After recent controversial changes were announced for the Disney Aspire program, many college-age cast members are being forced to look for higher employment elsewhere. This means that Disney Parks is about to see a massive employee loss unless something is done soon.
Disney’s Aspire program is a tuition reimbursement benefit that allows eligible employees to pursue higher education. The program covers 100% of tuition, required fees, and books for approved courses or programs, or at least it used to.
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Reportedly, Disney Aspire is discontinuing support for Master’s degrees and Penn Foster Trades programs. Additionally, starting November 27, 2024, a new annual funding cap will be implemented for in-network schools, limiting financial aid for employees’ education, and many are already outraged.
Disney Cast Members Walk, So Do Guests
Considering a large portion of Disney’s staff are members of the college program, a large chunk of them are expected to make a mass exodus if they cannot afford tuition. If Disney takes that big of a hit, guest satisfaction will plummet.
When most people think of the Disney cast members, images of checkout clerks, photographers, and character performers are often the first things that come to mind. However, that barely scratches the surface of what they do.
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Disney Cast Members provide exceptional guest experiences through their friendly demeanor, knowledge of Disney parks and attractions, and dedication to creating magical moments for every visitor. They also perform a variety of roles, including acting, singing, dancing, and technical support, to ensure the smooth operation of Disney’s entertainment offerings, but that’s only on a visual level.
Consider how many cast members work maintenance, sanitation, housekeeping, hotel services, and cooking. What happens if those specific cast members decide they can’t afford to work there anymore? The kingdom crumbles.
Disney Loses the Plot… and the Audience
Though we love them individually, we agree that as a group Disney guests can be rather unpredictable. It takes a lot of manpower, time, patience, and training to make the parks run the way they do, and if too much of that manpower is lost, Disney suffers.
From tickets to transport, the average Disney guest has many needs that the cast members often bend over backward to meet. In today’s culture of instant gratification, they often lack patience, and many instances of shocking behavior have already occurred.
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Long story short, if Disney guests can’t rely on the cast members to make their experiences unforgettable, they will vacation elsewhere. There goes Disney’s consumer base right out of the gate.
In no uncertain terms, cast members are the ones who really make the magic happen. That’s not an exaggeration, and if Disney doesn’t recognize that, the House of Mouse is in for a world of hurt.
Disneyland, the Walt Disney World Resort, and so on are some of the biggest money makers for The Walt Disney Company. If the company can’t grant its staff enough initiative to work there, things begin to fall apart, and its magical facade starts to slip to reveal a greedy underbelly.
Do you think Disney will see the errors of its ways? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!