Disney has done this to other entertainers (I’m not excusing them) and then brings some of them back. You can’t play with people’s emotions and money. My job was eliminated by the pandemic. I hope this team finds a position entertaining again.
Disney is taking away the magic they like to advertise they have. Disneys Hilton Head Resort was so unique because of Shadow and B’Lou. It’s one of the reasons we would go back year after year. Now unfortunately the resort is slowly becoming like all the other hotels on the island we could choose to stay at. It speaks volumes on a company on how it treats an outstanding employee after 21 years of service to be let go with no explanation and a five minute phone call. I can only hope people let Disney know the joy these two have brought to so many over the years and how they will be missed.
Hurtful all around, and frustrating. How often can you you choose the difficult wrong over the easy right? We love B’Lou and Shadow. Disney has deliberately ruined a wonderful experience, for what purpose? They made my daughter cry.
DHHIR has always been a special place because of the cast members, especially B’Lou and Shadow. My family is very upset by the decision to fire these performers who are part of the theme of the resort.
Chapek has terminated over 20k people, raised prices astronomically, all while using Covid as an excuse, when it makes no sense at all. Looking at the crowds at WDW, in person, and at the hotels – there is no excuse not to bring back the entertainment. Chapek has always, always been about spending less and charging more. He needs to resign. Best wishes to Ayres and Shadow.
The unions caused it. After so many days of furlough they have to terminate to employees can get unemployment and not violate union contracts. So Chapelle was no in charge at the beginning of the pandemic. Iger was. Unions also have set tight guidelines on return of entertainment. Disney is forever changing. Pandemic made it happen quicker. Lots of companies changed things sooner due to the shutdowns. Its a restart.
Honestly, this is one cast members and a dog, there is more to this than cost cutting, as the cost to keep them is literally a sneeze to Disney.
It is so sad that someone in Disneys management doesn’t like them for whatever reason and is so vindictive thst they would take this away. It not only hurts all guests, but dramatically and negatively impacts accessibility as dogs help a lot with those with various disabilities. So, it may be that Disney refuses to be inclusive of those with disabilities or maybe it is because they are older and age discrimination is a factor here. Or maybe because the guy is white, which means he is now being excluded because he isn’t a minority, whichever it is, it means they aren’t following their new key of being inclusive.
You are kidding right???? Disney has become so awoke its nuts. Younger generation probably has no interest in what he had to offer. Its not age because they brought the piano player back to Riverside hotel
I have read more than one post from people who have had some “not so Disney-like” interactions with him which involved swearing and also mistreating the dog. If any of these are true perhaps that had something to do with the decision.
Yes, but look at all the money that Disney will save by eliminating this guy’s paltry salary! I’m sure that it will be enough to finance the next Marvel movie! It’s just business guys!
This news makes me very sad (and angry). Shadow is a part of the resort’s origin story and the rooms contain artwork featuring a golden retriever as part of the theme. B’Lou is a wonderful storyteller and we always looked forward to listening to him and hearing him sing and play his instruments.
It just won’t be the same without them.
If he got vaxxed like a responsible adult, he wouldn’t have ruined the resort’s backstory and he would still have a job. We are accountable for our own choices. He made his. Time to move on.
I live here in Orlando. Disney is only selling out for big holidays or big events. Every day Disney attendance is down and a regular working class family cannot enjoy Disney cause they cannot afford it!!
Mr. Ayres’ comment about “overreaching Covid restrictions” makes me wonder if Disney decided not to bring him back for fear that he wouldn’t abide by the company’s Covid guidelines. My husband and I went to WDW in Dec 2020, before vaccinations were available to us, ONLY because we knew Disney was taking the pandemic seriously and had implemented as many precautions as they could for the safety of their customers and cast members. Thanks to those restrictions, we still had a wonderful time AND we returned home healthy. I can certainly understand why Disney might not want a CM back who is so openly cavalier about the Covid pandemic.
