Shows Not Returning Soon Due to Mass Entertainment Layoffs at Disney World
Another massive round of Cast Member layoffs hit entertainment at Walt Disney World, including performers and supporting Cast Members at many highly popular shows in the parks & resorts. In this post, we’ll cover details and offer commentary.
These entertainment cuts are part of the 28,000 layoffs announced for Walt Disney World and Disneyland last month. Thus far, it appears that Florida accounts for roughly 15,000 of the lost jobs. However, these have been occurring in waves as Disney negotiates with unions, and are likely not finished yet.
Before we begin, a reminder that Central Florida’s tourism industry has been devastated, with many people losing their jobs. Please see our Help Give Back to Disney Cast Members & Community post, which offers a range of ways you can assist during this time of need. Beyond that, have extra empathy and courtesy when interacting with Cast Members in the coming days, weeks, and months.
The last few weeks have been rough, and the latest round of entertainment layoffs is equally devastating. Hearing from Cast Member friends and seeing acquaintances post that they “got the call.” Opening social media and hearing from people who have received the life-altering news. It’s heartbreaking over and over again.
Some of these people are Disney lifers who have been with the company for decades. Some have opened multiple new parks. Some were truly living their dream in working for this company. Some uprooted their families and lives to move to Florida or California and be magic-makers. All were ambassadors for Disney, worthy stewards of Walt’s legacy, and vital assets for the company. We cannot fathom Disney without all of these people. They were what makes Disney, Disney.
For many of you, these entertainment layoffs are likely going to “hit harder” because these are highly-visible roles in popular shows or atmospheric acts that left indelible, lasting memories on your vacations. It’s just worth pointing out that for every one of these prominent entertainment jobs lost, there are a dozen other less visible positions that have also been eliminated.
All of them are integral in making the rides, shows, restaurants, and everything else about the Walt Disney World experience run smoothly. Whether someone works in custodial or as Cinderella, those jobs are both essential in making Walt Disney World what it is.
As for the latest round of layoffs, many of those affected are members of Actors’ Equity Association, a union for stage managers and performers. You might recall that over the summer, that union and Disney were at odds over performers returning to work safely. The standoff was highly publicized and contentious, but the union and Disney ultimately reached an “agreement” when the Maingate testing complex opened near Animal Kingdom.
Since that time, some performers have returned to Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Savi’s Workshop and the Frozen Sing-Along Celebration. All other shows have remained dark and atmospheric entertainment has not been called back.
After we published this post, that union released a statement about the layoffs. “Our hearts go out to all the cast members at Walt Disney World,” said Kate Shindle, president of Actors’ Equity Association. “Disney has made it clear that our members would face work reductions since they announced layoffs of nearly 28,000 employees. That does not make this news any less painful.”
Prior to the closure in March, about 780 Equity Cast Members were employed at Walt Disney World, either full time, part time or seasonally. About 60 are currently working or about to return to work in the park. About 720 Equity member workers have now been laid off. According to the new MOU with Disney, these laid-off members maintain recall rights until the end of 2021.
The layoffs of these 720 performers and show support Cast Members at Walt Disney World are incredibly widespread. While Walt Disney World has not released a statement (and we wouldn’t expect one), we’ve received multiple credible reports on the shows impacted.
Outside the parks, the first big one is the entirety of the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. This dinner show has been a venerable “Vacation Kingdom” staple since 1974 and should’ve had a spotlight shined on it for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary.
Over at Animal Kingdom, both Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo: The Musical are among the shows that had their Cast Members laid off.
The entire cast and crew for Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, and Jedi Training Academy: Trials of the Temple at Disney’s Hollywood Studios were also let go.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios also saw Streetmosphere cuts, with the Green Army Men in Toy Story Land and Citizens of Hollywood both reportedly being eliminated.
On that front, the Citizens of Main Street in Magic Kingdom were also laid off. Over in Tomorrowland, the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor cast and crew was also let go.
