We have learned that Darion Butler, the Orange County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief has received a suspension, expected to begin on July 22nd, from his position with the Fire Department for what appears to be involvement with a Walt Disney World ticket scam. Â This suspension is after two other firefighters on the team that Butler is the supervisor for happened to be caught reselling free Walt Disney World tickets to unsuspecting guests. Â These two firemen are named as Glen Kiture and Christopher Huntley. Â The tickets were given to the firemen by Disney as a kind gesture after the Pulse night club shooting attack. Â Each fireman received 4 tickets for their individuals families with the stipulation that they could not be sold for profit.
The tickets ended up being sold to guests online. Â Once the guests attempted to enter the park with the tickets, they were not allowed to enter the park by Disney as the tickets had been flagged. Â Butler got involved to attempt to resolve the issue without involving formal channels. Â In doing so, it is said that he called the family and pretended to be a Disney employee.
The reasons cited for the suspension are due to a poor quality of work and giving false testimony. Â He lied about his involvement with the incident. Â We are unsure at this time what further action will be taken in the matter.
This is a good reminder to all guests that it is never a good idea to buy tickets online from sources that aren’t known as trustworthy sites. Â Disney takes ticket scam very seriously and will not honor tickets that are bought/sold outside of the approved channels.