Welcome to a tropical hideaway, you lovely people! We recently had the chance to visit one of the most popular lounges around Disney World’s hotels, and we’re here to tell you alllll about our experience!
A Zombie and a Hippopotomai-Tai
Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto is one of the most talked about spots when people mention unique experiences to be had at Disney World, and it seems to stand the test of time. Admittedly though, it had been a while since our last visit here, so we were due a trip to see if it still is as good as it once was!
If you’ve never had the opportunity to visit Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto or were intrigued but never could quite time your visit just right, we feel sorry for you. Visiting this exclusive lounge is more like an entire experience at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and feels more like a right of passage when visiting Disney World than a decision about where to eat.
Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto
Trader Sam, who you might know as the famous Head Salesman of the Jungle Cruise ride, has spent his years collecting artifacts from his travels around the world and is welcoming you to his happy hideaway to see them all. This lounge is a similar location to Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar, which you can experience in Disneyland.
Atmosphere
This tropical-themed hideaway is one of the hidden lounges around this hotel. You can find this restaurant tucked in the same wing as the neighboring quick-service restaurant, Capt. Cook’s. This place might not look like much at first glance because all you’re able to spot from the outside is a tan door with a few wooden planks lining the entranceway, but we promise you there’s so much more than meets the eye.
Entrance
By day, from 3PM to 8PM, this lounge space is family-friendly, but at night, you’ll need to be 21 and older to step inside and enjoy the atmosphere, lounge, food, and drinks from 8PM until closing time at midnight daily. You’ll want to plan to arrive early because most of the time it can get full quickly. In fact, most parties have so much fun that you might find it hard to get seating for a few hours if you’re not checked in for a spot early!
Don’t ignore these important signs
Once you’ve passed the threshold, you’re greeted by a Cast Member at a small check-in stand. Right away it’s apparent this restaurant knows how to not take itself so seriously. You might notice small details like the lamp with multiple pairs of swim goggles…
Check-in
…and shelves of character mugs lining the walls on display. If you’re a repeat visitor here (or just like to keep up with this restaurant’s latest mug releases on social media) you might spot a few that easily catch your eye, and then find yourself taking a harder look for some that might not stand out at first glance!
Behind the counter
When it’s time, the Cast Member will escort you over to your seat at either a table or booth,…
A room with a view
…shared long table,…
Dining area
…bar, or standing room area which is just a small area right next to the bar.
So many details everywhere
Throughout the night, when you notice orders being brought out to different tables, you’ll quickly learn that most of the alcoholic drinks in this restaurant have a backstory to them that are full of vibrant light tricks, sounds, and over-the-top reactions from the bartenders and servers presenting them. It’s fun to listen in on each of the stories of all the different types of drinks, and it certainly helps make this a visit one you won’t easily forget!
Menu
Once we were seated at the bar (since that was the only open seating available when we checked in — told ya it goes quick!) our server presented us with a full menu. The front side introduces the restaurant with a fun story from Skip (a founding Skipper) welcoming you to Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto. It will also fill you in on a fun backstory about the skippers from the Jungle Navigation Company LTD, which you might be more familiar with from Magic Kingdom‘s Jungle Cruise ride and Jungle Navigation Company, LTD Skipper Canteen restaurant.
Trader Sam’s menu
Opening up the menu reveals a spirited (pun intended) array of various alcoholic beverages available for order and a short description of how they came to be (meaning what they’re made of). A closer inspection of a few items with some interesting mugs and cups will reveal the price it will cost you to make claim to those mugs and cups as your own treasure (ah hem, take the souvenirs home with you). Booze isn’t the only drink on the menu though! There are also a few of Sam’s No Booze Brews and Zero-Proof cocktails to boot, too!
Inside the menu
The 9th wonder of the world — the backside of your menu — reveals the restaurant’s flair for even more boozy concoctions in the forms of individual beer, wines, and beer flights.
The 9th wonder of the world
The bottom section of the menu also lists a few appetizers, because they’ve gotta offer you some kind of sustenance to keep you going, right?
