It has been said that “Disney magic” begins with the Disneyland Cast Member who support a “Good Show” - a positive Disney image! Since the beginning, Atmosphere Entertainment complimenting the theme of areas was staged to entertain Disneyland Guests on an immediate and personal level. A variety of live shows entertained Guests throughout the day.

“Disneyland revolutionized outdoor entertainment and established a new approach to showmanship. The concept of a living stage was a radical change from the conventional amusement park, fair or fun zone. A variety of live shows entertained Guests throughout the day.”During early years of Disneyland (1955 to 1965), Frontierland featured a riverfront path known as Orleans Street. One of the popular attractions along Orleans Street was the Dixieland Gazebo Bandstand, where several dixieland bands performed throughout the day and night. Of these, the most notable band was the Disneyland Strawhatters.

However, in 1966 new waterfront “land” (New Orleans Square) was introduced, and with that land came brand new entertaining Atmosphere units. One band in particular would have such a profound effect on New Orleans Square, that their image would become synonymous with New Orleans Square, and their name immortal. Yes, long before the Bootstrappers, or the Jambalaya Jazz Band, the original “one-of-a-kind” Royal Street Bachelors (occasionally billed as the “Royale Street Bachelors”) once performed signature Dixieland notes on the quiet streets and courtyards of New Orleans Square, Disneyland. INA Guides described their contribution to the Disneyland show as : “Sparkling, toe-tapping Dixieland melodies… heard in New Orleans Square from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.”

Please step this way, as we meet both the founding and supportive members of the original Royal Street Bachelors, and learn a little about their work and legacy!

Jack McVea (November 5, 1914 - December 27, 2000) was the son of Los Angeles musician Satchel McVea (of Satchel McVea and his Howdy Entertainers). Owing to his father’s talent, Jack learned to play the banjo from the age of 12, and he also learned to read music. Even more, Jack soon became fond of playing both tenor and baritone saxophone (for which he is now, most remembered), and after leaving school, had the privilege to play with both Lee Williams and Lionel Hampton’s big bands.

In 1946, the door would open to Jack McVea & His All Stars, when they recorded the hit song “Open the Door Richard” on the Black and White record label. Though his group disbanded some years later, “fortuosity” was in his favor. Jack was specifically sought out by Disneyland, to contribute a New Orleans sound to the atmosphere of Disneyland’s future developement! A Disneyland Press Release divulged, “According to McVea, he was not much of a clarinetist but learned overnight to play three songs to secure the job.” After his diligence, he was hired immediately, and became the face of his Royal Street Bachelors.

Herb Gordy, was a cousin of music publisher Berry Gordy. From an early age, the left-handed artist became a skillful double bassist. He performed with Tiny "Mac" Grimes and the Rocking Highlanders. According to one account, “he also painted the edges of his bass in green phosphorescent paint. When Herb did his solo, they turned out all the lights, and the audience saw a ghostly green double bass dancing on stage.” This talent would provide the essential bass for the Royal Street Bachelors, and provide Herb a long career with Disneyland! If you’re a Cast Member, you may have heard the nickname of the large New Orleans Dressing Room - the “Herb Gordy Dressing Room” - in his honor.

Harold Grant joined the band after the passing of the original banjo player*. He had a talent for both banjo and guitar, and was featured in recordings (like Fred Clark’s “Ground Hog Snooper”, recorded 1953). Harold loyally continued with the trio for some 25 years. If you have any information or experiences involving Harold’s time with the Royal Street Bachelors, we hope to preserve more about his story here.

*The original Royal Street Bachelors banjoist is believed to have been a musician named Herman “Tiny” Burrell Mitchell). If you have any information or images leading to confirming his identity, please contact us. We would just love to preserve his story alongside those of his band members!

During their early days, the Royal Street Bachelors performed at one of their usual Royal Street locations near the opened Hench doors off the One-of-A-Kind Shop in New Orleans Square. Shows generally occurred throughout the day, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Billed as the “Royale Street Bachelors,” the trio performed alongside other legendary jazz musicians at the 6th annual Dixieland at Disneyland (held Saturday, October 1st, 8pm to 2am).

The Royal Street Bachelors occasionally teamed up with another iconic Disneyland act - the Strawhatters. The Strawhatters predated the Royal Street Bachelors by nearly a decade, performing from the Dixieland Gazebo Bandstand along Frontierland’s waterfront thoroughfare originally known as Orleans Street. When New Orleans Square debuted (and the streets were renamed), the Royal Street Bachelors regularly played the One-Of-A-Kind Shop storefront, and the Strawhatters were moved to the French Market Stage. But occasionally the two (now) legendary bands met, and when they did, the result was something special!

Though the Royal Street Bachelors and other New Orleans Square musicians performed in different areas of the land, the “Bachelors” occasionally performed alongside the Shoeshine Boys (Teddy and Kenny) and the Delta Ramblers, as their shifts overlapped.

The trio can briefly be seen wearing this very ensemble for their Court of Angels performance of “When The Saints Go Marching In”, while Donnie Osmond, Jay Osmond, Br’er Bear, and Br’er Fox enjoy their melodies and beats, in “Disneyland Showtime” (a c.1970 Wonderful World of Disney episode).

The trio was also known to frequent the little cool alcove near LaFitte’s Silver Shop. Here, they would perform for 30 or 45 minutes. A typical daily schedule looked like this:

11:00 - 11:45

12:00 - 12:45

1:00 - 1:30

2:30 - 3:15

3:45 - 4:15

4:30 - 5:00

5:15 - 5:45

The same year that the preceding “Vintage View” was captured, the Royal Street Bachelors provided evening entertainment for the “Lead-Foreman “End-of-Summer Dinner” (held during the Fall of 1972) for more than 2,000 Park Employees of Disneyland’s Food Division.

