1/28,000: working for Disney World in the midst of a pandemic

Abstract

The Walt Disney Company is facing the biggest employment crisis it has had in years. Since March of 2020, the company has been laying off and furloughing college students, interns and even upper management culminating in the firing of 28,000 part-time and full-time cast members in September. While this may not sound like a big deal, most cast members think of this as not just any job, but of THE job for them. ( I know I did.) In this written feature article and accompanying photo essay, paired with personal anecdotes, I intend to highlight a few of the employees that threw themselves into their roles and what it meant to work for the Walt Disney Company. I intend to focus on those in their mid-twenties who have participated in the Disney College Program and then made the choice to stay on with the company, and those who are based out of the Orlando theme park.