The third wave of layoffs at Disney got underway today, sources tell Deadline.
Rising from the earlier information, the cuts are estimated to affect more than 2,500 jobs across the board at the company, we’re now told. While Parks and Resorts remains mainly untouched, the employee pink-slipping this week isn’t aimed at any particular division. We hear that television, which was hit hard in the second round, is largely spared this time with a small number of layoffs, we hear.
Following the timeline of cuts Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed in late March, this is expected to be the last of the significant layoffs at Disney for a while. However, there many still be some smaller cuts in the next couple of months, sources say.
The initial wave of began on March 27 when Iger confirmed the plan for three rounds of layoffs as the company looks to reduce its workforce by about 7,000 employees.
The second and largest wave, which brought the number of eliminated positions to 4,000, began April 24. The company had said that it expected a third round before the start of summer.
The new wave of layoffs comes as media companies are facing effects from the ongoing writers strike, which is bringing film and TV development and production to a halt.
Disney revealed last February that it expects to realize $5.5 billion in cost savings as a result of the layoffs and other austerity measures. ESPN and Parks, Experiences and Products, the other two corporate divisions, will see staff cuts along with Entertainment. No frontline operational workers at the company’s theme parks are expected to lose their jobs, however.
Iger began outlining plans for downsizing soon after returning as Disney CEO last November. One area targeted for cuts has been the centralized distribution organization created by his predecessor, Bob Chapek.
The company this week is starting to remove dozens of titles from its streaming platforms, also as a cost-cutting measure.
Disney will pull certain fire effects from shows at their resorts worldwide after an animatronic dragon caught fire at Disneyland in Southern California on Saturday, company officials say.
“We are temporarily suspending fire effects similar to those used at Disneyland park’s Fantasmic at select shows and entertainment experiences globally out of an abundance of caution,” Disneyland officials said in a statement on Monday.
Pyrotechnics are among the special effects featured in the long-running “Fantasmic” show at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World in Florida, according to the parks’ websites.
Fantasmic is an outdoor show in which Mickey Mouse imagines battling classic Disney villains and features water effects, lasers and projections before the climatic pyrotechnics at the end.
Impact at US parks
The dragon prop in the nighttime Fantasmic show at Disney World’s Hollywood Studios park uses a system that operates differently from the one used at Disneyland, so that show in Florida will continue as usual, Disney officials say.
As of Monday afternoon, according to Disney World’s website, a Fantasmic show is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET Monday. The show typically runs nightly. The site lists a closure set for May 1 and May 2 for “routine maintenance.”
At Disney World’s Magic Kingdom park, the daytime Festival of Fantasy parade also features a fire-breathing dragon. Disney officials say the parade will continue with the dragon float, but its fire effect has been temporarily suspended.
As for the almost 30-minute Fantasmic show at Disneyland, Disney officials told CNN that “we do not have a status update to provide yet.”
They suggested people check their entertainment schedule or Disneyland app. As of late Monday afternoon, Fantasmic shows were scheduled for regular weekend times, including this Friday-Sunday (April 28-30).
What happened over the weekend
This photo shows a fire during the Fantasmic show in the Tom Sawyer Island section of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on Saturday.Shawna Bell/AP
Maleficent, the show-stopping, 45-foot fire-breathing dragon, caught fire on Saturday.
That prompted evacuations of the Tom Sawyer Island section of the park, the company said in a statement. Because of smoke and wind, attractions near the island were also evacuated.
No injuries were reported, and the cause of Saturday’s fire remains under investigation.
This is not the first time a Disney dragon has caught fire. Back in 2018, the dragon float in the Festival of Fantasy parade at Disney World also went ablaze. No injuries were reported in that incident, either.
A rain spout stylized with the outline of Disney character Mickey Mouse is seen on a building at The Walt Disney Co. studios in Burbank, California August 9, 2011. REUTERS/Fred Prouser
April 24 (Reuters) – Walt Disney (DIS.N) will begin a second wave of layoffs on Monday involving thousands of jobs, as part of efforts to eliminate 7,000 positions and save $5.5 billion in costs, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The company will cut “several thousand” jobs through Thursday, with the latest round of reductions bringing the total number of jobs culled to 4,000, Disney officials say.
