Disney Park employees wear new clothes

Disney Park employees wear new clothes

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In a blog post this week, the chairman of Disney’s parks department, Josh D’Amaro, dedicated himself to updating attractions, modernizing the parks’ values ​​and, perhaps most visibly, changing the guidelines for how park employees – better known as Disney Cast Members – look and dress.

D’Amaro said the company would offer greater flexibility to its Cast Member outfits with respect to “forms of personal expression around gender-inclusive hairstyles, jewelry, nail styles and costume choices.” The parks will even allow Cast members to display ‘appropriate visible tattoos’.

“We are updating them not only to remain relevant in today’s workplace, but also to enable our role players to better express their cultures and individuality at work,” D’Amaro wrote.

Historically, Disney has been specific about the appearance of the cast – which favors a clean look to stay consistent with the family-friendly image of the company. In the past, for example, Cast members were banned from having facial hair.

But Disney (DIS) now look at ways to update its parks for a developing world in which inclusion becomes an important corporate value.
Disney strives to make its theme parks - "The happiest place on earth" - more inclusive.

“We want our guests to see their own backgrounds and traditions reflected in the stories, experiences and products they encounter in their interaction with Disney. And we want our cast – and future cast – to have a feel that they belong to work. ” “D’Amaro wrote.” It means cultivating an environment where all people are welcomed and appreciated for their unique life experiences, perspectives and culture. Where we celebrate alliance and support for each other. And where divergent views and ideas are sought after as critical contributions to our joint success. . “

Disney had earlier announced that it was also undertaking major updates to two of its classic attractions to make it more inclusive: Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain.

Jungle Cruise, where guests travel through the wilderness with a comic skipper, is updated with new scenes and characters. The ride has been criticized for portraying wild ‘natives’.

Splash Mountain, a ride based on the controversial 1946 movie “Song of the South”, will be completely changed to see characters from the 2009 animated film, “The Princess and the Frog”, starring Disney’s first black princess .

"Inclusion is essential to our culture," Disney Parks chairman Josh D'Amaro wrote this week.

D’Amaro explained that in 2019, the company sought input from Cast Members on how to update the parks’ culture. One of the proposals was to add a fifth key to Disney’s “Four Keys,” which are the long principles of the park’s gas service. The cast members suggested adding a fifth key of inclusion, along with safety, courtesy, performance and efficiency.

“Inclusion is essential to our culture and leads us forward as we realize our rich legacy of engaging storytelling, exceptional service and Disney magic,” writes D’Amaro.

The changes come after the parks unit experienced one of its most difficult years ever due to the closures and layoffs caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
This is what Disney Parks of the future will look like
The announcements are also taking place while other big companies like JPMorgan Chase are investing billions to promote racial equality.
Another Disney unit, ABC News, is breaking barriers this week. The news organization announced Wednesday that Kimberly Godwin will become the president of ABC News, making her the first black executive to run one of America’s most important newsrooms in the broadcasting service.

D’Amaro ended his blog post by saying that the world is changing and that Disney will continue to change.

“We will never stop working to make sure Disney is a welcome place for everyone,” he wrote.

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