Note that this is not an exhaustive list of the stage shows, atmospheric acts, and other entertainment that Walt Disney World has laid off. These are simply what we were able to independently and credibly confirm.
Our hearts go out to the performers, crew, and unsung support staff that made all of these productions possible. These are deep cuts that will leave scars on Walt Disney World for years to come, well after there’s a full recovery and things return to “normal.”
Back when it was revealed that Disney had ended the Grand Floridian Society Orchestra’s run, we offered extensive commentary. That focused largely on Walt Disney World being increasingly less concerned with delivering commensurate value for money, and more preoccupied with increasing profit margins. All of that remains true here. We’re not going to rehash all of it–you’ll undoubtedly be outraged and upset without us pouring gasoline on that proverbial bonfire.
To be abundantly clear, this bothers us. It’s painful to see, we hurt for those Cast Members, and stand by all of that prior commentary. It’s also the most evident sign yet that Walt Disney World is not going back to normal anytime soon, at a time when so many are craving normalcy. Bluntly, this means these shows and acts are not coming back this year or any time in the near future.
With that said, we want to strike a bit of an optimistic tone here, as a lot of the commentary we’ve seen on social media has been incredibly bleak. There’s talk that Disney has wanted to cut entertainment for years and finally has an excuse, that Disney is now no different from Six Flags, etc.
Some of those comments are emotional hyperbole, others are sincere. Regardless, they’re misguided or flat-out wrong, at least in the long term.
While Walt Disney World has been adept at trimming budgets and increasing attendance in the process, that simply cannot happen and to this degree for an extended period of time. Among other things, demand is a result of perceived value for money. There is not a path forward for Walt Disney World that involves unilaterally dictating high prices and reduced offerings. That is simply not a viable course of action.
We’ve already seen this with Walt Disney World post-reopening as many guests have cancelled trips due to the reduced slate of entertainment (among other reasons). Despite that, you might point to increasing attendance in the parks over the last couple of months as supposed evidence that Disney fans are “suckers” who will pay full price for half the experience.
Except that’s not true. Right now, Walt Disney World is seeing a fraction of its normal guest numbers, and even that fraction is disproportionately locals, Annual Passholders, and Disney Vacation Club members. In other words, guest types who either have pre-paid for their visits or are not booking multi-thousand dollar vacations. There are definitely some full freight tourists, but not even remotely approaching normal levels.
Look no further than low weekday occupancy numbers at the resorts, the fact that many hotels have not reopened and do not have reopening dates, and all the lucrative offerings–Club Level, Disney Dining Plan, dessert parties, etc–that remain unavailable.
As we’ve pointed out many times, Walt Disney World is a hotel (and timeshare) business that operates theme parks as a side hustle. Right now, the latter component isn’t doing so hot, but the former is doing terribly. By its own admission, Walt Disney World is treading water and losing money, just less than if the parks were still closed.
Sadly, that’s likely to remain the case for the next several months. Perhaps well into 2021, longer than any of us who are desperately craving normalcy want to admit. It’s going to be a long road to recovery, both for Walt Disney World and for the travel industry in general.
The point is that Walt Disney World’s short-term approach is unsustainable in the long-term. Whether Disney’s motivation is health safety or cost-savings at a time when added offerings are unlikely to move the needle in terms of hotel occupancy, the result is the same. It might help Disney tread water for now while in preservation mode, but it’s not viable in the ordinary course of business.
Once a general recovery does begin, Walt Disney World will have to work hard to lure guests back. During the last decade, the United States had a strong economy, the travel industry was booming, and Disney could get away with reducing the value proposition without seeing a corresponding drop in demand. Sure, guests wore “Most Expensive Day Ever” shirts, but they were visiting anyway.
The forward-looking outlook for the tourism sector is very different from that, and much less positive. It’s going to take several years for travel to fully recover—until 2025 if experts are to be believed. While there’s likely some degree of “revenge travel” and pent-up demand among fans, that’s not enough. The “new normal” here is that travel will be a value-conscious buyer’s market, and Walt Disney World will need to do more to be competitive with other destinations and entice guests to visit.
