- Maddy Johnson, a University of Central Florida student who works more than 50 hours a week at Disney, said she's been employed by the park for five years and hasn't seen any significant raises. She makes $11 an hour as an attractions hostess at the Animal Kingdom's Kilimanjaro Safaris.
When she got word about the deal reached Friday, she said she cried.
"I work overtime to try to make ends meet," Johnson said. "I never thought I'd get to see an increase that's so historic, and so huge that's going to impact every Cast Member."
Disney reached a deal in July to lift the minimum hourly wage to $15 for 10,000 Disneyland workers in Anaheim, California beginning next year. That agreement also ended a long battle with union representatives.
This effectively doubles the starting wage at Disney parks. That's going to have a knock-on effect throughout the entire themed entertainment industry.
r/Orlando has been cautiously optimistic about this. There were a couple WDW vs DL comparisons thrown around. Retroactive pay's implications on vacation was part of it. I have a couple friends that have been there a while alongside past workers. Definitely going to hear from them. One's a long-time server, the other is an industrial engineer (her job is bad ass). The latter dictates park and specific ride hours based on data of park entrants, events, etc. I don't know/think this affects her, but definitely going to ask. The server makes good money after working there for a long ass time. Bound to hear from him anyways. Happy to share once it comes around.