The cuts will occur across the company’s business segments, including Disney Entertainment, ESPN and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, according to the sources, but are not expected to affect hourly frontline workers employed at the parks and resorts.
An internal memo seen by Reuters said the layoff notices will continue over the next several days.
“The senior leadership teams have been working diligently to define our future organization, and our biggest priority has been getting this right, rather than getting it done fast,” Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden wrote in the memo to staff.
“We recognize that it has been a period of uncertainty and thank you all for your understanding and patience,” they said.
Disney announced its layoff plan in February, together with a reorganization that returned decision-making to its creative executives. Its goal is to create a more streamlined approach to its business.
The entertainment industry has retrenched since its early embrace of video streaming, when established media companies lost billions as they launched competitors to Netflix Inc (NFLX.O).
Media companies started to rein in spending when Netflix posted its first loss of subscribers in a decade in early 2022, and Wall Street began prioritizing profitability over subscriber growth.
On March 27, Disney began notifying employees affected by the workforce reductions, and said a second, larger round would follow in April. A third round is anticipated before the start of summer.
An animatronic dragon caught fire at California’s Disneyland park on Saturday evening, according to Disney officials.
“During the final showing of ‘Fantasmic’ at Disneyland park on Saturday evening, the dragon caught fire,” Disney officials told CNN in an email. “Anaheim Fire & Rescue quickly responded and the fire was extinguished.”
They added all cast members and guests were evacuated from Tom Sawyer Island and attractions near the island were cleared of guests due to smoke and wind.
“The cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time,” the statement went on.
CNN has reached out to Anaheim Fire & Rescue for more information.
“Fantasmic” is a long-running nighttime Disney show at the company’s parks in Florida and California. The show features “special effects, state-of-the-art projections and superb pyrotechnics” and “Maleficent as a 45-foot, fire-breathing dragon,” according to Disney’s website.
It used to be that a Disney animated movie was a guaranteed money spinner, but the studio’s latest release has topped a list of last year’s biggest box office bombs.
Deadline Hollywood reports that Strange World, which was about a family of explorers navigating an uncharted land in search of a plant needed to save their society, lost the studio almost $US200 million ($298 million).
Certified box office dud: Disney Animation’s Strange World.CREDIT:DISNEY
With a voice cast headed by Jake Gyllenhaal, Gabrielle Union, Dennis Quaid and Lucy Liu, it seemed like a promising release for Disney Animation after the box office smashes Frozen, Frozen II and Zootopia in the past decade. It was directed by Don Hall (Moana, Big Hero 6) and Qui Nguyen.
But the Hollywood trade publication estimated that Strange World was a hugely expensive movie to both make ($US180 million) and release (spending on prints and advertising of $US90 million).
Its total expenses ($US317 million) were nowhere near covered by its worldwide box office (just $US74 million including a dismal $3.8 million in this country) and revenue from television and streaming ($US55 million) and other sources.
The new series streaming November 30 on Disney+.
That meant a loss of $US197 million – more than any other Hollywood flop last year including comic-drama Amsterdam, Pixar’s Toy Story spin-off Lightyear, Korean War aviation drama Devotion and 1920s Hollywood epic Babylon.
So, what went wrong?
For a certified bomb, the initial reviews for Strange World were not too bad.
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The Hollywood Reporter called it an “effortlessly charming adventure-comedy about father-son relationships” and noted that quick-witted teenage son Ethan (voiced by Jaboukie Young-White) was “the first out gay teenager in a Disney animated film”.
Fellow entertainment trade paper Variety praised the characters and setting but said a “relatively unimaginative story consigns this gorgeous toon to second-tier status – a notch below director Don Hall’s earlier Big Hero 6 – instead of cracking the pantheon of Disney classics”.
But cinema audiences were much more downbeat, with poor word of mouth contributing to the dire opening.
