Legendary Disneyland Performer Sues Disney, Claims Age Bias and Blackballing

A longtime Disneyland performer says Mouse House brass pushed him offstage after more than three decades ... replacing him with younger musicians and blackballing him over a comment he says he never made.

Bill Lewis says he began working at Disneyland in 1992 and went on to perform with the Dapper Dan Quartet and Bootstrappers Pirate Band, according to a new lawsuit first reported by the California Post.

But when the park reopened following its COVID shutdown in April 2021, Bill claims the Bootstrappers returned without him ... and he later discovered Disney had allegedly passed over several older regulars for substantially younger talent.

Bill, who turned 65 that year, alleges management blamed the move on full-time performers getting priority over "casual regular" employees ... but he claims at least one younger replacement had the same employment status he did.

He says the alleged age discrimination wasn't the only thing pushing him out ... claiming he was also blackballed after being accused of making comments about a park director's sexual orientation -- an allegation he says was never substantiated.

Bill claims his hours then fell off a cliff ... dropping from 287 in 2023 to 74 in 2024 and just 14 in 2025, allegedly keeping him from qualifying for benefits.

He says he had no reasonable choice but to retire in March 2026 ... and he's now seeking damages and attorney fees.