Drinks
Do you know what’s better than just one drink? TWO! And that’s exactly what we did (more on this later). This restaurant has a policy where you can only have two drinks in front of you at a time, so we decided for the sake of research, two it would be! We ordered a Hippopotomai-Tai and a Zombie to start things off.
Drinks!
Aren’t they just too cute together?! Let’s talk about the “head” honcho of this duo, the Zombie first! This drink is made of Gosling’s 151 Black Seal Rum, Appleton Estate Reserve Rum, Bacardi 8 yr Rum, Tropical Juices, Falernum, and Cinnamon and will set you back $18 for just the drink. You can also opt to take home your own Zombie mug by ordering that version for $31.
ZOMBIE!
This drink is brought out to you when the entire lounge’s lights are dimmed and you hear a voice overhead advertising Zombie brains as recommended by your doctor. Wait, are we sure they’re not a witch doctor?
Look how it lights up under the black-lights
This drink isn’t very sweet, but it has a heavier liquor flavor to it that gives a taste of something similar to bubblegum. It’s definitely rum-heavy but that’s exactly why we loved the taste of this one so much because it was meant to come on really strong (kinda like one of those undead bodies you just can’t seem to shake).
Once we’d had our fill of our first drink we turned our attention to the adorable Hippopotomai-Tai. This drink is made of Plantation Original Dark Rum, Bacardi Superior Rum, Bols Orange Curaçao, Orgeat (Almond), Organic Agave Nectar, and fresh Lime Juice and costs $18 for just the drink or $28.50 if you want a souvenir to take with you! This one is presented with a few loud bangs that will be thundered from overhead with “*boom* *boom* TWO SHOTS of rum.”
Hippopotomai-Tai
This is a very well-made Mai Tai drink! It’s sweet, and you’ll immediately be able to pick up the hints of lime in it, but it all works together wonderfully. If it wasn’t for the orange flavor as the undertone to carry it, we could have almost sworn this was a margarita. It’s a nice spin on a classic drink where the sweetness will be just right (you know, like how Goldilocks would have liked), and its little hippo-face mug is adorable!
Remember when we said we’d come back around to the two-drink rule (unless you don’t have the long-term memory of an elephant)? Wellllll… if you thought we were finished, we had one more drink we really wanted to try out! We powered through and decided we were ready for the theatrics of the Uh-oa!
Uh-oa!
Yes, there’s a HUGE production put on throughout the entire lounge when you order this drink. It’s set afire while your server recounts the story of how the mortals have upset the mighty Uh-oa and how they’re offering up this sacrifice to them. From this point, you’ll join them in chanting “Uh-oa” while they set the “sacrificial flames” ablaze and put on a full performance right in front of you before extinguishing it. Trust us when we say you’re put front and center of the show for this drink when it’s presented and your participation is completely mandatory.
Yes, it’s on FIRE!
This drink is made of Plantation Original Dark Rum, Bacardi Superior Rum, Orange, Passion Fruit, Guava, Pineapple, and Grapefruit Juices, Falernum, Cinnamon, and fresh Lime Juice and will cost you $26.50. It’s a rather hefty drink and size, so it is recommended for two or more people to enjoy it in a sitting. This is why we didn’t initially order it when we ordered the first two drinks.
Made for multiple people
The glazed mug it’s served in is so ornate that you could spend some time ogling over all its details. As for the drink’s taste, well, it’s kind of like a mix of the first two we already had. It’s sweet like rock candy but also had a smooth rum tone to it that was very noticeable. It also had a hint of grapefruit juice that gave it a fruity vibe, and we thought it was delicious! Butttt, aside from its incredible theatrics, it’s a big, flavorful drink and certainly built for multiple people to enjoy (and it didn’t take us too long to figure that out by taste alone). You’re asked to pinch cinnamon to throw into the drink which gave it more of a Christmasy- rum flavor and tapered down the incredibly fun fruitier side!