Disney was great with Covid restrictions a year ago. But have you seen what they’re doing for Covid now? The parks are filled with people at pre-Covid crowd levels, they removed the line markers from the ride lines months ago, and mask rules are ever changing and follow Florida guidelines for the most part.
No, this decision wasn’t about someone who might have a “cavalier attitude” about Covid restrictions. This was something else.
I am very disappointed in the recent decisions by Disney! Management personal are inadequate, food service is trash, they have layed-off or fired many, many, many of their faithful, loyal Cast Members. The parks are poorly maintained, many of the rides are shut- down while prices keep going up. I hope they get a new CEO that can handle the job and continue with the Dreams of Walt.
His statement makes it pretty clear he’s unvaxxed. He had to expect he would be losing his job over his irresponsibility, and it’s hard to feel too bad about self-inflicted wounds. So long, fella. In the next life, make better choices.
This is a DVC resort. Doesn’t the member’s annual dues pay for everything? It would cost less that $0.04 per point to pay him, based on the total number of points sold at this resort, and pay for the dogs wellness.
How is this saving anything? I am sure if the members were polled they would gladly pay a nickel per point to keep them!
Seems like another Chapek stunt, he needs to go!
I don’t see he said he wasn’t vaccinated. With the huge crowds at the parks on top of each other being vaccinated is a joke. They don’t work. There’s no Disney management who cares about the parks at all. It’s all greed now.
Hi Jil ~ As the author refers to “overreaching COVID restrictions,” I think a fellow commentor read between the lines. Have to say… if Disney is packing people in again now that is highly irresponsible, especially now with Omicron in the offing. Agree with you that greed is always a motivator for big corporations. It’s a horrid fact no matter how much they profess otherwise. That said, the vaccines we have now are indeed proven to work against COVID (incl Delta) & they’re the only thing that will get us out of this mess. The misguided 30% to 40% of people who refuse to get vaccinated here (along with those who sadly just don’t have the luxury to get protected in the first place) are the reason why this is going to last many years beyond the pandemic from 1918-1919. That’s reality, because science is a thing.
#peace
I don’t see he said he wasn’t vaccinated. With the huge crowds at the parks on top of each other being vaccinated is a joke. They don’t work. There’s no Disney management who cares about the parks at all. It’s all greed now.
After 21 years I would bet that he is close to retirement, if he had that benefit, and Disney is being proactive with long bgg term cost cutting. I was affected by this after 15 years with a big blue company. 2 years away from retirement and I was called on the phone and told that I was part of a “resource action” and though there were other open positions in the company that I could have moved into, I was denied the opportunity to apply. Simply stated, it is either “ageism” or part of the new ” DEI” HR bs.
Before anyone goes banana are start talking about Chapek and cutting costs etc, it’s a germ ridden dog that will be touched by all sorts of guests. Not the best thing at the moment.
I was 100% ready to support him, until his comment about “overreaching Covid restrictions”. So almost 700,000 deaths in the US is just something to brush aside, right? The fact that the deaths continue due to people not getting vaccinated, not wearing masks, and not following common sense guidelines means that the deaths will continue, and we may be forced into another lockdown due to the lack of people following common sense.
Our DVC members at Hilton Head since 1996. I think Shadow & B’Lou have been coming since 2000. My family has been enjoyed seeing them on ever visit to HHI. They have become the icons for the resort just like the castle is to the MK, The Tree of Life is to the Animal Kingdom, etc. All the children (and many adults!) love meeting up with the gentle giant known as Shadow and his best friend B’Lou. They wandered around the resort with Shadow imparting tail wags & puppy kisses, and B’Lou regaling history facts & stories about Hilton Head. Entertainment for the whole family! Now, Disney has once again managed to snatch away another “nostalgic tradition” that creates good memories for all who (whom? 🥴)visit. Disney has been making a lots of decisions that take away “the personal touch” to about all of their resorts, parks, cruise line while increasing the cost to the public and severely decreasing the one thing thing they have been known – their magic! Magical moments, magical cast members, magical memories were what set any Disney destination apart from the others. Not so any more. Shadow & B’Lou were just the magical experience that the Hilton Head resort had for people visiting. Sad that Disney is doing away with so many magical moments for guests at the Hilton Head resort.
