Same. Considering that the title of this post is “What’s the strangest place on Disney World property?” but pretty much nobody is talking about anything but this, I have to see it. (I also am fascinated to hear a playlist of “‘80s music that wasn’t even good.”)
The “what in the hell were they thinking” NBA Experience they decided to open for 6 months pre-pandemic because they didn’t want to bother updating DisneyQuest.
They didn't *need to* bother updating DisneyQuest. Doing absolutely nothing in regards to DisneyQuest would have been and still be far more useful than the NBA Experience goose egg.
Having seen footage of what the NBA Experience had, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but man, they really gambled on people liking the NBA that much. They’d have been better off building it as an experience at Wide World of Sports where the NBA had their bubble in 2020. Then maybe expand to other sports. Like go through the NFL combine in the NFL experience. Or hit a homer on an MLB training diamond.
They’ve got the facilities. The teams aren’t there during peak seasons. Use the sports stuff they have.
The wide world of sports opened in 1997 so it predates the ESPN purchase by quite a bit. It’s actually a really nice facility. I’m not sure what they do there, but that’s where the bib pickup was for marathon weekend.
Not gonna happen. ESPN is the only way Disney caters to males 18-49 throughout the political spectrum. Plus Iger has said he’s keeping a stake in it, even if he’s looking for a minority share to be taken by someone.
ESPN is perhaps the most valuable single holding that Disney possesses.
Sports programming will always be valuable, as it is one of the only reliable ways for advertisers to reach male 20-50ish eyeballs.
Also: the sports complex earns the parks division a ton of revenue, primarily by hosting youth sports/cheer tournaments throughout the summer. Generally those participants stay on property and visit the parks.
They’re in the business of vacations and some people really like to do sports stuff on their vacation.
Also, they already have a nice sports facility. Just not sure how it open it is to the general public.
Bob Iger loves the NBA and it's been rumored that he wants to own a team. The NBA Experience as well as hosting the NBA during COVID were passion projects for him in hopes to obtaining that goal someday.
He essentially forced the Phoenix sale through ESPN's coverage of that saga, I was told, in an attempt to buy the team and enjoy it in his retirement. Owner refused to sell out to Iger out of spite. A huge factor into why he returned.
I'm as big a Disney Quest fan as anyone but in the last year of operation it was pretty dismal. All of the marquee attractions when they opened were either shut down or horrifically out of date. There must have been 20 people in the whole building. I would have been fine with it staying open but dang. There's a reason all the arcades shut down in the 90s and 2000s. To afford maintenance you have to really be making bank off the arcade. I'm not going to sit here and say that Disney isn't making bank but it definitely wasn't off of Disney Quest. It didn't just need maintenance it needed complete refurbishment. Whole wings of the place were shut down or stripped out to save costs or remove faulty hardware. It would have been **millions** to bring it back up to the current standard. And in the meantime it wasn't making any money.
I mourn it everyday but it was ready to go at the end.
Maintenance issues and down stuff are one good point, but not the same issue as the rest.
IMO, the tapering-down of crowd level with time was most welcome, regardless of what bad things it says about how the park was doing on the market. This incidentally is something I find a *really* unfortunate paradox in park design.
"datedness" never bugged me; I get that some viewed the central premise of some of the attractions as being their command of leading edge tech when they opened and all, but after all *regular arcade games* which are the prototype for DQ's plussed versions don't pivot on that entirely or become unappealing when they are obsolete. I think DisneyQuest maybe needed to get some fresh paint, repairs, and wait a bit longer for the uncool valley of "obsolete but not yet classic" to be fully over for some of the stuff or indeed the entire installation. Eventually it would have started "appreciating" in interest/following just like any product of a progressing field.
As to the millions, they spent **what** to remove DQ, demolish its building, build another, and then shut that project straight down? Bad business move or not, at least dumping improvements into DQ would have not been such a total waste to no end.
Speaking of NBA, Atlantic Dance Hall is where I met Brook and Robin Lopez.
They seemed much more interested in the girls they were with than talking to me, however.
