Are Disney Cast Members Happy?
Two of my closest Disney friends are old enough to have kids entering the Disney College Program this year.
When both were accepted, their parents gleefully texted me to celebrate the moment with them.
Photo: Disney
The three of us have been Disney buddies for ages, and both worked with me on my movie website. We’re very close.
Now, I’m getting peppered with questions about what these individuals should expect while working at Disney.
Photo: Disney
I’m happy to tell them that participants in the Disney College Program are among the most satisfied employees.
But this conversation raises a larger question. Are Disney Cast Members happy? The answer is nuanced, so let’s discuss it.
A Challenging Topic
Disney
I don’t necessarily trust Glassdoor as the end-all, be-all for employee reviews.
In my experience, disgruntled employees are MUCH more likely to speak their minds than content ones.
The next most likely group is people updating their resumes to find a new job. People doing that aren’t happy at their jobs.
That’s why I feel that generally speaking, Glassdoor reviews artificially deflate the overall perception of a company.
Photo: Disney
The happy employees are the ones least likely to apply for new jobs or keep their resumes current.
Having acknowledged that, a story is making the rounds because it evaluates the various job satisfaction levels of Cast Members.
Photo:Rappler
You can find Disney on Glassdoor here, and since this article isn’t going live for several days, I have no way of knowing the current reviews.
Something good or bad may have happened at Disney by the time this is published, changing the results.
Photo:seoclerk.com
As I type this, the company has a grade of 3.8 out of 5, with 72 percent of employees recommending Disney.
For comparison, Universal Studios is at 3.7 out of 5, with 66 percent of employees recommending the job.
That’s a bit of an apple to oranges comparison, as Comcast owns Universal Studios. So, I’m not comparing the parks directly.
As an FYI, Comcast’s score is also 3.8 out of 5, with 69 percent of employees liking their work.
Photo:IMGBIN
Importantly, Glassdoor doesn’t rank Disney among its top 100 companies, nor is your favorite company even close.
On Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work list for 2025, the lowest-ranked company scores a 4.3, well above Disney’s 3.8.
Photo: Disney
So, even though I’m disinclined to believe Glassdoor as an ideal metric for worker satisfaction, that’s a bit worrisome.
Which Jobs Do Cast Members Dislike?
Photo-Illustration: Vulture | Photo: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images, Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
To be fair, there are literally thousands of companies listed, though.
At least Disney and Universal Studios aren’t as bad as Walmart, which grades at a shockingly low 2.9 out of 5.
Photo: Disney
In fact, Disney is best in class in the theme park division, where Cedar Fair grades a 3.4 and Six Flags a 3.1.
These companies merged last year, but their prior grades remain on file…and they’re not pretty.
SeaWorld is similarly low at 3.1, while Busch Gardens is just a 3.3.
We can tell from this data that working at theme parks isn’t the dream job you may think it to be.
As South Park’s Cartmanland revealed back in the day, the customers can ruin the whole experience.
Not coincidentally, a glance at Glassdoor reveals that Guest Services jobs at Disney are among the least popular gigs.
According to this list from last year, Guest Services is a bottom five job, along with a few others that are a bit predictable.
Obviously, mechanics and costume workers are under constant duress due to the sheer volume of potential assignments.
You can imagine how many attractions require maintenance and how many outfits need fixing each day.
This kind of work must feel like Sisyphus and the rock. As soon as you fix one ride or hem one costume, you realize five more are waiting.
EPCOT Parking Trams
Other unpopular assignments include transportation and construction, both of which make perfect sense.
Disney sends its bus drivers on a seemingly endless string of assignments, often involving cranky, tired, hangry park guests.
As for construction, with all the pandemic-related budget cuts, this has been a miserable job for a while now.
Construction workers have the lowest expectations about their careers, expecting to leave Disney sooner than all other jobs.
Which Jobs Do Cast Members Like the Most?
Cast Members working on the sign
You may wonder why construction workers aren’t happy. I’ll remind you that the data is almost a year old.
At the time, Disney wasn’t building much. Now, the parks are alive with the sounds of construction.
Contemporary Resort construction
So, I presume those sentiments have shifted now that Disney is spending $42 billion on expanding its theme park empire.
That’s the thing about these evaluations. They’re always a moving target where the mood may change at any time.
I’m sure people liked working at Intel more a few years ago, just as Nvidia didn’t have the same popularity then as it does now.
At Disney, some jobs remain eternally popular, though. For example, interns love their jobs.
All their lives, they’ve dreamt of working at Disney. Now, they’re making those dreams come true.
Similarly, you can imagine how cool it would be to work in the Procurement department.
Expedition Everest in Disney’s Animal Kingdom
As examples, consider the antiquities you’ve seen at Expedition Everest and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Someone had the job of purchasing those items and bringing them to Disney!
The people working in the supply chain have lavish budgets and are paid quite well.
Other popular jobs include architecture, senior management, and legal work.
Photo: Tron Lightcycle/Run
All three are understandable. Someone builds all those magnificent structures like Tron Lightcycle / Run.
How cool would it be to work on something like that, knowing that future generations of tourists will admire your work?
Photo: Disney World
Similarly, the people in senior management at Disney directly influence the company’s future direction.
They’re the deciders for a century-old company. I’m sure it’s an empowering feeling.
As for the lawyers, Disney keeps a ton of them, and they rarely lose.
So, there’s always high-paying work defending Mickey Mouse. Who wouldn’t love that job?
Are Disney Cast Members Happy?
New EPCOT Costume
Based on what I’m seeing, the answer is, “Not as much as in 2019,” which is totally understandable.
Disney just finished its worst five years in the company’s storied history. Those challenges had to take a hit on morale.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
Also, Disney performed several rounds of layoffs over the past few years, which always causes morale to take a hit.
Plus, there was some Bob Chapek in there as well. You can imagine how unhappy people were during his CEO tenure.
Despite these drawbacks, people still loved working at Disney more than any other theme park.
So, even the worst of times at Disney beats any other gig.
That’s why I’m happily telling my friends that their kids will have a great time working at Disney.
As an FYI, College Program jobs rank 18th out of 46 possible fields.
If you have a loved one joining the Disney College Program soon, you can tell them that it’s one of the most popular jobs at Disney.
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Feature Photo: Disney
