#PRFail: Disney + Gators

Last year, a public relations disaster occurred when 2-year-old Lane Graves died as a result of being dragged into a lake by an alligator at a Disney resort. What a nightmare for the family and Disney alike. Condolences poured in from across the nation offering sympathy for the horrible loss.

Nearly two months later, as everyone continued to recover, the disaster took another turn. This was not another alligator mishap. This was a management blunder of incomparable stupidity which was then compounded by the photo of a sign going viral. So here are the components of this PR fail: a sign, an intern, and Disney management.

First the sign. What appeared to be a protocol concerning alligators at the Disney resort, it was printed in red, green and blue ink and requested that employees deny that Disney knew of any alligators on its grounds because “we do not want our Guests to be afraid.” It further instructed staff with the “appropriate response” for an employee to give when asked if there were any alligators at Disney – “Not that we know of, but if we see one, we will call Pest Management to have it removed.”

Let’s call that blunder number one. Remember, this comes on the heels of the death of a toddler a couple of months ago.

Then there is the intern. A young lady torn between her loyalty to Disney and the public’s best interest. What should she do? What would you do after coming upon such a detrimental mis-orchestration? Would you, perhaps, post the sign on your Facebook page? That’s exactly what Shannon Sullivan did-- and she was promptly fired for her actions.

Nevertheless, Shannon’s posting and her firing fired up the Internet and it was not long before a Disney VP rehired her, declaring the sign to be unauthorized. They did not hold anyone accountable for this misguided adventure, however.

Obviously, the sign was a faux pas of magnitude. But could it have been handled better and not created yet another PR calamity for Disney?

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Karla Jo Helms , Chief Evangelist and Anti-PR Strategist, JOTO PR Disruptors