Disney World is supposed to be the most magical place on earth. It's a place where people can forget about the real world for a while and enjoy a Disney vacation that feels separate from the cares and complications of reality. Unfortunately, one thing that many people can’t forget about, other than the ever-increasing Disney World prices, is their allergies. For many, navigating menus can be a life-threatening experience, which is why allegations against a former Disney employee, who is accused of changing allergy information on Disney World restaurant menus, are so concerning.
A criminal complaint has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against a man named Michael Scheuer. According to the complaint, Scheuer was fired from his job for undisclosed misconduct, and in response used passwords that had not yet been deactivated to make significant changes to menus for many Disney World restaurants. While the complaint does not mention where Scheuer worked, 404media reports the man worked for Disney and the menus in question were for Disney World locations.
Disney World Restaurant Menus Allegedly Had Allergy Information Changed
Scheuer’s job at Disney was to work as part of the company that created printed menus for Disney World restaurants via a software program created specifically for Disney. Many of the changes to menus that Scheuer allegedly made were “benign” as the complaint says. This included changing prices, adding profanity, and changing fonts to wingdings, which use symbols rather than letters.
However, one other change could have been significantly more dangerous. Allergen information was reportedly changed, specifically notating that certain items were safe for people with peanut allergies, despite this not being the case. Obviously, this could have led to a lot of people getting sick or worse.
Luckily, the issues with the menu creation software were reportedly discovered before any of the modified menus made it into the hands of the public. Still, it’s not hard to imagine how things could have turned out if the menus with incorrect allergen information made it into the resort.
Disney World’s Current Allergy Lawsuit Is Unrelated
This isn’t the only allergy-related issue that Disney World is currently dealing with. Disney World and the Raglan Road restaurant at Disney Springs have been sued by the family of a woman who died of a severely allergic reaction after eating at the restaurant.
A lawsuit made headlines earlier this year after Disney tried to get it dismissed over a controversial use of its Disney+ terms of service. Disney has since walked back from that defense. The two events are unrelated. The modification of menus of menus took place months after the woman’s death. Raglan Road is also not a Disney-owned restaurant, so it likely does not get its menus from the same source.
Disney World has a Michelin-star restaurant so the resort's guests aren't necessarily massive theme park fans, simply fans of great food. As somebody who loves eating at Disney World and has a kid with a, non-fatal, allergy, I’ve relied on Disney Parks menus to feed my own family, so it’s more than a little scary that something truly terrible could have happened.