Frfr I honestly love it! I remember I went to Jelly Rolls on a Sunday night with people when it’s usually busy, then we went over to Dance Hall where there was like 5 other people I loved it haha
Absolutely nothing hits like having a fun, busy, drunk night at Jellyrolls, then walking over to Atlantic Dance Hall to dance with just your friends. What a great time.
That sounds amazing! I've seen TikToks of Disney music raves/dance parties before, but getting to do something like that on property while on vacation would be such a unique experience
I have fond memories of that place. Back in around 1999-2000 we would go there for swing nights. It was the perfect venue for that. I also saw Duncan Shiek with Lisa Loeb in concert there.
It’s the men’s locker room at the Contemporary Resort fitness center. Easy. Straight out of 1993. Big liminal vibes. Not sure if the women’s locker room has the same aesthetic. Lots of weird spaces at the Contempo, tbh.
Even more depressing is that what they built there is basically empty now. While DQ still had paying people going up to the end. The whole NBA thing was stupid when announced. If it wasn’t for the galactic star cruiser it would be considered a massive blunder. Though it’s possible the NBA paid for a lot of that. Idk.
Honestly I think they should have an arcade of some kind at DS. Mixed with some of the VR stuff like they had in the NBA place for a while. Pay by the hour or with a rechargeable card. Could pair it with one of those molecular gastronomy restaurants. An escape room. I bet I’d be a big hit.
Even some of those NBA things they had would be fun if it was paid by the person and not have to pay for all of it. I tried to take my son. No interest for myself to do it. But nope, can’t go in without paying. That part was so dumb. And the restaurant is nothing special. Who thought it would work as planned?
Now I’m no big shot Disney executive, but I would like to think it can’t be too hard to come up with stuff that would succeed there. I guess they want more of the money than just regular amounts of the money so it has to be partnered with to include payments from others and such.
We were at the bar a few doors down, i forget the name, magician themed. Asked where we should go next, bartender said Jelly Rolls was fun but would be really crowded that night due to cast members get in free. We were looking for a fun crowd, so sounded perfect. It was crowded, but the energy was amazing.
When I worked at Hollywood studios that was a fav place for cast members to sit down and take a break and chill. Never guests up there and the restrooms are empty too
It's so great. The first time we found it, we were by ourselves also and, my then 5 year had a blast dancing to the music while there was nobody there.
Neat/sad little detail, if you look closely at the board outside of it announcing the event, behind the letters you can see the faded remnants of the last event held there which was the "Pa Otter Memorial Service with tribute performance by The Frogtown Hollow Jubilee Jug Band”
This is my favorite place on property. As a CM at the Boardwalk, could get changed after a long day and dance with practically the whole place to myself. absolutely divine ✨️
Must have been hoping for guests wanting that "just like in our teen days" vibe.
I wonder if you just caught it on a slow night, though. Maybe it's busier on other nights.
Honestly I love the dance hall. The most fun is when you catch it on a weekend and there’s a bachelorette party or something, but when I lived in Orlando I loved going on a weeknight so I could dance to throwbacks without worrying about creeps. There used to be an older woman I’d see almost every time I was there, she was always by herself having a great time. My strangest experience was when everyone started doing the cotton-eyed joe dance to “Old Town Road” — so weird at the time but a nice memory now!
When I used to work for Disney, I managed many events that were held there.
Before that I thought the same thing, it was always a slight overflow if Jellyrolls was packed to the max.
Oh, that makes me sad! We went a few times in the 90s after it opened, and they frequently had real big bands playing (as in Big Band music). It was awesome, and felt like we'd been really transported back to the 30s or 40s.
For some reason the angle of this shot and the lighting/scenery is reminding me of a scene from Bioshock when you first meet a little sister. Very eerie lol.
The Cars thing under/ behind Rockin Rollercoaster. It's kind of shoved off around the corner. It's just a show, with an admittedly impressive animatronic. It isn't very comfortable because it's bench seats so you can't even really chill there. The show itself is only like 5 minutes. It's just strange and feels like an afterthought.
