While guests have been able to hug and greet their favorite characters at many locations around Walt Disney World since mid-April 2022, Disney’s Animal Kingdom has not yet seen the return of up-close character greetings. The characters at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, with the exception of Kevin on Discovery Island, have continued to be seen on flotillas on the Discovery River throughout the day. This is about to change with the reopening of the Adventures Outpost.
We have a reopening date for character greetings at Adventurers Outpost at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Beginning June 19, 2022, “favorite Disney Pals” will greet here. This experience is also being added to the Disney Genie+ lineup.
Prior to the pandemic, Mickey and Minnie greeted guests at this location. The location has not been open since the parks reopened in July 2020. While we hope it will be both Mickey and Minnie who return together, there is no indication on who will be greeting here when it reopens, other than “favorite Disney Pals” as listed on the website.
These will be the first characters to return to their greeting locations. We have no word on when Donald and the gang will return to Donald’s Dino-Bash or when Pocochantas might return to her popular greeting spot on Discovery Island.
Another fan-favorite show is coming back very soon to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in a whole new way. “Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!” will be an updated show with a new script and set pieces. We’re very excited to check out the new show.
Get out those calendars! Disney has announced that “Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!” will open on June 13, 2022. The updated 25-minute show will have live performers and puppets and a new script. But don’t worry, many of the songs and numbers from the original show are still included in the show. The attraction will be included with Disney Genie+.
From a Disney Cast Member;
Climb aboard explorers and hold on tight, because it’s time to take a deep dive into the creation of the freshly reimagined show, “Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!” – opening this summer at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park!
Stepping inside the Theater in the Wild, we’ll catch up with the group of fish from Dr. P. Sherman’s office in “Finding Nemo,” who have made their way across the ocean to the Marine Life Institute. The fish tell Nemo’s story in this fully updated, 25-minute show, incorporating live performers and puppets, along with many of the beloved songs and production numbers from the original “Finding Nemo: The Musical” – which is great news if you’re like me and have had “In the Big Blue World” stuck in your head since 2007.
In addition to a new script, the show will feature new scenic set pieces and a new LED video wall designed to visually extend the world created by the physical sets on stage. We aren’t talking small set pieces either. Be on the lookout for a 32-foot-long sunken submarine and a fish tank volcano standing nearly 15 feet tall!
Working in close collaboration with Pixar Animation Studios, artists and designers at Disney Live Entertainment also developed a new aesthetic for “Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!” inspired by layered, cut paper sculptures. The resulting look is fresh and unique to the show, while staying true to the designs in the original film. Check out the video below for a sneak peek.
“Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!” is just one of the many ways we’re adding even more magic to the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary celebration.
When it comes to creating that magical Disney experience, there are few keys more important than Cast Members. Cast Members do everything from keeping the Parks clean and safe to helping Guests who may not be very experienced in Disney vacations, running your favorite attractions and rides, and more. Without the thousands of hard-working Cast Members, Walt Disney World would not be the top vacation destination it is.
While becoming a Disney Cast Member may be a dream job for many, it is still a job. There are still clock-ins and clock-outs, breaks, vacation time, and all of the other things that come with a regular job. Each Company has its own attendance policy that employees have to follow, and The Walt Disney Company is no different. However, according to a local union, Disney is trying to drastically alter its attendance policy for Walt Disney World Cast Members, and the Cast Members are anything but pleased.
We’ve met with Disney and reviewed the proposed attendance policy. While we wait for clarification to questions that were raised we wanted to provide members with the main takeaways. Understand, this is just the beginning of the conversation with Disney and we will negotiate with Disney over the impact and request changes be made. Meaning, this may not be the final policy.
-No more points system. Instead attendance infractions will be tracked as total amount of unexcused time of missed work.
Tardies tracked separately by number of occurrences
– Different amounts of unexcused time/tardies for Full Time, Casual Regular, and Casual Temporary will trigger discipline.
16 hours to trigger for FT, 12 hours for CR, 6 hours for CT
3 tardies to trigger for FT, 2 tardies for CR, 2 tardies for CT.
– Supplementing sick time to not receive an infraction will require equal amount of time be supplemented. For example a 6 hour shift requires 6 hours be supplement.
– FMLA and other applicable leave time will continue to excuse absences.
– No more continued absences only counting as one infraction.
We will post updates as they become available. Message us with any questions or call the office (714 502 0220).
In Solidarity,
Chris Duarte
Local 50 Vice President
Now, only those who work at Walt Disney World and the union are incredibly familiar with the attendance policy and how it works for the type of company Disney is. And, according to numerous Cast Members, the new proposed attendance policy is just insulting.
Twitter user Jess (@jesscantlead) said that Disney was messing up with the new attendance policy, especially because being a Cast Member is both physically and mentally exhausting.
Disney MESSED UP for thinking this is a good idea. Working in theme parks is a mentally and physically exhausting job.
Facebook user Amber T. posted that the hour-for-hour proposed system doesn’t make sense. If an employee calls out, and they were scheduled to work a double shift, that could really hurt their sick time.
So if I need to call out on a double then I’ve just used almost all of my 12 hours for the whole year…this is insane.
Caroline M. pointed out on Facebook that Disney encourages Cast Members to call out and not come into work if they are feeling sick, which is especially important during the pandemic. Every day, sick Guests visit the Parks knowing that they are sick and knowing that they could get others sick. With this new strict attendance policy, those signs may be ignored.
