Does Disney World Need Cast Members to Control How Guests Walk?

Walt Disney World Resort is one of the most popular vacation destinations on earth. Many families save for years for their once-in-a-lifetime visit to Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney Springs, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. And despite increased costs, Walt Disney World crowds are rising – there is no longer a “best time” to visit!

The Central Florida Disney Park does assign crowd-control Cast Members during fireworks shows and parades, but some Guests crave more. On Reddit this week, many fans argued that the most significant improvement to Walt Disney World Resort would be constant crowd control.

u/Dino_Spaceman asked for “Cast members that tell the large family/tour groups who always seem to stop right in the middle of the main walkway in the Fantasyland choke point to move to the side and stop blocking the path. Same for the people who walk six across at a pace that would make a snail impatient.” The comment received dozens of votes of support and emphatic replies.

“On my recent trip, I noticed the large Brazilian tour groups were starting to appear again, in the sense they were starting to do things a bit like they used to,” u/Euchre recalled. “One thing you’re not supposed to have in the parks is flags on sticks, because of how tour groups tend to use them to ‘rally’ their mobs into the worst spots and lead them like the worst regimented army in a wave that would make Sherman jealous. The flags were back, and I didn’t see a single CM stop any of them from using them.”

But some argued that already underpaid and overworked Disney Cast Members shouldn’t be tasked with such a difficult job. “This is probably never going to get better unless the company stops penny-pinching and does what they need to do to bring staffing levels back up,” said u/countesspetofi. “If I was a Disney CM right now, underpaid and doing the work of two people, I don’t know if I would stick my neck out for that sort of thing.”

Does Walt Disney World Resort need more crowd-control Cast Members? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments. 

Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on personal Disney Parks Guest experiences. No two Guest experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.