In a shocking case of alleged corporate sabotage, former Disney World employee Michael Scheuer stands accused of hacking into the resort’s menu software and altering critical allergen information to indicate items were peanut-free when they were not.
Scheuer, who was dismissed from his role as Menu Production Manager in June over misconduct allegations, allegedly accessed Disney’s third-party menu system, Menu Creator, using his credentials even after his termination, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Scheuer’s alleged tampering ranged from benign menu changes—such as price alterations and adding profanity—to dangerous modifications that risked the health and safety of diners. The complaint details a series of unauthorized actions by Scheuer, who, after losing access to his credentials, allegedly hacked directly into the Menu Creator servers.
He even created a fictitious alias, “Emily P. Beaman,” to gain access, and went so far as to use a script that automated login attempts, locking out over a dozen Disney employees from their accounts in the process.
The digital interference first became apparent when Disney employees noticed the menus had been altered to display in the Wingdings font, rendering all menu information unreadable and forcing Disney to take Menu Creator offline for up to two weeks. On September 16, Scheuer’s changes were allegedly printed onto the menus before they could be halted, but Disney caught the interference before the modified menus reached the resort’s restaurants.
After an extensive investigation, the FBI tracked Scheuer’s movements, which reportedly included him appearing outside a Disney employee’s residence on October 22. On September 23, federal agents seized multiple computers from Scheuer’s home.
Scheuer has denied all wrongdoing, claiming that Disney is attempting to “frame” him over a contentious termination. His attorney, David Haas, pointed out that no harm actually occurred from the alleged tampering and has argued that Scheuer’s firing was influenced by a disability, which Scheuer believes affected his employment status with Disney.
The incident draws unsettling parallels to a recent tragedy involving Disney’s handling of food allergies. In October, NYU doctor Kanokporn Tangsuan tragically died after an allergic reaction to food served at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant in Disney Springs, where, her family alleges, staff failed to accommodate her severe nut allergy. Her husband has filed a wrongful death suit against Disney, claiming negligence and a lack of staff training in allergy protocols.
Disney, in turn, attempted to move the case to arbitration, citing a clause in their account terms that waives the right to a jury trial. The Tangsuan family’s legal team has called Disney’s argument “preposterous,” emphasizing that a wrongful death claim deserves to be heard by a jury.
