Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Disney

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The Sassagoula Sentinel
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Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Disney

Unread post by The Sassagoula Sentinel »

According to DISboards member and Port Orleans French Quarter regular 'cruisingkat', POFQ's resident multi-talented jazz musician Elliot Dyson has been let go by Disney. Anyone who has spent any time at the resort will be familiar with Elliot's nightly laid-back jazz sessions at Scat Cat's Club which are a signature attraction of the resort, and I know he will be greatly missed by a lot of folks.
cruisngkat wrote:We go to Disney at least 5 times a year and see him each time we visit. We received a text from Elliot telling us he has been let go. We saw him this past Wednesday and Thursday nights (4/24 & 4/25) and he told us May 4 will be his last night performing at Disney as his contract was terminated.
From the above, I'm assuming this is not just a temporary measure while the lobby refurbishment upheaval is going on next month. As I understand it, both Port Orleans resorts have been at pretty-much 100% capacity for several months now - even during normally slower periods - so if this is a cost-cutting exercise, what on earth are they thinking? Bad show Disney. :(

We at PortOrleans.org would like to thank Elliot for his many years of entertaining guests at the resort, and we wish him well for the future.

Update, 30 April:

I've had some feedback from a member of the management team at the resort, saying that this is as a result of the Lobby Refurbishment due to commence in two weeks' time, and it is still possible that Elliot may be asked to return after the work is complete. I'll quote a portion of the message here so I don't misrepresent anything:
As a result of being in that space, we have suspended all entertainment in that area due to the change in Guest flow and noise concerns. Elliot will be on hiatus during the refurbishment and we will have entertainment return after everything is completed. Our entertainment partners are part of the process and with the refurbishment will be looking at the offerings at French Quarter to ensure that our offerings match the quality, spirit and theme of the resort. This means that Elliot could easily return after the re-opening, however this has not been confirmed. The news of him let go is only referring to the time of the refurbishment.
However his return does seem far from certain at present according to what Elliot himself has been saying. If you enjoy his shows at POFQ, why not write to Disney to strongly encourage them to re-hire him after the lobby refurbishment is complete?
juliemarie62
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Re: Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Dis

Unread post by juliemarie62 »

So sad to hear this. Elliot is a fantastic entertainer and we loved his relaxed style. I hope Disney take into account that lots of adults visit without children and provide a fitting alternative - although I'd much rather they reversed their decision.
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Re: Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Dis

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I've had some feedback from a member of the management team at the resort, saying that this is as a result of the Lobby Refurbishment due to commence in two weeks' time, and it is still possible that Elliot may be asked to return after the work is complete. I'll quote a portion of the message here so I don't misrepresent anything:
As a result of being in that space, we have suspended all entertainment in that area due to the change in Guest flow and noise concerns. Elliot will be on hiatus during the refurbishment and we will have entertainment return after everything is completed. Our entertainment partners are part of the process and with the refurbishment will be looking at the offerings at French Quarter to ensure that our offerings match the quality, spirit and theme of the resort. This means that Elliot could easily return after the re-opening, however this has not been confirmed. The news of him let go is only referring to the time of the refurbishment.
However his return does seem far from certain at present according to what Elliot himself has been saying.

By the way, did you know that Elliot has been working for Disney since before Walt Disney World even opened? He originally started his career with them at Disneyland and transferred over to Florida in the 70s. He has been playing the sax since he was six years old, some 60 years ago!
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dadcrow
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Re: Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Dis

Unread post by dadcrow »

Hi, me and my family are coming to POFQ on the 23rd may, we picked this hotel as it not only looked good but had great reviews and the added bonus of a really good jazz musician ( Elliot Dyson ). Now my wife and I had planed to use the babysitting service so we could go and see him and have a relaxing drink for what would be I'm sure some much needed time off from the kids on at least one night if not two over our stay , so when I found out he was laid off both my wife and I was very disappointed, so I phoned Disney uk reservations , and asked what was happening , we were told he is not laid off and would be playing at the riverside instead. I don't know exactly where or how often so if anyone know please post it, hope this has been helpful , :)
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Re: Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Dis

Unread post by Admin »

dadcrow wrote:so I phoned Disney uk reservations , and asked what was happening , we were told he is not laid off and would be playing at the riverside instead.
Well if he is, no one has told Elliot...

It's hard enough to get any sort of consistently reliable information out of the US Reservations Center (which is at least based in the same state/country) so I must confess I wouldn't have too much confidence in what the UK Disney Travel Company might say on matters not directly related to the specific packages that they sell.