I hope when you guys sit down with Disney you will bring up the signs posted in all areas indicating that if we are sick we should not come to work and indicate to them that if they truly believe in this statement they need to reconsider everything they have put on the plate especially not being able to extend a call out. Disney might not believe it but we still are in the middle of a PANDEMIC with Covid cases on the rise, as I’m sure HR is currently witnessing. This is not a proper solution to the call out issue, and will only require them to hire more people when Covid once again comes around in winter because everyone will be fired. Truthfully if Disney cannot negotiate in good faith as they generally cannot do, Local 50 you should contact media. I’m sure Disney would love to have more bad publicity on their hands.
Some commented that the new attendance policy is similar to attendance policies in regular businesses. However, many people who claimed to be Cast Members said that regular attendance policies may work for “normal” jobs, but being a Cast Member is anything but a normal job. One of those people was Jess, the original poster, who pointed out that yes, the proposed attendance policy is normal, but doesn’t work for the demands of a Disney job.
but also since leaving Disney I haven’t needed to call out a bunch because I’m not worked to exhaustion, not burnt out, not getting sick from guests, I have PTO, I have 80 hours worth of PSL, I have a set schedule, time off requests are honored, etc.
At this time, the Local Union is still working with Disney to negotiate a new attendance policy. So, the current points system that Cast Members seem to really like is still in place. Hopefully, Disney and the Union are able to come to an agreement that everyone can be happy with.
This summer, Walt Disney World will debut its highly anticipated new MagicBand, called MagicBand+. These new MagicBands will be able to do things above and beyond the traditional MagicBand. Regular MagicBands — which have been at Walt Disney World for years — are able to hold Guests’ theme park tickets, Park reservations, Lightning Lane Reservations, open your hotel room door, and more. MagicBand+ will be able to do all that and more, a lot of which will be in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary.
As part of its 50th Anniversary celebration, Walt Disney World Imagineers created 50 beautiful gold statues of classic and newer Disney characters. These statues are called the Fab 50. The new MagicBand+ will be able to interact with these statues, creating a truly one-of-a-kind experience for Guests. Some Walt Disney World Resort Cast Members were given the chance to use MagicBand+ and had a great time.
We recently “banded” together with some Cast Members at Magic Kingdom for a special sneak peek of the new MagicBand+ Disney Fab 50 Quest! We had a blast bringing some of our favorite Disney characters to life and can’t wait to interact with the rest of the Disney Fab 50 Character Collection when MagicBand+ launches this summer. Which sculpt are you most excited to interact with? #DisneyCastLife #DisneyWorld50
In addition to using the MagicBand+ to interact with the Fab 50 statues, Guests will also see their Bands light up as they watch Disney Enchantment at magic Kingdom and Harmonious at EPCOT. Much like the Mickey ear hats that debuted at Disney years ago, MagicBand+ will light up in time to the music and change colors as the show progresses.
Guests who purchase MagicBand+ will also be able to become Bounty Hunters as they spend time in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The MagicBand+ will light up and vibrate as you get close to the hidden virtual bounties you are searching for. Then, in conjunction with the Play Disney Parks app, a thermal imager on your phone will reveal the hidden bounty. If Guests complete their missions, local guide masters will reward them with galactic credits.
Now, the Fab 50 statues, as well as Disney Enchantment and Harmonious, were created specifically for the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary. The 50th is scheduled to run through March 2023, and it is unknown if the statues and shows will remain after that. Disney has not revealed what things the MagicBand+ will be able to interact with once the 50th is over.
It was also announced that Disney is making the shift back to the “Festival of the Lion King.” Performers will be preparing for the long-awaited return of the full show. For this reason, “A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King” will not be an available experience for Guests from July 5, 2022, to July 15, 2022.
NEW: "Festival of the Lion King" officially returns July 16. "A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King" will officially end its run on July 4.
No show will be offered from July 5-15 while Disney gets ready for the return of the full show. pic.twitter.com/LYacD5leL7
Disney invites Guests to “delight in a Broadway-style show filled with songs, pageantry, and puppetry celebrating the classic movie, The Lion King.”
The Walt Disney World website touts the Festival of the Lion King at Disney’s Animal Kingdom as follows:
“Join the inhabitants of the Pride Lands for a grand gala in honor of Simba, the lion cub who would be king.
As the lights dim, hear the sounds of the African savanna. A kinetic kaleidoscope of color floods the stage as colossal puppets, extravagantly costumed dancers, and incredible stilt walkers dazzle the senses.
During spectacular theatrics, you’ll relive all the classic songs from The Lion King, including ‘Hakuna Matata’ and ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight?’ The spectacular finale includes a soaring rendition of ‘Circle of Life.’
It’s a moving and immersive theatrical experience celebrating music that has touched generations of Disney fans—and a festival you’ll want to be part of again and again!”
When the experience first returned after a nearly four-month closure of the parks in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the attraction was called “A Celebration of the Festival of the Lion King,” which was a shorter version of the experience that didn’t include all of the show’s features, such as the Tumble Monkeys.
The full show will return on July 16, and the Tumble Monkeys and birds will all be there! If you’re in the parks that day, be sure to give them all a warm welcome!
