I was homeless while working at Walt Disney World. You can love Disney and still expect them to do better.
Jessica Cody worked as a Walt Disney World cast member in the 2010s.
She experienced housing insecurity while working at Disney and slept in an employee parking lot.
A second job at Universal Orlando Resort helped her finally make ends meet.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jessica Cody, a 36-year-old from central Florida. From 2010 to 2014, Cody worked as a Walt Disney World cast member, appearing as Lady Tremaine, Pluto, and other characters. She also worked as an actor and dancer at Universal Orlando Resort from 2010 to 2013. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I was working full-time hours at Walt Disney World after the big stock market crash in 2008.
I was getting scheduled for roughly 70-hour weeks and at first that was fine. I was able to rent a room. But eventually Disney capped the number of hours you could work.
At that point, I could no longer pay rent. So I lived in my 2005 Chevy Malibu, which I parked in West Clock, the Magic Kingdom cast member parking lot. I slept there and showered in the locker rooms every day for months, trying to get more hours.
Honestly, there were so many people that slept in their cars in that parking lot.
You're not supposed to sleep on the property, but the company turned a blind eye. When I was living in my car, I was one among dozens of others — it was not just me. Security knew we were doing this, and they knew we had nowhere else to go.
While it was a theme park that put me in that situation, it was also a theme park that helped me get out of it. I got hired as an actor and dancer at Universal in November 2010. My first role there was for "Grinchmas," a holiday event held at the theme park. Universal paid me $15 an hour, which together with my Disney hours, helped me finally rent an apartment with two other people and allowed me to afford basic needs.
I would never trade my time at Disney for anything. I learned more about the entertainment industry than I ever did in college or the audition circuit in New York City. I just think it is ridiculous that people have to choose between financial security and a job that fulfills them.
I no longer work at Disney or Universal. At Disney, I went down to seasonal, and when you're seasonal, you have to work a certain amount of hours a year to keep your status. I just didn't work enough.
With Universal, I had my son around that time so I switched to a different department. I was in the call center for the last six months of my time at Universal.
I'm now a dance teacher and choreographer.
Disney has made some positive changes in recent years with programs to help cast members. They also raised the minimum amount they pay people. But, in my opinion, it's still not a living wage as far as Orlando is concerned.
You can love Disney and still expect them to do better. There's no reason for any cast member to be on food stamps or unable to afford basic necessities. Until there are no cast members homeless or living on public assistance, we're not there yet.
That place would not be open if it weren't for the dedicated and amazing people working there who break their backs to bring joy to families.
Those are the people responsible for the theme park's success.
Editor's note: Walt Disney World set a $15 minimum wage for cast members in 2021 and increased it to $18 in 2023. The company offers employee packages with benefits. In 2022, Walt Disney World Resort announced it would develop affordable housing with over 1,000 apartments available to cast members and the larger community in Orange County, Florida.
Do you have a story to share about working at Disney? Contact this reporter at ledmonds@businessinsider.com.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
David Hekili Kenui Bell death: Lilo & Stitch star dies
David Hekili Kenui Bell, best known for his appearance in Disney's live-action Lilo & Stitch, has died. News of his death was shared on Facebook by his sister Jalene Kanani Bell. No cause of death has been shared. 'It is with a heavy heart I share that my sweet, generous, talented, funny, brilliant and handsome little brother David H K Bell will spend today in the company of our Heavenly Father,' she wrote. On Lilo & Stitch, he played a character named Big Hawaiian Dude, a nod to the Ice Cream Man – a running gag in the animated films, where a hapless tourist repeatedly drops his ice cream before he can eat it. In the 2025 live action version, Big Hawaiian Dude drops his shaved ice when he sees Zach Galifianakis's Jumba and Billy Magnussen's Pleakley open the portal to the island. Two weeks ago, Bell had shared a video of his audition tape for Big Hawaiian Dude, along with several behind-the-scenes photos from the set. In a previous Instagram post, he gave a shout out to the cast and crew from the film, writing: 'Now, Mahalo to all who worked on this film! I knew it would be special to attend a Cast and CREW screening and it didn't disappoint! Was so awesome to see so many of the true stars in my opinion, our local crew in Hawaii. They deserve just as much or more recognition! Was also happy to see so much of the cast, especially those of us that round out the world of live-action Lilo & Stitch that the filmmakers so masterfully constructed. Until the next one, Ohana!' According to Bell's bio, he had also appeared in episodes of Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum PI. His IMDb page also lists that he was working on Amazon MGM Studios' forthcoming film The Wrecking Crew, which also stars Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa. His sister's message also shared: 'David loved being an actor, doing voiceovers, spending time with Brutus traveling as an ambassador for Kona Brew. The film industry and entertainment was so exciting to him and I loved that he enjoyed the arts. He went to Punahou and Kalani while our dad spoke Hawaiian so his ability to deliver lines with English understanding, Indigenous knowledge and Pidgen to da Max … made him a diamond in the rough. 'You can hear him over the PA system on arrival at Kona Airport where he loved working to create an awesome and safe customer experience.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Universal Film Crushes Box Office With Nearly $200 Million in Opening Weekend
