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Credit: DisneyOver 70,000 cast members create the magic at Walt Disney World Resort. Without each individual, Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney Springs, and dozens of Disney Resort hotels couldn’t function as well as they do.
In the last few years, though, current and former Disney employees have revealed that the Disney theme parks aren’t as magical as they seem. Disney heiress Abigail Disney slammed The Walt Disney Company’s labor practices, shedding light on a homelessness epidemic among Walt Disney World Resort employees.
After striking, the largest Walt Disney World Resort cast member union successfully signed a contract with Mouse in March, promising all Disney cast members $18/hour by the end of 2023. Only five years ago, some Disney cast members made just $10/hour.
As the cost of living increases, many Disney cast members say their wages aren’t enough to survive in Central Florida. Those with families struggle even more.
This week, former Disney cast member @sweatyoracle shared his thoughts on The Walt Disney Company’s worsening financial state, and the impact working at Walt Disney World Resort left:
@sweatyoracle As I contiue to rise, my enemies continue to fall #disney #waltdisneyworld #disneyland #wdw #waltdisney #waltdisneypictures #bobiger #disneycastmember #disneycastlife #castmember #castmemberlife #castmemberstories #wdwcastmember #fyp #foryoupage
“It’s been continually fun for me to watch Disney self-implode in what feels like a slow-motion way over the last few years,” the former cast member said. “Republicans think Disney is too liberal. Liberals think Disney is too conservative. Longtime Disney Parks fans are revolting against them. Their movies are all losing billions of dollars.”
“I think back to Christmas of 2013 when I was working at Walt Disney World, and I did not have money to eat even though I was working 60 hours a week,” he continued. “…As I went into work that day, I made myself a Christmas meal of a peanut butter sandwich on a stale hot dog bun because it’s all that I had for food.”
Because he worked at Walt Disney World Resort before Disney Look guidelines changed in 2021, leaders were much stricter about men needing to be clean-shaven. Beards were only permitted if fully grown, groomed, and no more than a quarter of an inch long. (Now, beards and goatees up to an inch long are permitted.)
“I had a beard a little bit shorter than this,” the former cast member explained. “And they made me shave it because they told me it wasn’t Disney Look. It wasn’t long enough.”
“As I sat there, shaving my beard without shaving cream in a Magic Kingdom bathroom, my stomach not full with stale hot dog bun peanut butter and jelly, I sat there as I dragged that dry razor across my face, and I said, ‘One day, I will see that putrid little mouse roast on a spit,” he concluded. “…Now, I’m at the barbecue!”
Other former Disney cast members shared similar stories.
“Glad we both had to experience the ‘not being Disney look’ and forced to dry shave at 8 in the morning on an empty stomach,” @ryanconnelly0 wrote.
“Me after crying on top of an abandoned Olaf head on Christmas 2014 in the castle wondering why I was still working there,” said @thekatecupcakes.
Always be kind to Disney cast members and recognize that if you’re respectful, they’re more likely to do everything they can to help you have a magical vacation.
Have you ever worked at Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort? Share your thoughts on the job with Inside the Magic in the comments.
Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on personal Disney Parks experiences. No two experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.