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Have you attended Jazzy Holidays at the Hollywood Brown Derby at Disney World? My family has attended Jazzy Holidays the past couple of years, and we wanted to share our experience with you.
But let me back up for a minute to explain what I am talking about. Hollywood Brown Derby is a fine dining restaurant at Hollywood Studios. My family has eaten there multiple times. We discuss the restaurant in our Hollywood Studios Restaurant Guide. You can find the Hollywood Brown Derby (fittingly) on Hollywood Boulevard; we discuss the different sections of Hollywood Studios in our Hollywood Studios Guide here.
But during the Jollywood Nights events at Hollywood Studios, the Hollywood Brown Derby becomes Jazzy Holidays at the Hollywood Brown Derby! Jollywood Nights is a special, after-hours Christmastime event at Hollywood Studios that started two years ago. We talk about Jollywood Nights in more detail in our Jollywood Nights Guide here.
We did not try Jazzy Holidays the first year, but decided to try it last year. We had such a good time that we decided to do it again this year! Let’s talk about why Jazzy Holidays is such a fun addition to Jollywood Nights.
Live Entertainment
So how does Jazzy Holidays at The Hollywood Brown Derby differ from a regular visit to the Hollywood Brown Derby? Well, for one thing, there’s the great live entertainment! It changes up every thirty minutes or so. You can hear great piano playing and singing.
They play a great mix of music both years. This year, we heard holiday favorites like “Santa Baby”, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. But there’s also Disney songs like “Cruella Deville” from 101 Dalmatians, “Arabian Nights” from Aladdin, and “Hakuna Matata” from The Lion King. We also heard non-Disney and non-holiday favorites, such as “Georgia On My Mind” and “Alexander Hamilton” from the popular musical, Hamilton.
But I must say there was one negative of the live entertainment. Last year, we were initially seated right beside the piano. The music was quite loud and right in our ear. But when we mentioned this to the server, they were really nice and moved us to another seat. In fact, they even moved our drinks for us!
Reserving a Table
Speaking of being seated at a table, I must add that you should reserve a seat before you go. You can do that on the My Disney Experience app. We knew we wanted to go after the Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! fireworks. When we first looked for a time at the beginning of the evening, there wasn’t a great time available. But we kept checking and a better time popped up. So if you don’t like the initial times, keep checking – and check early since they book up quickly!
Once our reservation time came, we checked in and sat, and waited for the text that our table was ready. There are benches all around the Hollywood Brown Derby, so it wasn’t a bad wait at all.
Jazzy Holidays at the Hollywood Brown Derby Menu
The Hollywood Brown Derby is a pricey restaurant during the day so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised the menu was a bit pricey here. But I guess I initially expected prices along the lines of the rest of the specialty food and drinks at Jollywood Night, which are often under $10. You can check out these food and drinks in our Jollywood Nights Food & Drink Guide.
But – the menu is really good. Here it is, by the way:
🍸 Cocktails
- Spiced Pear Martini ($18.50)
- Grey Goose Vodka, Spiced Pear Syrup, and Lemon Juice.
- Peanut Butter Whiskey Cream ($18.50)
- RumChata Cream Liqueur and Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey.
- Mocha Espresso Mint-Tini ($17.50)
- Tia Maria Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur, Bols Peppermint Schnapps Liqueur, Mozart Chocolate Liqueur, and Vanilla Cream garnished with Chocolate and Crushed Peppermint Mix.
- Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate ($16.50)
- Stoli Vanilla Vodka, Baileys Original Irish Cream Liqueur, Salted Caramel Syrup, and Hot Cocoa by Joffrey’s garnished with Whipped Cream and Caramel Crispy Pearls.
- Old Fashioned ($20.50)
- Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon, House-Made Orange Syrup, and Maraschino Cherries.
- Pomegranate Whiskey Sour ($17.50)
- Proper Twelve Irish Whiskey, Pomegranate Juice, and Fee Foam.
- Hollywood Lights ($18.50)
- Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, Pomegranate Juice, and Pineapple Juice.
- Poinsettia Fizz ($19)
- Grand Marnier Liqueur, Cranberry Juice, Simple Syrup, and Prosecco garnished with Candied Cranberries.
🍽️ Menu Items
- Pork Belly Bao ($14)
- Korean Barbecue, Cucumber Slaw, and Soy Vinaigrette.
