Disney World Is Calling Festival Cast Members Back to Work. Here’s What We Know So Far.

Disney4me · June 18, 2020

According to a recent post on Unite Here Local 737’s Facebook page, we now know Disney has started calling even more Cast Members to return to work at Disney World’s theme parks and resorts.

Spaceship Earth

These Cast Members will join the union members Disney called back earlier this month in preparation for the select Disney World Resort hotels that are reopening June 22nd.

Unite Here Local 737 is one of the biggest unions at Disney World, and we took a particular interest in one of the groups. On the Union’s long list for Cast Members that are being asked to return, festival Cast Members are noted.

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Disney World

So far, Disney hasn’t said anything about Epcot’s festivals. We don’t know if they’ll be resuming their normal festival schedule, modifying it, or postponing festivals for a while. At this time, information regarding festivals is still very up in the air. It is important to note that the 2020 Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic was recently canceled.

Epcot

Epcot’s 2020 Flower and Garden Festival had just started right before the temporary closures happened. The fest was only slated to run through June 1st. Disney hasn’t shared information on if this festival will resume when Epcot reopens.

Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival

And while Epcot’s 2020 Food and Wine Festival normally kicks off in August, Disney has yet to release the official dates for the festival! Under normal circumstances, we would typically know exactly when Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival would be taking place by now (the 2019 festival ran from August 29th through November 23rd). So as you can see, we’re still at a bit of a loss for words when folks ask what’s going on with Epcot’s festivals!

2019 Epcot Food and Wine!

And for now, we can’t assume Epcot festival Cast Members being called back means festivals are coming back — it’s way too early to make that claim, especially when Disney will need Cast Members to fill in for its College Interns and Cultural Ambassadors whose programs were canceled.

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Rose and Crown Pub

So, keep in mind that while it looks like festival Cast Members are being called back to work, that does not guarantee that festivals are returning or operating as normal this year. But, it is pretty exciting to see it listed. Hopefully, we will have updates regarding festivals soon. Stay tuned!