Casey’s Corner Pianist – Jim on Main Street U.S.A.


casey11.jpg

As you walk down Main Street U.S.A. you may be drawn to smells of popcorn and hot dogs coming from Casey’s Corner. Many find Casey’s a great place for a tasty “snack”. But as you round the corner a delightful surprise is waiting for you – Jim the Ragtime Pianist!

Jim at Casey's Corner Piano

Jim has been tickling the ivories since the 1970s. He’ll entertain you with a wide variety of Disney tunes, as well as some corny jokes and banter if you engage him.

Jim at Casey's Corner Piano

Jim is one of the “hidden treasures” of the Magic Kingdom.

casey12.jpg!

Grab a coke, hot dog or popcorn, take a seat and enjoy!

Trending Now

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

35 Replies to “Casey’s Corner Pianist – Jim on Main Street U.S.A.”

  1. We saw Jim on our last visit to the Magic Kingdom in March of this year. I had never had the pleasure of listening to him before. Having a chili dog at Casey’s and listening to Jim play was a wonderful memory. He was so good with the kids too – I’ll definitely remember to stop by next trip!

  2. Jim is always a “must see” for our family! The last time we were down, we were 20 minutes late for our dinner reservation because we HAD to stop and watch him play. He is a Disney World icon and it wouldn’t be the same without him! Thanks for giving him the recognition he deserves!

  3. Always at the top of my list. He truly is a hidden gem. Even if I don’t “grab a snack” at Casey’s, I always stop to listen to him play. He adds to the total Main Street experience for me.

  4. My mom filmed Jim back in 1986 for our vacation video. During the years that we weren’t able to go to WDW, I watched this video repeatedly. His performance was an absolute highlight for our family of pianists. Imagine my surprise when I recognized a familiar face tickling the ivories 22 years later! I burst into happy tears =)

  5. For as long as I have been going to WDW I always try and see Jim playing his piano, everyone I ask that has been to WDW always remembers him on Casey’s corner, my mum and dad love to sit and have a nice cold drink and enjoy Jim playing his tunes… what a wonderful Disney treasure he really is… I will make it my mission to get his autograph next time I go for my son.

  6. I am from Brazil, and i go to MK since 1982, when I was a kid (14 times now).

    I remember Jim playing since the very first time I went to my most beloved magical place in WDW, which happens to be that very same corner, grabbing a hot dog or a vanilla ice cream from across the street, and listening to him.

    This blog entry drove me, as in many other times i remind of him, into tears of happiness and joy. Can’t wait to return in 2001.

    I wish, Deb, if you can, that you send all our love to this wonderful man, a real hidden treasure at the World, and wish him many years doing what he best knows beside playing the piano: To smile, simply smile that innocent and happy smile of his, and shower us with all his Joy!

    Best regards, Deb! And sorry by my poor English!

  7. Our very last stop of our trips to Disney is at Casey’s Corner for lunch – and enjoying the awesome piano playing by Jim. It is the perfect way to close out our vacation. We return in 15 days – looking forward to it all over again! :o)

  8. We just down loaded all of our videos from the camera to a new computer and I spent a couple of nights organizing them. I didn’t watch much of the clips, just enough to lable them, but I watched – and listened – to the entire video of Jim from the Christmas Party in 2008 (The coldest time we’ve ever had at the park; he was wearing fingerless gloves while he played!)I can’t remember the name of the song, one of those old folk tunes I heard as a kid, but he played it in ragtime and I loved it.

  9. Going to Magic Kingdom today so we will look out for him!!! Only 2 days left of our months vacation in Orlando. A month seems a long time for a vacation but there is still so much we still haven’t done!!

  10. While waiting for the fireworks on this year’s February trip we stood near Jim and listened to his wonderful piano playing. I was thrilled when he called on my seven year old son to join him with the ending of his song. I was even more impressed when he signed “Thank-You” to him, after noticing that my son is deaf and we were communicating in sign language. I caught it all on video, and it is a memory I love to watch over and over again!

  11. I love listening to Jim every time I go back to the Magic Kingdom. In fact, my family doesn’t consider it a “Disney” vacation until we see certain cast members. Jim is one of them. A very talented and nice individual who really adds to the mystique of Main St. and Casey’s. Great article!!

  12. My daughter’s 2nd trip to disney when she was 2.5, was the first time she encountered Jim. He played the Mickey Mouse Club Song and she sang with him. It was so magical. Her little voice singing every other word and him playing slow enough so she could do it. It was so wonderful. She watched him for the longest time, just fascinated. Wonderful memories. We go every year and always spend time at Casey’s listening while eating our hotdogs.

  13. Rod Miller kept us going at Coke Corner in Disneyland for over thirty years. A older couple from Australia were on a return trip. When Rod saw them, he stopped what he was playing and started “Waltzing Matilda”. The wife was so happy that he remembered them, she teared up. So did we all that day. Every one who stopped to listen left with a smile and a memory.

