Partners Federal Credit Union is a federally chartered

credit union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...

with corporate headquarters in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The not-for-profit financial cooperative offers membership to employees and cast members of

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

and their family members. As of December 2016, the credit union has thirteen branches, in excess of 180,000 members and over $1.9 billion in assets.

History

The credit union was formed in 1968 at the request of a group of Disneyland Park cast members, and when first chartered was called the DRC Federal Credit Union. DRC was an acronym for the Disneyland Recreational Club, which was a precursor to the

Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California, United States. It is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Experiences division and is home to two theme parks (Disneyland and Dis ...

's current Cast Activities department. The offices moved a number of times before relocating off Disneyland's traditional premises: The first office was a couple of rooms behind the camera shop on Main Street. Al Yee, a Disneyland accountant, was the first member and had account number 1 until his death. The DRC building in the 1970s was a double-wide "temporary" building, externally decorated with a contemporary Studio look with planter boxes and a wood exterior. It was located in the center of the employees' backstage area, east of

Main Street, U.S.A. Main Street, USA is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, USA is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20th centu ...

, west of the original park's Administration Building, and south of the current location of Space Mountain (what was then called the Temporary Tomorrowland Stage). Sometime before the end of 1977, the building was moved to the area just inside of the tall chainlink fence on Harbor Blvd and a bit north of the original employee entry (what Disneyland Security called Harbor House) for the employees' parking lot that was on the east side of the original property. In the 1970s, DRC Federal Credit Union changed its name to Disneyland Employees Federal Credit Union. In the 1980s, at the request of CEO

Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner ( ; born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film ...

, the credit union was asked to stop using the name "Disneyland" so the name was changed once again to Partners Federal Credit Union. Partners merged with Vista Federal Credit Union in November 2007. Vista FCU, which was established in 1960 prior to Partners, also served Walt Disney Company Cast Members and employees primarily of The Walt Disney Studios in

and

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

Resort in Lake Buena Vista,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Membership eligibility

Originally, membership in Partners FCU was limited to Walt Disney Company employees working in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

. When the Walt Disney Company took over management of the in

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

in 1988, employees working for that attraction were added to the field of membership. In 2001, the field of membership for Partners FCU was expanded to cover any employee or Cast Member working for the Walt Disney Company in the United States.

References

External links

Official Partners FCU website
{{Walt Disney World Banks established in 1968 Credit unions based in California Disneyland Resort Walt Disney World 1968 establishments in California