Whether that means bringing back these shows and acts or debuting new ones remains to be seen. In the short-term, we still second-guess these cuts and think they could inflict irreparable brand damage (among other things). Regardless of how we feel about that, there’s no conceivable long-term scenario in which entertainment at Walt Disney World is permanently eliminated. Some of these stage shows will be back; other new entertainment will debut. It’s painful right now, but it is temporary pain.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of these Walt Disney World entertainment cuts and additions? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about WDW restoring more stage shows and other acts in 2021 or 2022? Are you worried that it might be a while before Walt Disney World is back to normal in terms of its offerings? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I made my first-time-ever trip to Disney World this month. My husband and I stayed at the Grand Floridian and visited Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Universal Studios. We loved it! We decided to take the trip–our first since Covid–because of fewer crowds and Disney’s health and safety precautions. I understand that long-time Disney visitors may be disappointed over current reductions in some offerings but for anyone considering a first-time visit, I encourage you to go. It was magical! We spent everyday at the park from open to close and still didn’t do everything. Don’t be discouraged by negative comments; the experience is wonderful (especially for a first-timer) and a great vacation.
I really wish the millionaires at the top would take heavy pay cuts to keep the everyday employees that make the park so magical. After all if Disney loses itself they won’t have jobs anyway. I was already beyond frustrated at the loss of Splash Mountain, my fav attraction at Magic Kingdom. Hey- maybe don’t redo rides (that are already great) to save money and keep employees!! Now my fav attraction at Animal Kingdom, the Nemo Show, is gone. Plus the loss of all the wonderful employees that could get other jobs and move on even if Disney recovers. It just seems the people who make the decisions can solve many of the problems by using their salaries to cover, and they are so rich already, that they could keep Disney’s magic alive and maybe keep their jobs for the long-term and leave a lasting legacy in the process.
Figure one million dollar cut in pay at the top total. 27000 employees let go. That would be about $370 per employee for the year.
This may not be the best question for this thread, but your statement of cancellations due to diminishing shows I’m not sure is the reason. I would love to find data regarding the state’s that make up the majority of Disney trackers. For those in the northeast the cancellations have more to do with our state’s quarantine upon returning from Florida. That said, if no shows return, your statement will be accurate as Disney loses its magic.
Sir, this is a Wendys.
I’m sad in a whole new way.
Good analysis. Very disturbing. Bad top management. The vision is gone and profits rule. Too bad. We’re going to try Universal.
Hmmm… just looking at the state of things, but it seems to me that those who actually do the direct work of making the customers happy (i.e. shows, rides, serving, cleaning, etc.) are the ones losing their jobs. I don’t envy Disney’s hard decisions but it seems a bit short-sighted when it comes to customer satisfaction (longer lines, fewer offerings, more crowds). Just food for thought, but when you cut your front line employees, and therefore, are no longer “managing” any physical employees, what will become of upper management then?
This is so sad, sad, sad. Of course, it’s happening around the world, not just Disney, but still…Our last trip was cancelled when they closed and right now we have on set for March. Let’s hope it happens. We all need some “magic” now.
I have been going to both Disney World and Disneyland for years and just recently spent a couple of days is Disney World with friends. We traveled from the Chicago area to do this. We understood that some things were closed and there would be differences from normal but I was looking forward to some “magic”. Not that we had a horrible time, but I have decided it is not worth visiting again until more things return. It seems like that might not be for years to come.
I had been planning a big trip to Disneyland this summer which obviously didn’t happen and was expecting to go there next summer. Now who knows if they will even be open and what attractions there will be?
I have also been planning to go to Florida for the big 50th anniversary celebration for years. This news just makes me sad that it might not be worth the trip. Disney without the shows isn’t really worth going to. Like others have said it is then just a Six Flags type experience. There is a Six Flags within 45 minutes of my house and I haven’t been there in 20+ years.
