Cast Members Block Castle, Shut Down All Nighttime Events

This is starting to get a little out of hand. Cast Members have surrounded Sleeping Beauty Castle and shut down all evening events. Last week, striking Cast Members promised organized events beginning on June 6, and today they delivered on that promise.

The crowd’s reaction moments ago when tonight’s entertainment was canceled due to the Cast Member strikes: pic.twitter.com/DDBdziXeyl

— DLP Report (@DLPReport) June 6, 2023

Cast Members at Disneyland Paris have been on strike since early May. They have made their presence known inside the Park throughout the strikes. Most days, they have successfully shut down Parades, but today, those Cast Members took things to another level. About an hour before Disney D-Light and Disney Dreams started, Cast Members surrounded Sleeping Beauty Castle and refused to move.

A few minutes before the show started, Disney announced that the show was canceled. The crowd can be heard booing the cancelation. The announcement specifically blamed the striking Cast Members for the show’s cancelation. As night dawned over the Park, the Castle remained dark, an eery reminder of what was happening just below.

The striking workers are seeking a weekly pay raise of $215 U.S., improvements to the length of service bonus, and increased pay for working on Sundays. It should be noted that the Cast Members in France make more than their counterparts at the Walt Disney World Resort. This past weekend, striking Cast Members got into an altercation with security forces hired by Disney to attempt to keep the peace. 

Earlier this week, Disneyland Paris President Natacha Rafalski released a statement to the Cast Members that they then released to the media. The statement read in part that Disney would not consider pay raises until August, an agreed-upon time for a pay review and that Disneyland Paris may have been profitable last year. However, Disney still needed to be “careful.”

Because Disneyland Paris is a joint venture with the local government, the profits for that one Park are released to the public. Last year, Disneyland Paris made $51 million in profit with $2.6 billion in revenues. It was the first time in a decade that the Park had made money.

Cast Members have promised strikes every day until their demands are met, and they continue to disrupt day-to-day operations at the Park.

Disneyland Paris Cast Members on strike are blocking Sleeping Beauty Castle tonight in an attempt to cancel the performance of Disney D-Light and Disney Dreams. The shows are scheduled to start in less than 40 min, no announcement has been made just yet. pic.twitter.com/emhY0z3zJ1

— DLP Report (@DLPReport) June 6, 2023

Thus far, the protests have made their way throughout the Disneyland Resort. This morning and all last week, Guests saw protests at Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park.

As the disappointed crowds filed out of the Park, they noticed that City Hall was also shut down. Guests were directed to City Hall for a refund of their tickets for the day. With it shut down, Guests must email dlp.guestcomm@disneylandparis.com to request compensation. Perhaps an ominous sign of things to come for the striking Cast Members.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.