Randy Morris, the Ragtime Pianist Who Played Magic Kingdom on Opening Day in 1971, Has Died, WDW News Today Reports

When Magic Kingdom opened its gates on October 1, 1971, Randy Morris was among the performers welcoming guests, playing ragtime piano on Main Street, U.S.A. Fifty years later, he sat down at the same corner and played the same song.

WDW News Today reported Sunday evening that Morris, whom it called "the original pianist at Casey's Corner" and who performed on Walt Disney World's opening day, died on October 25, 2026. The report does not give a cause of death or say where the news came from, and when this was written we had not found a statement from Disney or from Morris's family, or a second news report confirming his death.

Morris at the Casey's Corner piano in October 2021, during his return for the 50th anniversary. Photo: Disney

An opening-day sound on Main Street

According to WDW News Today, Morris played ragtime piano on opening day outside what was then called Refreshment Corner, a Coca-Cola sponsored spot that is now Casey's Corner. Laughing Place called it Coke Corner in its own 2021 story.

He came to Florida from California. Disney's own 2021 profile says Morris worked a summer at Disneyland in 1970 before relocating to sign on as a performer at the new Florida resort. Disney and WDW News Today both put his age at 19, and WDW News Today says the contract was an initial three-month one. Laughing Place reported that every performer at the resort's opening got a three-month contract.

He stayed far longer than three months.

An early photo of Morris at the piano, published by WDW News Today with its report. Photo via WDW News Today

Same corner, same song, 50 years later

Disney brought the Casey's Corner piano act back on October 1, 2021, the day The World's Most Magical Celebration, Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary event, began. The Disney Parks Blog reported that Morris was at the keys that day playing "Maple Leaf Rag," just as he had on opening day 50 years earlier.

Laughing Place pointed out that no ragtime pianist had played at Casey's Corner in the time since Magic Kingdom reopened after the 2020 shutdown, so that morning brought the piano back as well as Morris. Disney's write-up said his sets mixed old standards such as "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" with newer songs, including the 50th anniversary anthem, "The Magic Is Calling."

Morris with Cinderella Castle during the 50th anniversary in 2021. Photo: Disney

Far more than one piano

Morris's career went well beyond Main Street. WDW News Today describes him as a multi-instrumentalist with a love of traditional jazz and banjo, who played with The Banjo Kings, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, and The Riverboat Rascals on the Empress Lilly riverboat. He also led a band at Rosie O'Grady's in Orlando and spent time collecting and archiving recordings by banjo players.

In 2022 the American Banjo Museum inducted him into its Hall of Fame in the Promotion category, per WDW News Today and the museum's 2022 inductee announcement. He also landed on the cover of Walt Disney World's cast publication, Eyes & Ears, for its June 2018 music issue, a cover WDW News Today shared with its report.

Morris on the cover of the June 7-27, 2018 Eyes & Ears music issue. Image courtesy of the American Banjo Museum, via WDW News Today

The piano plays on

The tradition WDW News Today credits him with helping establish is still going at Casey's Corner. WDW News Today notes that Carol Stein, a veteran Disney musician, became one of the newest pianists to perform there in September 2026.

WDW News Today said Morris's association with Walt Disney World lasted "more than five decades." It began on Magic Kingdom's opening day in 1971, and 50 years later he was back at the same corner playing the same rag.

Sources

• WDW News Today: Randy Morris, Opening Day Casey's Corner Pianist at Magic Kingdom, Passes Away
• Disney Parks Blog (archived): Playing Ragtime Music for 50 Years on Main Street, U.S.A.
• Laughing Place: Ragtime Piano Player Randy Morris Celebrates 50 Years at Casey's Corner
• American Banjo Museum: 2022 Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

Image credits: Disney (Casey's Corner piano and Cinderella Castle photos, 2021); WDW News Today (early piano photo); American Banjo Museum via WDW News Today (Eyes & Ears cover).