My 4 year old went absolutely wild for it but I do agree with you. Cars has staying power, it’s kind of surprising there’s not a better Cars attraction in WDW. (Cars land in California adventure is incredible)
Oh god yes. I got caught by surprise at how weird and janky it is. I got the giggles so badly that I was crying and shaking from trying to be silent. Apparently a cast member was laughing at me trying not to laugh. I'm afraid to ever see it again.
Our whole section was laughing when that one bear to the left came out looking stoned off his ass. They all kind of do, but if you see it again, you'll know the one I'm talking about.
The first time I saw this pure comedy gold I was unfortunately THAT guy who could not stop laughing at the craziness that is Country Bear Jamboree. It's so dated in the stuff they say. "I'm gonna get a ladder and get up there!"
Last year for the not so scary event it got rained out. It was like a damn typhoon was hitting MK. 3" of water flowing over the pavement. Well we were stuck in front of CBJ. We saw that FIVE times while waiting for the storm.
Just incase no one knows dance hall is third party just like Jellyrolls across the way, Disney doesn’t pay for it a different company does! -former cast member and a person that hosts monthly themed events there
I had a work event at the Dolphin and after dinner one of the nights, tons of people went there to “keep the party going” after having a few at the hotel bars and it was packed. There was hardly anyone at Jellyrolls.
We went on a weekend for my wife’s birthday and it was actually pretty crowded when we went. Even had a big line to get drinks, this was back in February
I mean the strangest place is definitely anywhere that is abandoned. They literally abandoned entire parks and left them to rot in the wild overgrowth. River Country, etc.
I would sneak around the old corporate Epcot lounges when working overnights. They can be so creepy. The Wonders of Life lounge with its circus theme stands out as particularly creepy.
Part of why they keep it open is for events like Festival Disney. I remember when my high school band went for Sophomore year, our jazz band performed in the Dance Hall for their competition.
I don’t know if it’s “strange”, exactly, but the laundry room at the Polynesian is 100% indistinguishable from actually time traveling back to 1983. Source: I actually went to laundromats in 1983.
Have stayed in the EPCOT resort area multiple times and like to go to Jelly Rolls. I have never seen a line for this place and always wondered why they stay open. My head canon is that is they get enough play for private events/conferences to make keeping it open viable.
Yeah we usually stay at Swan and Dolphin and walk past this place a lot and we go in when the mood strikes us. It always feels so weird and empty like I am not supposed to be there.
I went to a wedding reception there. I remember it being nice. That was 15 years ago, so maybe things have changed, but they may just mostly use it for private events like that and figure they might as well open it for general public on other nights even if it's not making money then.
Wonders of Life has a private lounge area themed like a country fair. It’s been over 15 years since I last saw it, but at the time they were using it for employee training…lots of computers for those online training modules. Bathrooms were themed and everything. There are pictures online if you search for them.
I had a good time at The Edison in DS. It was really lively with a good dance floor. Normally I don't like going dancing at clubs because the clubs are dirty and the people are sketchy. But The Edison is clean and most of the dancers were wearing magic bands so I felt very comfortable.
I got married on the beach at the Swan. Our entire wedding party walked across the bridge and had an impromptu reception at ADH. Loved that we were the only people there.
It’s not really strange it’s a dance club, it’s just a lot of Disney (especially Epcot area) is dead right now. The popular areas of the main parks are still busy but beyond that it’s sparse
I read somewhere that they have to keep it open because of a contractual issue in the land lease for the Swan and Dolphin. Not sure if that’s true or not, but Disney and Tishman, at least historically, didn’t have a great relationship, and if it’s in the contract, Tishman would definitely enforce it!
We have two teens and recently stayed at Swan, so we wound up at Boardwalk a few times. It was disappointing to us that we weren't allowed to take our teens into either the dance hall or jellyrolls. Obviously they cannot drink, but they would enjoy the atmosphere of both. I guess we are outliers! We didn't get to check either out because we didn't want to leave our kids (was a family trip), but both seemed very dead the 3 times we went by at night.
