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Credit: DisneyOn Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that could impact hundreds of homeless Walt Disney World Resort cast members.
As of October 1, 2024, homeless Floridians are banned from camping or sleeping in public places. The law also outlines additional mental health services, rehabilitation programs, and a plan for approved camping sites where alcohol and drugs would be banned.
“It will help maintain and ensure that Florida streets are clean and Florida streets are safe for our residents,” DeSantis said.
“This bill will not eliminate homelessness. But it is a start,” Republican state Representative Sam Garrison said. “And it states clearly that in Florida, our public spaces are worth fighting for.”
Politicians who voted against the bill say it’s a thinly veiled attempt to hide the homeless community from tourists and more affluent residents.
“This bill does not and it will not address the more pressing and root cause of homelessness,” said Democratic state Senator Shevrin Jones. “We are literally reshuffling the visibility of unhoused individuals with no exit strategy for people who are experiencing homelessness.”
The law also allows residents, business owners, and the state attorney general to file lawsuits against communities that would enable unhoused residents to sleep or camp on public property. This provision takes effect next year.
Unlike regulations from the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board, the newest Florida law doesn’t directly target Walt Disney World Resort. However, it will undoubtedly impact some of the Central Florida theme park industry’s most vulnerable.
Guests aren’t likely to spot an unhoused person at Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney Springs, or Disney Resort hotels. But many Disney Park cast members suffer in plain sight, struggling to support their families. Hundreds report living in their cars, delaying medical care, skipping meals, and resorting to sex work to survive.
According to one survey, roughly ten percent of full-time Magic Kingdom Park cast members are homeless. One former unhoused Disney cast member called The Walt Disney Company’s negotiations with struggling employees “dismal.”
“Walt Disney World is built off the backs of these low-wage workers,” the former Disney cast member said. She urged employees and guests to support unions, arguing that “every single one of us who doesn’t speak out or try and help in any way is contributing to the problem.”
What do you think of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s new law targeting the unhoused community? Share your opinion with Inside the Magic in the comments.