Disney News

Category: Cast Members

  • Disney World Offering $1,000 Signing Bonuses to New Hires

    Disney World Offering $1,000 Signing Bonuses to New Hires

    After laying off more than 30,000 employees in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Walt Disney Co. is now offering $1,000 bonuses to recruit new housekeepers and select kitchen staff at Disney World.

    Housekeepers, making $16 an hour, and line cooks, earning $18, can receive the money if they stay on the job for at least 90 days, according to the company’s website.

    About 33,000 of the more than 41,000 members of the Service Trades Council Union have returned to work at Disney World, according to Matt Hollis, president of that worker coalition. About 15,000 of the 32,000 workers at California’s Disneyland resort have returned, the company said.

    Disney, which was forced to close its theme parks around the world due to the coronavirus, announced plans in September to lay off 28,000 employees, a number that later grew to 32,000 companywide. Most of them were at its domestic resorts.

    Disney said it has rehired more than three-quarters of those affected by furloughs and work reductions. Disneyland, in Anaheim, California, has been bringing back 300 staffers a week, and the company wants to hire thousands more at its U.S. resorts this summer and fall.

  • New Disney World Cast Member Name Tags Coming for 50th Anniversary

    New Disney World Cast Member Name Tags Coming for 50th Anniversary

    Disney World’s 18-month long 50th anniversary celebration kicks off October 1st and cast members are getting new name tags to celebrate.

    “Cast members have been the heart of the Walt Disney World Resort for nearly 50 years. To honor their contribution to the magic, cast members will receive a new nametag this fall, with a touch of ‘EARidescence,’ in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort,” Disney said in a post.

    Take a closer look at the reveal below:

    A team of graphic artists and costume designers spent more than a year developing the new nametag, testing a number of colors and printing techniques before completing the final design. The new nametags feature several special details:

    • An exclusive color wash, inspired by the sparkling new 50th anniversary looks for Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, was developed and applied with an innovative printing technique and glaze to give each nametag a pearlescent shimmer.
    • Holographic gold foil with sparkling color-shift elements is individually applied to each nametag, bringing additional shine to the Walt Disney World Resort 50th anniversary logo.
    • Royal blue lettering matching the turrets of Cinderella Castle brings a regal pop of color to the nametag, ensuring each cast member name and hometown is a focal point against the glistening background.

    All of these elements will combine to produce a distinct shine across each nametag, reflecting the EARidescent décor that will be on display across Walt Disney World Resort for the duration of the celebration.

    The new EARidescent nametags will debut later this year, in time for the Oct 1 start of “The World’s Most Magical Celebration.”

  • Disney Cast Member Starts Food Pantry for Laid off Coworkers

    Disney Cast Member Starts Food Pantry for Laid off Coworkers

    Disney World has laid off thousands this week and one cast member has taken it upon herself to help fellow cast members in need by creating a pantry.

    Disney cast member Emily Lartigue created The Cast Member Pantry, which has been set up in a storage unit and is exclusively for Disney workers. It’s stocked with items for ranging from groceries and toiletries to pet food.

    “Cast Member Pantry makes it quick and easy to receive free food essentials once a month per Cast Member,” Lartigue says in a post on Facebook as you can see below:

    Are you or a fellow cast member you know in need of groceries during this difficult time? Cast Member Pantry makes it…

    Posted by Cast Member Pantry on Saturday, July 25, 2020

    “To be able to give back to them and to help out our fellow cast is really special,” said Lartigue, who has been collecting food since March.

    Disney workers who want to visit the pantry to pick up food will need to schedule an appointment and can do so by sending an email to castmemberpantry@gmail.com. The pantry is doing appointment times in 15-minute increments to adhere to social distancing guidelines.

    Even though the pantry is just for Disney workers, others can still help. People have shown their support by donating money and non-perishable food.

  • Disneyland Resort Cast Members Annual Canoe Races Tradition Returns

    Disneyland Resort Cast Members Annual Canoe Races Tradition Returns

    After a two-year hiatus to accommodate work on the Rivers of America, the annual Cast Member Canoe Races have returned! Nearly 70 teams from around the Walt Disney Company rising early for the pre-park opening dash around the river participated in the event.