  14. Love watching him and listening to him. I have a great home video of about a 3-4 minute stretch about 16 years ago when my told oldest were hanging onto the rail watching him play……he would play, look back at them and say something silly which had them laughing like crazy. He then asked them for their favorite song (they said It’s a small world”) and then played it for them. Hidden treasure indeed.

  15. We surprised my in-laws with a trip to Disney World to celebrate their 50th anniversary a few years ago. We stopped for awhile to listen to Jim’s wonderful piano playing. He treated my in-laws to their favorite tune, “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” in honor of their anniversary. I’ll never forget what a special moment that was, seeing them arm in arm singing along with Jim. Oh, we love the big attractions at WDW but it’s those little times in between like this that endear us more and more to this spectacular place.

  16. My family had a wonderful experience meeting and playing with a pianist at the Grand Floridian in January of this year. Can’t wait to meet Jim next January.

  17. I used to work at WDW back in 2001. Sometimes I was stationed at Casey’s cleaning the tables outside. I became friends with Jim, and to this day whenever I visit, we chat, and he always plays Minni’s Yoohoo for me!!! Jim rocks!!!

  18. We visit Disney World every year and look forward to stopping by Casey’s to listen to Jim play. He is so talented and delivers that Disney magic everytime.

  19. Jim is a personal favorite of our family , every year we go our girls always say “lets go see if Jim’s playing on MainStreet…I love how they refer to him as if he is a member of our family! I guess after them seeing him for the past 10yrs he is like a part of our family! A trip to the Magic Kingdom would not be complete without seeing and hearing Jim play our girls a song or two!

  20. Definitely one of those comforting characters that you smile when you see on every visit to MK …like he belongs there… and one that would be missed if he should ever leave.

  21. We visited with Jim during one of our trips and requested “You are my Sunshine” for our daughter. (When I was pregnant with her, my nephew sang that song to her all the time and it has always been a favorite of hers.) I shared that story with him and not only did he play the song for us, he asked us to stand next to him and sing the song while he played. It was great! He truly is a hidden Disney gem. Thanks for the blog.

  22. Jim is great and quite a character himself. He makes playing ragtime tunes seem effortless. Deb, it was great meeting you that day. Thanks for taking the time to talk and to have your picture taken with me. Jim, thanks for taking the photo. 🙂

  23. FABULOUS…thanks for sharing this. Our visit is never complete unless we visit Casey’s corner! and, get lucky enough to hear Jim play. It’s such a relaxing spot, and so very beautiful too!
    Becky*

  24. I had a great conversation with Jim several years ago, right there at Casey’s, when there wasn’t much crowd nearby. My MA is in music theory and composition, and we talked about our favorite composers, musicians we enjoyed listening to, and our motivation for studying the art…and for making ourselves practice! He also briefly described the “music scene’ there at WDW – how many different groups there are, rehearsals and other requirements, and so on. It was fun to hear that kind of “real world” info from a true insider.

    Then he proceeded to play “12th Street Rag” at a positively INSANE tempo – and nailed every note!

  25. lovely article Deb – definitely a hidden treasure at the Magic Kingdom 🙂

    Jim has my dream job.. playing piano all day on Main Street USA!

  26. We were able to catch Jim performing during our trip in October. When we told him our daughter takes piano lessons, he allowed her to play the final note of his piece. Thanks for the magical memory, Jim!

  27. this gentleman , like push the talking trash can is one of the “little” things that make each visit enjoyable. he is such a joy to watch and talk to .

    dusty

  28. Jim is a true Disney ‘Hidden Treasure’! During our June trip to Disney to celebrate our son’s first birthday, we received a special treat from Jim. We just finished getting our son’s first haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop (our daughter also had her first haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop–by the SAME barber, Diane 3 years earlier!!)and were strolling through Main Street when we encountered Jim. Jim noticed our son’s first birthday button & asked us his name. He then lead the entire crowd at Casey’s in singing the ‘Happy Birthday’ song to our son. I just wish we had our video camera or thought to us our phone to record the special treat. Imagine having a crowd singing ‘Happy Birthday’ in front of the Magic Kingdom–it doesn’t get any better than that!!

  29. I love setting outside with a dog and listening in. I always said I would love to see a one night only at Jellyrolls of Jim and Bob Jackson from Port Orleans. That would be awesome! I would have to make a special trip for that

  30. When I would visit Disneyland when I was little, I remember watching the pianist there, and thinking, “THAT’S what I want to be when I grow up!!” I was a piano major in college, but I’m teaching little kiddos how to play piano. Maybe someday one of my students will end up being a pianist at Disneyland or WDW. 🙂