Cast Member Assaulted at Disney World Restaurant
Florida Man has nothing on South Carolina Man. On November 19, 2023, a drunken man slapped a Disney Cast Member at a Disney World restaurant, according to a police report and court records obtained by WDW News Today. (As with the story about the old lady who bit her sister at Animal Kingdom Lodge, this story is only coming out now because public records take a while to be released in Orange County.) The incident took place at Cítricos, a restaurant in Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa with a Victorian London theme, invoking Mary Poppins Returns (which is a little later than the Victorian era, but why bust chops?), where 64-year-old John Munro of South Carolina joined his family for a birthday dinner. The problem is that Cítricos has a dress code, and while his family wore appropriate attire, Munro showed up wearing a t-shirt and bathing trunks; he was also drunk. When the Cast Member informed him that he would not be allowed in the restaurant dressed like he was, Munro asked if he could sit with his family until they were seated. But he tried to walk into the restaurant with them fifteen minutes later, and a member of his family asked the Cast Member not to let him in, as he was drunk and improperly dressed. When the Cast Member again told him he’d have to leave, Munro slapped her on her forehead three times while repeating her name.
Yep, I said “her.” The Cast Member was a nineteen-year-old girl, and she was brought to tears by a drunken buffoon slapping her and mocking her in public while she was working; can’t imagine why his family didn’t want him to join them for dinner. But perhaps even worse is who John Munro is: he’s the “Vice President of Hospitality, Sales, and Marketing at the prestigious Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head,” according to WDW News Today. When contacted, the Sea Pines Resort admitted Munro worked there but didn’t specify his position. In fact, nine months before the incident, Sea Pines Resort was listed among the Best Hotels in US News and World Report, and Munro gave a press release about the hospitality business:
“Perhaps even more important than achieving a ‘Best Hotel’ ranking for the very first time is sustaining excellence over several years… This is a tribute to each welcoming staff member who understands our commitment to go above and beyond to ensure guests make memories here and keep returning with family and friends.”
And he believes that so strongly he’ll attack a teenage girl at Disney World to enforce it. (Allegedly.) The Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrested Munro – and, if there was any doubt, the arresting officer concluded that he was clearly drunk – and, as the Cast Member wanted him to be prosecuted, he’s being charged with misdemeanor battery. He pleaded guilty, but his lawyer hasn’t commented on the situation. I don’t imagine he’ll have that position at Sea Pines much longer, either. You don’t expect to have this say this about visiting Disney World, but be careful out there.
