Trader Sam's Grog Grotto | the disney food blog

Disney Food Post Round-Up: April 26, 2015

Hello out there!

Welp — it’s official. The Boathouse did indeed open its doors last week!

The Boathouse — Complete with Amphicars — is Officially Open for Business!

The new restaurant is beautiful…and huge. We brought you a first look and our impressions of both the decor and the food recently.

While The Boathouse continues to refine service and work out all the details, Advance Dining Reservations are not available during this soft opening. It’s purely walk-up for the time being.

We have plenty more details about Disney’s newest restaurant below. So let’s take a look at this and the rest of the news we reported on this week. For more details on the above news and more, just click on the links below!

Disney Food News

La Cava del Tequila fans can try a brand new version of the popular Pomegranate Margarita during their next visit.
Speaking of tequila, Dockside Margaritas opened this week at Disney World’s Downtown Disney, serving mixed drinks inspired by the flavors of the Sunshine State.
Olaf’s Perfect Sundae Day has debuted at Beaches and Cream Soda Shop. Looks like Summer is on its way!
Some brand new Sweet Treats and Drinks are set to appear at Disneyland in honor of the Park’s 60th Anniversary.
We have an update to the Epcot Starbucks “You Are Here” Mug story at Walt Disney World — a new version is now available.
Disney has begun rolling out Allergy-Friendly menus at more than 100 of its restaurants at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. See an example here!
We have our very first tour and review of The Boathouse, Disney’s newest restaurant, which just opened at Downtown Disney (soon to be Disney Springs).
The pool at Disney World’s Polynesian Village Resort has reopened after a lengthy refurbishment, and the Barefoot Pool Bar has reopened right along with it!

Check out all the latest Disney Food News — even the stuff we don’t mention in posts on the blog! — on our Disney Food News Pin Board, including menu updates, restaurant closures, special events, and more!

We’ve got all the latest for you, so check it out before you go.

DFB Reader Finds

If you find a fun new food — or other edible awesomeness — in or about Disney, share a photo with us on facebook or twitter so we can add it to our DFB Reader Finds each Sunday!

@CarrieWChildren just tried dinner at Sanaa for the first time, and agrees that the Butter Chicken is awesome! Guess what I’m craving now??

Butter Chicken, A Sanaa Favorite

@MikeTarkin tried the S’Mores Bake Recipe at home that we featured recently. He says it’s definitely a keeper!!

Making the S’mores Bake from Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue at Home

Do you have a favorite Disney Food find? Share your photos with us!

Deal of the Week: 2015-2016 Disney World Vacation Must-Have E-Book Sale!

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If you really want to dine in the hottest restaurants, you pretty much have to plan ahead. Be spontaneous, of course. But get a couple Advance Dining Reservations in place.

But which ones?

That’s where Disney Food Blog comes in! You already enjoy our reviews, news, and tips daily on our Blog. But did you know — that’s JUST the tip of the iceberg. Because we have lots more to share with you in our complete line of DFB Guides.

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And to thank all of you for your support of DFB, we are offering extra savings on our most popular DFB Guide right now. Just enter promo code 2015 at checkout and you’ll save $4 off of our cover price of the DFB Guide to Walt Disney World® Dining 2015 e-Book!

But if you’d like to enjoy even more detail, check out another great offer.

DFB Everything Bundle SALE!

If you’d like even more great information, pictures, and tips, then the DFB Everything Bundle is the right fit for you.

And to get you ready for that next big trip, we are offering the DFB Everything Bundle for $15 off the already low price! It’s like getting an entire book for free. Just enter promo code Everything15 at checkout to take advantage of this offer.

The Everything Bundle includes, well, Everything! When you purchase this special bundle of DFB Guides, you’ll get it all: [Read more…]

Review: Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto and Tiki Terrace at Disney World’s Polynesian Village Resort

By Wendy 29 Comments

CHEERS! COWABUNGA! TULLEEHO! KUNGALOOSH!

It’s already time to go back inside (and outside!) Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto and Tiki Terrace at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort!

Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto

While both the Grotto and Terrace continue in soft openings with an official opening anticipated for late April (when all the sought-after souvenir glasses will be available for guests to take home), these new hot spots remain the talk of the town.

