FILE - In this Friday, June, 17, 2016 file photo released by Walt Disney World Resort, a new sign is seen posted on a beach outside a hotel at a Walt Disney World resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., after a 2-year-old Nebraska boy killed by an alligator at Disney World. (Walt Disney World Resort via AP, File)
A Walt Disney World intern received her job back after she was briefly fired for tweeting a photo of a sign guiding employees on how to respond to questions about alligators in the theme park’s waters.
The Orlando Sentinel reported Friday that Shannon Sullivan was fired last week after posting the photo on Twitter. It told employees that if guests ask whether alligators live in the park’s waters, they should reply: “Not that we know of, but if we see one, we will call pest management to have it removed.”
The sign said that workers shouldn’t tell guests that they have seen alligators before. “We do not want our guests to be afraid while walking around Frontierland,” the note added.
Sullivan told her bosses that the sign was misleading. She told the Sentinel that she was “offended” by the photo and “was pretty vocal about it.” She acknowledged that tweeting the photo could’ve gotten her in trouble.
"At this point it became my morals and my integrity and what I believe in," she said. "I thought if I lose my job because of that, it's worth it to me,” she explained.
Sullivan, who served as an intern in Disney World’s College Program, posted the photo on Twitter and was subsequently fire.
However, in a reversal, Disney said the sign wasn’t authorized and was removed. Sullivan got her job back.
A 2-year-old Nebraska boy was killed by an alligator at the park last month.
Disney told the paper that they didn’t know who posted the sign and that no one else had been punished over the incident.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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