Disney said last week the opening of its Disneyland theme park in California would be postponed but continues to move ahead with its July 11 Disney World reopening
Disney’s cast members and stage actors at the company’s theme parks, particularly Disney World in Orlando, are pushing back against plans to reopen next month as the coronavirus pandemic has shown signs of surging in California and Florida.
One of the chief concerns of the actors for Disney World stage performances in Orlando is that Disney has no plans to test cast members and employees for COVID-19 or offer to test.

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Click Here Already a subscriber? LoginLate last week, the Actor’s Equity Association — the U.S. labor union representing about 800 professional actors at Disney World — condemned the Orlando theme park’s decision to move forward with its reopening after the company put the kibosh on plans to reopen its Disneyland theme park in California. (California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Monday retreated from previous plans to reopen movie theaters, concert venues and theme parks in the state and city, and called for the re-closing of bars.)
The union particularly objects to the absence of clear COVID-19 testing protocols for performers and other park employees — especially those expected to perform on stages without masks. “It is unclear how Walt Disney World can responsibly move toward reopening when coronavirus cases are much worse in Florida,” Mary McColl, executive director of Actors’ Equity Association, said in a statement. “For weeks, we have made it clear to Disney that testing is a fundamental part of maintaining a safe and healthy environment for everyone, from the guests to the cast. It is deeply disturbing that while coronavirus cases in Florida surge, Disney is refusing to provide regular testing to one of the few groups of workers in the park who by the very nature of their jobs, cannot use personal protective equipment.”
Also Read: Will Disney's July Restart Fall Apart Before It Begins?
“Now is the time for Disney to pause, focus on the science and put the safety of their actors and stage managers first by making regular testing available,” she continued.
A representative for Disney did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
Despite a recent surge in new cases and hospitalizations in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week that he would not roll back or halt plans for Disney World to begin its phased reopening plan. Under the plan, the Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom would open on July 11, followed by Epcot and Hollywood Studios on July 15.
Disney’s California and Orlando theme parks have been closed since March 14, and as a result, Disney’s parks business took a roughly $1 billion hit to operating income during its most recent quarter.
Also Read: Disneyland Delays Theme Park, Resort Reopening
Shanghai Disneyland reopened to the public last month after shutting its doors for roughly three months, with several new policies in place to enforce social distancing and visitor cleanliness.
Disney World is planning to implement similar protocols for guests and employees (called “cast members” in Disney-speak even if they are not onstage performers), requiring them to wear face masks, submit to temperature screenings before entering — in addition to at-home temperature checks — and obey physical distancing guidelines. Disney would also temporarily cancel all parades, firework shows, character greetings and kids play areas.
Joshua Carranza-Vick, with input from other employees of California’s Disneyland, wrote “An Open Letter to the Bobs and Co.” demanding “access to on-site, voluntary COVID-19 testing” for all workers as well as “access to on-site, voluntary COVID-19 antibody testing” for the remainder of the pandemic.
They also called for a contact tracing team for the Disneyland resort, additional paid sick leave and rules requiring any worker “found to have come into contact with a coworker who tests positive for COVID-19 be immediately placed on a paid fourteen day sick leave to proactively isolate.”
Also Read: Disney Vows 'Real Change' in Response to 'Killing' of George Floyd
“Every single one of us has people in our lives who depend on us, who we are counting down the days until we can see again, who dance through our thoughts in our idle moments,” Carranza-Vick wrote. “We ask our new hires to think of the people for whom they are safe for the same reason we remind them that every cast member is responsible for the safety and well being of everyone who steps through our park gates, whether guest or fellow cast member.”
Even Disney’s commitment to requiring all guests to wear masks has come into question. The idea of wearing a mask in public places, which some states require and the CDC strongly recommends, has become a politically polarizing debate in the U.S. despite experts saying it significantly reduces the risk of spreading the virus.
In an interview with the Gizmodo website i09, one Disney park staffer attributed Shanghai Disney’s successful reopening to cultural differences. “They’re in a country with a very different culture… where people wear masks regularly,” the worker told io9. “I just don’t see it working the same way for us.”
All 14 Oscar-Winning Disney Songs, From 'When You Wish Upon a Star' to 'Let It Go' (Photos)
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Disney movies have produced some classic songs over the years -- and just over a dozen have won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
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Disney
"When You Wish Upon a Star" -- "Pinocchio" (1940)
The first song from a Disney movie to win Oscar glory is Jiminy Cricket's ballad from "Pinocchio," sung by Cliff Edwards.
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Disney
"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" -- "Song of the South" (1947)
Allie Wrubel and lyricist Ray Gilbert's song, based on a pre-Civil War folk song, is a catchy ditty in a film that has not been screened in decades due to its depiction of African American characters like Uncle Remus.
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Disney
"Chim Chim Cher-ee" -- "Mary Poppins" (1964)
Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews' duet, written by the brotherly duo of Richard and Robert Sherman, continues to charm.
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Disney
"Under the Sea" -- "The Little Mermaid" (1987)
Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman snapped Disney's two-decade drought with the standout tune from an animated musical that re-established the studio's dominance in the genre.
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Disney
"Beauty and the Beast" -- "Beauty and the Beast" (1991)
Two years later, Menken and Ashman won for the title song to this hit, sung by Angela Lansbury.
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"A Whole New World" -- "Aladdin" (1992)
The following year, Menken (with lyricist Tim Rice) won for this high-flying ballad.
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Disney
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" -- "The Lion King" (1994)
Elton John and Tim Rice won for this ballad -- beating out two other songs from the megahit, "Hakuna Matata" and "Circle of Life."
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Disney
"Colors of the Wind" -- "Pocahontas" (1995)
Judy Kuhn sang this title track in the film, another win for Alan Menken (this time with lyricist Steven Schwartz). But Vanessa Williams also released a version that hit the charts.
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"You'll Be in My Heart" -- "Tarzan" (1999)
Phil Collins took home the gold for this ballad, which he originally conceived as a lullaby for his daughter.
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Disney
"If I Didn't Have You" -- "Monsters Inc." (2001)
Randy Newman had been nominated 14 times -- including for the memorable "Toy Story" theme, "You've Got a Friend in Me" -- before he managed to win for this pleasant thematic knockoff.
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Disney
"We Belong Together" -- "Toy Story 3" (2010)
Nine years later, Newman returned to the podium for the theme from the third "Toy Story" movie.
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Disney
"Man or Muppet" -- "The Muppets" (2011)
Bret McKenzie, best known for the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, snagged an Oscar in a year in which only two songs were nominated. (The other was "Real in Rio" from the Blue Sky animated film "Rio.")
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Disney
"Let It Go" -- "Frozen" (2013)
Husband-and-wife songwriting team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez's anthem became an overplayed earworm -- thanks to Idina Menzel's soaring vocals.
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Disney
"Remember Me" -- "Coco" (2017)
Lopez and Anderson-Lopez won their second Oscar for this memorable tune, which is repeated in a number of versions throughout the film.
A look back at some of the most memorable tunes in movie history
Disney movies have produced some classic songs over the years -- and just over a dozen have won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Trey Williams
Film Reporter covering the biz • trey.williams@thewrap.com • Twitter: @trey3williams