Jellyrolls may be leaving Walt Disney World, but the dueling-piano bar will continue to make “sweet memories” for Florida locals and vacationers in a new — but as yet undisclosed — location, its general manager said.

The final day to experience Jellyrolls in its current spot on Disney’s Boardwalk will be April 19. General manager Amber Antel said the business, which rents its space from Disney and is not owned by the theme-park giant, would then have time to move out of its longtime home before its lease officially ends. Once that’s complete, more information about a new location will be announced at its website, jellyrollswdw.com or through social media.

In the meantime, it’s business as usual at the musical nightspot. On a recent Tuesday, a crowd of conventioneers showed up early, while vacationers and regulars stayed late — closing time is 1:45 a.m. The pianists’ eclectic musical selections saw back-to-back performances of “The Wizard and I” from “Wicked” leading into Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” and the Steve Miller Band’s classic and chill “The Joker” giving way to Disney’s raucous “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.”

In a dueling-piano bar, the pianists take requests of all kinds — that Tuesday also saw everything from a contemporary Chappell Roan tune to the overture to Broadway’s “Gypsy” to a hearty singalong to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” with audience members standing at attention while a performer unfurled the American flag. Part of the fun is watching the rotating pianists perform such a wide range of music virtually on the spot.

Patron Michael Berger, who has been attending Jellyrolls every few months since 2018, still recalls the night he requested the lesser-known Huey Lewis song “Bad Is Bad.”

The pianist “learned the song in like 15 minutes,” said Berger, who drives up from New Port Richey with his wife. “And now he plays it every time we come without us even having to request it.”

The format will stay the same for the April 19 finale at Disney World, but in supersized form. While four pianists generally perform each night, the entire contingent of eight will play. Doors will open an hour earlier than usual, at 6 p.m., with the music starting almost immediately. The $22 admission price will stay the same, however, and as usual reservations will not be taken. Seating is first-come, first-served.

“We expect larger crowds that final week,” said Antel, adding that business has been brisk since the closing announcement. And she expects the mood to be upbeat.

“This is a celebration of almost 30 years on the Boardwalk,” she said.

Orlando has a couple of other dueling-piano bars, most notably Pat O’Brien’s at Universal’s CityWalk and Howl at the Moon on International Drive. Neither Jellyrolls nor Walt Disney World has commented publicly on the reason for the business’s departure from the Boardwalk, but Antel indicated the move was not because of dissatisfaction with the longtime location: “We were enjoying where we were,” she said.

Disney has been cutting back on adult, late-night offerings, however, dating back to the 2008 closure of the Pleasure Island cluster of bars and clubs at what was then called Downtown Disney. Now known as Disney Springs, the area has an official official closing time of 11 p.m.

Disney also has been reimagining the Boardwalk, a strip of shops and restaurants near Epcot. Although Atlantic Dance Hall, a bar with a DJ and dance floor, stays open past midnight, it generally only operates Thursdays-Sundays. The area’s ESPN Club, a sports bar, was closed permanently in 2022 and later demolished to make way for a tea-and-cake shop. Multiple stores have been getting facelifts, along with the area’s signature Boardwalk Inn.

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And Big River Grille & Brewing Works closed permanently in January 2024. Like Jellyrolls, the restaurant was not owned by Disney and had rented its space for nearly 30 years.

Jellyrolls opened in 1996, the year of the Boardwalk’s debut, and pianist Scotty Kilwein joined the contingent of musicians nearly 23 years ago, in May 2002. He treasures the audience interaction through the years.

“So many people have a story about Jellyrolls,” said Kilwein, now the business’s longest-serving current pianist. “It’s just great to know that so many people have made great memories there.”

He and Antel point to couples who met and married there, yearly family vacationers who now come to remember loved ones who have since died, and guests who visit for annual birthday celebrations.

“We’re in the business of making memories and good times,” Kilwein said.

He has his own personal memories: Kilwein met his future wife at Jellyrolls; she was a Disney cast member who came in one night and tried to set him up with one of her friends. But the romantic sparks ultimately flew in a different direction. They married in 2006 and have three children.

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Jellyrolls is even responsible for his name: When Kilwein first joined the company, another pianist was named Scott. So he became “Scotty,” a moniker that has stuck.

“As a kid I wanted to work for Disney. And then I wanted to be rock star,” he said. “Jellyrolls has allowed me to somehow realize both those dreams.”

On Tuesday, Kilwein played and sang everything from Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” to Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” performed a beatbox percussion solo in Oasis’s “Wonderwall” and channeled Bette Midler in “I Put a Spell on You” from Disney’s “Hocus Pocus.”

For Berger, the Florida patron, the range of styles and eras means Jellyrolls “is like a time machine… I get to hear all the music of my life, from 10 years ago, 20 years ago, it brings back all these memories … it makes me feel young.”

He plans to follow Jellyrolls to its new location.

“I will be there opening day,” he said. “I found it because of the physical location, but now that I know what Jellyrolls is, I would follow it anywhere.”

That’s what Antel is banking on — for both patrons and staff. Besides the six full-time and two part-time musicians, Jellyrolls employs 40-50 full- and part-time servers, bartenders and other personnel.

“We have a fantastic staff, and they work really hard,” she said.

When the new location will open is unclear, but Antel said it would be “as soon as possible” after the Disney departure.

“We want to make it perfect and have a great environment so we won’t open immediately,” she said.

Kilwein, who calculates he will have performed 4,781 times at Jellyrolls by April 19, plans on sticking around. Like Berger, he believes the vibe is what makes Jellyrolls special, not the location.

“It’s the people,” he said. “The atmosphere, the guests, the team that we have.”

“We’re very grateful to all of our guests,” Antel agreed. “We had a great run and we’re looking forward to next steps.”

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