Disney Imagineering Signage Permit Adds to BoardWalk Mystery

Disney’s BoardWalk Resort has been sitting on a string of vacant spaces and unexplained permit filings for over a year, and a new Notice of Commencement just added another data point to the mystery. Walt Disney Imagineering filed a signage permit at a BoardWalk address, naming a contractor that WDI regularly uses for signage projects. No announcement has been made, and it’s still unclear what’s coming. Here’s where everything stands at Disney’s BoardWalk.

Quick Summary

• WDI filed a new Notice of Commencement at a BoardWalk Resort address listing Design Communications Ltd. as the contractor — a vendor frequently used by WDI for signage work across Walt Disney World
• The scope of work is signage installation
• It’s not confirmed whether this filing connects to “Project Amazon” or “Project Bubbles” — two mystery projects at the BoardWalk in the CFTOD database
• Project Amazon is at the former Big River Grille & Brewing Works (closed January 2024)
• Project Bubbles is at the former Promenade Fine Art Gallery (closed October 2025)
• Jellyrolls also closed April 2025 and is currently being gutted — no project name filed yet
• Disney has made no announcement about any of these spaces

The New Signage Permit

Walt Disney Imagineering filed a Notice of Commencement naming Design Communications Ltd. as the contractor for signage installation at a BoardWalk address. Design Communications is a vendor WDI has used regularly for signage projects across Walt Disney World property — their appearance in a permit filing is a reliable indicator that signage work is being prepared, not just planned.

What the signage is for hasn’t been confirmed. Disney has made no announcement connecting this filing to any specific project or location on the BoardWalk.

The Two Mystery Projects: Amazon and Bubbles

Two unexplained project names have been sitting in the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District database with BoardWalk addresses:

• Project Amazon — Located at the former Big River Grille & Brewing Works, which closed January 21, 2024. The project name may be a simple internal reference to the river-named brewery (“Amazon” = a river), rather than a hint about what’s coming.
• Project Bubbles — Located at the former Promenade Fine Art Gallery, which closed in late October 2025. The gallery had a focus on marine-based art, and “Bubbles” fits that association — again, possibly a referential internal name rather than a thematic clue.

If the project names are just internal references to previous tenants, they don’t tell us anything about what’s actually planned. Disney’s WDI teams frequently use placeholder or reference names in permit filings that have no bearing on the final project.

Jellyrolls Is Also Dark

Jellyrolls, the dueling piano bar that had been on the BoardWalk since the resort opened in 1996, closed in April 2025. The space is currently being gutted. No project name has been filed in the CFTOD database for Jellyrolls yet, so there’s no permit trail to follow on that one.

Where Things Stand Right Now

To recap what’s vacant and what we know at Disney’s BoardWalk:

• Former Big River Grille — vacant since January 2024, listed as Project Amazon in CFTOD
• Former Promenade Fine Art Gallery — vacant since October 2025, listed as Project Bubbles in CFTOD
• Former Jellyrolls — closed April 2025, currently gutted, no project name filed
• New WDI signage permit filed at a BoardWalk address — scope and destination unconfirmed

Three vacant spaces on one stretch of resort property, construction activity confirmed, and no official announcements. Something is coming to the BoardWalk — probably multiple somethings. The signage permit suggests at least one of these spaces is moving toward a reveal.

Final Thoughts

The Disney BoardWalk has been in limbo for over a year, with closures piling up and construction activity gradually picking up behind the scenes. A signage permit from WDI’s regular vendor is a meaningful step forward — signage doesn’t get ordered until a space is close to opening. What it’s for, and whether it connects to Project Amazon, Project Bubbles, or Jellyrolls, remains unknown. Expect an announcement when Disney is ready. Until then, keep watching the permits.

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