On the best days, Disney Theme Parks are a massive dose of organized chaos. Long lines, screaming children, and scheming parents abound. And the only people keeping it all together for everyone? The Disney cast members (the fancy name for employees) — with their cheerful smiles and unending ambition to make sure that today is your happiest day (even if you’ve been waiting in line to meet Elsa for four hours). Most of the time, they do such a good job of it that the whole experience can be a surprising amount of fun.
But that may be about to change. As seen in Walt Disney World today, the park the mouse built may soon resemble District 12 more than a magical fairytale world.
According to the Disney-centric site, the forthcoming Shanghai Disneyland is both behind schedule and over-budget. Word is that Disney’s doing what it can to cut costs elsewhere. That includes shaving off hours from cast members who aren’t in the profit-making sectors of the park:
According to inside sources, the Disneyland Resort saw a 20% cut in labor costs from non-profit locations starting at the beginning of the month, this includes positions such as attractions, guest relations, custodial, entertainment, and more. Walt Disney World will see similar cuts starting this week, such as the cut of front desk curbside greeters at all resorts. All front desk and concierge cast members will also only be offered only up to 32 hours a week once the cuts are in effect. Other departments will have similar restrictions, but we could not confirm a complete list.
Isn’t this how entire empires come crashing down? Not with a bang, but with poorly managed sanitation systems? Will the streets of Main Street Disney soon be paved with toddler vomit and unpopped popcorn kernels that were dumped by tourists because the trash can was too full? Who will enthusiasts trade Mickey pins with? And is Shanghai Disney really to blame?
According to anonymous sources, it’s not certain that the cuts are coming because of Shanghai Disney, but they are coming and they’re coming hard. While some employees were lucky enough to secure hours at their posts in the park for the next week at Walt Disney World, many others were told they’d be taking an unpaid vacation for at least the near future (that’s a nice way of saying they’re not on the schedule). It’s not peak season, but no one was expecting all their hours cut.
Would Walt be cool with cuts?
While some fans are raging at the fact that their experience may not be up to par (and it very well might not be), others in WDW News Today’s comments section are reminding angry visitors that it’s not just those looking to meet Ariel feeling the burn. With so many hours being cut for so many, there’s no doubt that a great number of people will be feeling the financial burden of progress and expansion.
Unfortunately for employees, the parks and movie studio are run separately — so don’t expect that sweet Star Wars money to save the day, either.
