In 2023, the Service Trades Council Unions, a collective of unions representing the thousands of cast members at the Walt Disney World Resort, won a much-deserved raise for Disney World employees. The new contract would raise most cast members’ salaries above $20 an hour by early 2024 and nearly $25 an hour by 2026. It was a well-deserved raise for ...
Read More »Author Archives: Rick Lye
CDC Issues Health Advisory as Multiple Illnesses Surge—What Disney World Guests Should Know
With winter in full swing, Florida experienced its coldest January in nearly two decades. The state known for sun and beaches even got up to eight inches of snow, crippling travel in the northern part of the state. Besides the obvious issues with the weather in Florida, there is an unintended side effect that could make winter even worse and ...
Read More »Trump’s Immigration Policy and Tariffs Impact Disney’s Expansion Plans
In the fall of 2024, college campuses started booming again. For the first time since the pandemic, college enrollment increased by 4.7 percent to nearly 16 million students. While these statistics are great news for colleges, it’s bad news for the construction industry. With more high school graduates heading to college, there are fewer going into the skilled trades at ...
Read More »Disney Turns to Fox News in Effort to Win Back Conservative Guests
Disney fans will agree that the company has some long-term problems with its parks that it is desperately working to fix in 2025. In doing so, Disney is shutting down large portions of Disney World Parks to make way for its new attractions, which will open in 2026 and beyond. However, those closures will only exacerbate one of Disney World’s ...
Read More »Florida Lawmakers Face Criticism Over Use of State Funds for Disney World Tickets
Last year, as states faced increased pressure on their budgets, the Florida Legislature attempted to restrict what students could use their school choice voucher money on. Just before the legislature took up this issue, it came to light that there were virtually no restrictions on what parents could use the money for, including Disney World tickets and flat-screen TVs. Instead ...
Read More »What Even Is It Anymore?’ Guests Lament Changes at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
When it first opened, the concept was pretty simple: take guests back to the golden age of Hollywood. Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney/MGM Studios, as it was known when it first opened, demystified the movie-making process and showed guests everything that went into creating their favorite works. As guests walked down Hollywood Boulevard, they were transported back to the glitz ...
Read More »Survey Reveals Bleak Future for Disney Fans—Unless You’re Among the Wealthiest
Every year, Katapult, the international guest experience design company, releases its survey on theme park trends and guests’ wants/needs. This year’s survey looked at the impact of guest behavior and how theme parks can change over the next five years to meet that need. According to the survey results, guests are looking for more immersive lands based on pre-existing intellectual ...
Read More »The Construction Zone: Yet Another Magic Kingdom Attraction Shuts Down Yesterday
Disney fans better prepare themselves for what 2025 is going to bring to the Magic Kingdom. If you’re planning a trip to the “Most Magical Place on Earth,” you can expect a lot of construction and ride closures. Today marks the final day for another Magic Kingdom opening-day attraction, joining the ever-growing list of rides and attractions that are closed ...
Read More »Is a Magic Kingdom Transformation Coming? Disney’s Next Big Plans Revealed
It’s no secret that Magic Kingdom will be a construction zone for the foreseeable future. Big Thunder Mountain has already shut down for a year-long refurbishment that has already started. Soon enough, Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island will close to make room for the new Cars and Villains Land. That will create construction zones throughout most of Frontierland, ...
Read More »Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland Slowly Vanishes—Here’s What’s Next
The beauty of a Walt Disney World Resort vacation is that it is completely immersive. Once you drive through the Disney World arch, everything in the real world seems to disappear. When guests walk down Main Street, U.S.A., they’re not in Central Florida. Somehow, Disney World transported them to Main Street during Walt Disney’s childhood. It’s the same feeling at ...
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