Imagineering Maps Polly Delmar's Career Across the Walls of Hurly-Burly, Disney's New BoardWalk Lounge

Those trunks, fans and old instruments stacked on the shelves at Hurly-Burly are not random set dressing. Walt Disney Imagineering says they are props from the theatre's past shows, and that the theatre's resident headliner, a fictional vaudeville star named Polly Delmar billed as "the Toast of the Coast," has her career laid out along the lounge walls in chronological order as you walk through.

Hurly-Burly opened October 1 in the old Jellyrolls space at Disney's BoardWalk. A day later, WDWMagic and WDW News Today reported on a set of Instagram posts in which Imagineering walked through the story behind the room. The premise is not new. Disney's September 1 menu announcement described a seaside vaudeville theatre reopening "nearly a hundred years later," and WDW News Today's September 25 preview, which our first look inside drew on, already named Polly Delmar as the theatre's resident headliner. What Imagineering added is the trail of posters and props that traces her career around the room, plus a pair of story-filled bulletin boards in the back hallway.

Imagineering's annotated look at the exterior, including the hand-painted "Cocktails, Bites, Cabaret" sign. Photo: Walt Disney Imagineering

The story of the theatre

As the backstory goes, the Hurly-Burly Theatre was once home to "the BoardWalk's most celebrated vaudeville performers," with Polly Delmar headlining a bill of ocean-themed acts. When the theatre closed, many performers left their belongings behind.

The name is part of the act, too. Imagineering's own graphic says Hurly-Burly, "a word meaning 'tumultuous uproar,'" is inspired by "the playful pandemonium of a live audience bursting into applause."

Follow Polly along the walls

According to Imagineering, the props reveal the story on the walls in chronological order. Imagineering's callouts flag a crescent moon labeled as the one from "Vaudeville by the Sea," a pink banner reading "Introducing Polly Delmar," a blue banner for "The Illustrious Pearl," a ship's wheel, cut-out waves and light fixtures that Imagineering says resemble a pearl.

Two framed posters show her at different points in her career. One, for "Vaudeville by the Sea," calls itself "The BoardWalk's Biggest Splash" and introduces "the Toast of the Coast," Polly Delmar. A later one bills her headline act, "Comedy & Coastal Cabaret," with the tagline "Still Making a Splash!" On that poster, her name is printed as "Polly Del Mar."

The "Vaudeville by the Sea" poster that introduces Polly Delmar. Photo: Walt Disney Imagineering

Her red gloves and necklace sit in a shadow box on a nearby wall. And to the right of the bar, among props from earlier Hurly-Burly shows, sits Pearl the puppet.

The later "Comedy & Coastal Cabaret" poster, with Polly's gloves and necklace, which are framed on a nearby wall. Photo: Walt Disney Imagineering

Read the bulletin boards

In the back hallway, a pair of framed bulletin boards is papered with audition notices for past productions, notes from Polly, ads for other BoardWalk spots and a sign-in sheet for the theatre. One audition notice is for The Tempest, "Written by William Shakespeare" and "Directed by Polly Delmar," with auditions on March 25 at Hurly-Burly. Another, for a show called "Ahoy!", credits book and lyrics to Polly Delmar. Among the ads are a Trattoria al Forno flyer, a BoardWalk ice cream ad and tear-off tabs for a BoardWalk pizza window.

The back hallway bulletin boards, with a close-up of The Tempest audition notice. Photo: Walt Disney Imagineering

Shells everywhere

Imagineering's callouts keep coming back to seashells. Shell-shaped lights line the front edge of the stage, and Imagineering says lights like these were common in vaudeville theatres. Gold shells also trim the exterior awning, the corners of the "Vaudeville by the Sea" poster frame and the front of the stage. Outside, the "Cocktails, Bites, Cabaret" sign on the facade is hand-painted, and Imagineering points out the wave-like lines and colors across the building.

Hurly-Burly is open daily from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. For the room itself, the age rules and the full menu with prices, see our first look inside.

Sources

• WDWMagic, The Story Behind Hurly-Burly: WDI Reveals the Details Hidden in Disney's BoardWalk New Lounge (October 2, 2026)
• WDW News Today, Imagineering Reveals Vaudeville Backstory and Design Details for Hurly-Burly at Disney's BoardWalk (October 2, 2026)
• WDW News Today, First Look Inside Hurly-Burly, The New Boardwalk Lounge at Walt Disney World (September 25, 2026)
• Disney Parks Blog, Disney Eats: First Look at Hurly-Burly Menu at Disney's BoardWalk (September 1, 2026)

Image credits: Walt Disney Imagineering (all images), via WDW News Today.