We just went in September and we go every year, but we will not go back until they have more to offer again. It’s just not the same. My heart breaks for the cast members. They are the center of it all. We are DVC members and Annual Passholders, our love for Disney is strong but face masks in 90 degree heat and humidity is no fun.
I’m grateful that on our last trip in 2019, my kid got to experience Jedi Training Academy and that we decided to catch the Finding Nemo show again since my youngest had never seen it. These special entertainment offerings are what set Disney parks apart from Six Flags and the rest. In truth, I don’t see us returning to WDW until the full park experience is restored, and we’ve been 4 times in the past 6 years. It’s fine, there will be new rides and hopefully new entertainment when we do return.
Japan has adopted a “Living with COVID” plan, which includes the government subsidizing people’s domestic vacations and even their restaurant outings. I think this is something the US should look into, especially since the dining, travel, and hospitality industries were hit the hardest. Now that health officials are speaking out against the past lockdown “wisdom”, I think it’s time to start opening things back up. Giving direct subsidies to consumers for their vacations and dinner/lunch outings sounds like a much smarter and targeted solution than just sending everyone a check.
Considering that both Germany and France are back in lockdown, with the UK pretty sure to follow, until the infection rates for Covid-19 are under control, this is Unfortunately pretty much a non-starter.
How is Japan paying for that? The US is already so far in debt, we cannot fund people’s vacations when people don’t even have a home to live in or haven’t paid their rent or mortgage since February. At least when you send people a check, they can buy groceries or pay an electric bill.
Just drop the politics and open up the country.
No credible health official is “speaking out against the past lockdown ‘wisdom’.” Case numbers are rising dramatically and hospitals in hard-hit states are overwhelmed. Further lockdowns are quite possible, assuming sanity and science prevail.
Wow….you have tons of misleading and downright dangerous information in your post. I thought we were here to talk about Disney and not put our political views on here.
I, too, feel sorry for all the performers and hope they get to come back real soon. I have a trip on the books for Dec 2021 and am very much looking forward to at least MOST of the shows being back.
We have been travelling from the UK to Disneyworld since 1989, sometimes twice a year. There simply is no incentive for us to return at the moment. I have no problem with wearing a mask, but I don’t want to be spending my holiday wearing one. On top of that, the gutting of the entertainment on offer has greatly reduced the appeal of Disney. We won’t be back until Covid-19 becomes less of an issue, which I guess won’t be until 2022 at the earliest, and then only if Disney approaches the standards set pre-Covid.
When I think about the reasons we go on Disney vacations year after year, it is not the rides with their animatronics (which even little kids know aren’t “real”)–it’s the human beings that make the magic “real”. I think back on our trip earlier this month and it honestly felt like we were at six flags–just waiting in line ride after ride. But when I think back on every trip I’ve taken, it’s never the upteenth ride on space mountain I remember–it’s the moment my oldest son was chosen to pull the sword from the stone; the time my toddler got hurt and was hugged and comforted by disney character; the look of awe on the kids faces when Elsa used ACTUAL magic to frost the castle with ice. That’s the stuff that makes me shrug of the cost of a Disney vacation, because you can’t put a price on the memories.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Disney took a chance to LEAN IN to 2020 and try to make trips now extra magical instead of effectively saying to guests “sure, coming now is a ripoff, and we’re treating our amazing CMs poorly, but what did you expect during covid?” The answer is I’ve expected more, because Disney was a company that seemed to actually value doing things right rather than doing it easy and cutting corners. On our recent trip, a lot of the CMs we talked to were scared for their jobs and unhappy–NEVER encountered that before or thought I would.
We had a Disney trip planned for 2021 that we just cancelled and decided to postpone to 2022. First time we have skipped of year of Disney since my youngest son was born. Makes me sad.
I have been coming to Disney World Almost EVERY year since it Opened ! The SHOWS are a BIG reason for coming AND have been going to the HOOP-DEE-DO Revue since 1976 and
Still want to be able to go to it !! ALSO – I sometimes just go to Animal Kingdom just to see
the LION KING Show. PLEASE bring back these shows and other entertainment.
