Walt Disney World has confirmed that another location at BoardWalk Inn will be going out of business in 2025, marking the fourth permanent closure in as many years. This shares dates & details, along with commentary about the future of the nighttime entertainment and dining at the Showplace of the Shore. (Updated February 16, 2025.)
Let’s start with the meat of the story, which is that Jellyrolls Dueling Piano Bar has revealed via social media that it is closing: “After nearly thirty years on Disney’s Boardwalk, Jellyrolls is making a move! Come celebrate with us into the spring season and keep your eyes on our social media for exciting new updates!”
Subsequent to the official announcement, journalist Scott Gustin reported that the new Jellyrolls location will not be on Walt Disney World property. This makes sense, and should put to rest any speculation or wishful thinking that Jellyrolls will relocate to Disney Springs or some other resort. Jellyrolls has not yet revealed where it’ll move, or if they’ve even secured a lease elsewhere around Orlando at this point.
The latest update from the bar’s official social media account is that Jellyrolls will have its final farewell performance at Walt Disney World on April 19, 2025. Jellyrolls will be permanently closed as of April 20, 2025.
Per the Jellyrolls page on the Walt Disney World website, the piano bar opens nightly at 7 p.m. and closes at 1:45 a.m. most nights through its closing week. Hours have not yet been posted for its final weekend, but we wouldn’t be surprised if they’re extended by popular demand. As always, Jellyrolls entry is limited to guests ages 21 and over, and there’s a cover charge (like $20 last we knew).
It’s not surprising to see Jellyrolls permanently closing as of Easter. There will be an influx of longtime Walt Disney World fans wanting to say their goodbyes to Jellyrolls over the next couple of months. Between that and the busy Spring Break season running through late April, our expectation is that Jellyrolls we see a steady stream of demand. And with the Spring Break season ending on April 21 and shoulder season beginning, it makes sense to end its long run and close on Easter.
That expensive cover charge will be one barrier to Jellyrolls getting an ongoing fond farewell from fans and locals–it’ll probably be one and done for most, and likely in the bar’s last week or weekend of operations. So if you want to say your farewell to Jellyrolls but don’t want to be part of a colossal crowd, we’d recommend doing so before April.
If you plan on attending closing night on April 19, 2025, we’d highly recommend arriving as early as possible–perhaps before the bar opens at 7 p.m. Although Jellyrolls and Walt Disney World haven’t announced any special protocols or packages for that final farewell evening, we wouldn’t be surprised if something is offered. We’ll update this accordingly if/when anything is announced.
To the best of my knowledge, Jellyrolls is an opening day BoardWalk original, and first opened in 1996. I’d honestly be surprised if it’s changed much since then. The last time we stopped in at Jellyrolls, it was exactly the same as I remember from over a decade ago.
For those who were unfamiliar with it, Jellyrolls is a dueling piano bar that features a team of talented musicians dazzle guests with their extensive repertoire of songs spanning decades. From the obscure tunes of yesterday to the hits of today, the skill and showmanship of Jellyrolls’ pianists takes center stage in a true dueling piano exhibition.
Jellyrolls is located at the end of the Boardwalk closest to the Swan & Dolphin pathway. Parking is available at the Boardwalk or at the Swolphin. You can also arrive via EPCOT’s International Gateway or walking from Disney’s Hollywood Studios–it’s about the same distance from both since it’s on the far end of the BoardWalk. It’s also easily accessible from the Skyliner resorts.
Although Walt Disney World has seen a revival of adult-centric bars and other offerings in the last several years, that hasn’t always been the case. For a while following the closure of Pleasure Island, Jellyrolls was one of the few adult-only offerings at Walt Disney World.
Between that and its nearly 30-year history, Jellyrolls has developed a loyal fan following. That’s more or less how we became ‘regulars’ of Jellyrolls at one time–Pleasure Island had closed, making Jellyrolls one of the de facto on-site hangouts for twentysomethings. It was also popular with College Program participants and younger Cast Members, who received free entry at one time (maybe still do).
Jellyrolls is likewise popular with conventioneers for the same reasons. It’s interesting that even with all of these favorable demographics, and thousands of rooms with easy access, Jellyrolls still is no longer viable at Disney’s BoardWalk.
As we first mentioned last year around this time when Big River Grille & Brewing Works closed permanently, Jellyrolls and Atlantic Dance Hall were both hanging on by a thread. Honestly, I’m surprised they’ve both lasted this long; there have been perpetual rumors about the imminent closures of both establishments for the better part of a decade. And the ‘deader’ this end of BoardWalk becomes, the more likely it is that the remaining tenants will follow suit and likewise close up shope.
Big River and Jellyrolls aren’t the only two closures at BoardWalk. Prior to that, both ESPN Club and Ample Hills went out of business during the COVID closure. Subsequent to reopening, Walt Disney World began a multi-year reimagining of the BoardWalk.
This culminated with the opening of the Cake Bake Shop Restaurant by Gwendolyn Rogers. That also added BoardWalk Deli, Blue Ribbon Corn Dogs, and a few other minor changes. Most notable up until Cake Bake was the reimagined rooms at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, which are a bit of a mixed bag.