“Some might say Disney’s embrace of a gay character in the film turned off red-state audiences, while critics found the fantasy pic to be clunky and incomprehensible, and the animation retro and stale,” Deadline Hollywood concluded. “Disney knew the goods were soured [after the opening weekend] and had Strange World on [streaming service] Disney + a month later”.
While the movie was popular on Disney +, the release of other animated movies directly to the streaming service during the pandemic muddied the waters for its cinemas release.
Before he was replaced by Bob Iger in late 2021, Disney chief executive Bob Chapek sent Pixar movies Soul, Luca and Turning Red straight to Disney + rather giving them a cinema release as the company built the streaming service.
Jaboukie Young-White, from left, Gabrielle Union and Jake Gyllenhaal at the London premiere of Strange World.CREDIT:COTT GARFITT/INVISION/AP
It also released Disney Animation’s Raya and the Last Dragon in both cinemas and on Disney’s Premier Access, which meant Disney + subscribers had to pay extra to watch it.
“Families were trained to wait to watch Disney films at home,” a rival studio source told The Hollywood Reporter.
Strange World’s failure looks even worse compared to the success of two Universal Pictures animated movies: Minions: Rise of Gru (which took $US940 million at the worldwide box office last year) and The Super Mario Bros Movie (which has taken $US678 million so far this month).
Disney Animation’s next chance to restore its reputation comes with the release of Wish, about “a young girl named Asha who wishes on a star and gets a more direct answer than she bargained for when a trouble-making star comes down from the sky to join her”, in November.
oel Callen wouldn’t necessarily call Disney “his religion”, but it’s something like it.
The 35-year-old has had an unbridled enthusiasm for Disney’s famous stories since he was a kid. And that passion didn’t disappear upon entering adulthood.
“I grew up watching Disney movies. Whenever we would go to the video shop down the road we would get the six weeklies for $10, or whatever it was,” he recalls.
“Every single time, one of my choices was always, always, always Mary Poppins.”
Mr Callen is what some would call a “Disney adult” — although he prefers the term “Disney nerd”.
“I’m an adult who unashamedly loves Disney,” he says, “but there are some negative connotations that come along with [the term].”
Joel Callen buys an annual pass to Disneyland every year.(Supplied)
“People think we’re being childish or deluding ourselves about the state of the world, so I’m a bit apprehensive about [being called that].”
After growing up on the Central Coast in New South Wales, Mr Callen now lives in Los Angeles and buys an annual pass to Disneyland every year.
“Going to the parks and being surrounded by this storytelling being brought to life — for me it’s a sense of nostalgia made 3D,” he says.
“It’s just a place where you can kind of switch off and leave everything at the door.”
The emergence of the ‘Disney adult’
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company, which is plenty of time to develop a certain level of fanaticism. And adult Disney fans have indeed been around a long time.
But the “Disney adult” properly emerged as a cohesive subculture when the community flourished on websites like Tumblr in the 2010s.
Disney theme parks aren’t just for families with small children.(Unsplash: Joel Sutherland/joelcsutherland)
“Technically speaking, a Disney adult is someone who engages in Disney products, parks, films, conventions without bringing children along,” religious scholar Jodi Eichler-Levine says.
Their zealous behaviour is unmistakable: from wearing Mickey Mouse ears to amassing vast collections of merchandise and reciting lore from across the company’s history.
Some dedicated fans practise “Disneybounding” — visiting theme parks dressed in streetwear inspired by their favourite characters, without breaching the rules that forbid adults from wearing costumes.
But is it just a hobby? Or is Disney something closer to a secular religion?
For Dr Eichler-Levine, there are important parallels between Disney and traditional religions, and she believes it’s a question that’s worth taking seriously.
Everyday magic
As a child, Dr Eichler-Levine was always on the lookout for the magic in everyday life — mostly because she knew Santa would never come to her house.
“Not because I’m a bad person. It was because I was Jewish, from a minority religion,” she explains.
Her parents told her not to spoil the fun for her Christian friends, but she still wondered where she could find that “magical feeling” in other places.