On March 28th, when both the Grog Grotto and the Tiki Terrace soft opened for the first day, tales of lines up to 6 hours long were nearly as much of a story as the bars opening themselves. So a common question now is, “What are the wait times like?”

How long until you can get past Trader Sam’s door?

Grog Grotto Hours of Operation

Unsure of what to expect, my husband and I arrived at the Polynesian at 2 pm on a weekday for the 4 pm opening, and no line had started yet (though the bar is open until midnight, after 8 pm only guests 21 and older are permitted).

At 3 pm, we decided we’d better stake out our spot, so we went to the inside door of the Grog Grotto, where two Cast Members were waiting. We were told we were the first for the day, and could start the line outside at the metal bench pictured below.

The line starts here

The next guest arrived at 3:15, and a line in earnest began to form at 3:30 pm. Around 3:50, a Cast Member came outside and gave us all a stamp to show at the door as our proof that we’d been counted in the line. At this time, I counted around 40 people waiting, and when we were let in at 4:00 pm, everyone made it inside to fill up the 51 person capacity. Huzzah!

Outdoor entrance into the Trader Sam’s hallway

Now, I’m not claiming this will be the case everyday. We clearly arrived early anticipating a wait and were shocked that there wasn’t one, especially during what’s considered a peak time (still in the Spring Break window). Now, I had a friend in town Saturday of the same week. She arrived at Trader Sam’s at 7:30 pm and was given a pager for a 90 minute wait, and folks arriving a while after were looking at a couple hours at least.

Pager for Trader Sam’s

That’s not altogether surprising, though, since I think we can all anticipate longer lines on weekends for what is sure to be a popular destination for locals as well as vacationers for a long time to come.

Okay, logistics, schmogistics! WE’RE IN! It’s time to see a little more of what Trader Sam has in store for his guests…

TRADER SAM’S GROG GROTTO

Atmosphere

You’ve now entered Trader Sam’s “happy hideaway.” The story of the Grotto is told to us by Skip, Manager of the Jungle Cruise Navigational Company (just click the image below to enlarge). As head salesman of the jungle that we all know and love from the Jungle Cruise, Trader Sam discovered a passion for mixology as an extension of his professional interest in head-shrinking potions. As he traveled the globe for ingredients, he picked up many a souvenir and brought them back to the Grotto.

The story of Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto

Entering the Grotto for the first time was — for me, at least — overwhelming in the best way possible. While you want to grab a table or a seat at the bar (and lemme tell ya, it’s best to move quickly to get one), it’s difficult to not want to try to take in every bit of the INSANE amount of details and decoration right away. This room is simply the stuff of dreams for fans of Disney detail and history.

Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto

Before we take in a few of those gems, the basic setup is small and…well, I don’t know if “cozy” is the word. It’s snug, for sure, but somehow not in a bad way. The way everyone is close together, it seems to encourage a party atmosphere and festive mood.

Oh, my… where to start? Well, I’ll take a cue from a Jungle Cruise Skipper and point out a few of my favorite details! There’s this one.

Postcard

And this one.

Family Tree East Coast Branch

I like this one.

Walt Disney

Ooookay, so CLEARLY that joke doesn’t play out in writing the same way it does on the Jungle Cruise when your Skipper deadpans pointing out his or her favorite plants 😉 . Still, you get the point. There is just a TON of [Read more…]

Disney Food Post Round-Up: April 5, 2015

By Brooke 2 Comments

Happy Easter!

Whether you’re celebrating the beautiful Spring holiday with a luxurious meal, or you’re hunting up eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny, I hope that you’re having a relaxing Sunday.

Cinderella’s Coach Egg

After a couple of weeks jam-packed with exciting Disney news, this week was a little more relaxed on the information front, as guests enjoyed the Spring Break Season in the Parks. Lines have been long, and we’ve seen all kinds of pop up food spots to feed hungry vacationers.

The Polynesian Village Resort has continued to take center stage at Walt Disney World this week, as the classic hotel celebrated its official grand re-opening. And of course, lines continue to be long at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto during its first preview days.

Let’s kick off this holiday Sunday by re-capping the Disney Food News from this week.