This unfortunately is just another example of corporate Disney’s greed and their lack of concern for the wonderful cast members who make the Magic. While I didn’t have the pleasure of seeing this gentleman perform, I’ve heard he was outstanding and his talent will be sorely missed. I have to be honest, I’ve lost a great deal of respect for the Walt Disney Company in recent years. I will always love Disney but my heart and my loyalty is with WALT’S Disney. He cared about the cast members and making sure that they were well-treated and that they made magic for every guest that came through the gates. The money-hungry hyenas who run the company now couldn’t care less about who they hurt as long as their bottom line is met. I don’t want to hear the worn out excuse, “it’s just good business”. There is NOTHING good about a business that hurts people for the sake of monetary profits while preaching inclusion and acceptance in order to look good in front of the cameras! Bob Chapek, YOU MAKE ME SICK!!!!
Never been to this resort or know of these two performers, but if he had been told he would be brought back this is certainly not a good way to end this job. Sad that Disney acted like this, think the employee deserves more.
Comments for Disney Fires Two Longtime Cast Members, No Explanation Given
beautiful gorgeous
Disney has done this to other entertainers (I’m not excusing them) and then brings some of them back. You can’t play with people’s emotions and money. My job was eliminated by the pandemic. I hope this team finds a position entertaining again.
Stacy
Disney is taking away the magic they like to advertise they have. Disneys Hilton Head Resort was so unique because of Shadow and B’Lou. It’s one of the reasons we would go back year after year. Now unfortunately the resort is slowly becoming like all the other hotels on the island we could choose to stay at. It speaks volumes on a company on how it treats an outstanding employee after 21 years of service to be let go with no explanation and a five minute phone call. I can only hope people let Disney know the joy these two have brought to so many over the years and how they will be missed.
Richard D Howe
Hurtful all around, and frustrating. How often can you you choose the difficult wrong over the easy right? We love B’Lou and Shadow. Disney has deliberately ruined a wonderful experience, for what purpose? They made my daughter cry.
Danielle Shelley
DHHIR has always been a special place because of the cast members, especially B’Lou and Shadow. My family is very upset by the decision to fire these performers who are part of the theme of the resort.
Brooke
Chapek has terminated over 20k people, raised prices astronomically, all while using Covid as an excuse, when it makes no sense at all. Looking at the crowds at WDW, in person, and at the hotels – there is no excuse not to bring back the entertainment. Chapek has always, always been about spending less and charging more. He needs to resign. Best wishes to Ayres and Shadow.
Rin
THIS, the employees are the heart of what makes the operation so great. It is disgusting to see what is happening!
K
The unions caused it. After so many days of furlough they have to terminate to employees can get unemployment and not violate union contracts. So Chapelle was no in charge at the beginning of the pandemic. Iger was. Unions also have set tight guidelines on return of entertainment. Disney is forever changing. Pandemic made it happen quicker. Lots of companies changed things sooner due to the shutdowns. Its a restart.
Chris
Honestly, this is one cast members and a dog, there is more to this than cost cutting, as the cost to keep them is literally a sneeze to Disney.
It is so sad that someone in Disneys management doesn’t like them for whatever reason and is so vindictive thst they would take this away. It not only hurts all guests, but dramatically and negatively impacts accessibility as dogs help a lot with those with various disabilities. So, it may be that Disney refuses to be inclusive of those with disabilities or maybe it is because they are older and age discrimination is a factor here. Or maybe because the guy is white, which means he is now being excluded because he isn’t a minority, whichever it is, it means they aren’t following their new key of being inclusive.
Jimbo
Disney found out that both him and the Dog are Straight.
