Poor guest behavior has increased at Walt Disney World Resort since the Disney parks reopened during the Covid-19 pandemic. A fight at Magic Kingdom earlier this month left one person hospitalized, three arrested and two families banned from the parks.
Credit: Screenshot via TikTok
Now, a former entertainment cast member and current Walt Disney World Resort travel agent is speaking out against the disturbing behavior on TikTok:
@disney_beignet
Magic spoilers are not welcome here #disneyworld #disneyadult #travel #disneycreator #vacation
♬ Original sound – Jill Bignet
Jill, @disney_beignet, calls the behavior “out of control.”
“Guests are breaking rules, creating a mess, and generally being rude and obnoxious to both the cast and other guests,” Jill explained.
Credit: Disney
Jill also says that social media encourages more and more guests to post their interactions with characters and cast members on social media, which can lead to people losing their jobs even if they’ve done nothing wrong:
“I say this as kindly as I can. If, during your Disney World vacation, you plan to cut a line, yell at other guests, blatantly ignore safety rules, or just, in general, make yourself a nuisance to already overworked and underpaid Cast Members, I don’t want you. As my client. And please unsubscribe from this channel.
One of Jill’s nearly 55,000 followers asked her to explain why posting videos of Walt Disney World cast members and characters is a bad idea. She posted the following video:
@disney_beignet
In response to @glitterpinkparks Disney Cast Members are Human #disneyworld #disneyland #disneyadult #disney #familyvacation
♬ Original sound – Jill Bignet
“Animators at Disney World have been fired because they did an amazing job and went viral,” Jill explains. “…Part of the reason for that is because Disney still sees Disney characters as a cute expense even though they’re hybrids. I mean, there’s a million people who would love to do that job, so if you’re causing problems for the company in any way, you’re not worth it.
Credit: Disney
Even if a character interaction goes viral because it’s incredibly positive and dramatic, entertainment cast members can be fired if a manager sees the video and feels it “breaks a certain rule or is out of character.”
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Jill explained that a few years ago, a Peter Pan presenter at Disneyland Park went viral for being fantastic with guests. He was so popular online that guests came to the Disneyland Resort just to see him perform as Peter Pan.
Credit: D23
“So if Peter Pan were any other person that day, they’d be angry and complaining. It became enough of an operational problem that he was fired or that Disney had to quit or be fired. It’s not entirely clear,” Jill said.
That doesn’t mean you have to keep the magical Disney park vacation videos to yourself, says Jill.
“If your family has an amazing meet-and-greet with Mickey or Cinderella, you can post it on social media. But make sure the privacy setting is limited to only being seen by your friends. Because at the end of the day, all Disney cast members are people. They have lives and families, and these jobs are a way to provide for them.”
Credit: Disney
At the end of Tik Tok, Jill reminisces about her time as a Walt Disney World character actress in her Disney College program. She says she would “do it again in a heartbeat.”
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But I had constant anxiety and fear that I was going to lose my job because of one interaction.
Do you think guests should publicly post videos of Disney Park Cast Members?
Please note that the stories in this article are based on personal Disney Parks guest experiences. No two guest experiences are the same, and this article does not necessarily reflect Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Parks operations.
