Following the news that Disneyland’s 1,700 character and parade performers are seeking to unionize, an article from The Orange County Register points out some comparisons in the pay for performers at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
What’s Happening:
- Cast Members in the Disneyland Resort’s Characters and Parades departments, calling themselves “Magic United,” announced plans to unionize with the Actors’ Equity Association earlier this month.
- Actors’ Equity has represented the stage actors of Walt Disney World since 1990, while characters have been represented by the Teamsters union for over 40 years.
- Currently, non-unionized Disneyland character performers receive a base pay of $24.15 an hour, with premiums of up to $4.75 for some roles.
- The unionized Walt Disney World character performers receive a base pay of $17.75 an hour, with premiums up to $3.25.
- This equates to a 36% increase for Disneyland performers over their WDW counterparts.
- Equity contends the coast-to-coast comparisons highlight the differences between the minimum wages and cost of living and housing in California and Florida for cast members.
- California’s minimum wage is $16 per hour with the hourly rate set to increase to $18 in 2025.
- Florida’s minimum wage is $12 per hour with the hourly rate set to increase to $13 in September.
- The cost of living in Orange County is 44.5% higher than Orlando, according to the Payscale Cost of Living Calculator.
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