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News Disneyland Character Performers Look to Unionize With Actors’ Equity
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
MarvelCharacterNerd
Well-Known Member
As I said.More cuts are inevitable.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
This is fine.
They always cut entertainment right before the July 4th weekend and when the busy summer season kicks into high gear.
This is fine. Everything is fine. They cancel stuff constantly in early summer. And DCA isn't even the main park. It's fine.
asianway
Well-Known Member
Maybe they’re finally bringing in Wong.
MarvelCharacterNerd
Well-Known Member
We should've had him a while ago considering they have him on the cruise line. Of course they also have Nebula and we should have gotten her, too.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
So, wait. They built a brand new Marvel Land to host all the Marvel characters, but instead they send the Marvel characters to the Cruise Line ships instead? How does that make sense?
They do both.
MarvelCharacterNerd
Well-Known Member
I mean I get if you're paying a fortune for a Marvel Day at Sea cruise, you should get something special. I just wants allz the characterz here, too.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Our fabulous news hound @DCBaker just put this over in the Misc. Thread, but it also applies here. More CM layoffs and cutbacks happening, and likely more on the way.
www.ocregister.com
Disneyland cuts back on entertainment during peak summer season
Disney California Adventure trims schedules in July for Warriors of Wakanda and Citizens of Buena Vista Street.
www.ocregister.com
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Since the Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration! along Performance Corridor (I'm practicing for being a vlogger) has already cut over 30 performers from the Pixar Play Parade version of itself, it's probably cheap enough to avoid the cuts. And once you've got the skeleton crew on property and on the clock, might as well keep for a full shift and do two parades per day.
This is the weakest summertime entertainment lineup they've had for both parks combined since 2001. And that was before they started cutting staff and cancelling shows in early summer.
This is a low point. We shouldn't thank them next summer for merely boosting themselves up to a mediocre level. TDA needs to return to, at the very least, the type of entertainment roster they had for the 60th in 2015-16.
MarvelCharacterNerd
Well-Known Member
To quote myself again, this was *inevitable* after the unionizing vote... and heartbreaking as someone who spends at least half their park days on characters and entertainment. The fact that any shows are going dark on the weekends IN SUMMER!!! (to quote a certain snowman) is an absolute travesty and I feel terrible for all the performers losing hours as a result.
and heartbreaking as someone who spends at least half their park days on characters and entertainment. The fact that any shows are going dark on the weekends IN SUMMER!!! (to quote a certain snowman) is an absolute travesty and I feel terrible for all the performers losing hours as a result. 
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
But it shouldn’t be…. Exec.‘s get raises and bonuses every year but the Pixar Staff and Park Entertainers should just get cut if they want more money?
MarvelCharacterNerd
Well-Known Member
I'm not in any way condoning it - this hurts the people I know and care about most in the parks. I'm just saying it was very sadly predictable.
After the recent writers & actors strikes produced contraction rather than growth in their industry (with the potential forthcoming IATSE strike still possible to put a stake through its heart), and raising the minimum wage for fast food workers in CA led to reportedly 10,000 jobs lost so far (not to mention a big rise in prices as a result), this is the way of big business - they're not going to give up profit margins or upset shareholders out of the goodness of their hearts. To their POV, putting people before profits leads to failing businesses and lost jobs anyways. So as with those two scenarios, in a business the size of a McDonalds or a Disney - the consequences were obvious.
For the performers, it's not just about money. The scheduling sucks for them - they don't get enough hours and they're never predictable week to week nor steady. I know more than one cast member who was out for a long time due to injuries (and not even in entertainment, but another CM was killed in an accident backstage just a few days ago). The cast have very valid concerns that need to be addressed. Those who make it through this culling to keep their jobs will likely get some of the concessions they were looking for. But it won't help those who are let go or have to leave because their 18-20 hours a week become 4 every other week.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
To be fair - that’s entertainment. You shouldn’t work in live entertainment if you want a predictable schedule.
I wonder if Disneyland plans to just replace with 3rd party entertainment long term?
MarvelCharacterNerd
Well-Known Member
Well, this discussion is about the entertainment cast unionizing, so yeah of course I'm talking about their concerns.
However, it's an issue throughout the parks with scheduling.
And Disney has used 3rd party entertainment before. All the Tomorrowland Terrace bands (who still sometimes play in Downtown Disney). The Silverlake Sisters at Tower of Terror before it closed. The seasonal hotel singers, etc.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
And I’m saying if that is one of their concerns they picked the wrong career.
But we both agree these cuts are unfortunate for cast members and for guests and for the park experience as a whole.
MarvelCharacterNerd
Well-Known Member
And since the majority of the cast members at the park deal with the exact same scheduling issues of inconsistent hours, would you say the majority of cast members picked the wrong career? Or that it is valid to want to have a consistent amount of hours or days per month no matter what job you have?
I feel as sorry for friends working food service or merchandise or custodial or attractions as I do those in entertainment as their schedule can be just as variable. I empathize with all of them simply wanting to know how they're going to work their second or third jobs month to month around their park work schedules that require 7 day a week availability with no predictability when employed by a location that's been in a business for almost 70 years.
It's not a surprise to the parks that they need to schedule Snow White 3 days a week or Tiana 5 days a week or Spider-Man 7 days a week. SO SCHEDULE THEM a month out or for an entire season at a time. This is not entertainment in the sense of a garage band hoping to play gigs at local clubs on weekends. This is a predictable business.
And plenty of the entertainment cast requests are totally reasonable. If a costume is hurting them, ADJUST IT. If they need extra character hosts to protect them from unruly guests, SCHEDULE THEM.
And with that said, unionizing still likely won't help the majority of cast members in the long run because business gonna business and that business is never going to care for the people the way those people care for the business.