When the sun sets on Downtown Disney, its music venues shift their focus from families and tourists to a hipper clientele.

Adding night life to Disney is like tossing a few shots of espresso into your decaf latte.

And yet that’s exactly what they’re trying to do at Downtown Disney, where nightclubs are central to the esplanade nestled between the Magic Kingdom and the new California Adventure.

“We wanted Downtown Disney to be a high-energy place to go in Orange County,” said Michael Berry, senior vice president of the district. “We’re not only about family entertainment. The new venues are not meant to be counterpoint to Disney’s branding. It’s meant to be complementary to it.”

That means attracting not just camera-clicking tourists and parents pushing kids in strollers, but also the twenty- and thirtysomethings from around the region. The kids get the roller coasters, water rides and animation theaters. Grown-ups get Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, Y Arriba Y Arriba and the House of Blues. Indeed, Downtown Disney officials hope that the happiest place on Earth can also be the hippest place in Orange County.

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From Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, the aroma of grilled fish will waft from the two-story red and yellow building accented by balconies, archways, artistic ironwork and a courtyard. During the day, strolling musicians might accompany a Creole meal. The Jazz Kitchen will feature Creole fare. Strolling musicians play tunes during Sunday brunch at the jazz club.

After 8 p.m. the night life kicks in inside the 120-seat Flambeaux Room, which has a 20-foot stage. A combo from the Dirty Dozen New Orleans brass band, along with jazz and blues vocalist Marva Wright, will perform at a grand opening tonight. In the future, they’ll have local jazz artists playing New Orleans jazz.

“We won’t have a dance floor, but that doesn’t stop people from dancing by their tables,” said Ralph Brennan, owner of the New Orleans-based Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group.

Across the way is Y Arriba Y Arriba, which originated in Miami. The venue resembles a gargantuan melting birthday cake with yellow icing. The name, roughly translated, means “and up and up,” and the club’s motto is “It’s always show time,” both of which reflect the nonstop entertainment there. Open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. starting Feb. 1, it plans to have shows that change hourly. Performers will mingle with the crowds during the day, strolling from balcony to balcony, or catwalk to catwalk.

The decor incorporates diverse elements of Latino culture, from a porcelain female figure holding a Spanish fan as a centerpiece to the pinata-style glass chandelier. The music is equally eclectic, with plans for everything from Afro-Cuban to merengue to tango.

“The idea is that if you come in the afternoon, the club will be completely different from when you come in at 9 or 10 at night,” said Jorge Currais, vice president of entertainment. “We’ll do a lot more folk-art numbers in the day for the kids and families. We’re not going to have something spicy or sexy that early.”

Past happy hour, though, the 10-piece house orchestra stirs awake and turns up the Latin fusion rhythms for dancing. (Two main stages are designed with hydraulic lifts so the stages move, rotate and lift as needed to create dance-floor space.) Club dancers will don costumes that are a bit skimpier, and the crowd will start to change to a mostly adult atmosphere, Currais said.

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Disney’s version of the House of Blues looks more like a resort bungalow than its ghostly, tin-sheeted counterpart on the Sunset Strip. Not to worry, though: The people hiring the bands are the same. Orange County punk-rock band Lit heads the lineup on Friday and Saturday.

The 900-seat concert hall at the House of Blues is separated from the dining areas located inside, in the outdoor patio and balcony. Crowds can flow between them but checkpoints ensure that those underage can’t get into the bars. An eclectic lineup of live rock, alternative rock, jazz, blues and hip-hop is scheduled at least five nights a week, with two nights of high-energy dance music. There’s also a gospel brunch each Sunday.

“Part of our branding is that we cater to different audiences. From 10 a.m to 1 p.m. we cater to the family,” said Jack Gannon, senior director of marketing for House of Blues. “A significant amount of our shows are all-ages shows. We are sensitive to the audience. We know we still have the ability to be hip and edgy, yet we know we have to be sensitive to Disney’s audiences. But it won’t change our hip quotient.”

Club Scene

Downtown Disney

* Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, 1590 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim; (714) 776-5200. All ages. No cover.

* The House of Blues, 1530 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim; (714) 778-2583. (This phone number won’t be active until Friday.) Age limit varies for concerts. Dance nights, Sundays and alternate Mondays, 21 and older, $15 cover.

* Y Arriba Y Arriba, 1510 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim; (714) 533-8272. All ages. No cover.

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HOUSE OF BLUES OPENING

Anaheim band Lit will be the first act to play Downtown Disney’s House of Blues, when it opens Friday. Page 37.