Disneyland's Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the rest want to unionize

What has the world come to when even a princess can’t earn a living wage? The fictional Cinderella may have left behind a life of labor, but the actors playing her and all of her fairy tale friends in Disneyland haven’t. Now, they’re seeking to unionize under the Actor’s Equity Association so they can continue to whistle (and earn a living wage) while they work.

The union is currently seeking to represent 1,700 Disneyland employees who—close your eyes, kids—play Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the like around the park and in parades (via CNN). After just three days, the union says it already has over 30% of employee support, but that it is waiting until it has at least 60% approval before filing for a representation vote with the National Labor Relations Board or seeking recognition of the union from Disney.

It likely won’t be too hard for them to achieve this, since the Disneyland character actors are not the first group of cast members to seek union representation. Actors doing the same work across the country in Disney World have been in a union for years and until November 2023 were earning significantly more per hour than their colleagues, even though the cost of living is far greater in Anaheim than it is in Orlando. There are also already more than a dozen unions currently active in Disneyland, representing over 21,000 employees in retail, food service, security, hair and makeup, pyrotechnics, and more. But for some reason, it hasn’t happened for the character actors until now.

Currently, Disney isn’t really showing its cards regarding where it stands on this effort. “We believe that our cast members deserve to have all the facts and the right to a confidential vote that recognizes their individual choices,” the company said in a statement (via CNN). “They love working at Disneyland. That doesn’t mean they don’t need enough money to live on,” Kate Shindle, president of Actor’s Equity, added from her own side. “Everybody recognizes that Disneyland is a special place, but magic alone doesn’t pay the rent.”

Let’s talk about magic for a second. Mickey may be timeless, but a whole lot of work goes into making him that way. While it might ruin the wonder, stories of the grueling lengths Disney actors have gone to stay in character and maintain the guest experience aren’t hard to come by. A Goofy actor in this Fodor’s Travel story, for example, talks about how he learned about a close friend’s death ten minutes before his shift and still had to smile and dance and sign autographs even though he was sobbing inside of his costume. It’s a more common experience than you’d think, and one that absolutely deserves to be compensated with more than just a sprinkle of pixie dust.