“Ideas around magic and fairy tales became what enchanted the universe for me as a child,” she says, which naturally led her to Disney’s products.
Jodi Eichler-Levine’s work examines how “Disney adults” interact with the company on a spiritual level.(Supplied)
Now a professor at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, Dr Eichler-Levine is turning the tools of religious studies on the company that enchanted her childhood.
She says concepts like belief, ritual and pilgrimage “are operating all around us, not just in churches, synagogues or mosques”.
And as to whether Disney is a religion — or at least functions like one — she says it’s open to debate.
It’s not about seeking tax concessions for one of the world’s biggest media companies, says Dr Eichler-Levine. Comparing religion to Disney’s place in the lives of its most ardent fans is fruitful because it reveals a lot about human behaviour and spirituality.
“People say, well, ‘We know Disney is invented and real religions are real‘. But from a scholarly perspective, it’s a little bit more dicey,” she says.
“People tend to say, ‘Disney can’t be thought of using religious terms because it’s not old enough‘, and it doesn’t involve a religious truth claim to salvation.
“But to put it bluntly, that’s a very Christian orientation towards religion, right? Not all religious traditions are about other worldliness or salvation.”
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company.(Unsplash: Taha/exploringzhongguo)
Making meaning at Disneyland
Like Mr Callen, who visits Disneyland about once a month, many fans find their trips to theme parks can become part of a meaningful ritual.
They might be sites to remember dead relatives or to celebrate weddings.
Dr Eichler-Levine says it’s an experience akin to pilgrimage.
“I don’t think it’s that different from people who spread their dead relatives’ ashes in Yankee Stadium — it’s a similar impulse,” she says.
“But Disney gets made fun of, because sports are just taken more seriously.”
She says critics point to the high cost of admission to these parks, and the naked consumerism associated with this fandom, to argue that Disney is nothing like a religion.
“That’s one of the trickiest things about this, right? Is there any version of this where being part of the community isn’t somehow exploitative? Does it require consumption?” she says.
“I would usually answer with all those examples of how very expensive commitment to some religious traditions can be, or expectations around charity.
“Paying to do something doesn’t vacate meaning from it … Even if there is a capitalist impulse for it to happen, real people are making meaning [at the theme parks] and crying at fireworks shows.”
Sacredness of shared experience
Nostalgia, ritual and shared experiences are all part of the “Disney adult” phenomenon, even when their participants are not treating Disney as literally religious.
When Mr Callen went home for Christmas last year, he gathered his family around the TV to watch the Disney film Encanto.
It’s an example of how he’s “learned to treat texts as sacred, even when they are not technically a sacred text”, he says.
Joel Callen was keen to share his love of 2021 Disney film Encanto with his family.(Supplied)
“I’m not someone who is a religious person — I didn’t grow up with that in my life,” he says.
“As an adult, I think what’s important for me is using texts that I love, and not treating them as part of the Divine, but treating it in a way where it has lessons to teach me.
“So in that respect I would say that Disney can be a religion. I don’t know whether I would say it is mine, but I would definitely say it has had a guiding impact on my life.”
A world without Disney, he says, would have, “something sacred missing”.
“If the parks shuttered and the movies disappeared … it would rob a little bit of the sacred out of my life.”
Teaser trailer and poster unveiled for eight-part psychological thriller. Teresa Palmer, Miranda Otto and Guy Pearce lead star-studded Australian cast.
Disney+ has announced its first scripted Australian Original series, “The Clearing” will have a global premiere on the platform on 24 May, 2023, under the STAR banner.
“The Clearing” is an eight-part psychological thriller based on the best-selling crime thriller ‘In The Clearing’ by author J.P. Pomare, inspired by the darkness of real-life cults in Australia and around the world.
Filmed across Victoria, “The Clearing” is an emotional and psychological thriller that follows the nightmares of a cult and a woman who’s forced to face the demons from her past in order to stop the kidnapping and coercion of innocent children in the future.
The series burrows under the skin and inside the mind, blurring the lines between past and present, reality and nightmare in a truly unnerving way.
