Over the last several weeks, more than 1,000 salaried theme park employees have been terminated at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. To hear some tell it, those removed were primarily “dead wood”—middle managers with redundant responsibilities who spent most of their time hiding in their offices.
Poppycock. Many of those released had decades of loyal service to the park. They were providing important functions and, more importanly, possessed fundamental operating knowledge of the park that their successors must now do without. These weren’t all drooling, do-nothing hold-overs from the Pressler regime. In fact, several of those let go had been working at the park since 1956 (coincidentally, the year former Disneyland president Paul Pressler was born and 38 years before his first step inside Disneyland).
As one old-timer points out: “They say this is all about cutting fat, but look at (how they’re staffing) the hourly cast members.” He notices that despite heavy crowds, Disneyland is scheduling a minimal number of front-line operators, leaving attractions and other facilities under-staffed or completely unstaffed. The cuts in capacity result in guests waiting longer and receiving fewer choices.
He reasons that if Disney chooses to save a few bucks at the cost of lesser service in full view of the paying guests, what makes you think they’re not doing the same thing in the back offices?
Certainly Disneyland is not immune to these troubling economic times. Most large businesses have had to undergo difficult layoffs. Disney’s theme parks have “rightsized” their employee ranks before, and they will have to again.
But what’s not right is spreading the message that the hundreds of loyal cast members who were let go were expendable and aren’t a real loss. The loss is real to them and their families and, as regular visitors to Disneyland, I fear their loss will be real to us, as well.
In tribute, here are just a few of the hard-working cast members who lost their jobs. My apologies to the hundreds whom I haven’t listed.
Others leaving over the last few weeks include catering & convention manager Joyce Bramlett, Marilyn Campbell, special events producer Jon Cloward, Jeremy Collins, Kolissa Cope, Pamela Ewing, marketing & advertising filming manager Grace Ishiki, Blake Lennon, Joyce Manning, Michael McManigal, product developer Sarah Quinn, Emily Reed, Bill Rowland, Karen Seals, and special events manager Eric Wiley.
Good luck to you all!
Despite the heavy crowds at the park, the nearby GardenWalk shopping/dining district has struggled for business. But they’ve finally figured out a way to make a few pennies off the overflow. Evidently, on extremely busy days at Disneyland, a section of the GardenWalk parking structure will be open for Resort parking.
The deepening recession has hit restaurants hard, including those in the Disneyland area, as patrons eat out less often and “dine down.” In other words, someone who last year may have eaten at a Downtown Disney eatery may now dine at the Mimi’s Cafe on Harbor Boulevard. The Mimi’s diner might instead choose the Denny’s down the street. And the former Denny’s patron might now be found at McDonald’s.
So those hit hardest over the last few months have been the the higher-priced establishments, particularly those with a more narrow niche. The first casualty was Yamabuki, the Japanese restaurant at the Paradise Pier Hotel, which closed April 11. A source at the Paradise Pier alleges the replacement will be a Mexican restaurant—with a more affordable menu than Yamabuki’s.
A few weeks ago, I blogged that New Orleans Square’s subterranean cast member cafeteria, the Westside Diner, would be closing March 29, with no replacement in sight ("The Pit Stops, Effective Sunday," March 25, 2009). Well, the latest Cast Member Reference Guide mentions that a new Westside Diner will be built. But it makes no mention of where or when it will open. A source in Foods claims the site has not even been chosen.
“With our luck,” said one worker, “it will not be ready until 2011. In the meantime, remember how Cast TV said we would get a Carl’s Jr. truck at the temporary break area at ODV? No dice. You will only find the ‘roach coach’ contracted by Sodexho. Sodexho has complained that they do not want any competition backstage.”
(Send an email to David Koenig)
David Koenig is the senior editor of the 80-year-old business journal, The Merchant Magazine.
After receiving his degree in journalism from California State University, Fullerton (aka Cal State Disneyland), he began years of research for his first book, Mouse Tales: A Behind-the-Ears Look at Disneyland (1994), which he followed with Mouse Under Glass: Secrets of Disney Animation & Theme Parks (1997, revised 2001) and More Mouse Tales: A Closer Peek Backstage at Disneyland (1999) (All titles published by Bonaventure Press).
He lives in Aliso Viejo, California, with his lovely wife, Laura, their wonderful son, Zachary, and their adorable daughter, Rebecca.