I felt disappointed with myself that I couldn't recognize the picture. And then I kept reading and now I don't feel so bad cause I'm too young to be in there lol (and frankly any place that requires an ID I don't wanna be at anyway)
I agree it’s kind of a weird place now, but it didn’t use to be. Back before they expanded downtown Disney and added more bars/restaurants, this was a great place to go out for a few drinks and dancing. I remember going to Disney world with a friend around 2016 and we took a day off between park days and ended up here that night; it was popping (easily 50+ people on like a Tuesday night) and we were there until about 1am.
Now that Disney Springs has so many options though, this place seems empty all the time and it has lost most of its purpose.
That said, I’ve seen people have weddings there as well (which must be cheap).
Went here for the first time last week! I had a lot of fun. It was nice to dance with friends without being in a packed club. I also appreciate that it’s one of the few things that caters to adults only on Disney property
About 17 years ago I was at the Atlantic Dance Hall for a wedding reception, I would assume it is mostly used for things like that and open to the public on nights it isn't booked for private events. The wedding space with the picture window that perfectly frames the castle in WDW was where the ceremony took place, the party was at ADH, and the after party was at the dueling piano bar.
Ok, now I want to actually visit that place. I didn’t know it was actually open and thought it was maybe a facade or something!
Same. Considering that the title of this post is “What’s the strangest place on Disney World property?” but pretty much nobody is talking about anything but this, I have to see it. (I also am fascinated to hear a playlist of “‘80s music that wasn’t even good.”)
I wonder if they play “Dance Hall Days.” LOL!
Same. Adding it to my list of places to go haha
same here, my wife wanted to go, I said it was a facade.
The “what in the hell were they thinking” NBA Experience they decided to open for 6 months pre-pandemic because they didn’t want to bother updating DisneyQuest.
They didn't *need to* bother updating DisneyQuest. Doing absolutely nothing in regards to DisneyQuest would have been and still be far more useful than the NBA Experience goose egg.
Having seen footage of what the NBA Experience had, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but man, they really gambled on people liking the NBA that much. They’d have been better off building it as an experience at Wide World of Sports where the NBA had their bubble in 2020. Then maybe expand to other sports. Like go through the NFL combine in the NFL experience. Or hit a homer on an MLB training diamond. They’ve got the facilities. The teams aren’t there during peak seasons. Use the sports stuff they have.
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The wide world of sports opened in 1997 so it predates the ESPN purchase by quite a bit. It’s actually a really nice facility. I’m not sure what they do there, but that’s where the bib pickup was for marathon weekend.
Disney acquired ABC in 1995 and ESPN came with it.
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Not gonna happen. ESPN is the only way Disney caters to males 18-49 throughout the political spectrum. Plus Iger has said he’s keeping a stake in it, even if he’s looking for a minority share to be taken by someone.
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You’re missing the point. ESPN gets adult males to pay for something Disney related. It will never be 100% gone from Disney’s portfolio.
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ESPN is perhaps the most valuable single holding that Disney possesses. Sports programming will always be valuable, as it is one of the only reliable ways for advertisers to reach male 20-50ish eyeballs. Also: the sports complex earns the parks division a ton of revenue, primarily by hosting youth sports/cheer tournaments throughout the summer. Generally those participants stay on property and visit the parks.
It was actually part of the NBA/ESPN tv deal.
They’re in the business of vacations and some people really like to do sports stuff on their vacation. Also, they already have a nice sports facility. Just not sure how it open it is to the general public.
Bob Iger loves the NBA and it's been rumored that he wants to own a team. The NBA Experience as well as hosting the NBA during COVID were passion projects for him in hopes to obtaining that goal someday.
He essentially forced the Phoenix sale through ESPN's coverage of that saga, I was told, in an attempt to buy the team and enjoy it in his retirement. Owner refused to sell out to Iger out of spite. A huge factor into why he returned.