    The canoe races began in 1963 when a challenge was set forth between the Frontierland cast and Adventureland cast, igniting a tradition that has spread to the Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Resort Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.

    Being a cast member at the Disneyland Resort is a special experience with a long and rich history of traditions and exclusive opportunities that are unlike anything else. However, ask any cast member who’s worked here for several decades what the must-do cast-exclusive event is, and nearly all will tell you without hesitation, it’s the Canoe Races.

    Disneyland Resort Cast Members Annual Canoe Races

    “This brings the cast together in a way no other event can,” said Cast Activities Program Manager Rick Henson, who began his Disney career as a merchandise host at the Disneyland Hotel 37 years ago, and has helped oversee the Canoe Races for the last 16 years. “I’ve had cast members tell me how they heard about the races before they started working here, and it was so special once they became a cast member to be able to form a team. I’m honored to be the person who gets to put on these races and keep the tradition alive.”

    Cast Member, Friends and Family 5K

    While Canoe Races represent the long legacy of cast traditions, newer cast-exclusive opportunities that promote wellness and healthy living have also become popular annual events, including Sunrise Yoga at Sleeping Beauty Castle and the Cast Member, Friends and Family 5K, which took place Saturday, July 14.

    Tim Sullivan is the Fitness Program Manager in charge of coordinating the early morning run through the parks, and says these events serve as a kind of family reunion for cast members.

    “We have so many cast members that have been working here for a number of years,” says Tim, who himself is a 22-year Disneyland Resort veteran, starting his career as a Jungle Cruise Skipper. “It’s so fun to see them run into each other and talk about where they are now in their professional Disney careers, introduce their families and reminisce about their time together working in the parks. This place means a lot to so many of us, and to be able to have these events in the park, before or after hours is really special.”

    Cast members pride themselves on creating happiness – for the guests and for each other – and having opportunities to enjoy the Disneyland Resort in unique and exclusive ways is one longstanding tradition that will always be a special part of being a cast member.

  • Disneyland Resort Cast Members Prepare for Pixar Fest

    Disneyland Resort Cast Members Prepare for Pixar Fest

    The biggest Pixar celebration ever to come to Disney Parks is right around the corner! This week, cast members who work at Disney parks and hotels at the Disneyland Resort had the opportunity to jump into the Pixar spirit with a preview of what’s to come.

    Dedicated teams of cast members and Imagineers have been busy preparing to bring beloved stories from Pixar Animation Studios to life for guests.

    To get ready for Pixar Fest, cast members participated in special roadshows to learn more about the celebration, as well as preview some tasty treats (Pixar Fest Celebration Cake, anyone?).

    The biggest Pixar celebration ever to come to Disney Parks is right around the corner! Dedicated teams of cast members and Imagineers have been busy preparing to bring beloved stories from Pixar Animation Studios to life for guests. This week, cast members who work in our parks and hotels at the Disneyland Resort had the opportunity to jump into the Pixar spirit. Pixar Fest Socks Pixar Fest Street Art To get ready for Pixar Fest, our cast members participated in special roadshows to learn more about the celebration, as well as preview some tasty treats (Pixar Fest Celebration Cake, anyone?). There were even some fun Pixar “best buddy” socks to take home! Everyone got into the spirit, including our custodial cast, with an impromptu street art display of favorite Pixar characters.

    There were even some fun Pixar “best buddy” socks to take home! Everyone got into the spirit, including our custodial cast, with an impromptu street art display of favorite Pixar characters.

    The biggest Pixar celebration ever to come to Disney Parks is right around the corner! Dedicated teams of cast members and Imagineers have been busy preparing to bring beloved stories from Pixar Animation Studios to life for guests. This week, cast members who work in our parks and hotels at the Disneyland Resort had the opportunity to jump into the Pixar spirit. Pixar Fest Socks Pixar Fest Street Art To get ready for Pixar Fest, our cast members participated in special roadshows to learn more about the celebration, as well as preview some tasty treats (Pixar Fest Celebration Cake, anyone?). There were even some fun Pixar “best buddy” socks to take home! Everyone got into the spirit, including our custodial cast, with an impromptu street art display of favorite Pixar characters.

