Bye Bye Banjo Brothers and Bob

[Sonconato]

We just returned from MK and learned that yet another one of the entertainment groups will soon be eliminated from the Park. The Notorious Banjo Brothers and Bob will be performing for the last time on Saturday October 1st after 17 years of performing. Although they were not a group you found on the printed schedule, they performed throughout the day on most days from 11:00 am until about 5:20 pm and could be found in Frontierland. It was always great to have them add to the atmosphere of the area. They will be missed! If you get the opportunity, show them your support by stopping by sometime in the next two weeks.

 

[nickys]

We just returned from MK and learned that yet another one of the entertainment groups will soon be eliminated from the Park. The Notorious Banjo Brothers and Bob will be performing for the last time on Saturday October 1st after 17 years of performing. Although they were not a group you found on the printed schedule, they performed throughout the day on most days from 11:00 am until about 5:20 pm and could be found in Frontierland. It was always great to have them add to the atmosphere of the area. They will be missed! If you get the opportunity, show them your support by stopping by sometime in the next two weeks.

I was just looking through my MDE wish list last night for Our Christmas trip, and they were on it It's sad a lot of these street performers are going, they are part of the fun for me.

 

[Horizons78]

Awwww man....that hurts.

17 years is a heckuva run, but still. They have definitely been an enjoyable part of the atmosphere to be sure.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Sad to see them disappearing and sad also that more entertainers arent used on property. All the lands could use fun characters. Street performers add so much to the theming of the areas of the parks they perform in. Why cant Disney see how much they and others do to make the guest experience better. If they only rely on the buildings to create the illusion that you are in that time period, it lacks the realism youre trying to create.

 

[rob0519]

Sad to see them disappearing and sad also that more entertainers arent used on property. All the lands could use fun characters. Street performers add so much to the theming of the areas of the parks they perform in. Why cant Disney see how much they and others do to make the guest experience better. If they only rely on the buildings to create the illusion that you are in that time period, it lacks the realism youre trying to create.

At this point in time, Disney Parks management can't care about making the guest experience better. There are obviously orders from Corporate management to lower expenses and increase profitability above everything, but safety (what will get them sued). While street performers are popular with the customers, they are low hanging fruit on the cost cutting tree. First time visitors probably have no idea street performers are there and the regular customers will just accept this loss and move on as always.

 

[rodserling27]

You've got to be kidding me. One of my favorite things in Frontierland. I'm not kidding. The guy who plays the tuba is scary good, as are the banjo players (and sometimes bari sax player!). This is VERY upsetting to me. Glad I saw them one last time a few weeks ago.

 

[POLY LOVER]

When you have record crowds you begin to feel you can do anything you want with immunity. I mean if you keep cutting and reducing quality and the crowds keep coming why would you care about some street performers.

 

[NonnaT]

I am.saddened to.hear this! It really appears as if Disney is slowly, but surely getting rid of entertainment acts! sucks

 

[NonnaT]

I also just heard that Disney has stopped trading with the Jawas at HS.
Probably not going next year...
Everything just becoming less and less...

 

[graphite1326]

REALLY! This is upsetting. Does anyone know the details as to why they are leaving? Did they decide or Disney? I miss the street performers at Great Britian. I looked forward to the Holy Grail skit every trip. I even was the King once.

 

[Kylo Ken]

Fear not folks, only a matter of time until this comes to Frontierland for musical entertainment

 

[NonnaT]

Just saw on fb that there are only a few villains at MNSSHP as well.
It sure sounds like they're cutting costs by decreasing human interactions!
@wdwbaw is correct.
Instead Disney is increasing the cost of trips by only offering upcharged extra access events. (Club Villain, EMM, etc) The once or twice in a lifetime trip people will never know just what they've missed, and us old fogies will just fade away...

 

[NonnaT]

When you have record crowds you begin to feel you can do anything you want with immunity. I mean if you keep cutting and reducing quality and the crowds keep coming why would you care about some street performers.

But there are NOT record crowds anymore!
This past summer (Omygoodness, I can't believe I'm saying "past", so sad...) WDW saw the lowest summer crowds in years.
Cutting employees who are beloved is NOT the way to get the next generation to come back. They can't expect them to get hooked without that person to person contact.
You want to meet a princess, pay for it, villain, same, listen to great entertainment as you move about the park? Fuhgettaboutit!

 

[Sonconato]

REALLY! This is upsetting. Does anyone know the details as to why they are leaving? Did they decide or Disney? I miss the street performers at Great Britian. I looked forward to the Holy Grail skit every trip. I even was the King once.

If you're talking about the Jawas, I don't know. If you're talking about The Notorious Banjo Brothers and Bob, one of the members has been with the company 35 years and one of the others was shy a few months of being with the company 35 years. Also, it was most certainly Disney's decision and the decision came from California, not Orlando. It's very sad…these guys future is very uncertain right now. In the 8 years we've been here, we've seen a great deal of the live entertainment get whittled away and not replaced and those that have been replaced weren't at that same level of quality…in our opinion anyway.

We are looking forward to the Canadian band that is supposed to perform where Off Kilter used to but unfortunately, it is only very short term.

 

[Sonconato]

I feel like part of Disney's "logic" is that by removing entertainment, it keeps people moving around the parks, which results in people going into gift shops and spending money.

You're probably right about the gift shops and moving the crowds. We saw them earlier today, and knowing what is going to happen just made it a little sad. Even some of the cast members were sad.

 

[Jaygee77]

My wife and I are absolutely heartbroken to hear this. Over the last few months, our four year old son has taken such a liking to the Banjo Brothers, and they've made him feel so welcome, he thinks that he's a part of the band. We had just renewed our annual passes and made sure to provide feedback to Guest Services that our biggest reason for renewing was the street entertainment, singling out the Banjo Brothers as our #1 favorite. A few weeks later, we come to find out they are being let go. We'll be there Saturday for the final performances, for certain.

 

[Sonconato]

My wife and I are absolutely heartbroken to hear this. Over the last few months, our four year old son has taken such a liking to the Banjo Brothers, and they've made him feel so welcome, he thinks that he's a part of the band. We had just renewed our annual passes and made sure to provide feedback to Guest Services that our biggest reason for renewing was the street entertainment, singling out the Banjo Brothers as our #1 favorite. A few weeks later, we come to find out they are being let go. We'll be there Saturday for the final performances, for certain.

I feel so sorry for your four year old son. I have a son who watches the Banjo Brothers with me, but he is not four and it's been a long time since he has been four. However, I know how you feel. Maybe I take it more personally because I am their age, but for a company to kick you to the curb in your 50's is pretty low. Your son might like the "Hoedown Happening" near Country Bear Jamboree. They just changed the times last week, but I know one of them is at 4:50 on Saturdays.

 

[righttrack]

Sad. What a nice group of guys. Really added to the realism. Cannot put a price on such things.

 

[nccruiser]

This is heartbreaking. There are many theme parks around the country that we can visit. One of the things we love about WDW is the live entertainment. We have noticed it dwindling over the years. The Notorious Banjo Brothers was always our favorite. We never failed to catch at least two of their sets each visit. And shame on Disney for laying off employees who have been with the company that long! I'm disappointed.

 

[ford91exploder]

I feel like part of Disney's "logic" is that by removing entertainment, it keeps people moving around the parks, which results in people going into gift shops and spending money.

Hence the reason I now call WDW 'Mall with a cover charge'. Really it's becoming no different from any mall elsewhere - wonder when it will end up on 'deadmalls.com' which is a interesting site in its own right.