Welcome back guest chef Carol E. with a Do It Yourself Recipe for the Konk Kooler, an exclusive adult beverage for Disney Cruise Line guests visiting Castaway Cay.
School was supposed to train us all for the real world, right? Then how come we don’t get summer, Christmas break, spring break and other various holidays off in the real world? They prepped us for real life and then took it all away when we graduated! 🙂
You might agree that summer time is the worse. We’re stuck sitting at work, when we could be on vacation…like visiting Orlando or Anaheim or better yet, sailing on a Disney Cruise!
Well here’s to figuring out how to have summer break even when we are working and can’t take a vacation!
Luckily for you, I think I may have found the solution!!! 😉 Thanks to my first ever Disney cruise last year, I was introduced to the Konk Kooler…the signature drink on Disney’s magical private island — Castaway Cay (Bahamian word pronounced Key).
Relax on Castaway Cay!
There is no place like Castaway Cay, with it’s beautiful beaches, kids area, and a private adult only beach where you can really enjoy a Konk Kooler!
Mickey and his friends are there, and we even saw Captain Jack Sparrow walking the beach!
Mickey loves Castaway Cay!
The Konk Kooler is a fantastic drink, and I was so happy to find the recipe in my Cooking with Mickey and the Disney Chefs cookbook!
Konk Kooler as served on Castaway Cay
It’s super easy to make and will only take a few minutes until you are ready to enjoy summer nights in the backyard imagining you are setting sail with Mickey and friends! Let’s get started:
Ingredients
Makes 1 serving
Konk Kooler Ingredients.
-1/2 ounce dark rum
-3/4 ounce light rum
-1 ounce passion fruit juice
-1 ounce piña colada mix
-1 ounce orange juice
We’ve even done the math for you to make 4 full Konk Coolers for your next party, so that way you skip the thinking part and get to enjoying your summer quicker! 😉
Makes 4 8 servings
-4 ounces (1/2 cup) dark rum
-6 ounces (3/4 cup) light rum
-8 ounces (1 cup) passion fruit juice
-8 ounces (1 cup) piña colada mix
-8 ounces (1 cup) orange juice
Bendy straws, umbrellas, maraschino cherries, and orange wedges optional, but make for a really fun presentation!!! Let’s get started!
Step 1: Pour dark rum into the blender.
Add Dark Rum.
Step 2: Pour light rum into blender.
Add Light Rum.
Step 3: Pour passion fruit juice into blender.
Add Passion Fruit Juice.
Step 4: Pour orange juice into blender.
Add Orange Juice.
Step 5: Pour piña colada mix into blender.
Add Piña Colada Mix.
Step 6: Turn blender on full speed for a few seconds and let all the liquids mix together!
Mix all ingredients.
Step 7: Pour over crushed ice and garnish with orange wedges and maraschino cherries!
Pour over crushed ice!
Step 8: Sit back, relax, and enjoy your drink!!
Cheers!
See, I told you it would only take a few minutes before you were enjoying this fantastic drink! This is great to make to get your family excited about your next Disney cruise (and even better after to take away the pain of saying goodbye to your Disney cruise vacation!) 😉 You can also make this a kid friendly drink by leaving out the rum! It’s also a great drink to serve at your next pool party — or better yet, when you are in the middle of winter, stuck inside, and dreaming you are on a tropical island! 😉
While last year was my first ever cruise on a Disney ship, it definitely won’t be my last! I’m already planning our next cruise vacation! My absolute favorite part was the Rainforest Rooms in the Spa!
Now, go enjoy your drink…I know I am! Cheers to our never ending summer vacation!
View of Serenity Bay on Castaway Cay!
A Few Lessons I Learned
As with all recipes, you usually find helpful ways to make it easier to make them. This section is filled with helpful hints that I learned while making this recipe and doing research on some of the ingredients! I hope they help you, too!
-The recipe actually suggested that you use a cocktail shaker, but I found it easier to combine all the ingredients in a blender since we were making more than one individual serving. I didn’t want to be stuck making individual drinks all night…I mean come on, you have to be able to enjoy the party!;)
–Do not add the crushed ice to your blender. It melts fast and creates a watered down version of the drink that is not as tasty!
-I found that Malibu flavored rums worked so well for this drink because they had the extra coconut and pineapple flavoring already mixed in with the rum that went well with the drink. I also was lucky, because Malibu was on sale, so it worked out well.
-Whatever you do, don’t use spiced rum. You’re welcome! 😉
-I found passion fruit juice made by Welch’s with the cartons of orange juice in the refrigerated juice area!
So here’s what I want to know…have you ever been on a Disney Cruise? If the answer is yes, then what is your favorite food and/or drink? Tell me about it in the comments section below! Let’s help each other plan out our next Disney cruise vacation!:)
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Loved the Konc Kooler at Castaway Cay! And, in the late afternoon, the drinks on Castaway Cay are 2 for 1! Can’t wait to go back there in December when we will be getting married and having our “reception” on The Disney Dream. I’m thinking of a Konc Kooler toast for us all! Thanks for the recipe AJ, maybe Andy can make this for me!
