Skip to Content
Video

Mousetrap: This is What It’s Really Like to Work for Disneyland

[divider]L.A. TACO DOCS PRESENTS[/divider]

This video was originally released in September 2018. 

[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap]t's the happiest place on Earth. That's what they say, anyway. But the truth — as discovered by directors Armando Aparicio and David Zlutnick, and producer Leighton Woodhouse — is that two thirds of Disneyland's workforce is underpaid and overworked.

Mousetrap, a special L.A. Taco Docs presentation, in collaboration with Adamant Media, follows the lives of two Disneyland employees who have to work multiple jobs in order to afford living in or around Anaheim. One of the workers, a makeup artist, has been homeless the majority of her time as a Disneyland employee.

The documentary comes at a time when Anaheim residents prepare to vote for a measure on the November ballot that would raise the minimum wage to $15 for hospitality workers, meaning those who work at the Disneyland Resort and the larger surrounding hotels. Pressure from the measure and public outcry recently forced the resort to negotiate an increase in wages to $15 starting in 2019. But that was only with a third of its workforce. In the most recent fiscal quarter, the Walt Disney Company made $2.92 billion in net income.

Watch Mousetrap below.

RELATED: L.A. Teachers Strike Vote Passes — With 98 Percent Support

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

Weekend Eats: Paneer Tacos, Hamburger Handrolls, and Orange Chicken Fries Are Here To Test Your New Year’s Resolutions

Meanwhile, over 30 of L.A.'s best pizzerias are uniting to bake and deliver free pizza pies on Wednesday.

January 9, 2026

DAILY MEMO: Numerous Sightings of ICE and Border Patrol In Pomona and San Bernardino County in the Last 48 Hours

There were 10 confirmed sightings of federal agents in Pomona on Thursday. Agents also snatched someone near Hollywood High School on Wednesday.

January 8, 2026

‘It’s Colonizing All Over Again:’ Chefs and Tortilleros React to California’s Fortified Tortilla Mandate

A new California law, penned by a Fresno assemblyman, mandates folic acid in corn tortillas to curb birth defects in Latina women—rattling L.A.'s taco universe. Tortilla makers in California, who have followed the same 12,000 year-old recipe, now must add a synthetic vitamin... but not all are complying.

January 8, 2026

Pasadena Community Job Center Director Speaks Out About Arrest While Observing Federal Immigration Activity

“They didn’t stop the ICE agent, but they stopped me,” said Jose Madera, who followed a vehicle driven wrecklessly by ICE agents, who continue to roam freely nationwide, even after killing 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis earlier today.

L.A.’s Young Magicians Are Blowing Minds at Clubs, Pop Video Sets, and Taco Stands

Today's budding magicians are trading college and 9 to 5s to work with Chappell Roan, raise money for cancer patients, and perform at Magic Castle, marking a comeback for magic tricks in 2026.

January 7, 2026

DAILY MEMO: Border Patrol Returns On Dia De Los Reyes, Taking at Least Eight in Orange County and Injuring Elderly Man

In another incident, a vendor in Fountain Valley was released after being questioned and detained, but not before CBP called for help from paramedics to use bolt cutters to remove the handcuffs used on the vendor.

January 6, 2026
See all posts