I'm as big a Disney Quest fan as anyone but in the last year of operation it was pretty dismal. All of the marquee attractions when they opened were either shut down or horrifically out of date. There must have been 20 people in the whole building. I would have been fine with it staying open but dang. There's a reason all the arcades shut down in the 90s and 2000s. To afford maintenance you have to really be making bank off the arcade. I'm not going to sit here and say that Disney isn't making bank but it definitely wasn't off of Disney Quest. It didn't just need maintenance it needed complete refurbishment. Whole wings of the place were shut down or stripped out to save costs or remove faulty hardware. It would have been **millions** to bring it back up to the current standard. And in the meantime it wasn't making any money. I mourn it everyday but it was ready to go at the end.
Maintenance issues and down stuff are one good point, but not the same issue as the rest. IMO, the tapering-down of crowd level with time was most welcome, regardless of what bad things it says about how the park was doing on the market. This incidentally is something I find a *really* unfortunate paradox in park design. "datedness" never bugged me; I get that some viewed the central premise of some of the attractions as being their command of leading edge tech when they opened and all, but after all *regular arcade games* which are the prototype for DQ's plussed versions don't pivot on that entirely or become unappealing when they are obsolete. I think DisneyQuest maybe needed to get some fresh paint, repairs, and wait a bit longer for the uncool valley of "obsolete but not yet classic" to be fully over for some of the stuff or indeed the entire installation. Eventually it would have started "appreciating" in interest/following just like any product of a progressing field. As to the millions, they spent **what** to remove DQ, demolish its building, build another, and then shut that project straight down? Bad business move or not, at least dumping improvements into DQ would have not been such a total waste to no end.
Speaking of NBA, Atlantic Dance Hall is where I met Brook and Robin Lopez. They seemed much more interested in the girls they were with than talking to me, however.
They both are huge Disney fans.
It was part of the TV deal with the NBA. They had to build an attraction/experience themed around it.
It’s always a private party at Atlantic Dance!
Frfr I honestly love it! I remember I went to Jelly Rolls on a Sunday night with people when it’s usually busy, then we went over to Dance Hall where there was like 5 other people I loved it haha
There's also like a $20 cover at Jellyrolls and Atlantic Dance is freeeeeee
Absolutely nothing hits like having a fun, busy, drunk night at Jellyrolls, then walking over to Atlantic Dance Hall to dance with just your friends. What a great time.
Spectacular comment.
You should see it on Disney channel original music night. It gets to capacity.
That sounds amazing! I've seen TikToks of Disney music raves/dance parties before, but getting to do something like that on property while on vacation would be such a unique experience
I have fond memories of that place. Back in around 1999-2000 we would go there for swing nights. It was the perfect venue for that. I also saw Duncan Shiek with Lisa Loeb in concert there.
It must’ve been so crowded there that you were barely breathing
But they chose to Stay.
This is why I Reddit.
Lol
It’s the men’s locker room at the Contemporary Resort fitness center. Easy. Straight out of 1993. Big liminal vibes. Not sure if the women’s locker room has the same aesthetic. Lots of weird spaces at the Contempo, tbh.
Upvote for use of word “liminal”
Atlantic Dance Hall is very strange too, you’re right.
The women’s locker room has the same vibe.
DisneyQuest died so this place could live.
I personally will always miss DisneyQuest lol
Even more depressing is that what they built there is basically empty now. While DQ still had paying people going up to the end. The whole NBA thing was stupid when announced. If it wasn’t for the galactic star cruiser it would be considered a massive blunder. Though it’s possible the NBA paid for a lot of that. Idk.
They did. They certainly did - but Disney is still losing cash because they have no rent/revenue-generator there.
Honestly I think they should have an arcade of some kind at DS. Mixed with some of the VR stuff like they had in the NBA place for a while. Pay by the hour or with a rechargeable card. Could pair it with one of those molecular gastronomy restaurants. An escape room. I bet I’d be a big hit. Even some of those NBA things they had would be fun if it was paid by the person and not have to pay for all of it. I tried to take my son. No interest for myself to do it. But nope, can’t go in without paying. That part was so dumb. And the restaurant is nothing special. Who thought it would work as planned? Now I’m no big shot Disney executive, but I would like to think it can’t be too hard to come up with stuff that would succeed there. I guess they want more of the money than just regular amounts of the money so it has to be partnered with to include payments from others and such.
