Shalon G. (NDI#167) (15 Posts)

Shalon was born and raised in West Virginia. Because she was so far away from the magic she only was able to visit the Magic Kingdom once as a child. Her love of Disney grew through movies and the Disney Channel. After college she relocated to Melbourne Florida almost by accident for her career. Knowing that she was only 1.5 hours away from Disney was exciting and within a few months she became a pass holder. After several years of visiting once a month she relocated to Orlando to be closer to the magic. Being so close to the magic has allowed Shalon to meet so many wonderful Disney enthusiasts like herself during her weekly trips to the World. Because of her love and knowledge of Disney Shalon receives phone calls and emails frequently from friends and family seeking advice on planning upcoming trips to Walt Disney World. She hopes to continue to share the magic and wonderment of Disney with people for years to come.

Nothing in life is constant and this also holds true in Walt Disney World. Many musical acts have come and gone in the parks over the years and many are greatly missed. One of my favorite “extinct” musical acts is Four For A Dollar. This a capella group performed daily before the Beauty and the Beast stage show which takes place in Hollywood Studios. Before each Beauty and the Beast show you would see guys who appeared to be stage hands walking about checking on the equipment. Of course one guy would walk up to a microphone and do the standard “check, check”. The first time guest would think nothing of this until the same guy would do it again and add more flair. After receiving some applause from the audience then the “stage hand” would break out into song and their musical set would begin with the other three members of the group joining in.

Four For a Dollar sang a wide variety of songs including many popular Top 40 songs and Disney favorites like “Go the Distance” and “Love Potion #9.” At the end of every act the group would usually pull up someone to be a part of their show. Usually, it was someone celebrating a birthday or anniversary but if you got there early enough and expressed interest you could be chosen just for being eager. The unsuspecting person would usually be asked what their favorite Disney song was and regardless of if they answered or not the guys would always choose their favorite, “When You Wish Upon a Star.” The a capella version of this song was so beautiful it would always bring a tear to my eye. The singers did such an amazing job I didn’t want their show to end, but, unfortunately, they were only the preshow.

Sadly after a 14 year run Four For a Dollar left the then called MGM Studios. After doing some research I found that they are still performing in the central Florida area.  Their most recent notable gig was singing at the Polar Express Experience last winter at Sea World. This most recent addition to their schedule now puts them as having performed in all three of the Orlando area theme parks. The group was actually founded back in 1994 after the guys had been singing together at Universal Studios as the Hollywood Hi-Tones. In addition to their success locally, the group, which is known as Return 2 Zero, has also received recognition in national a capella competitions.

For anyone who would like to find out more about the group Return 2 Zero you can check out their website.   On their site you can also purchase several CDs they’ve released and find contact information if you’d like to book the group for a private event.

Contributed by: Shalon Given (NDI#167) Shalon is the DDL Music Blogger.