Obviously, there’s no word yet on any plans for a permanent replacement for Jellyrolls. Even though Jellyrolls closing has been rumored for ages, it’s still seemingly coming out of the blue. It’s not even an official announcement with specifics–just a random Instagram post on a Saturday night, without any follow-up from Walt Disney World. Still better than the way Big River went out!
Don’t hold your breath on Walt Disney World revealing a replacement for Jellyrolls anytime soon. Again, Big River Grille & Brewing Works abruptly closed around this same time last year, and it’s been radio silence from Walt Disney World since. We wouldn’t expect to hear anything from Disney for months. It wouldn’t surprise me the least if there’s no announcement until 2026. Maybe we’ll luck into something at the 2025 Destination D23.
Frankly, I’m okay with this so long as Walt Disney World takes its time to find a fitting tenant or, ideally, uses the vacant space in a complimentary manner and opens something truly ambitious to anchor this end of the BoardWalk (the former Big River and Jellyrolls are not connected, but they’re near one another, so a single tenant that’s a split restaurant concept would probably work).
If they’re looking for free ‘Armchair Imagineering,’ there’s no shortage of ideas in Top 10 Restaurant Replacement Concepts at Disney’s BoardWalk Resort.
Armchair Imagineering aside, it’ll be interesting to see what replaces Jellyrolls in the long term. If we’re thinking about this logically, what makes the most sense is a sports bar & grill. Something that’s a mix between Jellyrolls, Big River and ESPN Club would be perfect. It would also fill a vital role that’s now conspicuously absent from this area.
There are a lot of dads and other sports fans who enjoy watching “the big game,” and there’s not a great option for that that’s easily accessible from the parks. This spot is easily accessible from EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, as well as 10 resorts that cater to a wide range of demographics, from families to conventioneers. A family-friendly(ish) sports bar & grille makes a lot of sense here. Have the former Big River serve as the restaurant side, and Jellyrolls can be the bar half.
It’s unfortunate that this didn’t happen in 2019. Everything on this end of the BoardWalk has been on life support for the last decade plus. Cake Bake Shop could’ve gone on this end and ESPN Club could still be operating in its old location had this been master-planned better. Of course, there’s only so much Disney can do with tenants abruptly ending their leases…but it also seems like Disney could’ve foreseen this. It’s not like Big River or Jellyrolls were doing gangbuster business. And Disney obviously knows how much it’s charging for rent, and whether these third party tenants are viable in the long term.
Honestly, I’m more wondering if anything will replace Jellyrolls, rather than what. While it’s fun to speculate about the possibilities, it’s probably also worth examining the reality that Disney’s BoardWalk isn’t the counterprogramming to Disney Springs that it was envisioned back in the 1990s.
There are still times when BoardWalk is absolutely hoppin’, but it certainly isn’t a huge hangout for locals. Walt Disney World’s restrictive resort parking rules have seen to that! Even though it’s easier to park at BoardWalk than, say, Grand Floridian or Contemporary (the Fort Knox of WDW), you’re still gambling on the whims of the Cast Member at the security guard booth. If they’re having a bad day or don’t like the cut of your jib, you’re out of luck.
More than anything else, that’s the biggest problem with the BoardWalk not serving as a secondary entertainment area at Walt Disney World. Despite the local population of Central Florida exploding in the last decade, the BoardWalk is less popular (as a destination, not a resort) than it was in the late 1990s.
Not only has this area not lived up to its full potential and doesn’t see the foot traffic needed to sustain a restaurant row, but there already are a lot of dining options. BoardWalk, Yacht & Beach Club all have a lot of options, and that’s not to even mention Swan & Dolphin, Swan Reserve, all of the Skyliner resorts, or World Showcase.
Given just how much turnover there has been at BoardWalk throughout the 2000s, I can’t help but wonder if Walt Disney World is going to have a difficult time luring more third party tenants into these spaces. Hopefully this means that Disney will open its own Imagineered concept in this location, but that’s difficult to see anything ambitious given everything else they’ve done (or not done) on the dining front in the last several years.
It would take a huge amount of hubris for a third party to look at Disney’s lease rates and terms, see how many other third parties have come and gone across the BoardWalk, and still think it’s the right move to set up shop here. That you’ll be the exception to the rule. Then again, isn’t that kind of the restaurateur mindset? Around us, it’s just nonstop turnover in high-rent spaces–it’s baffling that the commercial real estate owners manage to keep finding new tenants. But I digress.
If you’re a third party with the option of going into Disney Springs, Flamingo Crossings, World Showcase, or here…which would you choose? The ‘dead’ end of BoardWalk–would be a really tough sell for me. It would almost have to be a unique and popular concept that knows it can rise above the location, fill tables regardless, and would prefer the lower rent. (Like the Cake Bake or ESPN Club.)
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of Jellyrolls Dueling Piano Bar permanently closing at Walt Disney World? Will you miss it or are you excited for whatever’s next? Think that something will take its place on that end of the BoardWalk anytime soon? What would be your ideal replacement for Jellyrolls? Expect other concepts on this end of the BoardWalk to go out of business at some point in the not-too-distant future? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
