In an interview with Click Orlando’s Mike DeForest, Dawn Taplin spoke regarding her time as a security officer with Disney Cruise Line. She supervised a team of 6-7 security guards. Taplin says that the guards were not adequately trained. She also states that crew crime is worse than passenger crime. One example of this is Taplin’s account of an incident where a crew member molested an 11-year-old girl in the ship’s elevator while the Disney Dream was still docked at Port Canaveral. Taplin says she offered to call law enforcment but that the second-in-command ordered her not to until after the ship was at sea. At that point, the girl’s grandmother declined to prosecute for unknown reasons.
In response, Disney Cruise Line President Karl Holtz released a statement stating, “We have tremendous confidence in our security operations and our security officers, all of whom have significant security-related experience and nearly all of whom have vast law enforcement or military experience. We disagree with Dawn Taplin’s characterization of our security operation.”
Disney also stated that they have instituted new security procedures such as requiring personnel in the ship’s bridge to contact the ship’s security team and inquire about any issues before leaving port.
Taplin resigned from Disney Cruise Line after nine months of employment and is currently pursuing a business degree.