UPDATED: 7/10 8:30pm – We have received some additional perspectives on this story from sources at Disney. In interest of providing balance, we have included those comments at the bottom of this story.
Things are getting serious at Disneyland where a hiring freeze and budget cuts have just been implemented in response to low summer attendance.
All departments have been asked to cut labor hours and make other cuts as necessary. The park had staffed up for the expected huge crowds for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. When those crowds didn’t appear, Disney unblocked Cast Member admissions and launched discounted pass holder tickets. While those admissions do seem to be successful, it isn’t enough to make up for soft hotel room bookings and short attraction waits.
Guests should expect to see entertainment, custodial, and non-essential labor cuts immediately at the resort. Among these are the shuttering of the Newsboys show on Buena Vista Street and a scaling back of the Lion King show, both at DCA.
There are many reasons why guests may not be showing up: waiting for the 2nd attraction in the land to open, fear of overcrowding, high prices, tepid reviews for the new land.
Let us know if you think that the opening of Rise of the Resistance later this year will fix the attendance issue. What else should Disney do to address their attendance issues? Would unblocking lower-tier annual passes solve the problem or just create new ones?
If you were holding off on your visit to the Disneyland Resort, you couldn’t pick a better time to go. Make your plans right now while crowd levels are still low!
UPDATES:
For balance, we are including the information below from sources inside Disney who wished to further explain current labor changes at the resort.
Hiring Freeze/Labor Cuts
We continue to invest in our property and have only recently added 1,600 new positions with the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to be the county’s largest employer with more than 31,000 cast members.
Like any business we adjust hiring needs during the course of year to match our business needs.
Positions do remain open at the Disneyland Resort: Disney Career Search
Entertainment
Disneyland continually evaluates and refines their creative entertainment offerings. For example:
Red Car Trolley News Boys
When Marvel construction required us to close the Red Car Trolley, we sought out a way to continue offering an adapted entertainment show for our Guests. However, as construction continues, and based on current viewership trends and the needs of the business, we have decided to close the show at this time.
Without the trolley, the show just didn’t offer the same value to guests.
Lion King
It’s not unusual to make creative changes to a show once it opens.
In addition, Cast Members may be scheduled in other locations based on job knowledge and availability or work with talent casting to explore potential new opportunities.
Discount Theme Park Tickets and Travel
We couldn’t recommend a better time for you to make a beeline to the Disneyland Resort. Check with our partners at Get Away Today and book discounted theme park tickets and hotel rooms while you still can:
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