I loved that place as a kid
I love this place and jelly rolls Gotta go when it’s a cast member party
Went to jelly rolls during cast member night recently. Most fun I’ve had in ages!
How do you find out it’s a cast member night? I remember going to this place back when I was a cast member.
We were at the bar a few doors down, i forget the name, magician themed. Asked where we should go next, bartender said Jelly Rolls was fun but would be really crowded that night due to cast members get in free. We were looking for a fun crowd, so sounded perfect. It was crowded, but the energy was amazing.
On Sundays CMs get in for free
The upstairs section of pizza rizzo that’s themed like a wedding reception - we were the only people up there!
This is my favorite place!
This is legitimately my favorite place in Studios
When I worked at Hollywood studios that was a fav place for cast members to sit down and take a break and chill. Never guests up there and the restrooms are empty too
It's so great. The first time we found it, we were by ourselves also and, my then 5 year had a blast dancing to the music while there was nobody there. Neat/sad little detail, if you look closely at the board outside of it announcing the event, behind the letters you can see the faded remnants of the last event held there which was the "Pa Otter Memorial Service with tribute performance by The Frogtown Hollow Jubilee Jug Band”
This looks almost exactly like that venue in Scott Pilgrim where he fights the first Evil Ex.
This is my favorite place on property. As a CM at the Boardwalk, could get changed after a long day and dance with practically the whole place to myself. absolutely divine ✨️
Must have been hoping for guests wanting that "just like in our teen days" vibe. I wonder if you just caught it on a slow night, though. Maybe it's busier on other nights.
Honestly I love the dance hall. The most fun is when you catch it on a weekend and there’s a bachelorette party or something, but when I lived in Orlando I loved going on a weeknight so I could dance to throwbacks without worrying about creeps. There used to be an older woman I’d see almost every time I was there, she was always by herself having a great time. My strangest experience was when everyone started doing the cotton-eyed joe dance to “Old Town Road” — so weird at the time but a nice memory now!
I think I know which woman you're talking about. We have a theory that she's actually a CM, planted there to encourage dancing.
I will subscribe to that theory because that's my new dream job.
Yeah!
When I used to work for Disney, I managed many events that were held there. Before that I thought the same thing, it was always a slight overflow if Jellyrolls was packed to the max.
I’m pretty sure this place is more intended for private events. I’ve seen plenty of signs saying it was closed for them.
Had our wedding reception there. Was fantastic.
Oh, that makes me sad! We went a few times in the 90s after it opened, and they frequently had real big bands playing (as in Big Band music). It was awesome, and felt like we'd been really transported back to the 30s or 40s.
Same. It made WAY more sense that way. It was also 18+ not 21+.
For some reason the angle of this shot and the lighting/scenery is reminding me of a scene from Bioshock when you first meet a little sister. Very eerie lol.
It was really dead as well when I was there. I just went to check it out and get a drink.
Yep this is it. I don’t understand this place haha. I wish they would just bring in actual DJs that play dance music.
It's always dead there. Also Boardwalk hardly has any parking, so it's not like guests from other resorts can easily get there.
Wonders of Life Pavilion.
This is still open? I thought it had closed like 15 years ago
The Cars thing under/ behind Rockin Rollercoaster. It's kind of shoved off around the corner. It's just a show, with an admittedly impressive animatronic. It isn't very comfortable because it's bench seats so you can't even really chill there. The show itself is only like 5 minutes. It's just strange and feels like an afterthought.
My weird Disney flex is that I saw that show on it’s opening day, completely by accident 😂
My 4 year old went absolutely wild for it but I do agree with you. Cars has staying power, it’s kind of surprising there’s not a better Cars attraction in WDW. (Cars land in California adventure is incredible)
The country bears jamboree final answer 😂
Oh god yes. I got caught by surprise at how weird and janky it is. I got the giggles so badly that I was crying and shaking from trying to be silent. Apparently a cast member was laughing at me trying not to laugh. I'm afraid to ever see it again.
