Hurly-Burly at Disney’s BoardWalk hides details and stories worth a closer look
Hurly-Burly is a beautiful new addition to Disney’s BoardWalk, but some of its most interesting features could be easy to miss.
Attractions Magazine attended a media preview of the new entertainment venue ahead of its Oct. 1 opening. Plenty to notice: rich blue walls, theatrical motifs, a beautiful bar, live entertainment and display cases packed with memorabilia.
Look closer, though, and Hurly-Burly begins telling another story.
Not only does Hurly-Burly change Disney’s BoardWalk for the better, but it feels like an important missing piece has finally been found.
Atmosphere and details help tell Hurly-Burly’s story
Letters, telegrams, audition notices, old show posters and personal belongings create a fictional history spanning decades. Some details reference other locations around Disney’s BoardWalk.
One appears to pick up a mystery that has been sitting just down the promenade at AbracadaBar for years.
All photos by Dani Meyering
Who is Polly Delmar?
At the center of Hurly-Burly’s fictional history is Polly Delmar, a performer whose career guests can follow as they move through the venue.
“We tell the story through the space with the props around [her],” Walt Disney Imagineering Senior Creative Director Meredith Head told Attractions Magazine, adding that the displays are arranged in chronological order.
Polly begins as a young ingenue in the vestibule before reaching the height of her career with a mermaid act. Later displays depict her as an established performer with her Pearls swimming mermaid act.
Head pointed out that objects used by Polly and other performers in the artwork can also be found as physical props around Hurly-Burly.
“The items that Polly is holding … in the posters are also seen around the space,” Head said.
Look for the trident mounted above one display, along with Polly’s preserved gloves and necklace. Pearl, the puppet who performed with ventriloquist Mother Muriel, can also be spotted watching over the room—though during our visit I missed this detail.
WATCH: Before we dive further into the lore of Hurly-Burly, take a quick break and watch our short video that highlights some of the details and the layout.
Hurly-Burly’s story unfolds in chronological order
The memorabilia isn’t simply decoration. Imagineers said the story unfolds chronologically on the walls as guests move through Hurly-Burly.
In the arrival lobby, there are posters and props from Pearl’s start in Vaudeville. Then upon entering Hurly-Burly’s spacious interior, the bar features items from the height of Pearl’s career with multiple maratime and mermaid motifs.
Keep following that timeline, however, and one set of artifacts leads to a much older BoardWalk mystery.
When Attractions Magazine asked Head whether the venue contained references to other Disney nightlife locations, she obliged.
“There are some secret treasures in the telegrams,” Head said. “If you look in the telegrams, there’s some little story nods to other venues.”
Finally along the right side of the stage are items that capture the conclusion of her story as Hurly-Burly Theatre is reborn in modern times.
The Magician Showcase connects to AbracadaBar
Disney specifically pointed out a sign-in sheet for a Magician Showcase scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 14, 1940. There is something strange about it: Prospero was the only magician to sign in.
That date is significant because nearby AbracadaBar has its own long-established story about a group of BoardWalk magicians and illusionists who mysteriously disappeared in September 1940.
A telegram dated Sept. 17, 1940 was sent by Dylan Hurley to Morgan Murphy in Los Angeles. Dylan explains what happened to his planned magician showcase:
“The lot of them disappeared the night before the show except for Prospero.”
Polly, he says, was around to fill in.
Together, the clues create a sequence: a magician showcase was planned, only Prospero signed in, and three days later Dylan reported that the other magicians had disappeared.
Hurly-Burly doesn’t solve AbracadaBar’s mystery. Instead, it appears to add another chapter to it — and leaves guests with another question:
Why was Prospero the only magician left behind?
You don’t need to know any of this to enjoy Hurly-Burly
Guests can order a drink, grab something to eat, play a game with their kids or listen to live music without knowing anything about Polly Delmar, Dylan Hurley or a group of magicians who disappeared in 1940.
Hurly-Burly doesn’t require guests to participate in its fiction.
But your visit will certainly be enhanced when you look at the posters. Read the letters. Check the dates.
Hurly-Burly feels like a Disney Cruise Line lounge on land
Hurly-Burly occupies the former Jellyrolls space, but this is far more than a refresh of the longtime dueling piano bar. The transformation is substantial. Deep colors, framed artwork and shelves and cases filled with props make the room feel polished and theatrical.
In some ways, the atmosphere is reminiscent of the lounges found aboard Disney Cruise Line ships. The comparison extends beyond the decor. Hurly-Burly welcomes families during its earlier hours, with family-friendly entertainment from 4 to 9 p.m. During our preview, that included a round of Disney character and music bingo.
After 9 p.m., the programming shifts to live music. The mix of families earlier and the transition into nightlife later feels particularly familiar to anyone who has spent time in Disney Cruise Line lounges.
Hurly-Burly is not fully immersive in the way The Beak and Barrel at Magic Kingdom attempts to place guests entirely within its fictional world. Hurly-Burly is a functioning entertainment venue with a fictional history layered throughout it, and then brought to the modern age.
Guests can ignore that history completely and enjoy the music and drinks. Those who start reading the walls, however, have a lot to discover.
Beautiful, although perhaps a little too new
All this history creates an interesting contrast with the physical space. Individual papers and artifacts have been carefully distressed. Letters are yellowed, edges are torn and old advertisements appear appropriately weathered.
Hurly-Burly itself, however, is immaculate.
For a venue supposedly carrying decades of entertainment history, there are places where everything feels almost too polished. The room is beautiful — and a massive visual upgrade from the former Jellyrolls — but its pristine appearance occasionally works against the age suggested by its backstory.
For now, it feels less like discovering an old entertainment venue that has survived for generations and more like walking into a beautiful new Disney lounge filled with artifacts from one.
The BoardWalk becomes part of the show
One of Hurly-Burly’s smartest features is outside. The outdoor bar is more than a to-go window. It functions as a true outdoor bar while maintaining a visual connection with the room beyond it.
Guests walking along Disney’s BoardWalk can glimpse some of the activity and entertainment happening inside.
It is particularly appropriate for a place called Hurly-Burly. Merriam-Webster defines “hurly-burly” as an “uproar” or “tumult,” and some of that lively activity can spill visually out onto the promenade.
Disney’s BoardWalk itself was designed to evoke historic coastal destinations including Coney Island and Atlantic City, with entertainment and nightlife as part of the promenade experience. Hurly-Burly adds another visible layer to that atmosphere.
Hurly-Burly officially opens Oct. 1 at Disney’s BoardWalk.
More Attractions Magazine stories
Follow us:
Whether you’re ready for your next Disney Destinations vacation or your first, our trusted partner Mouse Fan Travel will handle the planning so you can focus on the memories. They offer free vacation-planning services and have nearly 20 years of experience creating memorable Disney vacations. Visit Mouse Fan Travel for a fee-free, no-obligation quote today.