Teresa Palmer (Discovery of Witches), Miranda Otto (The Unusual Suspects, Homeland) and Guy Pearce (Jack Irish, Mare of Easttown) lead a stellar line-up of Australian talent including Hazem Shammas (Safe Harbour), Mark Coles-Smith (Mystery Road), Kate Mulvany (The Twelve) and rising star Julia Savage (Blaze, Mr Inbetween).
“The Clearing” is directed by Jeffrey Walker (Young Rock, Lambs of God) and Gracie Otto (Seriously Red, Bump, Deadloch). The series is created and written by Elise McCredie (Stateless) and Matt Cameron (Jack Irish), with co-writer Osamah Sami (Ali’s Wedding).
Director Jeffrey Walker said: “The Clearing is a haunting psychological thriller, featuring some of Australia’s finest talent in front, and behind, the lens.”
“An extraordinary senior cast in Teresa, Miranda and Guy, are supported by breakthrough young actors, Julia and Lily. The atmosphere and mood of this piece is so unique, I truly hope that it captivates, enthralls and thrills the audience,” he continued.
Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company in Australia and New Zealand said: “We’re proud this Australian storyThe Clearingdebuts globally on Disney+ under our Star entertainment banner on May 24. This is our first Australian produced scripted series and there’s more to come.”
“The Clearing” is produced for Disney+ by Wooden Horse’s Jude Troy (The Other Guy 1 & 2), with Wooden Horse’s Richard Finlayson and Egeria’s Elizabeth Bradley serving as executive producers alongside Jeffrey Walker, Jude Troy, Elise McCredie and Matt Cameron.
With DisneyBand+, travellers can unlock the wearable technology on the high seas for the first time on a Disney cruise.
DisneyBand+ will make unlocking the stateroom door, charging souvenir to a payment card on the stateroom folio as easy as tapping your wrist. The DisneyBand+ is adventure-proof meaning travellers can wear it while they cool off at the pool, go snorkeling or take a plunge on AquaMouse!
Even the littlest explorers can experience a DisneyBand+. Children ages 3 and up can also use their bands in lieu of the Oceaneer Club Band to access kids’ clubs including Disney’s Oceaneer Club while onboard and Scuttle’s Cove at Castaway Cay.
Onboard photographers around the ship capture vacation memories and with one tap, travellers can easily link their photos to their stateroom, making it easy to view and purchase photos during your cruise.
Disney Cruise Line family using the new technology (Source: Disney Cruise Line)
Wearing a DisneyBand+ allows travellers to discover surprises throughout the cruise and it is rechargeable — making it the perfect accessory for your future Disney vacation experiences, including Disney cruises and visits to Disney Parks and Disney Resort hotels.
Keep an eye on the Disney Cruise Line website as more information is revealed about the first Disney Wish sailings to preview DisneyBand+ this summer before it officially debuts.
The worst part of visiting Walt Disney World is having to leave the Disney bubble and return to reality at the end of your trip. Even though most Disney trips are action-packed and exhausting, it is still so hard to leave the theme Park and go back to normal life. Some Disney Guests love the Parks so much that they even move to Anaheim or Central Florida so they can be close to Disney at all times. Still, there is nothing that compares to an on-property Disney vacation. This brings up an interesting question, if money was no object, how long could you really vacation at Walt Disney World Resort? For one woman, her Disney vacation lasted over twenty years.
The Never-Ending Disney Vacation
Vacationing at Walt Disney World Resort is not cheap. Park tickets, food, merchandise, and accommodations all cost a lot of Disney property. Walt Disney World Resort has lots of different hotels to choose from when planning a trip. There are three tiers of Disney Resort Hotel at Walt Disney World; Value, Moderate, and Deluxe. Even at the Value Disney Resort, the rooms are not cheap and will run you hundreds of dollars a night.
If you were trying to stay at Walt Disney World Resort for an extended amount of time, you might be interested in staying at the cheapest accommodation on the property, Fort Wilderness. Here, you can rent a tent campsite for $76-$105 or an RV site for around $150-$250. While these prices are still expensive, some Disney fans do pay the premium to stay on property for an extended amount of time.
