Jellyrolls: A Rockin’ Good Time
“Do you know what time it is?” If you don’t you soon will. These are words that you will hear randomly through the night at Jellyrolls. So pull up a chair, sit back and relax... and welcome to Jellyrolls!
Located down on Disney’s Boardwalk is a fun and festive place called Jellyrolls (named in honor of “Jelly Roll” Morton, who was a ragtime pianist in the early 1900’s). The pale blue and white striped exterior has hidden inside a bar that is unlike any at the Walt Disney Resort. It’s a sing-a-long style with dueling pianos, where the guests make the requests. Because of this, no two shows are ever the same! The live action that these talented guys put into their shows will make you smile, laugh and bring back memories of songs all the way back to childhood. This is a great place, even if you like to sing but don’t have a great singing voice or afraid of karaoke. You will blend right in!
When you enter Jellyrolls, you find seating on the upper portion and around the edges of the sunken floor area. You can also take a few steps down into the floor area of seating before a raised stage with a large angled mirror. The mirror is great in letting you see guys play as the pianos start dueling. The guys team up so the music is continuous. The first two will start playing for the 8 o’clock hour, swap with another. They will continue to alternate through the night. Depending on the night you are there, you will enjoy the talents of Scotty Kilwein, Ray McGee, Michael Kilwein, Michael Williams, Tommy Bell or Daniel Deal. They will make your night something to remember and want to return again and again. Jellyrolls is addicting!
The décor is a wood and low light with random signs hanging around from different alcohol/beer venders, including a surf board with a shark bite taken out of it. There are two bars on either side of the room and servers to take your orders at the tables. When the music gets going the audience really helps as you are part of the show. Your server will bring you some napkins, so you can make a song request. Either you can walk it up on stage or ask your server to. There is a little secret here though: no money, the song is a suggestion… otherwise, it’s a request. They even have a Fast Pass! $20 gets your song played next! So bring cash along for the songs and credit cards for the bar.
With your participation you help make this unique and exciting for everyone there. There are some favorites that you will hear, from Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”, Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” to Chuck Berry’s “My Ding-a-Ling”. Let us not forget the songs of Jimmy Buffett, Barry Manilow, the Bare Naked Ladies, Abba or Johnny Cash. You may even hear some songs from School House Rock, Fraggle Rock or some Disney favorites. Have a list of songs in your head, because if you get there late and your request was played already, you get to think of another one. Bad side about being late, you may miss Scotty Kilwein doing “Rainbow Connection” which is a must see. These guys can play just about anything. Though it does happen, rarely will you see them stumped.
This is a great place to celebrate birthdays, first dates, bachelorette/bachelor parties, weddings and more! When you hear “Do you know what time it is?” The response is, “No. What time is it?” Chances are that someone is getting brought up on stage to celebrate something special or it’s time to stretch your legs and join in a group song. For the possible bachelor or bachelorette, there is a single version of “I’m a Little Tea Pot” or the opportunity to see if you are paying attention. For this they play something like, “My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean” and every time you hear a word with “B”, you stand up/sit down to certain words in a song. When its group participation you can be doing motions to songs like “The Unicorn Song”, “Pink Cadillac”, “The Hokey Pokey” or even the “Time Warp”. Don’t worry if you don’t know what to do, the staff gets up on stage (and the bars) to help lead you along.
The service here is really good, as are the drink specials. They serve alcohol, wine, beer and soda, along with $1 pony beer, from 9p.m. until they are gone and a 32- ounce drink special for $9. Ask your server or look to the wipe board in the middle of each of the bars to see what this week’s special is. Popcorn is free, so you may want to eat before you head over. Also, keep in mind there isn’t any resort to resort transportation here, but you can park at the Boardwalk, or take a bus to Downtown Disney for a bus swap or get a taxi back to your resort. It’s easy walk to Beach and Yacht Club Resorts, the Swan and Dolphin and of course the Boardwalk Resort.
Jellyrolls information:
- Must be 21 or older with photo ID
$10 cover charge
Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express and Diner’s Club accepted
Open 7p.m.-2a.m., music starts at 8p.m.
7 days a week, 365 days a year
No smoking
Free popcorn
Alcohol, beer, soda and wine served
Casual dress, shirt and shoes required
Handicap Accessible
No video taping please
Please, don’t shoot the piano player… he’s trying very hard!
