Walt Disney World Cast Member Discounts Excluded from 50th Anniversary Merchandise Purchases

With the recent launch of the Vault Collection in the Magic Kingdom and at Disney Springs, plus additional 50th anniversary merchandise coming soon to both the Walt Disney World Resort and shopDisney, fans everywhere are excited to start shopping during “The Most Magical Celebration on Earth.” Unfortunately, those fans who work for the Walt Disney Company are excluded from using their Cast Member discounts on the newest lines of merchandise debuting for the 50th anniversary celebration.

The collections that Cast Member discounts are currently excluded from include: the Vault’s retro-themed collection, 50th Anniversary Celebration collections, Resorts 50th Anniversary Celebration collection, EARidescent Color Story collection, and the Luxe Logo collection. Cast Members are also excluded from using their discounts on the Ratatouille Opening Day collection in the France pavilion in EPCOT at this time.

Earlier this year, Cast Members also received information that their typical holiday shopping discounts (of 40-50% depending on the store and products) would not kick in until December. Cast Members often use their annual holiday discounts to get the bulk of their shopping done for the season for their friends and family. Thankfully this discount will still be available, however with it not beginning until December, there will certainly will be more of a time crunch on their hands while preparing for the holiday season this year.

The Walt Disney Company commented briefly on the lack of discounts available to Cast Members with the new collections and for the upcoming holiday season claiming that it was a difficult decision to make and strictly a business measure, with the announcement Cast Members received reinforcing the point that the company hopes to bring the discounts back soon.

Disney Cast Members are at the heart of what makes the Walt Disney World Resort truly special, and while we have seen some exciting enhancements come to their roles over the past year or so, we’ve also obviously seen a level of difficulty due to the COVID-19 pandemic that cannot be understated.

We hope to see their usual discounts return soon, and want to share a quick reminder that when you have a memorable experience with a Disney Cast Member it is easy to recognize them for their hard work by using #CastCompliment on Twitter.