“That” will Not be Tolerated at Disney!
K
You are kidding right???? Disney has become so awoke its nuts. Younger generation probably has no interest in what he had to offer. Its not age because they brought the piano player back to Riverside hotel
Joanna Coors
I have read more than one post from people who have had some “not so Disney-like” interactions with him which involved swearing and also mistreating the dog. If any of these are true perhaps that had something to do with the decision.
Jose Guardiola
Yes, but look at all the money that Disney will save by eliminating this guy’s paltry salary! I’m sure that it will be enough to finance the next Marvel movie! It’s just business guys!
Roberta Batten
This news makes me very sad (and angry). Shadow is a part of the resort’s origin story and the rooms contain artwork featuring a golden retriever as part of the theme. B’Lou is a wonderful storyteller and we always looked forward to listening to him and hearing him sing and play his instruments.
It just won’t be the same without them.
Chris
If he got vaxxed like a responsible adult, he wouldn’t have ruined the resort’s backstory and he would still have a job. We are accountable for our own choices. He made his. Time to move on.
John Anthony
The brAss at Disney parks are running them into the ground. They’re also making it so expensive a family can’t afford “the magic” anymore.
K
That is why they are selling out tickets and room..???
Tam
I live here in Orlando. Disney is only selling out for big holidays or big events. Every day Disney attendance is down and a regular working class family cannot enjoy Disney cause they cannot afford it!!
Flyer
Mr. Ayres’ comment about “overreaching Covid restrictions” makes me wonder if Disney decided not to bring him back for fear that he wouldn’t abide by the company’s Covid guidelines. My husband and I went to WDW in Dec 2020, before vaccinations were available to us, ONLY because we knew Disney was taking the pandemic seriously and had implemented as many precautions as they could for the safety of their customers and cast members. Thanks to those restrictions, we still had a wonderful time AND we returned home healthy. I can certainly understand why Disney might not want a CM back who is so openly cavalier about the Covid pandemic.
K
LOL.
Kate
Disney was great with Covid restrictions a year ago. But have you seen what they’re doing for Covid now? The parks are filled with people at pre-Covid crowd levels, they removed the line markers from the ride lines months ago, and mask rules are ever changing and follow Florida guidelines for the most part.
No, this decision wasn’t about someone who might have a “cavalier attitude” about Covid restrictions. This was something else.
Pat
I am very disappointed in the recent decisions by Disney! Management personal are inadequate, food service is trash, they have layed-off or fired many, many, many of their faithful, loyal Cast Members. The parks are poorly maintained, many of the rides are shut- down while prices keep going up. I hope they get a new CEO that can handle the job and continue with the Dreams of Walt.
Chris
Walt’s dream was profit, and the company’s vision has never changed.
Paul
Your comment demonstrates your total lack of knowledge about Walt.
Chris
His statement makes it pretty clear he’s unvaxxed. He had to expect he would be losing his job over his irresponsibility, and it’s hard to feel too bad about self-inflicted wounds. So long, fella. In the next life, make better choices.
George
This is a DVC resort. Doesn’t the member’s annual dues pay for everything? It would cost less that $0.04 per point to pay him, based on the total number of points sold at this resort, and pay for the dogs wellness.
How is this saving anything? I am sure if the members were polled they would gladly pay a nickel per point to keep them!
Seems like another Chapek stunt, he needs to go!
Jil
I don’t see he said he wasn’t vaccinated. With the huge crowds at the parks on top of each other being vaccinated is a joke. They don’t work. There’s no Disney management who cares about the parks at all. It’s all greed now.