Technically, the longest you can book a room or campsite for is 30 continuous days. However, one woman has continued to extend her camping “vacation” and lived at Walt Disney World Resort full-time. A Reddit user shared the story of this woman. https://embed.reddit.com/r/WaltDisneyWorld/comments/12g2g8b/whats_the_longest_anyone_here_has_ever_stayed_at/jfkmb73/?embed=true&ref_source=embed&ref=share&utm_medium=widgets&utm_source=embedv2&utm_term=23&showmedia=false&showmore=false&depth=1&utm_name=comment_embed
According to the commenter, the woman has lived at the Fort Wilderness Campground on Disney World Property for nearly 20 years. She even went as far as to try and sue the Walt Disney Company when they wanted to kick her out during the Covid pandemic. Another commenter followed up this wild story with an update that the woman has been evicted from Fort Wilderness Resort and is also no longer a travel agent.
Dwayne Johnson revealed today in a recorded message from Hawaii that a live-action reimagining of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 2016 hit feature film Moana is in development. The announcement was shared by Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger during The Walt Disney Company’s Meeting of Shareholders Webcast.
The new film is produced by Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia via their Seven Bucks Productions and Beau Flynn via Flynn Picture Co. Executive producers include Auli‘i Cravalho, who voiced Moana, and Scott Sheldon of Flynn Picture Co. Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller (who is of Samoan heritage) will also take part in the production. Bush, who was a director and co-writer of Disney’s Oscar®-winning film Encanto and a writer and co-director on Disney’s Oscar-winning Zootopia, wrote the screenplay for Moana (2016).
Like its animated predecessor—which grossed nearly $644 million at the global box office and was among the Top 15 movies streamed in the U.S. in 2022—the live-action reimagining of Moana will celebrate the islands, communities, and traditions of Pacific Islanders as seen through the eyes of a young woman eager to pave her own path. Moana’s journey of self-discovery and reflection on the lives of her ancestors won hearts worldwide, as did her newfound friendship with an exiled demigod named Maui.
“I’m deeply humbled and overcome with gratitude to bring the beautiful story of Moana to the live-action big screen,” said Johnson, who plans to return to the fictional world to set sail with Moana. “This story is my culture, and this story is emblematic of our people’s grace and warrior strength. I wear this culture proudly on my skin and in my soul, and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reunite with Maui—inspired by the mana and spirit of my late grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia—is one that runs very deep for me. I want to thank my partners at Disney for their strong commitment to this special endeavor, because there is no better world for us to honor the story of our people, our passion, and our purpose than through the realm of music and dance, which is at the core of who we are as Polynesian people.”
Cravalho, a Native Hawaiian actor who helped shape the protagonist in the original film, said Moana’s reach is sweeping. “She has had such a profound impact on how we think of Disney princesses,” Cravalho explained. “Moana’s strength and perseverance are inspiring—to audiences around the world, to me, and to everyone who helped bring her to life. I’m looking forward to sharing her story in a whole new way.”
Sean Bailey, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production (Disney Live Action), said the film will join a successful lineup of live-action adaptations that includes Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin (2019), and the highly anticipated The Little Mermaid, opening in theaters May 26. “It’s still early,” Bailey said, “but the idea of working with these fantastic partners to tell such a meaningful story on a live-action canvas, particularly as we celebrate 100 years of storytelling at Disney, is thrilling.”
Moana film became a global phenomenon upon its release in 2016. Its soundtrack, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’I, and Mark Mancina, was critically acclaimed—with Miranda winning a Grammy® for Best Song Written for Visual Media and receiving Oscar and Golden Globe® nominations, all for “How Far I’ll Go.” In 2021, Moana broke a Billboard Soundtrack chart record for the amount of time spent at No. 1 (52 weeks). Additionally, Moana was nominated for an Academy Award (Best Animated Feature Film), a BAFTA (Best Animated Feature Film), and a Golden Globe (Best Motion Picture – Animated).
