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Credit: DisneyIt’s been a tumultuous few years for Disney employees. Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort successfully negotiated with Cast Member unions in the last year, while Disneyland Paris workers remain on a months-long strike. The Walt Disney Company heiress, Abigail Disney, slammed executives for Disney Cast Member working conditions. The Walt Disney descendant made a documentary about their struggles after a Disney Park worker slipped her a note begging for help.
Free tickets to the Magic Kingdom aren’t enough to keep families afloat, especially as Guest behavior worsens and layoffs mean Disney employees are stretched thin. This week, Disney Cast Members shared the reality of working at Disneyland Park, Downtown Disney, and Disney California Adventure Park on Reddit.
How Guest Behavior Impacts Disney Employees
Is Disney Resort Guest behavior really worsening? One of the most frequently asked questions; it isn’t easy to quantify for certain. Reports allege spiking Theme Park violence nationwide, particularly following COVID-19 closures. Even Disneyland Resort is researching the impact of poor behavior on the Guest experience.
Though some widely-publicized visitor behavior can be attributed to access to smartphone cameras and social media posts, Disney employees, from Guest Relations to Attractions to Custodial, claim that rulebreaking, poor attitudes, and violence impact their day-to-day lives more than ever.
“It sucks,” said Reddit user u/ThunderMesa1840, a Disneyland Food & Beverage Cast Member. “We have to deal with unruly Guests what feels like 100 times more than we used to before the shutdown.”
Part-time Attractions Cast Member u/Fc2300 added that Disneyland Resort is a great place to work a few hours a week, but not full-time.
“I feel right now especially this last month the heat has been a major factor in people’s attitude,” they explained. “I have noticed though that since around spring break to now [Guests] have really been on another level. More rude and condescending to us… Burnout is definitely beginning to set foot in a lot of [Cast Members].”
“We just live in different times, unfortunately, where cultural norms of public decency and good behavior are slowly eroding,” u/Autoganz agreed.
The Walt Disney Company has long focused on Guest loyalty and customer satisfaction, but workers warn that not reigning in negative behavior could be disastrous.
“That 100% is because of treatment by the company, including allowing Guests to abuse the [Cast Members],” u/AngelSucked replied to a Guest complaining about Disney employees’ attitudes.
Low Wages & Subpar Benefits
Even after successful union negotiations, employee benefits are no longer enough for Disney’s low-wage workers to survive—many live paycheck-to-paycheck, viewing retirement as an impossible dream.
“A lot of our departments are understaffed and overworked,” u/FawkesFire13 wrote. “Our wages suck and a lot of us can’t afford rent unless we share [an] apartment with 3 other people. And then hope we have enough money left for groceries and gas. There’s plenty Cast Members sleeping in their cars. Our attendance policy was changed to be stricter which means many of us aren’t calling out when we are sick and are legitimately working while sick.”
“Disney honestly does not care about us,” they added. “But I need money. I do two jobs and scrape by.”
u/SwiftwindAlacorn recalled learning in training that Disney Park admission was originally calculated exclusively to pay Disney Cast Members’ wages but said that’s not what the company is doing.
“Between 2000 and 2023, the gate ticket has gone up 215% (if my math is right),” they wrote. “Between 2000 and 2023, CM wages have gone up 91%…Assuming the lowest daily ticket price paid per Guest (adult, assume no children to make this easier), at $83/ticket, that would bring in $4,116,161 per day. (This doesn’t count Annual Passholders.)”
“Disneyland employs approx. 20,000 people,” the Cast Member continued. “Assume every person put in an 8 hour day. That means Disneyland pays out a minimum of $2,755,200 a day in paid wages. Assume another 1/3 for benefits and taxes that Disney pays. That means that Disneyland pays $3,581,760 a day total in wages, benefits, and taxes.”
“Now, that number has to be adjusted because not everyone makes the lowest wage, but also not everyone is working 8 hours a day. So let’s say it all balances out. That means that only 87% of the gate admission is used to pay every single [Cast Member] of Disneyland,” they concluded.
While there are costs to running massive Theme Parks, this means that the money Disneyland Resort makes on food, merchandise, parking, and other experiences goes exclusively to non-employee operating costs… and the rest is profit.
Disney Cast Member Working Conditions
Besides the unavoidable Southern California heat, one of the most common complaints from Disney Cast Members centers around a strict new attendance policy introduced last year.
“This policy is significantly more restrictive, especially if you’re sick,” one Disney Cast Member said at the time. “Part timers could be fired for calling out sick after as little as 3 shifts annually under this policy whereas it would be almost 25+ days under the current one.”
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And it’s still causing issues.
“The attendance thing really tanked morale,” u/UnlikelyLeague8589 wrote. “They needed to tighten it up a bit but they took it way too far. Disney is known for not working around school schedules or other job schedules so many people lost the little flexibility they had. And they made the change going into winter and flu season when everyone gets sick more and so many were let go in a short time.”
u/ButterscotchKnown321 alleged a sinister reason for the new attendance policy, announced during union negotiations and before massive Disney Park layoffs.
“They are trying to narrow down who they have to pay when they do increase the wage,” they said. “Plus a lot of [Cast Members] are being thrown into areas they have no training or experience in.”
Attendance isn’t the only problem. u/FawkesFire13 feels that The Walt Disney Company isn’t listening to even the most minor Cast Member complaints.
“The costumes we wear are awful,” they explained. “It’s hot and sticky this summer and none of the costumes are actually comfortable.”
But it hasn’t always been this way. Employees say that Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort were once amazing places to work where they felt valued.
“I know a girl who was a CM in the early 2000s and she loved her job. She made enough money to afford her own apartment and bragged up other benefits,” u/MoreWineForMeIn2017 said. “She eventually quit so she could move to NY to pursue her dream of being on Broadway.”
“When I first started in the early 2000s it was a fun place to work,” u/FawkesFire13 agreed. “It’s gotten worse every single year.”
Always be kind to Disney employees. The majority are happy to make magic happen for respectful Guests!
Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on personal Disney Parks employee experiences. No two Cast Members’ experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.