Author: chipandco.com

Disney recently announced that it was laying off 28,000 workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today the Orange County Register is reporting that thousands of those employees are restaurant & hotel workers as well as Imagineers.

The massive layoffs cost nearly 3500 Disneyland restaurant and hotel union workers their jobs and put over 400 Imagineers out of work.

Josh D’Amaro, chairman of the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products division, sent a letter to cast members explaining the difficult decision regarding these layoffs. Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Walt Disney Imagineering Disney Cruise Line, and Disney’s travel planning, retail, gaming and publishing divisions were all affected.

“We initially hoped that this situation would be short-lived, and that we would recover quickly and return to normal,” D’Amaro said in the letter to employees. “Seven months later, we find that has not been the case.”

So far it is estimated that over 5,000 cast members have been laid off from Disneyland with that number expected to rise. 2765 of those are non-union layoffs.

Workers United Local 50, which represents 7850 Disneyland cast members, expects 2500 of its food and beverage workers to be laid off.

“There is a lot of information we don’t know now and we are scheduled to meet with Disney in the coming days to get more information and bargain over the effects,” Workers United Local 50 president Chris Duarte wrote on the union’s Facebook page. “Here is what we know now: Who will actually be subject to layoff is still to be determined. The contract and bargaining will determine this.”

Another local union, Unite Here Local 11, expects 950 of its 3000 Disneyland employees to be laid off. Most of them are hotel workers.

“The union will engage in bargaining with the company over issues including job security and healthcare coverage,” Unite Here said in a statement.

One can assume that many of the layoffs are from Disneyland due to the parks and hotels not being allowed to reopen. Here’s hoping they will reopen soon so more layoffs won’t happen!

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From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Disneyland, News, Parks & Resorts, Disney layoffs, Imagineers, restaurant and hotel workers, Unions

Many Disney Park enthusiasts are still sad over the news about recent layoffs. A significant number of Disney entertainers and musicians, such as the Grand Floridian Society Orchestra, are being dismissed. The wonderful group shares a photo of their last time gathered together at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. The orchestra group played at the Disney Resort for a total of 32 years.

The Grand Floridian Society Orchestra has released the following statement on their Facebook page:

“We are truly overwhelmed, very grateful and humbled at the massive number of heartfelt comments and sentiments you all have shared. We heard that someone started a petition to bring us back and there are over 1800 signatures on it so far. We can’t thank you all enough for showing your love and support… Unbelievable! Thank you so much! We need to clarify… our last day of performances, October 3rd, will be at the Theater of the Stars at Hollywood Studios… NOT the Grand Floridian. We have not played at the Grand Floridian since March 18th! For those of you asking… we do have CDs available. Please message us for details. We have so many great memories of our time at the Grand Floridian… our thanks to you all!”

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From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: News, Parks & Resorts, Resorts, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, Grand Floridian Society Orchestra, Walt Disney World Resort

For the first time since its 1980 release, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is at the top of the box office because of a theatrical re-release. The release is at both movie theaters and drive-in theaters.

So far the Star Wars film earned over $611,000 for the 3-day weekend gross, and a total of $644,000 for the 5-day gross. That’s impressive considering the limited number of movie theater options right now! After all, it’s estimated that only 1,500 movie theaters are open in the nation. The film ran against other classic movie re-releases such as Ghostbusters and Jurassic Park.

The second installment of the Skywalker Saga is held in high regards by the Star Wars community of fans. The movie introduced creative new worlds and creatures for viewers to see back in 1980. The film celebrated its 40th anniversary on May 21st this year. It’s incredible the movie resonates so strongly with movie goers even 40 years later. However, the version playing in theaters is based on the 23-year old remastered movie version. So don’t expect the original 1980 version prior to editing.

Lastly, if you are unable to find Empire Strikes Back playing locally at a movie drive-in near you, then don’t fret. Star Wars fans can watch the movie at home by streaming it on Disney+ streaming service, too!

Source: Deadline

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From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Disney+, Movies, News, Star Wars, Darth Vader, Empire Strikes Back, Yoda

If you are wanting to visit Hawaii without being required to quarantine, you’ll have to wait until September. The Governor of Hawaii, David Ige, just extended the mandatory 14-day quarantine through the end of August.

Beginning September 1st, visitors to the islands will have the option to quarantine or show proof of a negative COVID-19 test. This traveler pre-testing program was set to begin Aug. 1, but because COVID-19 outbreaks in several states are “not in control” the governor has delayed the launch of the program.

“This was not an easy decision to make. It really was a choice between two difficult options,” he said.

This decision will hit Hawaii’s tourism businesses hard. The Hawaii Tourism Authority said that the industry wants to “welcome back our visitors once our state is ready to do so in a safe manner that will hopefully avoid the need to backtrack in the future.”

“We did believe it would be in the best interests of everyone here in Hawaii to delay the start of the program,” Ige said, in a news conference. “I also want to make it clear that we still believe in the pre-travel testing program. We will continue to take actions necessary to implement it safely.”

The pre-travel testing program will require passengers to produce a negative coronavirus pre-test taken within 72 hours of departure to Hawaii.

Aulani, Disney’s resort in Hawaii, still has not identified a reopening date but will most likely remain closed through August.

Source

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From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Aulani, News, Travel, Aulani A Disney Resort and Spa, COVID-19, Hawaii, Hawaii Tourism

There’s good news for Annual Passholders who plan on shopping at Walt Disney World. For a limited time, Passholders can enjoy a discount of 30% on Disney merchandise! This new sales promotion is only available for a limited time. It runs from July 14th to August 14th at Walt Disney World.

We are quite surprised and thrilled with the news of this temporary Passholder discount. The standard merchandise discount is 20% for Annual Passholders. Given the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the additional discount is quite helpful. Cast Members are letting customers know about the new 30% discount today at Disney World. For those who like to budget their Disney expenses, this discount is quite helpful.

The news of this discount was revealed on the eve of the public reopening of Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Many are looking forward to visiting these theme parks over the next few days. We’ll be going ourselves to witness the changes added for guests to experience. In the meantime, this discount is quite beneficial for Passholders visiting over the next month.

What do you think of the new temporary discount? Will you be using it to shop at the Disney theme parks or at Disney Springs anytime soon?

Source: Disney

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From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: News, Parks & Resorts, Souvenirs & Collectibles, Walt Disney World, annual passholders, Disney souvenirs, Disney World, Passholder