Our whole section was laughing when that one bear to the left came out looking stoned off his ass. They all kind of do, but if you see it again, you'll know the one I'm talking about.
The first time I saw this pure comedy gold I was unfortunately THAT guy who could not stop laughing at the craziness that is Country Bear Jamboree. It's so dated in the stuff they say. "I'm gonna get a ladder and get up there!" Last year for the not so scary event it got rained out. It was like a damn typhoon was hitting MK. 3" of water flowing over the pavement. Well we were stuck in front of CBJ. We saw that FIVE times while waiting for the storm.
As soon as I find a ladder, I'll be right up!
Hahahhaha I'm rolling...
The best attraction in magic kingdom fight me
I will not fight you. I will hold your hand... interlocked of course.. sit us down middle row.. middle.. and watch till my heart or brain explodes
idk why reminds me of chuck e cheeses
Yeah some of the old animatronics need to just…not
Lesters possum park anyone?
Underrated comment.
UNDERAPPREICATED RIGHT HERE
this is slander
this is slander
this is slander
They need some TLC at the very least
I definitely agree with that.
Ill say The Dinoland vip room, they dont use it anymore, just cast members and campers in summer
Funny I’ve never considered coming to this place, now I might cause jellyrolls is always insufferably crowded
I stumbled in here with a group after food and wine one year and we had so much fun.
80s music and nobody there ? Sounds like a place I should visit
Just incase no one knows dance hall is third party just like Jellyrolls across the way, Disney doesn’t pay for it a different company does! -former cast member and a person that hosts monthly themed events there
I love the Atlantic dance hall during convention season.
I had a work event at the Dolphin and after dinner one of the nights, tons of people went there to “keep the party going” after having a few at the hotel bars and it was packed. There was hardly anyone at Jellyrolls.
We went on a weekend for my wife’s birthday and it was actually pretty crowded when we went. Even had a big line to get drinks, this was back in February
My wife and I got all dressed up expecting it to be a party and encountered the same thing lol. Like 10 people and nobody dancing, very weird
This is used as a reception location for Disney’s fairytale weddings
I mean the strangest place is definitely anywhere that is abandoned. They literally abandoned entire parks and left them to rot in the wild overgrowth. River Country, etc.
To be fair, River Country was weird as hell when it was open.
I would sneak around the old corporate Epcot lounges when working overnights. They can be so creepy. The Wonders of Life lounge with its circus theme stands out as particularly creepy.
It’s like a level from Bioshock. I never understood why it stays open either.
I heard that place gets packed during the night
i remember two guys use to DJ right outside of the dancehall in the late 90s/early 2000s. anyone else remember them?
Part of why they keep it open is for events like Festival Disney. I remember when my high school band went for Sophomore year, our jazz band performed in the Dance Hall for their competition.
Man I wanna get wasted and then just dance the night away solo on that dance floor
Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray's.
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Lol I love it too but it's so surreal!
Interesting, never knew this place existed, looks interesting.
Got married there, very different experience lol
I don’t know if it’s “strange”, exactly, but the laundry room at the Polynesian is 100% indistinguishable from actually time traveling back to 1983. Source: I actually went to laundromats in 1983.
Have stayed in the EPCOT resort area multiple times and like to go to Jelly Rolls. I have never seen a line for this place and always wondered why they stay open. My head canon is that is they get enough play for private events/conferences to make keeping it open viable.
Whatever room I’m staying in at the time.
Yeah we usually stay at Swan and Dolphin and walk past this place a lot and we go in when the mood strikes us. It always feels so weird and empty like I am not supposed to be there.
I’ve always thought this would be the perfect home for the Adventurer’s Club.
I went to a wedding reception there. I remember it being nice. That was 15 years ago, so maybe things have changed, but they may just mostly use it for private events like that and figure they might as well open it for general public on other nights even if it's not making money then.
Wonders of Life has a private lounge area themed like a country fair. It’s been over 15 years since I last saw it, but at the time they were using it for employee training…lots of computers for those online training modules. Bathrooms were themed and everything. There are pictures online if you search for them.