Kendra
Hi Jil ~ As the author refers to “overreaching COVID restrictions,” I think a fellow commentor read between the lines. Have to say… if Disney is packing people in again now that is highly irresponsible, especially now with Omicron in the offing. Agree with you that greed is always a motivator for big corporations. It’s a horrid fact no matter how much they profess otherwise. That said, the vaccines we have now are indeed proven to work against COVID (incl Delta) & they’re the only thing that will get us out of this mess. The misguided 30% to 40% of people who refuse to get vaccinated here (along with those who sadly just don’t have the luxury to get protected in the first place) are the reason why this is going to last many years beyond the pandemic from 1918-1919. That’s reality, because science is a thing.
#peace
Jil
I don’t see he said he wasn’t vaccinated. With the huge crowds at the parks on top of each other being vaccinated is a joke. They don’t work. There’s no Disney management who cares about the parks at all. It’s all greed now.
Jil
Id like to comment more but this site no longer allows those that disagree too much with disney
Ben murello
Loved his comment about being called Nonessential from nonessential politicians. How ironic.
RoC
After 21 years I would bet that he is close to retirement, if he had that benefit, and Disney is being proactive with long bgg term cost cutting. I was affected by this after 15 years with a big blue company. 2 years away from retirement and I was called on the phone and told that I was part of a “resource action” and though there were other open positions in the company that I could have moved into, I was denied the opportunity to apply. Simply stated, it is either “ageism” or part of the new ” DEI” HR bs.
Daryl
Before anyone goes banana are start talking about Chapek and cutting costs etc, it’s a germ ridden dog that will be touched by all sorts of guests. Not the best thing at the moment.
Ricky Morgan
I was 100% ready to support him, until his comment about “overreaching Covid restrictions”. So almost 700,000 deaths in the US is just something to brush aside, right? The fact that the deaths continue due to people not getting vaccinated, not wearing masks, and not following common sense guidelines means that the deaths will continue, and we may be forced into another lockdown due to the lack of people following common sense.
Elsine
This seems so unfair an explanation should be given to this team.They brought so much joy to the visitors please consider bringing them back
Debra
Our DVC members at Hilton Head since 1996. I think Shadow & B’Lou have been coming since 2000. My family has been enjoyed seeing them on ever visit to HHI. They have become the icons for the resort just like the castle is to the MK, The Tree of Life is to the Animal Kingdom, etc. All the children (and many adults!) love meeting up with the gentle giant known as Shadow and his best friend B’Lou. They wandered around the resort with Shadow imparting tail wags & puppy kisses, and B’Lou regaling history facts & stories about Hilton Head. Entertainment for the whole family! Now, Disney has once again managed to snatch away another “nostalgic tradition” that creates good memories for all who (whom? 🥴)visit. Disney has been making a lots of decisions that take away “the personal touch” to about all of their resorts, parks, cruise line while increasing the cost to the public and severely decreasing the one thing thing they have been known – their magic! Magical moments, magical cast members, magical memories were what set any Disney destination apart from the others. Not so any more. Shadow & B’Lou were just the magical experience that the Hilton Head resort had for people visiting. Sad that Disney is doing away with so many magical moments for guests at the Hilton Head resort.
Marc Disney
This unfortunately is just another example of corporate Disney’s greed and their lack of concern for the wonderful cast members who make the Magic. While I didn’t have the pleasure of seeing this gentleman perform, I’ve heard he was outstanding and his talent will be sorely missed. I have to be honest, I’ve lost a great deal of respect for the Walt Disney Company in recent years. I will always love Disney but my heart and my loyalty is with WALT’S Disney. He cared about the cast members and making sure that they were well-treated and that they made magic for every guest that came through the gates. The money-hungry hyenas who run the company now couldn’t care less about who they hurt as long as their bottom line is met. I don’t want to hear the worn out excuse, “it’s just good business”. There is NOTHING good about a business that hurts people for the sake of monetary profits while preaching inclusion and acceptance in order to look good in front of the cameras! Bob Chapek, YOU MAKE ME SICK!!!!
LouiB
Never been to this resort or know of these two performers, but if he had been told he would be brought back this is certainly not a good way to end this job. Sad that Disney acted like this, think the employee deserves more.
Comments are closed.