Disney’s BoardWalk has spent the last several years in transition. The Screen Door retail corridor was refreshed. The former ESPN Club became The Cake Bake Shop. BoardWalk Bakery evolved into BoardWalk Deli. Then the bigger questions arrived.
Big River Grille closed. Jellyrolls ended its long run. The Promenade Fine Art Gallery, formerly Wyland, went dark. Construction walls and empty spaces began to change the feel of the Crescent Lake waterfront.
At Sam’s Disney Diary, we have been following those changes for some time. The question was never simply what would replace a restaurant, piano bar, or art gallery. The bigger question was whether Disney was creating a stronger reason for guests to visit the BoardWalk itself.
Now, the first real answers are here.
Disney has announced Hurly-Burly, Basin on the BoardWalk, and a new quick-service restaurant still to be revealed. The new experiences will begin opening in late 2026, and together they point toward something more meaningful than filling empty storefronts.
Disney’s BoardWalk could be becoming a destination again.
The Thread Behind Disney BoardWalk Updates
The recent closures were never likely to be isolated events. The BoardWalk has changed in phases. First came refreshed retail spaces. Then came new dining on the east end of the promenade. More recently, attention shifted toward the spaces once anchored by Big River Grille, Jellyrolls, and the former Wyland Gallery.
Each change created more questions. Could Disney bring back the energy that made the BoardWalk a place to visit after the parks closed? Could it become more than a shortcut between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios?
The newly announced Disney BoardWalk updates suggest that is the goal. The plans include live entertainment, interactive retail, and a future quick-service restaurant. That combination feels much more intentional than a simple series of replacements.
Hurly-Burly Brings Music Back to the Former Jellyrolls Space
Hurly-Burly will take over the former Jellyrolls location. That matters.
For nearly 30 years, Jellyrolls gave Disney’s BoardWalk a personality that was difficult to find anywhere else at Walt Disney World. The dueling piano bar was loud, interactive, unpredictable, and built around the audience becoming part of the show.
Hurly-Burly will not be Jellyrolls 2.0. However, it does preserve an important part of the BoardWalk’s identity: live entertainment after dark.
During the afternoon, Hurly-Burly will offer family-friendly trivia and games led by a host. At night, it will become a live music venue for guests ages 21 and older, serving coastal-inspired cocktails and light bites. Sounds like a page right out of Disney Cruise Lines, nice move.
The concept is built around a historic seaside theatre with a BoardWalk story that stretches back more than a century. That setting feels right at home along Crescent Lake. Rather than adding a generic lounge, Disney appears to be building a venue that belongs within the turn-of-the-century world of the BoardWalk.
It also gives guests a reason to return after dinner, after EPCOT, or simply for a night out.
The BoardWalk Circus Has Been Keeping That Spirit Alive
Disney’s BoardWalk does not need to create its entertainment identity from scratch. It already has one.
For years, the BoardWalk Circus has kept the waterfront’s original energy alive through rotating street performers, including the Juggling Jacks, Eian, Skip Easy, and other specialty acts.
There is no formal theater seating. There is no big stage or reservation. A crowd simply begins to form.
Families stop in the middle of a walk around Crescent Lake. Guests returning from EPCOT pause to see what is happening. For a few minutes, the BoardWalk becomes a classic seaside promenade where something unexpected can happen. That is not an accident.
When Disney’s BoardWalk opened in 1996, it was designed around the energy of Atlantic City and Coney Island. The original concept included more than restaurants, shops, and nightlife. It included variety entertainment, comedy, juggling, magic, and the kind of spontaneous moments guests discover instead of schedule.
Hurly-Burly will not replace the BoardWalk Circus. Instead, it could strengthen the same bigger idea.
Outdoor performers give guests a reason to slow down. A new music venue gives them a reason to stay after dark. Together, they could help bring back the sense that the BoardWalk is a place where an ordinary evening can turn into something memorable.
Basin Adds More Than Another Storefront
Basin on the BoardWalk will bring a different kind of experience to the waterfront. The new location will offer handmade soaps, botanical bath salts, bath bombs, body butters, lip salves, shampoo bars, conditioner bars, and more. However, the real difference will be the interactive elements.
Guests will be able to create a custom bath tea blend, make their own soap, and add a personalized finishing touch with a soap embossing press. That makes Basin more than another place to buy something on the way back to the resort.
Disney’s BoardWalk works best when each location gives guests a reason to stop, explore, and spend time along the promenade. Basin fits that approach. It is retail, but it is also a small experience guests can take part in.
The Future Quick-Service Restaurant Could Be a Key Piece
Disney has also confirmed that a new quick-service restaurant is coming to the BoardWalk, with more details expected later this summer. It may not sound as glamorous as a new live music venue. However, it could become one of the most important parts of the refresh.
BoardWalk Inn and BoardWalk Villas guests need convenient dining options. EPCOT guests walking out through International Gateway often want something quick before heading back to their resort. A new quick-service location could make the BoardWalk more useful for resort guests while also giving day visitors another reason to stay for dinner.
The name, menu, exact location, and opening date have not been announced yet. Still, it is clear that Disney is thinking about the BoardWalk as a place where guests can spend more of their evening.
Disney’s BoardWalk Has a Chance to Be a Go-To Destination Again
There are still unanswered questions. Disney has not revealed the future of every closed space. Big River Grille remains part of the larger BoardWalk story. The former Promenade Fine Art Gallery space also remains a question. The new quick-service restaurant has not yet been identified.
Even so, the direction is becoming clearer. Disney’s BoardWalk is not just adding a store and replacing a piano bar. It is building a stronger mix of entertainment, interactive shopping, casual dining, waterfront energy, and reasons to linger.
Imagine an evening that starts with a BoardWalk Circus performer. Then comes a quick dinner, a walk around Crescent Lake, a stop at Basin, and live music at Hurly-Burly.
That is the kind of night the BoardWalk was built for.
For a while, it has felt as though guests passed through Disney’s BoardWalk on the way to a hotel room, an EPCOT exit, or a reservation somewhere else. These new additions could change that.
The BoardWalk could once again become a place guests choose to visit for the night.
