Trader Sam's Grog Grotto

[SeventyOne]

Not that I completely disagree with you but...

I've seen over an hour wait for my local Longhorn Steakhouse. It's Spring Break at Disney with a new, shiny toy that's been well-liked. At least there is an outside bar to kill time.

Over an hour wait is routine this days for a 3-minute Peter Pan ride. I spend more than 3 minutes in Trader Sams.

In any case, after opening day, every time I've waited has been out on the patio, drink in hand, which is about as pleasant an experience you can find in Orlando during Easter week.

 

[SeventyOne]

Ahh I had no idea you could get some of the drinks without the mug, if you want a refill do you just pay for the drink price or is it somewhat reduced (not including the Pearl).

Pay standard non-mug price. Unless you want more than one mug (yeah, I've seen it happen).

Side question what drinks are not to be missed?

Tropical Dark & Stormy my personal favorite--no mug tho. Mai tai is very, very good, especially if you're not a huge drinker. Zombie also good, but you will taste the alcohol.

Rum flight is worth it just for the 23 year-old. The 15-year-old quite smooth as well. (Does suck about the surfboard, tho.)

Outside only, the Spikey Pineapple is what the spiked Dole Whip should have been at EPCOT. Delicious, but dangerous, you would not think there is booze in it.

Not a huge fan of the Krakatoa, it's very sweet. And the mojito is way too syrupy sweet.

 

[Macfr3ak]

Just spent 5 days in the Disney area going to all the parks and properties pretty much but i think i missed this.. where is this located? Downtown Disney?

 

[JungleSkip]

Just spent 5 days in the Disney area going to all the parks and properties pretty much but i think i missed this.. where is this located? Downtown Disney?

No, it's at the Polynesian.

 

[Macfr3ak]

No, it's at the Polynesian.

ahh shucks i past by there on sunday and noticed there were bars that were full but didn't even go to find out more lol.

 

[Brian G.]

BTW if you wanna see some videos of the bar in action (and a couple of cameos from some recognizable faces... ) Check out - - - -

ViewfromtheCheapSeats

[video=youtube;zxF6-PCc4IA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxF6-PCc4IA[/video]

TheTimTracker

[video=youtube;CLdvYtC5Eg0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLdvYtC5Eg0[/video]

 

[Hockeyman55]

Briman - You got to post the photo of your table full of all the glasses so everyone at home can get a real sense of the damage you guys did in there

 

[Teebin]

 

[Cole]

I mean... We had no problem having convos and hanging out on Saturday Night.... :shrug:

hmm I heard from a bunch that it was hard to keep a conversation because they were constantly being interrupted by effects. Maybe they had bad experiences I wouldn't know lol

 

[Parkscope Joe]

It's also different when you watch an edited video created to show all the effects. DLR didn't have constant effects or yelling AT ALL.

 

[JungleSkip]

DLR didn't have constant effects or yelling AT ALL.

It did when I was there tho.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

It did when I was there tho.

Dunno what else to say and I went several times over the trip. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Brian G.]

Dunno what else to say and I went several times over the trip. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Was gonna say, when I went in 2012, it wasn't anything crazy.

 

[Hatetofly]

I had a great time at Trader Sam's and I personally think its a great addition to any resort whether it be Disney, Universal, and so on. I also think its important to remember as the Polar Bear mentioned it is in the end just a Tiki Bar thats very well themed. Its cramped, expensive, and the service was crazy slow from our waiter. I know SGT623, who was with us was able to get drinks brought to him at a much faster rate. If there is one thing I hate, its going to a bar with no seats (that happened to us too) and having to wait for long periods of time from drink order to drink in hand. But I also realize its soft opening and people are training and getting used to their new work environment. Overall though I would recommend Trader Sams to my friends and family without hesitation. Yeah its a novelty but in the end it was a great time with not only great friends but complete strangers sitting next to us and to me thats what its all about, fun times with friends.

Oh and you can expect this type of "offering" to be expanded upon, the wheels are already in motion...

 

[RonaldsModernLife]

I sure know what bar to visit if I want a headache. And I don't mean a drink induced headache. God, it's loud in there. Are the servers a little tipsy themselves?

 

[Disneyhead]

I'm a huge fan of Tiki bars. This doesn't seem to really be my cup of grog

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I will measure when I go friday, but my time there in 2013 at DLR the effects and such didn't go off for every order, just a few. Some repeated, yes, but it wasn't like shipwreck after shipwreck after shipwreck. It might be different for others and probably depends on the bartenders. I imagine they're dialing in the frequency still.

 

[martymcflyy85]

maybe they'll eventually set it up like T-Rex in downtown Disney, where the effects go off every 20 minutes or so.

 

[Jon84]

hmm I heard from a bunch that it was hard to keep a conversation because they were constantly being interrupted by effects. Maybe they had bad experiences I wouldn't know lol

You just like putting everything down on here lol

 

[*Q*]

I've been a couple of times so far, and I think it really depends on when you go that will make or break your experience. I went the first Sunday night at around 10:30 and walked right in. It had apparently been nuts just before I got there, but was very pleasant the rest of the evening, I'd say there was a perfect balance of activity and the stretch of time between effects and everything. I went again Thursday night around 8:15 or so, was given a pager for my friend and I, we waited about fifteen minutes before it went off. It was still pretty chill that night, my only issue was standing around for a few minutes once we got in there waiting for somewhere to sit, and once we did it was the super short section of the bar in the corner. I think it'd smooth the operation out a bit if they sat you, maybe if you indicate when you get your pager if you'd prefer a table or bar seat.