A decade and a half ago, "How to Train Your Dragon" was released in theaters. Now, the live-action remake was released by DreamWorks and Universal. With Disney's "Lilo & Stitch" remake capturing box offices during Memorial Day weekend, this time it was the new edition of "How to Train Your Dragon" that captivated moviegoers. The new movie crushed it at the box office, netting just under $200 million worldwide, per Jonathan Landrum Jr. of The Associated Press. "The Universal live-action adaptation of the beloved animated franchise soared to a strong $83.7 million debut in North American theaters, according to Comscore estimates reboot easily outpaced 2019's How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, which opened with $55 million. The latest film earned more than $114.1 million internationally, bringing the global total to $197.8 million." The initial Rotten Tomatoes score for the movie was 83% with 40 reviews as of June 9, so there was a lot of positive feedback for the film. Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore, spoke about the new release crushing it in its first weekend. 'This is yet another example of a live-action remake really delivering on the promise of the marketing. I think the longevity and playability of some of these films particularly in the summer has been nothing short of miraculous.' The next-highest domestic box office film was "Lilo & Stitch" at $15.5 million, although that movie has been in theaters for a few weeks now, with the third-highest of the weekend being "Materialists" at $12 Film Crushes Box Office With Nearly $200 Million in Opening Weekend first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 16, 2025
Tom's Guide
2 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
Got a Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar? You should change these 3 settings immediately
The Sonos Arc Ultra is an excellent soundbar — there's a reason it tops the list of the best soundbars you can buy today. It features amazing Dolby Atmos performance, along with super smart features. It's not cheap, but it's worth every penny of its $1,000 price tag. But you might not be getting the most out of your pricey soundbar. So, let's make sure that your Sonos Arc Ultra is working its absolute best as you watch your favorite movies. Get that Sonos App installed, and lets get your soundbar tuned up. The Sonos Arc Ultra is our pick for the best soundbar overall, and when you sit down and watch some movies with it, you'll soon understand why. It sounds excellent, and the surround and Dolby Atmos performance is out of this world. Ok, so some of you might already know how this works, but if you've just plugged your soundbar in and not checked out the app yet, the bar might not be properly attuned to your space. Every room, be that a bedroom, a living room, or even a bathroom (if you've got a Sonos Arc Ultra in your bathroom, I suspect you might be Lex Luthor), has different audio parameters. Sound is bounced around in different ways by wall layout, and even the stuff that you've got in the room, like sofas, tables, and even light fittings. Some things absorb sound, changing the way the movie sounds even further. That's where TruePlay comes in — the soundbar plays a series of noises, and then listens to them to make sure the sound is as good as it should be. It doesn't take long, but it's a must if you want your movies to sound the way the director intended. First off, tap the TruePlay button, and then follow the on-screen instructions. From there, the soundbar will play a series of noises to read the room, and then change the EQ from there to make sure that it sounds its best. It'll let you know when it's done. Now you can enjoy amazing sound! That said, remember to redo the TruePlay tuning if you significantly change the makeup of your room, like moving furniture. Also, redo it if you put the soundbar in a different room. Preferably out of the bathroom, Lex. Not getting the full effect of the height channels when you're watching a Dolby Atmos-encoded movie? Make sure you check the height channels in the Sonos app. The height channels in the Sonos Arc Ultra are bounced off the ceiling, so raise them to make sure they're coming in at the correct height. It's another simple fix. Go to the height channel settings in the Sonos App, and then raise and lower them until you're hearing overheard effects. Not sure what to watch? I like to use the Dolby Atmos test video, although you'll have to pick up a special DVD and DVD player to make it work properly. Otherwise, use your favorite movie on Netflix or Disney+ that you know features a Dolby Atmos channel, and adjust accordingly from there. My room needs about +1 to the height channels for the full effect, although your room may vary depending on the ceiling height or how tall your TV stand is. Dialogue is a tricky thing for any kind of audio equipment to get right. Perhaps there's lots going on in a scene, or there's some mad director's decision that's left the dialogue feeling lost and muffled (I'm looking at you, Christopher Nolan). Either way, the Sonos Arc Ultra has some excellent built-in features to make the dialogue in your favorite movies sound even better. There's a setting called "Dialogue enhancer," which make the voices in your movies sound clearer and easier to hear. It's easy to find and use, and very useful if you or someone you know is hard of hearing. Find the Dialogue Enhancer option in the Sonos app, and from there find the option that works best for you. The "Low" and "Medium" settings are the least intrustive, but they don't enhance the dialogue as much for people who struggle with busy sounding move mixes. "High" and "Max" are the options you'll want to use if you struggle to hear the dialogue. They quieten the rest of the scene, and raist the volume of spoken parts to make them easier to hear. They aren't very close to the director's intent, but they're a great way of making movies more accessible for more people. And we can finally hear what the characters are saying in Tenet. No thanks to you, Nolan.
