During a video meeting on Thursday morning, 150 shopDisney Cast Members learned that they would be laid off from The Walt Disney Company on March 24, 2024.

shopDisney Layoffs

The Cast Members supported not only shopDisney.com but also Disney Parks Merchandise Guest Services and D23 Guest Services.

The meeting was led by Richard Childs, Vice President of Direct to Consumer Retail Operations, an anonymous source told WDWNT.

Our source added that “it seems apparent that this decision is primarily a cost-saving measure” with their positions being handed over to Transcom, a Swedish outsourcing company providing customer service, sales, technical support, and more.

Several entertainment and media groups are seeing layoffs in early 2024. A report from Reuters claims Pixar Animation Studios will be among those who cut staff. Pixar — based in Emeryville, California — reportedly hired new employees for a streaming series (likely “Win or Lose”) but now that production is complete, they are overstaffed.

In early 2023, The Walt Disney Company completed three rounds of layoffs to cut about $5.5 billion in costs. About 7,000 employees were laid off over three months.

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Walt Disney once famously said, “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” Well, it’s safe to say Walt wouldn’t be shocked by the latest Disneyland news!

Partners Statue in Disneyland

The Disneyland Resort is no stranger to change. From the creation of Disney California Adventure in 2001 to expansions such as Avengers Campus, Cars Land, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Disneyland continues to pioneer theme park innovation not only in Southern California but all over the globe. However, like Walt suggested, the work is never done and Disney plans to continue to create and expand with its latest project, DisneylandForward!

Announced in 2021, DisneylandForward came into play as a multi-year Disneyland and Anaheim Resort expansion and redesign that would expand and update two existing approvals from the 1990s. In layman’s terms, DisneylandForward would not only allow extra theme park development to the land surrounding the Disneyland Resort, but also expand the resort’s lodging, retail, parking, and dining options. Just this week, Disney representatives met with Anaheim’s city council to shed more light on the proposed plans.

DisneylandForward concept art ©Disney

©Disney

The point of DisneylandForward is to provide flexibility for the Disneyland Resort to build more theme park attractions, lands, lodging options, retail locations, and dining spots without the constraints of land obstacles and zoning restrictions. This project would unify the Disneyland Resort and Anaheim Resort areas into one unified entertainment center — essentially a miniature version of Disney World.

More about DisneylandForward ©Disney

Disney’s $1.9 billion investment would go towards these possible resort additions and would primarily focus on locations west of Disneyland Drive and the current Toy Story parking lot. Disney would use DisneylandForward to enhance parking for both guests and cast members while adding a new transportation center.

©City of Anaheim

Expansion would of course require a larger workforce, and Disney mentioned how the theme park district would get its own police and firefighting substations in addition to the possibility of more officer/firefighter jobs and an increase in cast member hirings. 

Always a Light On for Walt Disney

When it came to theme park expansion, Disney proposed projects themed after Coco, Black Panther, Tangled, Frozen, Zootopia, Peter Pan, Tron, and Toy Story. During the meeting, Disney specifically referenced its other lands in international parks, such as the latest Zootopia Land at Shanghai Disney Resort, the World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland, and the new Rapunzel’s Forest opening at Tokyo DisneySea later this year.  To build more expansive lands and attractions, Disneyland would need these proposed city planning and zoning guidelines to be approved.

New Zootopia Land in Shanghai Disney ©Disney

It’s important to note that this plan does not purchase additional land but instead allows Disney to modify land it already owns but can’t currently work on because of zoning regulations. To get the ball rolling, Disney has offered to commit to investing between $1.9 and $2.5 billion plus an additional $5 million in street infrastructure improvements if $600 million is not spent within a decade. Additionally, the company has offered the city of Anaheim more funds for sewage upgrades, park upgrades, workforce boosting, and low-income housing among others in this proposed plan. Disney would also move the new Disney Vacation Club rooms into more normal tax operations akin to non-time share lodging in the area to further boost tax revenue for Anaheim.

The Villas at Disneyland Hotel

Disneyland has a few more meetings planned before a vote is held in late spring and we could see adjustments and new proposals made between now and then. The next DisneylandForward proposal is scheduled for an Anaheim Planning Commission hearing in March.