Andre
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dadcrow
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Re: Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Dis

Unread post by dadcrow »

hi, the person who I spoke with put me on hold and said she would phone the hotel direct to find out what is happening , have you spoken to Elliot direct? I cant see any reason why I would be lied too, after all I would find out straight away after booking in at the hotel anyway. if you know a way to confirm that he has been laid off please post it as I will take this further with Disney. thanks colin
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Re: Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Dis

Unread post by Admin »

All I know for sure is what is in the news post above, and that Elliot has told several people directly that he has been laid off. I've heard from Port Orleans management that Disney has not made any firm decisions about what will happen after the refurb though, and I do hope that Elliot will be brought back - but only time will tell. I've not heard anything about him working at Riverside in the meantime though, but I'll certainly ask the question.

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Re: Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Dis

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dadcrow wrote:hi, the person who I spoke with put me on hold and said she would phone the hotel direct to find out what is happening , have you spoken to Elliot direct? I cant see any reason why I would be lied too, after all I would find out straight away after booking in at the hotel anyway. if you know a way to confirm that he has been laid off please post it as I will take this further with Disney. thanks colin
Sorry Colin, but I have re-checked directly with the head of Guest Service Operations at POR, and he confirms that Elliot will definitely NOT be playing at Riverside during your stay or the rest of the POFQ refurbishment period. He apologised for what you have been told, and asked if you happen to remember who it was that was spoken to at the resort as he doesn't want guests disappointed by being given incorrect or misleading information.

He did confirm, again, that no final decision has been taken on what live entertainment will be at French Quarter in July after the refurbishment - but I've often found that no news is often bad news when it comes to Disney World. :( I'd be very happy to be proven wrong in this case of course.

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Re: Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Dis

Unread post by dadcrow »

Hi, That's terrible news, Like I have already put, being able to come and chill out while listening to Elliot ( someone who is widely considered to be an exceptional jazz musician ) was one of the big reasons for deciding to stay at POFQ. I really feel Disney have been a bit short sighted on this occasion, and it is something that I will put to them in writing. Sadly I only spoke with the lady from uk reservations so I don't know who she spoke with at the hotel, I will of course phone them up and express my disappointment on being told the wrong information as well. although I didn't get to listen to Elliot myself I would still like to wish him all the best for the future , if the reviews I have read are anything to go by, I'm sure he will be snapped up to play elsewhere very soon. As for Disney's decision; could I ask anyone, who feels the same as I do, to write to POFQ management to express their disappointment at this decision, so they can see how popular having live entertainment is, you never know if we are really lucky they might even give Elliot his job back before someone else take him on! One last thing; I would like to thank Andre for the time and effort he put in for finding out about this issue , I just wished it would have been a better outcome. :(
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Re: Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Dis

Unread post by Tadshome »

Now that the lobby are refurb has been completed is there any sign of Elliot returning? Is there any evening entertainment now at FQ?
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Re: Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Dis

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Nothing as yet.

I gather there will definitely be entertainment coming back to POFQ though, but not sure who yet (it probably will not be Elliot, but hey we can hope).

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Re: Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Dis

Unread post by Tadshome »

That is a shame, really enjoyed Elliot. Any ideas when the entertainment will start up again? We will be there in 4 weeks
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Re: Talented POFQ jazz musician Elliot Dyson laid off by Dis

Unread post by MardiGroggy »

Here is the text of an email response I recently received from WDW regarding my comments about the departure of Elliot Dyson. Thought I would post it here FYI. (I have edited it slightly to correct some confusing line breaks and punctuation anomalies.)
Thank you for contacting us regarding the Scat Cat's Club at Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter.

We truly appreciate your enthusiasm to our Resort and are glad you've visited us often in the past. As you may know, the Scat Cat's Club was temporarily closed while the Front Desk was recently refurbished. It has now reopened and we are currently testing various entertainment options.
At this time, live entertainment will be available Friday through Monday evenings. You may wish to visit our web site closer to your next visit at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resor ... h-quarter/# for the most current entertainment offerings available. Please know that we appreciate your comments regarding previous entertainers and assure you these decisions are not made lightly.

I'm glad you've enjoyed your previous visits and you may be assured your comments will be shared with our Leadership Team. Thank you again for writing to us.

Kindest regards,

Wendi Anderson
Guest Experience Services
Walt Disney World Resort
In an email I received from Elliot, he said that he was aware of approximately 450 messages of support that had been sent to Disney. I guess that's not enough. :(
MardiGroggy
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