The trio played in the streets of New Orleans Square, nearby Le Gourmet and La Boutique d’Orleans.

The “one-of-a-kind” trio forms a New Orleans Square “welcoming committee” as they perform in one of their most common locations - the corner of Esplanade and Royal Street, near the One-of-a-Kind Shoppe! During the very year that this Vintage View was captured, Disney News (the official magazine for Magic Kingdom Club Families) told the story of the Royal Street Bachelors in its Spring, 1974 issue.

There’s another Disney connection on this page - Herb guest starred on Art Linkletter’s People Are Funny television show. If you’ve ever seen Disneyland’s opening day broadcast, then you know that Art Linkletter has been involved with Disneyland’s most momentous occasions since the beginning!

During their later years, the Royal Street Bachelors continued to welcome guests to New Orleans Square near one of their original prime locations, and Disneyland Employee Newsletters occasionally mentioned the members of the Royal Street Bachelors! The band even performed special shows for Disneyland Cast Members only, during the Family Open House of 1980.

Disneyland LINE (vol. 15, no. 25), published June 23, 1983, gave honorable mention to Jack McVea (17 years), Herb Gordy (16 years), and Harold Grant (15 years) - veteran Cast Members who possessed a “world famous Disneyland smile” that was “guaranteed to shine throughout the Park all summer long”! The accolades had not ceased three years later, when Disneyland LINE (vol.18, no. 6) of February 6th, 1986, highlighted Jack McVea’s contributions in the column “It Takes People”. The Royal Street Bachelors continued to be featured in Park media, for instance, they can be seen performing for a brief few seconds, on the c.1993-1994 VHS format “A Disneyland Day - Relive The Memories” souvenir.

By 1986, the Royal Street Bachelors were performing between 10:30 a.m. and 5:15 p.m., Wednesday through Friday.

Ernest (a.k.a. “Ernie”) McLean would later substitute for Harold Grant (on banjo). In an excerpt of a Disney Parks interview (which can be read at the DisneyParks Blog HERE). Ernest recalled how he was personally called by Walt Disney, to be a part of the Royal Street Bachelors in Disneyland : “I auditioned as a guitar player for a tour. I didn’t think I was going to get the job. Then they started to talk about rehearsals and going to the studio, so I stopped them and said, ‘You haven’t offered me the job,’ and they replied, ‘Why do you think we are telling you this if you didn’t get the job?’ Once the tour ended, [Walt] Disney eventually called me to sub for the banjo player at Disneyland. That is when I became permanent at Disneyland.” When he wasn’t playing a solo (near a hidden amplifier) in one of New Orleans Square’s quiet alleys, Ernie was a Royal Street Bachelors regular on guitar and banjo. This he did for more than 30 years.

Two years after this Vintage View was captured, Jack would retire from Disneyland.

Yes, Jack McVea led his original Disneyland band - the Royal Street Bachelors - for a total of twenty-six years - from 1966, until his retirement in 1992! During that time, Jack encouraged the principles involved in a process that Walt called “Performance Excellence.” He encouraged the members of the Royal Street Bachelors to strive to excel each day in the fulfillment of their individual roles and responsibilities in an environment consistent with defined Disney behaviors. As a result, the Royal Street Bachelors were continually challenging themselves and each other to try new methods of working more effectively and efficiently. This was evident through their harmonious teamwork as they accomplishing these efforts.

Unlike other successive bands which would appear on Disneyland’s “stage,” this trio would become immortalized as both a New Orleans Square icon and tradition (well beyond their lifetime). Their images can be seen in numerous pieces of promotional printed items (like Disneyland Souvenir Guides, and advertisements). The measure of the Royal Street Bachelors’ contributions, can be seen, felt, and heard, in the rich and living legacy which they have left behind. The presence of the Royal Street Bachelors is still certainly felt in New Orleans Square!

Though the present Royal Street Bachelors band consists of more than three members (on stage at one time), it carries on the spirit of the original band, by channeling some of the same Dixieland melodies that the original trio played. Members over the years have included Kenny Treseder (saxophone), Terry Evens (guitar), Jefferey Littleton (bass), and many others. Instead of performing in various locations along Royal Street, the Royal Street Bachelors now generally perform from the French Market Restaurant Stage. The present showtimes occur occasionally in the morning, around noon, and generally hourly after that, until around 5p.m.

During 1991, Imagineer John Horny immortalized “The Royal Street Bachelors” in a painting that would be released as a limited lithographic print thru The Disney Gallery. One of the prints hung in the original foyer stairway of Club 33 at Disneyland for a number of years. An associated plaque read : “John Horny captures the true spirit of ‘the birthplace of jazz’ in his painting of the Royal Street Bachelors - Jack, Herb, and Ernest performing in New Orleans Square as they have since the land debuted in 1966.” The homage likely had the approval of the current members, who autographed an original print (which was auctioned through Van Eaton Galleries many years later). A print currently resides in the foyer of Disneyland’s redesigned Club 33.

The Royal Street Bachelors also inspired another iconic New Orleans Square attraction which is unseen by most Disneyland guests (but must be seen to be believed) - an animated painting, which hangs in the Members-Only Lounge of the new Club 33! At intervals, members of the trio (plus one Strawhatters member) will “disappear” to “play” a solo or a duet. The wall mounted instrument animates and seems to play by itself. Once silenced, the Royal Street Bachelors member reappears yet again in the painting. Designers of this Club 33 Members Only Lounge went to great lengths to make sure that the feel and tone of the accompanying music honor the memory of the original Royal Street Bachelors!