 protocols since it opened. However, a recent Orange County sheriff report mentioned by the publication revealed the ordeal Disney employees have to go through everyday to make people follow the guidelines.

“There’s never a day when I don’t have a story,” one employee told Orlando Sentinel, whose job was enforcing mask rules in the Disney Springs parking garages. “I cried the first week I started. It was not a good time at all. Imagine going to work every single day where people ridicule you.”

“I’ve had a guest literally get right up in my face and literally curse me out,” she said.

The employees told the publication that people often question their mask rules saying when the state doesn’t have these rules, why should Disney have them.

However, apart from these frequent scuffles, Disney spokesperson Andrea Finger in her statement to the outlet said most people follow the guidelines.

“Millions of guests visit our theme parks each year, and in rare instances when things of this nature occur, we hold them accountable,” Ms Finger said in a statement to the Orlando Sentinel.

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