We are consistent, yearly visitors. And we are huge fans of the DisneyWorld experience. And hope to return when life returns to some kind of “safe” normal. But my view is for it to be safe for us, that will not be until 2022. The business I own has been absolutely hammered by the virus. We will lose 75% of our business – or more in 2020. Maybe something similar in 2021. We have had to do what is necessary to survive and Disney must do the same.
My problem with Disney is that have been devaluing the DisneyWorld experience consistently for years and years. Cutting live performers all over the place. Diamond Horseshoe show years ago. So many street performers at DHS. World Showcase Players at EPCOT. And on and on and on. Like many, I said long ago, Disney would keep cutting until something happened to make them aware that profits followed a premium quality experience. The big question for me is – will their response to this Virus be to gut the experience further by essentially eliminating live performers and becoming just a themed version of Six Flags. Or will they do what’s right and return to who they used to be. For the sake of all (and I am a longtime shareholder as well) I hope they come down on the side of performers as a key part of the experience. Or DisneyWorld annually will become a memory rather than a requirement for my family.
Simply put, it’s just not the same without the shows. Simply put, rides are just not enough. I will hope this will get better in the future. If I do go back without shows it will absolutely be for a much shorter stay. My trip would then be combined with Universal and SeaWorld with less emphasis on Disney.
Disney needs to find a way to make shows come back and be safe. They may have to change the seating arrangements, maybe create cubicles or whatever. Maybe, create smaller theaters. We have loved the street entertainers and it’s very difficult to think this may not come back.
Dollywood recently made an announcement that their inside holiday Christmas shows will happen for the season. If they can do it why can’t Disney? I’ll be choosing other destinations by 2022 if Disney doesn’t get better on this count.
It looks like the final determination of the cast member entertainers will take place by 2022; so, it’s a wait and see.
Disney annual pass is now worthless. Used to be a fun trip from the Gulf Coast many times a year. The most recent 2 weeks ago. Not any longer!
I agree
I totally agree. We moved to SWFL from Ohio in May, and getting an annual pass was high on our priority list. Not anymore.
Got lucky. mine expired Jan. 7th. Was going to renew but thank God for procrastinators. didn’t renew. Disney wants full price for half the entertainment. first trip to DW was 1984 on honeymoon. 3 children and over 20 trips there until now. If we ever go back, it will only be for Epcot.
That’s such a beautiful comment. My wife and I are big Disney fans from Brazil and our best memories from our few visits involve cast members in magical moments. There is no Disney without them.
I am an avid WDW fan and could probably have bought a house for what I have spent at Disney. The cast is what makes the magic. The last time I was there, I was lucky enough to have been selected to participate in the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular after years of trying. One of my favorite memories. I can’t see spending the same premium at WDW and not getting the same level of entertainment in return. If I wanted roller coasters, I will go to six flags or Universal. I want the Disney experience which appears to no longer be available.
“They were what makes Disney, Disney”
Exactly.
For us, it’s a deal-breaker. The entertainment is without question, what makes Disney Disney for us.
Also, these shows swallow up crowds.
Where will the crowds go now as Disney begins to increase capacity?
AK without it’s two blockbuster shows is half a park, and will have even worse lines than it’s already known for.
Wow, you just said what I haven’t heard anyone say. Shows did swallow up crowds, and where will all of us go if there aren’t show and character meets, on the rides and oh what lines there will be. So very sad for cast members and guests.
As painful as it is to see, this is also a time for Disney to reconsider its ‘shows.’ I’m sorry to both Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo: The Musical are among the shows that had their Cast Members laid off. They were favorites.
The Indiana Jones show at Hollywood Studios is woefully out of date and should be scrapped. The last time I saw it I would venture to say that at least half of the audience were not even born or were too young when Indiana Jones was a thing.
And it was easy to tell that the actors were not even trying…
But this again speaks to getting an inferior product at full price. I am not willing to go back until 2022 and there is some sense of normalcy again.