AJ. this drink is greay. I like it. My favorite is Pina Colada so this drink has the orange juice and Passion Fruit juice. Wow a perfect blend of flavore. BUT. Do not drink a lot of them or your ship will hit stormy weather, if you know what I mean.
Ah – the Coffee Toledo from the Cove Cafe! Coffee-y, chocolate-y, warm-you-up-inside-y! It was the PERFECT drink on our Alaskan cruise last summer while cruising up Endicott Arm (we couldn’t go up Tracy Arm on our cruise – it was still too icy).
Unless my math is wrong, isn’t the recipe for 8 servings and not 4?
Sounds wonderful! I can’t wait to try it. It’s been too long since our last Disney cruise. I don’t remember any of the food, I just remember it was all very good! I have a suggestion for making the drink: Mix all of the ingredients except the booze, and put the mix in the freezer until it’s slushy. Then put the slush in the blender with the booze. Voila! No more “watered down” drinks.
I think Mike’s right that it’s 8 servings.
Bonnie — Thanks for the tip on the 2 for 1 Castaway drinks in the late afternoon!!! Wow! And, yes, Andy definitely needs to make you a Kooler right away!
William Wells — Ha ha; stormy weather indeed! 😉
Michelle P — Thank you for the suggestion; sounds PERFECT for an Alaska cruise!
Mike Kirkpatrick — Thanks! We’ll double check!
Cheryl D — Great suggestion on making the drink more slushy! Thanks!
Beth — Thank you!
Umm….YUM!!! Can’t wait to make this!
Oh, yeah! The ingredients are already on the shopping list for this weekend and next weekend’s balloon festival party! I may be the most popular gal at the party making these!! Thanks AJ!
We’ve cruised with DCL 11 times!,went to Alaska, Canada and most recently Hawaii!, but we usually cruise at Christmas Nd there are soooo many wonderful food treats from gingerbread cookies and mulled cider (or hot chocolate) to special holiday dinners. We’ve cruised with NCL, too. One thing’s for sure – Disney does it right, every time!
Can I just say I believe this to be one of the top 5 greatest blog posts of ALL TIME!!! Out to the store to buy ingredients…
Hey guys, thanks for all the kind words! This one was so easy to make and super delish!!!
Bonnie- Congratulations!!! Enjoy your wedding day!!! What a great place to get married!!
Michelle- I’m dying to go on an Alaskan cruise…someday! That drink sounds great!
Mike Kirkpatrick and Beth: Yes, it’s 8 servings, but 4 full glasses when you add the ice. 8 servings definitely won’t serve 8 people!;)
Cheryl: Love your idea!! Thanks for sharing!
Joanna: let me know what you think!!
Lynne: I’ve cruised tons, but October was my first Disney cruise…you are so right! They totally do it right!!!
Radioharambe- Thank you so much for your kind words about the post! Enjoy your drinks!!:)
For sure Konk Koolers are my favorite drink…but my favorite food? Easy. Chocolate Souffle at Palo. To. Die. For!
Easy: Nur’s Wedding Cake Martini (had it several times, last time on the 2010 Westbound TA
Vanilla vodka – 1 oz
Bailey’s – 3/4 oz
Amaretto – 3/4 oz
Creme de Cacao – 3/4 oz (white or dark)
Gordon’s Chocolate liquor – 3/4 oz or Godiva
Vanilla ice cream – 2 oz
Jennifer- that sounds amazing!!!
Mike-we’ll have to try that! Thanks for sharing!
My husband and I did the champagne brunch at Palo and all I can say is Holy Gastromics, Batman!! The only word that came to mind when I tried to describe the food was ethereal.
AJ, I had the pleasure of enjoying a Konk Kooler when we took a 5-day cruise to the Bahamas in May of 2012. Once of the very sweet bartenders in The Cove told me about it the night before we arrived at Castaway Cay. He said I had to try it because they are made from scratch and are delicious. The day we arrived at Castaway, it was cool and misty, so guests were a little slower to disembark and head to the beach (not us – we ordered room service breakfast and bolted off the ship as soon as they cleared the gangway so we could score some prime real estate on the beach). After my husband and daughter got back from parasailing, I told them I wanted to head up to the bar and try one of these famous drinks. WOW, are they delicious – and S-T-R-O-N-G! I left the bar with my Konk Kooler in hand, stopped to play with a cat who was lounging on the path and went with my family up to the bike rentals. They got on bikes and headed out for a ride around the island and I told them I would meet them back at the beach chairs. Halfway through my drink, I couldn’t find my way back! By the time I made it back to the family beach, I thought I was having a stroke. I think when I make them for myself, I will back off on the rum just a bit 🙂
Are there 2 versions of Konk Koolers on Castaway Cay? I was there on 5/27/2014 and got a 2 for one deal around 2:30pm and the Konk Kooler looks nothing like the ones pictured in this post. The ones I got were mango colored (so, yellowish) and of a smoothie texture. I’ve tried Googling Konk Kooler and have seen both version: a white version like what you have pictured here and a few of the yellow, mango colored version. If there are 2 versions, what’s the difference? The ones I got were delicious, btw!
its better if you use the frozen baccardi piña colada and frozen passion juice. Less ice is needed so it’s creamy.
I met Ari, Castaway Cay bartender. He used Coco Lopez, NOT pina colada mix. Delish