Our latest edition to our World Secrets Series is taking us to Jellyrolls! This adult-oriented facility provides a noisy – yet very FUN retreat for the 21 and up crowd. Jellyrolls is named after Jelly Roll Morton, a legendary jazz pianist, not a desssert. His real name was Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe – but that probably wouldn’t fit on the marquee quite as well.
Depending on where you start out on Disney property, you can get to Jellyrolls Piano Bar by boat, a bus, or even on foot. More on that later.
So what’s Jellyrolls like? Well, it reminded me of Howl at the Moon, which is a similar piano bar located here in Orlando, and in 15 other locations across the country. What makes this different is it is at Disney, perhaps the only place in the world where you will hear a gritty-voiced piano man sing a song like “You ain’t never had a friend like me.” from the movie Aladdin. Just write your song request on a little piece of paper, add a tip, and *poof* your wish for nearly any song is magically granted.
They’ve got all the typical sing-alongs too like Sweet Caroline, Livin’ on a Prayer, even some Justin Beiber songs can be thrown in for good measure.When my friends and I approached the bar we heard an Elvis song playing, and a singing voice that sounded much like Billy Joel’s. I am a big fan of both – so I was thrilled. The place was packed and everyone was having a great time. Our piano players for the evening were amazingly talented and even managed to entertain us with jokes without missing a note on the ivories. Guests who love music, cocktails, and people watching – will really enjoy this place. I sure did, and judging by this photo, my friends had fun too.
Here’s what you need to know before you go:
- Jellyrolls has a $12 cover – and they only take cash at the door.
- This is a fairly intimate establishment with somewhat limited seating. Doors open at 7pm and you may want to arrive early to guarantee yourself a seat.
- This is a great place to go solo because the music is so loud. Got a blind date the maybe isn’t going so well? Great place to go for that too. You can also take that friend that talks too much, or the friend that wants you to carry on the whole conversation – just don’t take someone you want to get to know better. Talking to each other is nearly impossible without screaming. At one point I typed words into my iPhone’s notepad app – so my friend could read them.
- Most live bands take a break between sets; that doesn’t happen at Jellyrolls. They have two duos who take turns working in shifts, so that there is music playing up until closing at 2am! I think this helps ensure they get to every single requested song that comes in. Pretty awesome if you ask me!
- Don’t arrive too hungry. There is no appetizer menu. They do offer complimentary buttered popcorn, however.
- Bring extra dollar bills and even $5 bills to hand to the pianists when you turn in your song requests. These guys are worth every penny!
- The servers and bartenders will accept credit cards and key to the world cards for your drink orders.
- Photos are allowed but they won’t allow you to take video.
- Dress is completely casual, but you could certainly dress up a bit if you wanted to. It is not uncommon to see patrons wearing their Mickey ears and tiaras!
How to get there:
If you begin your journey in…
Magic Kingdom Park: Guests can take a bus directly to the Magic Kingdom Park or walk to Epcot, take the monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center and transfer to the Magic Kingdom Park monorail.
Epcot: Guests can walk to the rear entrance of Epcot, the International Gateway in less than 10 minutes. Besides walking, the Friendship water launches can provide you with a leisurely, air-conditioned shuttle to Epcot. Leisurely, in that it could take up to 20 minutes, as the launch stops at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts as well as the Swan and Dolphin hotels.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios: The Friendship launches transport guests to Disney’s Hollywood Studios with stops at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts dock and the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts dock as well.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park: Take the Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park bus
Downtown Disney Marketplace, Downtown Disney West Side: Take the Downtown Disney bus
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park: Take the Downtown Disney bus
Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park: Take the Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park bus
Jellyrolls has a great fan-based site, an official Disney site, and even a facebook page that will keep you updated with their latest information and coming events.
Check out more posts in our World Secrets series!
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