She Worked 70 Hours as a Disney World Cast Member and Still Ended Up Homeless

In 2023, the Service Trades Council Unions, a collective of unions representing the thousands of cast members at the Walt Disney World Resort, won a much-deserved raise for Disney World employees. The new contract would raise most cast members’ salaries above $20 an hour by early 2024 and nearly $25 an hour by 2026.

The people who make the magic at Walt Disney World Resort were finally getting their due compensation for all the great work they do daily. However, after that agreement, much of cast members’ raises went to pay for groceries and the high cost of living in Central Florida due to inflation.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, housing prices in Central Florida hit an all-time high in 2024. The median home price was $380,000, a 3.5 percent increase from the previous year. This highlights another issue with Disney World cast members: homelessness. 

Business Insider ran an article written by a former Disney World cast member who claimed she worked more than 70 hours a week and could only afford an apartment with three other people. After Disney World capped her hours, she was forced to sleep in her car. 

Jessica Cody, who worked at Disney World in the 2010s, told Business Insider:

Honestly, there were so many people sleeping in their cars in that parking lot. I parked in West Clock, the Magic Kingdom cast member parking lot. I slept there and showered in the locker rooms every day for months, trying to get more hours. 

You’re not supposed to sleep on the property, but the company turned a blind eye. When I was living in my car, I was among dozens of others—it was not just me. I just think it’s ridiculous that people have to choose between financial security and a job that fulfills them. 

Cody eventually got a second job as a dancer at Universal, which allowed her to move back into an apartment. After she had her son, she worked full-time in the call center at Universal and now works as a dance instructor and choreographer.

Since Cody left, Disney World cast members have seen a raise in salaries, but that still might not be enough for some to find housing in the area. Cody ended her article with:

You can love Disney and still expect them to do better. There’s no reason for any cast member to be on food stamps or unable to afford basic necessities. Until there are no cast members homeless or living on public assistance, we’re not there yet.

That place would not be open if it weren’t for the dedicated and amazing people working there who break their backs to bring joy to families.

Perhaps Disney is listening.