Most of the offerings in Disney World (including rides, hotels, restaurants, and more) have returned. But what about the things that are still closed?
Some of the experiences might remain closed for a time because of health and safety measures, like the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique salon. But other areas are unavailable due to a different issue altogether.
Disney World has been experiencing staffing shortages since they reopened in 2020, and they’re definitely not alone.
What’s going on with labor shortages in America?
Many companies are looking for employees to fill necessary positions but having a difficult time finding people. The New York Times has reported labor shortages for schools, healthcare, pharmacies, retail locations, and more.
Business Insider expounded on a number of possibilities for the current labor issues. After the initial layoffs due to COVID-19, many workers have adapted to flexible schedules and working from home. This desire for flexibility has kept some people from more traditional workplaces.
In addition, workers are demanding more money, probably due in part to the financial difficulties also caused by the pandemic. And if schools aren’t reliably open, some parents are unable to commit to a full-time job if they don’t have available childcare.
Also, there is still some concern over the current COVID-19 situation, and some people may be afraid for their health if they return to an in-person workplace.
Those factors are just some of the ones tied to the pandemic, and there are likely more reasons that people are staying away from the jobs they previously held. Society is changing all the time, and there are many possible explanations for a shortage of labor. Whatever the causes behind it, it’s clear that many companies are short-staffed.
How is this affecting Disney?
Disney laid off about 33,000 employees between 2020 and 2021. That took their total number of employees from 223,000 in 2019 to 203,000 in 2020 (an 8.97% decline). In 2021, it decreased by another 13,000 to 190,000 (a 6.4% decline).
The recent first-quarter earnings call saw the first upward trend in employees, with Disney CEO, Bob Chapek, reporting that the company has 195,000 employees currently. This is still about 28,000 fewer employees than pre-pandemic numbers.
Chapek also reported that most of Disney’s Cast Members (employees in the theme parks) responded “yes” immediately when asked to return to work: “As a matter of fact, we had 85% of our Cast Members pretty much say, yes, immediately, when we ask them back.”
He followed this by saying that Disney’s retention rate of employees in the parks has been good as well: “We really haven’t had too big of an issue in terms of retaining and attracting people into our parks, to work into our parks at all.”
Disney World also recently brought back the College Program, which recruits college-aged students to work inside the parks and at the hotels. This program usually accepts about 12,000 applicants each year, although many more people apply.
So it’s possible that Disney will accept more people for the upcoming program if they need the staff and have available capacity.
Problem solved?
Does all this optimism mean the problem is solved for Disney? …Probably not quite. We’re still seeing issues with staffing shortages in the parks, such as closed kiosks or limited hours for certain restaurants.
Chapek said that there were two areas that especially needed help when it comes to staffing: hospitality and live entertainment: “The two areas that have been difficult is hospitality […] the second one is live entertainment.”
The hospitality area has to do with both housekeeping and short-order cooks. Currently, Disney World hotel rooms are only being lightly cleaned every other day during guests’ visits, and then they’re more thoroughly cleaned between guests.
It makes sense that live entertainment is a focus right now since Disney World is planning on bringing back a LOT of live shows and parades in 2022. The Festival of Fantasy Parade is returning to Magic Kingdom on March 9th, and both Fantasmic! and Finding Nemo: The Big Blue…And Beyond! will open sometime this year.
These shows require a lot of Cast Members, so Disney will need to continue to push for more employees in this area.
In many ways, the Disney theme parks have returned to “normal.” But it looks like there is still a long way to go before they’re back to full staff and normal offerings.
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Have you noticed any staffing shortages in Disney World? Let us know in the comments.
I think your analysis is somewhat oversimplified. Layoffs related to the pandemic happened everywhere. In every industry. And when things got better pandemic wise, the companies all said “OK, everyone, time to come back to work.” And , I think, one thing that happened at that point was people looked around and saw that they didn’t have to accept the same old job they had held. They got a check from the government which allowed them to take a breath and say “Do I want to go back to work there?” And many said “I think I will shop around and see if I can do better”. One thing that seems to be ignored in all this is that, for years, workers were told they only deserved so much for what they did. Companies could only do so much. But then the earnings reports came out and workers saw how much profit companies were earning. And then when they were called back to work, those workers, who had been underpaid and received lousy benefits for years, decided to see who wanted them the most and who was willing to share that profit with them. These opportunities only come along like once in a lifetime and workers aren’t letting this one slip through their fingers. It also gives them a great chance to try a different career. Remember the old adage ” A good worker is worth their weight in gold”. The workers want some of that gold to pay rent, child care, health care, etc.
Cast Members are the key to whether a Disney trip is positive or negative. It would seen wise to pay Cast Members / Performers more, even if it cut into the salaries of the top executives.
Also, WDW should return to the “no housekeeping” discount offered a few years ago. I didn’t mind making my own bed, knowing that I was saving $20.