Disney CEO Comments on Cast Member COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Over the past year, there have been quite a few changes to health and safety measures in Disney World.

New health and safety signage in Disney World

Most recently, Disney brought back the requirement for all guests and Cast Members to wear face masks when indoors, standing in queues, and on most transportation. Plus, shortly after, they announced that salaried and non-union Cast Members would be required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by September 28th and now Disney’s CEO is commenting on the mandate.

In a recent “Mad Money” interview with CNBC and Walt Disney Company CEO, Bob Chapek, the Disney executive commented on the new vaccine requirement, stating that “We believe what we’d like to do is convince [Cast Members] that it’s in everyone’s best interest in order to get vaccinated for the greater good.”

©Jeff Vahle

Chapek did not directly address whether Cast Members who do not meet the September 28th deadline would be fired, though he did emphasize that Disney has a “contract” with guests to “operate responsibly” and shared that this is a step for “the greater good [that] includes our guests”

And, he also shared early in the conversation that they “believe that vaccinations are the key to really mitigating the impact of this pandemic” and would like to see their quarter of a million Cast Members vaccinated.

©Jeff Vahle

Currently, the vaccine mandate only applies to Cast Members who are not part of a union, though Disney is in discussions with unions to extend the requirement.

Cast Member vaccine requirement issued by Disney | ©Frank Pallotta | @frankpallotta on Twitter

When it comes to how COVID-19 is still impacting the Disney Parks, Chapek recently shared in the company’s quarterly report that they are still seeing “strong demand” for the parks with park reservations “above Q3 attendance levels” now.

Galaxy’s Edge crowds

Plus, Disney has been gradually increasing park capacity over the past few months with continued attendance levels at or near capacity levels daily.

And, according to Disney CFO, Christine McCarthy, during the Q3 update, the increase in capacity levels will continue to track with demand for the parks though she did note that “It’s an ever-changing landscape with COVID and we’re going to be careful.”

Disney fans are certainly coming back to the park!

We’ll continue to keep an eye out for more updates on Disney’s Cast Member COVID-19 vaccine requirement and other information on health and safety measures in the parks so be sure to stay tuned to AllEars for the latest!