Disney is facing a huge backlash after not allowing their Disney World employees to leave early despite Hurricane Milton approaching Florida. Despite forecasts, several Disney employees reported that the company failed to cancel work despite weather conditions continuing to worsen on Wednesday.
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Four Disney employees, called "cast members" by the company, spoke anonymously to Business Insider and spoke about the whole controversy. While all Disney World parks closed between 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., all of them were at 10% capacity. They were already suffering from heavy rains. Just minutes after some of the employees left, tornado warnings were issued. "I wish the park wouldn't have opened up for the day at all," said one of the employees.
Another employee said that "everyone was in a rush to get out of there, and it was scary not knowing how the weather was going to be on the ride home." One employee recalls how the whole situation was frightening. "Orlando is just unique because, yes, we are inland, but we see scary rain and terrifying winds," the employee said. "And just because we aren't washed away and dealing with storm surge and structural damage doesn't mean it isn't scary."
Disney World, Open?
The weather was not the only issue that the employees experienced. Reportedly, a lack of communication left them "feeling like they were flying blind." However, Disney later used the Cast Life app to communicate with their cast members. They told them that some of the cast were expected to help out with clean-up efforts on Thursday.
"The fact that they not only expect me to call but potentially go out in the parks to clean up is crazy," said one of the Disney employees. The same employee later refused to show up on Thursday, regardless of the consequences.
The parks remained closed on Thursday and later opened on Friday. Said decision was heavily criticized by users throughout the internet. "Disney is so Greedy even at the cost of peoples lives. They stayed open way to long and opening up to quickly," one user said. Another user commented on the employees: "I would sue them if I worked there. They have no idea how bad this storm will be."
A Disney spokesperson issued a statement regarding the company's priorities when handling situations like Hurricane Milton. "Safety is always our first and most important factor when making decisions that will affect our cast members and guests and throughout the storm," said the spokesperson. "We provided frequent and timely updates on our changes to make sure they returned home hours before the worst of the weather reached Central Florida," reads the statement.
