Credit: DisneyWalt Disney World Resort is The Most Magical Place on Earth, where dreams come true. But for Disney Cast Members, the Disney Parks can be “pure evil.”
Though unions fight for Disney employees, many deal with food insecurity and homelessness. They report increasingly difficult working conditions and poor Guest behavior while struggling to make ends meet… all while working more than 40 hours per week.
This week, former Walt Disney World Resort Cast Member Patrick (@igotz2p on TikTok) spoke out about favoritism among Disney management. Though he could only speak on his experience, he claimed the issue is rampant across Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney Springs, and Disney Resort hotels.
@igotz2p #stitch with @Tim ☁️ #greenscreen Disney leaders play favorites. #disneycharacters #disneycastmember #disneybehindthescenes #disneystorytime #distoker #distok #disneyland #disneyworld #disneyentertainment
“This is one of the reasons why I left working at Disney,” Patrick began. “It all started when I worked in recreation at the College Program. I could tell that the coordinators and managers always played favorites and showed their people who they liked the most. And they would give them better rotations.”
“When I eventually lived with a coordinator, I found out that was true,” he continued. “It’s because, in their opinion, favorites are people who are reliable and dependable. A lot of Disney managers just skip over a lot of their Cast Members because they don’t look at what they bring to the table because they notice the people who already brought stuff to the table.”
Patrick argued that many Disney Cast Members trying to grow within the company get lost among those who managers prefer more.
“When they realize that they get skipped over because they have people who already get chosen for the same thing over and over, it makes it really hard, and people get jaded,” he explained. “If you ask anyone who’s tried growing with Disney and asked for what the feedback was, it was probably more of things such as, ‘Do this, do that, and do this,’ stuff that you’ve already done.”
“Some Disney managers want you to tell about it and want you to brag about what you do every day,” Patrick said. “But you’re not supposed to boast and go up to some managers and say, ‘Hey, look what I did! Look what I did!’ Because that also looks like you’re asking for attention, and that also can get you skipped over.”
The former Cast Member claimed that favoritism is a problem across all Walt Disney World Resort departments.
“If they don’t like your personality, [they] will just immediately shut you off,” he concluded. “Don’t get me started on even the Disney casting for, you know, parades and shows because you can definitely tell that they play favorites.”
Are you a former Disney Cast Member? Share your experiences with The Walt Disney Company with Inside the Magic in the comments.
Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on a personal Disney Parks experience. No two experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.