WDW Still Struggling with Safety and Unions

[WDW Pro]

I usually try to defend you but this isn’t news. There is an entire thread on this very topic that was ALREADY reporting something that wasn’t news. Disney hasn’t had an agreement with actors equity this whole time and has planned on opening without them.

I reported this article within an hour of its release. If this was already covered outside of my knowledge then I'm happy to request this thread be merged with the preexisting one.

 

[peter11435]

I reported this article within an hour of its release. If this was already covered outside of my knowledge then I'm happy to request this thread be merged with the preexisting one.

The point is that this particular article and this thread are irrelevant regarding reopening. It has been known for weeks that no offerings that included AEA roles would be part of the first phase of reopening. Not having equity performers will have no effect on the resort reopening timeline.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

DVC guests will want somewhere to go...they can’t really keep the parks closed and go back to telling DVC owners they need to use their points. They also can’t keep extending points. This issue keeps compounding.

Actually they absolutely can...as the dvc defenders will readily point out.

They’re making a lot of people wait to use what they paid for now...I wouldn’t put anything past them if the situation deteriorates

 

[WDW Pro]

The point is that this particular article and this thread are irrelevant regarding reopening. It has been known for weeks that no offerings that included AEA roles would be part of the first phase of reopening. Not having equity performers will have no effect on the resort reopening timeline.

My point in this thread was that there continued to be no progress in that regard while simultaneously Disney is reviewing a delay in reopening with this as an issue in a multitude of developing issues (for and against). But I'm for merging threads if so desired.

 

[CJR]

All they will need is some projections and the crowds will line up and give great marks. I wish I was joking about that.

 

[YodaMan]

I believe what was suggested was that something could open in place of a show like festival of lion king without equity performers. That’s different than replacing equity performers with non-equity actors.

One person specifically mentioned the Indy show and a post on . Said his friend was called back to do a modified show as Indy with just the first scene. Would 100% have to be an equity stunt guy to pull that off. Question is whether they could still do this kind of modified socially-distant show with Equity on strike.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

One person specifically mentioned the Indy show and a post on Disboards. Said his friend was called back to do a modified show as Indy with just the first scene. Would 100% have to be an equity stunt guy to pull that off. Question is whether they could still do this kind of modified socially-distant show with Equity on strike.

I don’t think the stunt performers are equity.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

Since this is the Actor Equity union rejecting the WDW proposal, I'm not sure how it would have an impact on the planned reopening. None of the Equity roles/shows were planned to be opening on 7/11 or 7/15. The Equity entertainment already would have been returning later, so all this may do is push back when those shows/roles might start - which was already not set.

BTW, Equity roles cannot by rule be filled by non-Equity performers, so they cannot fill these positions with regular unemployed folks.

Why can’t they replace equity w non equity? Can’t they just make new roles and call them slightly different things? There’s got to be some way to work around the Union.

 

[YodaMan]

I don’t think the stunt performers are equity.

That much I can confirm. Any stunt performer, dancer (as in, not a parader performer), singer, or mic’d stage character are pretty much the Equity roles. At Hollywood, that would be any performer in Indy, Ariel in VotLM, any performer in Frozen, the face performers in Disney Junior, Belle and Gaston and the dancers in BatB, John Smith and the extra stuntmen in Fantasmic.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Theater shows are the most problematic right now for Disney anyway with the greatly reduced seating.

It's no big thing to have MV3D playing to a theater one third full. But to do that to the Mermaid show... it's an expensive attraction for so few guests.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

That much I can confirm. Any stunt performer, dancer (as in, not a parader performer), singer, or mic’d stage character are pretty much the Equity roles. At Hollywood, that would be any performer in Indy, Ariel in VotLM, any performer in Frozen, the face performers in Disney Junior, Belle and Gaston and the dancers in BatB, John Smith and the extra stuntmen in Fantasmic.

Are you sure the dancers are equity in b&tb? I thought that changed a few years ago when they toned down the choreography.

You haven’t convinced me on stunt men, but I’m not saying you are wrong, I genuinely don’t know but I was always under the impression that they were not.

 

[techgeek]

That much I can confirm. Any stunt performer, dancer (as in, not a parader performer), singer, or mic’d stage character are pretty much the Equity roles. At Hollywood, that would be any performer in Indy, Ariel in VotLM, any performer in Frozen, the face performers in Disney Junior, Belle and Gaston and the dancers in BatB, John Smith and the extra stuntmen in Fantasmic.

Is Universal different in that regard? I see USF is moving forward with the new Bourne stunt show which has been going through soft opens. Seems like a large stunt cast for that show and it’s up and running, although much of the cast is wearing masks. Are they not Equity? If so how did they pull that off?

 

[Disorbust]

Disney has been reducing equity for years, this is a gift for them.

 

[SoFloMagic]

Theater shows are the most problematic right now for Disney anyway with the greatly reduced seating.

It's no big thing to have MV3D playing to a theater one third full. But to do that to the Mermaid show... it's an expensive attraction for so few guests.

In all honesty, it seems like it kind of works out (though obviously not for those cast members). Theaters seem like the least safe attractions right now for transmission, so it may be a good thing that they're closed anyway.
My hunch is disney isn't exactly chomping at the bit to bring them back and pay them. The rumored demands didn't seem like they needed to be a stumbling block.