Disney California Adventure

To say the impact of DisneylandForward is huge is an understatement, and we’ll be sure to cover the proposed plan as updates unfold. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned right here at DFB for all the latest Disneyland news!

Disney Announces a NEW 2-Story Earl of Sandwich Restaurant Is Coming to Downtown Disney

Are you in favor of a Disneyland expansion or are you happy with the way it is? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

The post NEWS: Disney Announces .9 BILLION Expansion Plans, Including ‘Tangled,’ ‘Frozen,’ and ‘Coco’ Projects first appeared on the disney food blog.

Attorneys representing The Walt Disney Company and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District agreed to a timeline leading up to a June trial date for the public records lawsuit Disney filed against the District last month.

Disney vs. CFTOD Public Records Lawsuit

On Thursday morning, the attorneys agreed to this preliminary timeline:

• February 23: Amended pleadings and motions
• April 12: Completion of facts and expert discovery
• March 1: Written discovery
• Mid-to-late March: Mediation (if necessary or agreed to)
• June 17: Pre-trail meeting
• June 24: Trial begins

In the lawsuit filed on December 22, Disney claims the District has not complied with Florida’s public records law, leading to a delay in the retrieval of a document they asked for in May of 2023.

On the public records front, this has led to delays, inadequate preservation, storage and production of public records, and improper and unsupported claims of privilege and exemption from disclosure, in violation of the Florida Constitution and Chapter 119. In this case, the delay is so extreme that CFTOD still has yet to fully respond to a public records request Disney submitted seven months ago, in May of this year.

As set out in this Complaint, CFTOD has prevented Disney from discovering the actions of its government through public records requests, in violation of Florida law. The Court should grant Disney relief.

This is a separate lawsuit from the District’s suit against Disney, in which Disney has filed a Motion to Compel Discovery. The District has refused to hand over the documents Disney requested. A hearing regarding that issue was held earlier this week and the judge has yet to announce a decision.

The federal lawsuit Disney filed against the District and Governor Ron DeSantis is also ongoing.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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The Vera Bradley store at Disney Springs has an exclusive new collection of black bags featuring Mickey heads.

Disney Springs-Exclusive Vera Bradley Collection

The store is also taking orders over the phone. You can call 407-828-0040 to place an order. The collection includes a backpack, sling backpack, crossbody purse, belt bag, and tote bag.

Backpack – $95

The bags are all black with an all-over stitched pattern of Mickey heads. The backpack has a front zip pocket, a main zip pocket, and two side slip pockets.

The interior lining is light gray. It has a pattern of white flowers with yellow centers and images of Mickey and Minnie. The mice are in their classic outfits — red shorts for Mickey and a blue polka-dot skirt for Minnie.

The main pocket has two zippers with black fabric zipper pulls. The backpack straps are adjustable and padded. There’s a handle on the top of the bag. The Mickey head pattern continues onto the back.

Belt Bag – $45

The belt bag is rectangular with rounded corners. The zipper goes all the way around the top and down the sides.

It has an adjustable black strap with a plastic buckle. There’s a small zip pocket on the back, too. All the bags have the same interior lining as the backpack.

Sling Backpack – $95

The sling backpack has one padded strap. It has a long zipper down one side and a small zip pocket on the front.

The Mickey head pattern does not continue onto the back like it does with the other bags. Instead, the back is just solid black. There’s a small zip pocket on the back.

Crossbody Purse – $95

The crossbody purse has an adjustable, detachable shoulder strap. It has a singular zip pocket. The Mickey pattern is present on both sides. The bags also feature black Vera Bradley tags on their seams.

Tote – $110

The tote bag is large with two padded handles that can slip over the shoulder.

Will you be heading to Disney Springs or calling to purchase these Vera Bradley Mickey bags? Let us know in the comments.

Vera Bradley shared on Instagram last week that some of the Mickey and Minnie’s Flirty Floral collection is also still available at Disney Springs. More Vera Bradley x Disney products are available online, including some of the 2022 “The Little Mermaid” collection.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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