Eats
After all those drinks you’ve gotta be thinking “Gosh we hope they had some food with that!” and you’d be correct! With the drinks, we also opted to order the Thai Chicken Flatbread and Kalua Pork Tacos. When it comes to food, the last call for something to munch on while you enjoy your drinks is at 10PM so you’ll want to be aware of when you’re arriving AND seated when planning your visit.
Full spread
Let’s talk about this massive flatbread first! The Thai Chicken Flatbread is made with Bacon and Peanut Sauce and will cost you $12.50.
Thai Chicken Flatbread
This flatbread was divine, and we could confidently say it has one of the best flavors we’ve ever had in all of Disney World. You’ll taste that peanut sauce drizzled on top of it right away but the bacon that accompanies the toppings are thick and chewy. Your tastebuds may want to initially liken it to a buffalo chicken flatbread until you really get that peanut sauce flavor to kick in and show you what it’s all about.
A slice
There’s no surprise spicy kick to this one, so if you’re not a fan of flatbreads for this reason alone, we’d recommend you give this one a try. The price for the size of the appetizer you get is hard to beat!
We also opted to grab the Kalua Pork Tacos for $10.50. They’re served as 3 pork tacos topped with peppers and pickled veggies with a lime wedge.
Kalua Pork Tacos
The pork in the tacos is so sweet and juicy that you might think they’re honey-glazed at first taste. Adding that sweet flavor against the creamier tones of the shredded cheese and the crunch of the fresh veggies creates a flavor explosion!
So delicious!
We thought ours were delicious and had a robust flavor between the combination. Again, this is another dish that we’re finding a hard time beating out with other versions of pork tacos found at other restaurants around Disney World.
Overall
Overall, this place is a hoot — literally and figuratively! If you’re not full belly laughing while you’re here, we’re not sure this is the crowd for you. Everyone from the Cast Members to the diners seemed to be in great spirits and went along with the puns, jokes, and theatrics throughout our entire experience.
We packed up our leftovers!
Neither the food nor the drinks here disappointed us in the slightest, and we would highly recommend you make it a goal to visit at least once during your next Disney World trip!
Nosh or Not?
Set your course to sail in this direction if…
- You’re up for a one-of-a-kind experience at Disney World. There’s really nothing quite like it. Everything we experienced here from the food to the drinks to the service, and even the theming was exceptional, and we can’t seem to recommend it enough.
- Your kids have outgrown some of the younger things to do around the hotels and parks. This is a place where, if you’re timing your visit just right, the whole family can attend with you and enjoy! If you’re looking for something to do to wow even your bored middle children, this could be the cure for something fun with a more mature vibe.
- You’re BIG fans of the Skippers at the Jungle Cruise! Seriously, spend some time talking to your server and asking them about everything that’s inside the lounge. They’re happy to share stories with you about how it all ties together with their experience as a skipper and may teach you where to look for some of the more hidden details!
Maybe you’re being pulled in another direction if…
- Loud ruckusy places just aren’t your vibe. It’s pretty loud in here on its own, but add in a few extra voices laughing and engaging in typical group banter, and it can be a bit overwhelming. If this isn’t quite what you had in mind for a good time, then this might not be your best option for a lounge.
- The humor misses the mark for you here. The Cast Members here are meant to be an extension of the skippers working the other Jungle Navigation Company locations we mentioned earlier. If their kind of punny jokes just aren’t for you, then you might find as much value they’re attempting to create here.
- You’re looking for a hearty meal at this hotel. All you’re going to find here are small plates like appetizers and starters (even though admittedly that flatbread is HUGE), so if you’re looking for a multi-course meal, you’ll do better at one of the other surrounding restaurants (with the exception of the Tambu Lounge upstairs).
Did you think this Disney World restaurant looks like a ton of fun with great food and even more laughs? While you’re here, check out a few more of our most recent reviews, and be sure to stay tuned with us at Disney Food Blog for even more!
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What’s your favorite drink to order when visiting Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto? Tell us why it’s your favorite in the comments below!
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