- Tofu Bao ($12)
- Seared Tofu, Cucumber Slaw, and Soy Vinaigrette.
- Chorizo Arancini ($14)
- With Parmesan Dust and Salmoriglio Tomato Sauce.
- Shrimp Cocktail ($16)
- With House-Made Cocktail Sauce and Spicy Avocado Spread.
- Sticky Chicken Wings ($15)
- With Sweet-and-Spicy Soy.
- Jazzy Sliders ($19)
- Bison and Pork, Onion Jam, and Gorgonzola Dulce Cheese on a Brioche Roll.
- Hamachi* ($17)
- Yellow Fin Tuna, Dill, Dijonaise Avocado Mousse, and Citron-Champagne Vinaigrette.
- Charcuterie ($19)
- Cured Meats and Accompaniments with Blue Cheese Mousse and Toasted Sourdough.
🍷 Wines by the Glass (5-oz Pour)
White
- Nicolas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Brut, Chouilly ($22)
- Loveblock by Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough ($20)
- Sanford Family Pinot Grigio, Veneto ($16)
Red
- Chappellet Mountain Cuvée Proprietor’s Blend, Napa Valley ($25)
- Catena Vista Flores Malbec, Argentina ($19)
- Crossbarn by Paul Hobbs Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast ($25)
🍺 Premium Beers (16-oz Draft)
- Samuvel Adams Seasonal Lager ($11.75)
- Stella Artois Lager ($11.25)
- Blue Moon Belgian White Ale ($10.50)
- Cigar City Jai Alai IPA ($11.75)
- Athletic Brewing Co Upside Dawn Non-Alcoholic Beer ($8.50)
Non-Alcoholic Specialty Beverages
- The Sleigh Bell ($6.79)
- Fever Tree Beer, Rosemary Syrup, Pomegranate, Cranberry, and Lime Juice.
- Holiday Mickey Hot Cocoa ($5.99)
- Hot Cocoa by Joffrey’s topped with Whipped Cream, Caramel/Chocolate Drizzle, Candy Cane Dust, and Holiday Sprinkles.
Food & Drink Review
So what did we think of this food and drinks? Well, as it turns out, while it is expensive, it was delicious.
For example, I really loved the Shrimp Cocktail.
The shrimp was cooked to perfection. It was so good. And while the spread was called a “spicy avocado spread”, I did not find the spread spicy at all. Which could be a good or bad thing, depending on your perspective.
Speaking of spicy, the Salmorejo Tomato Sauce with the Chorizo Arancini was in fact quite spicy.
Which again, could be a good or bad thing depending on what you want. But regardless of your opinion on spiciness, I think you will like the Chorizo Arancini. The Arancini itself is really good.
Speaking of really good, we really liked the Jazzy Holiday Sliders.
It was really good! The onion jam in particular was really good. We loved it both years.
A new thing we tried this year was the Sticky Chicken Wings.
They were really good. If you don’t like spicy chicken, you can just eat them plain and not try the sauce. Or you can use the sweet-and-spicy sauce. But it’s nice that the sauce is on the side so you have the choice.
We also tried the Charcuterie this year.
The meats were Venison and Iberico Ham. They were both delicious! The ham was a bit spicy, but the honeycomb absorbed it.
Speaking of which, there was honeycomb, which was delicious, as were the pickles. The blue cheese and cheddar cheese were delicious. The toasted sourdough was the only real disappointment as it was hard.
We also liked the drinks we ordered. This includes the Samuel Adams Seasonal Lager.
And it also includes the Honig Sauvignon Blanc.
Atmosphere
I must also say the atmosphere was really nice. It’s really nice after a day at the theme park to sit back, relax, and be waited on. It is just a really nice part of the evening.
Conclusion
Jazzy Holidays at the Hollywood Brown Derby is a fun and relaxing place to visit during Jollywood Nights. The food and wine are good, the vibes are great, and the live entertainment is great, too (as long as you don’t sit too close!).
The only negative is that is a bit pricey (as you can see from the menu), so if you want to save money during your Jollywood Nights visit you might want to skip this experience. But otherwise, I think you’ll enjoy it.
And speaking of cost, you can find out how to save money on Jollywood Nights tickets here.
