Earlier in the week news broke that Disney were laying off entertainment cast members and closing many favourite attractions, including Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo: The Musical, Beauty and the Beast — Live on Stage, and more. Disney has today released a statement addressing the layoffs.
Walt Disney World Resort offers a treasure trove of experiences for guests of all ages. We recognize that part of the magic of visiting any Disney park is seeing favorite Disney friends and discovering one-of-a-kind shows and performances. Since reopening, we’ve continued to offer modified character experiences and entertainment throughout our resort, while also taking the appropriate steps for the health and safety of our guests and cast members.
Recently, we’ve had to make some difficult decisions to reduce our workforce as the business impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic have become more long-lasting than anyone could have predicted. As a result, we’ve had to pause many live shows and entertainment experiences at our resort for longer than originally anticipated.
While it’s impossible at this time to fully replace the incredible entertainment that existed throughout our parks before the pandemic, we are offering live entertainment in new ways wherever possible, including character cavalcades in all four parks and pop-up appearances, like discovering Joy from “Inside Out” frolicking on the lawn near the Imagination! pavilion in EPCOT. Additionally, we’re featuring modified shows such as the popular “For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and live musical performances like the Main Street Philharmonic in Magic Kingdom or the Discovery Island Drummers at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This extends to our seasonal offerings, with Halloween underway and the holidays right around the corner. In fact, the fan-favorite Voices of Liberty are set to make their return and join the JAMMitors and Mariachi Cobre at the American Gardens Theatre during the upcoming Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays, beginning on Nov. 27.
Determining which shows can return and when is a complex process. As with the rest of our phased reopening, we will also consider the guidance of health officials and government agencies in determining when the time will be right to adjust capacity, and as soon as it is appropriate, we will start to bring additional entertainment back.
Like most of our fans, we know that our beloved entertainment cast are an incredibly special and essential part of the Disney experience. We look forward to the day when we can welcome back more live entertainment to our parks, and we will share more news about these announcements as we’re able to do so.
Join the FREE Mickey From The UK email club & never miss any Disney content Click Here To Join The FREE Mickey From The UK Email Club You may not see all our content on social media, so signing up to our club means you won't miss a thing.
Book your 2025 Walt Disney World package today for selected arrivals between 7th January - 17th December 2025 and you'll enjoy FREE Disney Dining & Drinks and so much more when staying at select... Read more >
Disney has updated the payment policy on the Savi's Workshop build-a-lightsaber experience located in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Guests are now required to pay the $2... Read more >
Disney has announced that the 2024 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival will begin on August 29th, 2024, through November 23rd, 2024.
If you've not yet booked your summer/autumn Walt Dis... Read more >
Starting June 29th, 2024, Auberge de Cendrillon will be serving breakfast one again. There will be two slots available to book, 8:15 am and 9:45 a.m. Only guests staying at any of the Disneyland ... Read more >
Disneyland Paris has announced the Halloween and Christmas festival dates for 2024. Disneyland Park will be decorated for Halloween starting October 1st to November 3rd, 2024. Disneyland Park wil... Read more >
Disney has announced that Magic Kingdom Park is about to get even more colourful as the installation of "Smellephants on Parade" (presented by Scentsy) has begun at Storybook Circus. Guests visit... Read more >
Victoria & Albert's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa has been awarded a Michelin Star in an event in Tampa this week. This is the first time a Disney-operated restaurant has received suc... Read more >
This was our first time flying with Aer Lingus and we took a direct flight from Manchester (MAN) to Orlando (MCO). We are aware of the benefits of a stopover in Dublin, but I enjoy the peace of m... Read more >
The Disney Parks UK team based in London and serves as the UK arm of The Walt Disney World Company, has launched a new Go To Walt Disney World Resort Holiday Planning Series on Disney UK's YouTu... Read more >
With the announcement that Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris will be renamed Disney Adventure World comes new concept art of the lake that the new "World Of Frozen" land will sit next ... Read more >
British Perspective Disney Parks News, Photos, Reviews, Guides, & More
Join Our Free Email Club All our Disney news, reviews, offers, and more, direct to your inbox, for free.