Walt Disney World and Disneyland Cast Members Not Scheduled Past March 31st, Suggesting Extended Closure Period to be Announced

Matthew Soberman

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Walt Disney World and Disneyland Cast Members Not Scheduled Past March 31st, Suggesting Extended Closure Period to be Announced

As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to affect the nation, WDWNT has learned that the closure of the Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort is highly likely to be extended.

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A source has revealed to us that resort Cast Members have not been scheduled to work past March 31st. Cast Member schedules were set to be updated overnight, but the following week is blank. Previously, the 31st was the last scheduled day of the closure, but with less than a week until then, this news makes it a near inevitability that an extension to that temporary closure period will soon be announced.

Last week, the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, issued a statewide order that citizens must stay at home, except to access “essential” businesses like grocery stores and pharmacies, “until further notice.” As part of the order, all businesses deemed non-essential, including “entertainment venues” and “public events and gatherings,” were ordered to close indefinitely. This likely includes the Disneyland Resort. The day prior, we reported about a Disneyland Resort hotel offer that began on April 19th, which may have suggested a reopening day, which could now also be delayed. The same has happened over in Walt Disney World, with the issuing of two stay at home orders for both Osceola and Orange Counties, set to go into effect at 11:00 PM tonight, March 26, 2020.

The pandemic has also caused Disney to end the Disney College Program at the resort, sending all participants home, and brought construction and refurbishments to a screeching halt.

Keep reading WDWNT and Disneyland News Today for continuing coverage of this ongoing story.

12 thoughts on “Walt Disney World and Disneyland Cast Members Not Scheduled Past March 31st, Suggesting Extended Closure Period to be Announced”

  1. I have a trip scheduled May 20-25th, 2020 and we are slated to stay at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista-Disney Springs Resort. I got an email early this morning that as of tomorrow the hotel is closed indefinitely, and they are unable to honor my reservation. I called the hotel directly and the manager suggested keeping our reservation for the time being, rather than rushing to cancel. It doesn’t seem that anyone knows any more information at this point, which is very unnerving. Walt Disney World hasn’t announced anything on there end as of yet. Has anyone else had something similar happen?

    • Coincidentally I work at that exact hotel. I am being furloughed this week and no one in management is sure when the hotel will reopen. I would keep your reservation, although you may want to rebook at Hilton Buena Vista Palace for a more premium experience.
      Universal isn’t scheduled to open until April 19th and even then I would assume they won’t open until May. I bet Disney will follow their announcement soon.

      • I am sorry to hear that. Yes, we have stayed at the Buena Vista Palace before but unfortunately they didn’t have a Junior Suite that slept 6 available during our time.

  2. Well, OF COURSE, Disneyland is going to be closed past the 31st! It would be disgusting and unethical for them to do otherwise. Our entire state is shut down through the 19th of April… at the very least so why would anyone think that Disneyland would be an exception? And why would anyone think of traveling and going to an amusement park right now? Especially in a highly impacted state. That’s incredibly dangerous and, most of all, SELFISH and entitled. Instead of countless “will they stay closed longer” posts, you should be encouraging people to do the right thing and keep their butts HOME whether Disneyland is open or not. My family has annual passes and I don’t give a crap if they reopen in early April. We will not be going, and I will lose tons of respect for them and trust in them if they reopen that soon. STAY HOME, people. Your vacation doesn’t matter AT ALL right now. You can go another time. Don’t be a selfish idiot!

    • My goodness. It would seem as though you are especially in need of some Disney Magic. Might I suggest a video of a park walkthrough or, my personal favorite, a playlist of the promenade music?

      What a harsh tone. This is new for all of us. It’s unfortunate that all that time at Disney hasn’t left your heart with more compassion.

      Best wishes during this difficult time. ❤

    • A bit harsh, right? It’s a bit of a leap to start leveling criticism, calling people selfish idiots, for merely reporting the status of a theme park, or any other entertainment or sporting venue. I don’t see anything wrong with it. Certainly not rising to the level of such a comment. It’s a blog where information is shared. Seems logical the discussion would be around how long it’ll be closed and when it might reopen. It is called WDW News Today, after all. I’m sure this will also be met with sharp rebuke and much wringing of hands. I believe there are weeks, maybe months, left in this time of human and economic tragedy. Probably a little early in the game for nerves to be so frayed.

    • Shut up, there’s nothing entitled about wanting to experience something like DisneyWorld. As you stated, your family has annual passes so I’m sure you take it for granted, as any self entitled person would. At some point, we have to start things back up before everyone runs out of money. We can’t just “shelter in place” for the next year, the economy will crash. What needs to happen is similar to what’s going on in the UK. The young, & healthy people should be allowed to work, go to school, keep the cog turning, the elderly, & people with weakened immune systems should stay home for now while the rest look out for, & take care of them. I’m certainly not saying that there isn’t any risks, but it’s definitely a risk to crash our economy.
      I completely understand why people want to know about reservations, they want to know if some level of normalcy is close at hand, some people need a vacation to maintain sanity, so no, it’s not selfish at all. My family, & I, have reservations for universal at the end of May, I hope, & pray that we get to go.

    • Preach much !
      Relax and get out of “your own entitlement”

      If we all don’t go back to work in an orderly fashion (with care and precautions) there won’t be a Disneyland to go back to… and the same is true for all the other businesses in this world that might not have as deep of pockets to weather the storm.

      #thecureisworsethanthedisease

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