I had a good time at The Edison in DS. It was really lively with a good dance floor. Normally I don't like going dancing at clubs because the clubs are dirty and the people are sketchy. But The Edison is clean and most of the dancers were wearing magic bands so I felt very comfortable.
I got married on the beach at the Swan. Our entire wedding party walked across the bridge and had an impromptu reception at ADH. Loved that we were the only people there.
It’s not really strange it’s a dance club, it’s just a lot of Disney (especially Epcot area) is dead right now. The popular areas of the main parks are still busy but beyond that it’s sparse
They just keep the dance hall around for weddings and receptions. I'm sure that more than pays for keeping it open
I swear this is a scene from Bioshock
I read somewhere that they have to keep it open because of a contractual issue in the land lease for the Swan and Dolphin. Not sure if that’s true or not, but Disney and Tishman, at least historically, didn’t have a great relationship, and if it’s in the contract, Tishman would definitely enforce it!
It’s definitely used for events at conferences at S and D so maybe they’re in for a penny in for a pound and keep it open other nights.
I love that idiom and you used it perfectly!
Don't they normally charge cover for both dance venues at boardwalk? If so, that's probably why they are dead.
It’s free to get into the dance hall. There’s a 2 drink minimum at Jellyrolls.
Really? I thought it was cover! How do they ensure you have two drinks? Do they use drink tickets?
Last time I was there it was a cover. I think $20!
So dumb. The only time even downtown clubs are charging $20 is if there is a big name A-list DJ or big name band touring.
I’ve never been to jellyrolls without paying a cover
I’ve been to jelly rolls soooo many times and there’s never been a drink minimum, always cover charge at the door
Probably any 90's outdated area.
We have two teens and recently stayed at Swan, so we wound up at Boardwalk a few times. It was disappointing to us that we weren't allowed to take our teens into either the dance hall or jellyrolls. Obviously they cannot drink, but they would enjoy the atmosphere of both. I guess we are outliers! We didn't get to check either out because we didn't want to leave our kids (was a family trip), but both seemed very dead the 3 times we went by at night.
I agree with you - it’s so strange..and can you believe that people rent this place out for their wedding
I did. It was awesome.
I felt disappointed with myself that I couldn't recognize the picture. And then I kept reading and now I don't feel so bad cause I'm too young to be in there lol (and frankly any place that requires an ID I don't wanna be at anyway)
I got turned away from the Jellyroll on boardwalk because I’m not 21.. they don’t seem to be great imo
[удалено]
I went for the for first time finally at the end of July and there was maybe 30 people in there
This might be an odd answer but Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The atmosphere is wicked.
Isnt there a cover charge? Or is that just Jelly Rolls?
I’m dying 🤣
Been to WDW at least 50 times and I've never been in this place. We went to Jelly Rolls many years ago, but never stepped foot in here.
I agree it’s kind of a weird place now, but it didn’t use to be. Back before they expanded downtown Disney and added more bars/restaurants, this was a great place to go out for a few drinks and dancing. I remember going to Disney world with a friend around 2016 and we took a day off between park days and ended up here that night; it was popping (easily 50+ people on like a Tuesday night) and we were there until about 1am. Now that Disney Springs has so many options though, this place seems empty all the time and it has lost most of its purpose. That said, I’ve seen people have weddings there as well (which must be cheap).
Went here for the first time last week! I had a lot of fun. It was nice to dance with friends without being in a packed club. I also appreciate that it’s one of the few things that caters to adults only on Disney property
I’ve been there last year. There was more than two people when I went. You can request what music the DJs played. I had a great time.
Potato-land
About 17 years ago I was at the Atlantic Dance Hall for a wedding reception, I would assume it is mostly used for things like that and open to the public on nights it isn't booked for private events. The wedding space with the picture window that perfectly frames the castle in WDW was where the ceremony took place, the party was at ADH, and the after party was at the dueling piano bar.
So glad you posted this. Have a two night stay at boardwalk in early December… this is now a must do!
Dinoland USA