 

[DoleWhipDrea]

Is Universal different in that regard? I see USF is moving forward with the new Bourne stunt show which has been going through soft opens. Seems like a large stunt cast for that show and it’s up and running, although much of the cast is wearing masks. Are they not Equity? If so how did they pull that off?

My guess is that either they’re considered okay because their performers are wearing PPE, are getting tested (speculation, unless someone can confirm), or both. The article linked in the OP specifies that the union didn’t like that Disney’s performers wouldn’t be wearing masks and not getting regularly tested.

Anything tied to equity has a lot of protective measures involved for the performers, as they should. That includes the protection of their jobs. What determines whether a position is equity or not? That depends on the requirements of the role. For example, a face character M&G Belle isn’t equity, while a musical stage show Belle that sings and dances absolutely is. The latter role requires a lot more out of a performer. This is also why M&G Belle can’t burst into song.

 

[Lilofan]

My guess is that either they’re considered okay because their performers are wearing PPE, are getting tested (speculation, unless someone can confirm), or both. The article linked in the OP specifies that the union didn’t like that Disney’s performers wouldn’t be wearing masks and not getting regularly tested.

Anything tied to equity has a lot of protective measures involved for the performers, as they should. That includes the protection of their jobs. What determines whether a position is equity or not? That depends on the requirements of the role. For example, a face character M&G Belle isn’t equity, while a musical stage show Belle that sings and dances absolutely is. The latter role requires a lot more out of a performer. This is also why M&G Belle can’t burst into song.

Universal staff is not unionized and WDW cast is I believe. More red tape to negotiate when dealing with staff covered by the union.

 

[Jon81uk]

Is Universal different in that regard? I see USF is moving forward with the new Bourne stunt show which has been going through soft opens. Seems like a large stunt cast for that show and it’s up and running, although much of the cast is wearing masks. Are they not Equity? If so how did they pull that off?

I think the mask use is key here. Universal have face characters on-stage wearing masks (there are photos in the Universal section of the forum showing the Scooby Doo gang all distanced from each other wearing masks appropriate to their outfit colours.
Disney is refusing to do this (although I think that's fine as Cinderella with a face mask would be weird).

 

[Jon81uk]

Universal staff is not unionized and WDW cast is I believe. More red tape to negotiate when dealing with staff covered by the union.

I think you are probably right actually, there certainly doesn't seem to be any indication online that they have Equity roles at Universal.

 

[brifraz]

Why can’t they replace equity w non equity? Can’t they just make new roles and call them slightly different things? There’s got to be some way to work around the Union.

Anything tied to equity has a lot of protective measures involved for the performers, as they should. That includes the protection of their jobs. What determines whether a position is equity or not? That depends on the requirements of the role. For example, a face character M&G Belle isn’t equity, while a musical stage show Belle that sings and dances absolutely is. The latter role requires a lot more out of a performer. This is also why M&G Belle can’t burst into song.

Disney has a contract with Actors Equity through 2022 which requires that certain roles (basically exactly as @DoleWhipDrea said, mainly scripted speaking/singing roles or choreographed roles in stage productions - but not parade or M&G performers) be filled by Equity actors. It is possible that actors who are in AEA can fill roles that are not part of the contract, but I'm pretty sure the Disney contract requires that those roles then be paid at equity rates - which means that it almost never happens! If Disney was to alter/rename roles and recast them with non-Equity performers they would be looking at a labor dispute that could have HUGE ramifications for Disney (SAG and AEA are sister organizations, so movie production could also be greatly impacted if AEA feels that Disney is breaking their contract). For many actors (in fact, every actor that I know, but I'm hesitant to put out a generality like 'most'), getting to the level of being in Actors Equity is a proud achievement - you have to actually perform at certain level of quality theatre for a specific length of time to be allowed to apply for membership. If WDW was to cut off their ties with AEA, the pool of high quality actors would certainly be reduced. And, I for one, am consistently impressed with the quality of actors in the shows at Disney and would be very sad to see that change.

My guess is that either they’re considered okay because their performers are wearing PPE, are getting tested (speculation, unless someone can confirm), or both. The article linked in the OP specifies that the union didn’t like that Disney’s performers wouldn’t be wearing masks and not getting regularly tested.

I think you are probably right actually, there certainly doesn't seem to be any indication online that they have Equity roles at Universal.

Universal stage performers have voted a few times to not become a part of Actors Equity, so they don't have the protections of AEA - not sure about testing at Universal for performers. Not positive when the last vote was, but I am almost positive that AEA does not have a contract with Universal in Florida.

 

[celluloid]

Is Universal different in that regard? I see USF is moving forward with the new Bourne stunt show which has been going through soft opens. Seems like a large stunt cast for that show and it’s up and running, although much of the cast is wearing masks. Are they not Equity? If so how did they pull that off?

It may help that most of the show is third party, and it was a big new investment that they did not want to delay any longer.

You make great points though, with Disney so much of it is budgeting cuts now as it is safety. Stopping parking tram service for example. If that is true, they are stopping the safer open air transportation to have people get on a monorail or bus.
(.ayve some trans will be used to vri g guests to MK instead of ferry and monorail.