    Don’t miss Pixar Fest and the return of Pixar Play Parade, beginning April 13 at Disneyland park.

  • Homeless Disney Worker Who Died Living in Her Car Becomes Center Of Wages Debate

    Homeless Disney Worker Who Died Living in Her Car Becomes Center Of Wages Debate

    The homeless Disney worker who died alone, living in her car, has recently been put in the center of Disneyland’s wages debate.

    Yeweinishet “Weini” Mesfin kept her struggles mostly to herself and it took 20 days of frantic searching by friends and family before her body was found around noon on Dec. 19, 2016. She was found dressed in exercise clothes and clutching her keys, in the driver’s seat of her dark green 1999 sedan parked at the gym where she showered.

    Mesfin lived out of her Honda Civic for seven years but all she wanted was privacy and hid her struggles from almost everyone, according to a report by The Orange County Register. Mesfin decided not to tell family and coworkers that she was homeless, outside of one or two people.

    Now Mesfin’s private struggle is the subject of public debate more than a year after her death. A recent union-commissioned survey of 5,000 Disney employees showed that the vast majority of respondents stated they were being paid less than $15 an hour, and about 3/4 of those surveyed said they run out of money by the end of month, according to the study. Headlines about the about the findings quickly spread and soon she was the subject of social media posts and stories claiming she died because of her paycheck.

    Disney officials, however, dispute the surveys findings as “deliberately distorted,” calling them an “inaccurate and unscientific survey … paid for by politically motivated labor unions,” according to a statement from Suzi Brown, the vice president of communications for Disneyland Resort.

    However on the issue of Mesfin’s disappearance, Brown said, Disney security also requested a welfare check by Anaheim police. They also made calls to multiple police departments and maintained Mesfin’s status as a cast member until she was found dead.

    Employment records show Mesfin began working part-time at the Anaheim theme park in 2007, according to Brown. Mesfin became a full-time cast member in 2009.

    Co-worker said, Mesfin was third-shift custodial at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, with typical hours starting at 11 or 11:30 p.m. and ending around 8 a.m. Her pay was most likely was around $13 or $14 an hour at the time of her death, according to the report.

    The 61 year-old passed alone almost a week after her birthday.

     

     

     

     

  • VIDEO: Union Workers Reject Disney’s Latest Wage Proposal

    VIDEO: Union Workers Reject Disney’s Latest Wage Proposal

    Chanting turned to cheering Wednesday as Walt Disney World union members overwhelmingly voted ‘No’ on a contract that would have given employees a raise of at least 50 cents an hour. Disney says “they are disappointed”, and they believe the 6 to 10 percent wage increase was fair but they will continue to work with the union on negotiations.

    New Disney employees earn $10 an hour currently, but the union wants to raise average worker pay to $15 an hour in an effort to reduce poverty among their represented members.

    Almost 10,000 votes were cast, the highest turnout ever for the Service Trades Council Union and approximately 93 percent of dues-paying members voted to turned down the two-year contract. The STCU has been negotiating wages with Disney and is a coalition of six unions representing nearly 36,000 Walt Disney World cast members.

    The rejected offer would have seen full and part-time cast members receive a 50 cent or 3 percent raise per year for two years, whichever was higher for the cast member, retroactive to Sept. 24. They also would have seen a $200 bonus. Cast members who receive tips would not be eligible for the wage increase, but would qualify for the $200 payout.

    Disney says they already pay $2-per-hour more than the federally required minimum wage and it seems unlikely the workers will actually see $15 an hour. The final outcome effects employers throughout the Orlando area as their employee wages usually follow Disney’s very closely. In 2014 Disney agreed to raise the minimum wage to $10-per-hour by 2016 and other unionized and non-unionized companies followed suit, including Universal Orlando.

    The next step for the unions appears to be in February, where they will regroup for further negotiations.