The Nautilus From Trader Sam's Grog Grotto

By Barbie & Nick

Back in January when I went on my first solo trip to Walt Disney World I went to Trader Sam's Grog Grotto at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort and bought the somewhat pricey Nautilus cocktail, intending to bring it home as a planter for Barbie.

And it is indeed now a planter!

A wonderful use for a wonderful souvenir.

Disney's Polynesian Villas

By Nick

Ever since I started going to Walt Disney World in the early 1990's, I thought about how great it would be to stay at the Polynesian Resort, but could never bring myself to pay $400 plus for one single night.

Enter the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) and Disney's Polynesian Villas and Bungalows, which afforded me the opportunity to finally stay here!

And it was, well, it was okay. (queue wahwahwah sound effect)

Right up front here I'm going to say that there are a few things that are absolutely clouding my judgement, and that I would certainly consider staying here again, if things lined up properly.

The first thing preventing this stay from being more magical was the fact that I was solo. I would absolutely have had a better time with my wife.

Secondly, I didn't have enough points available to book a Lake view room, instead getting a standard view, which wasn't bad...

...but due to the railings, if you did decide to sit out, your view would be:

Then there was the room itself. It was nice, but I didn't feel that as much high quality touches were put into these rooms compared to The Villas at the Grand Floridian.

And even though they solved a design flaw in the under the bed storage I'd found at the Grand, there is even less room for clothes!

And finally, something that didn't have that much of an effect on me, but one I would certainly warn about in case you get a standard room in the next few months. The construction tarps, which stretched over a rather large portion of the grounds. I was told that this was going to be a refurbished pool and counter service restaurant, or the pool and a barbecue area. Perhaps both?

All things considered, however, there is much to be said for staying at the Poly. The top 3 things on the list being location, location, location. I especially liked the location of my building, Moorea.

While it was a bit of a hike to the Great Ceremonial House, which contains the main lobby, restaurants and lounges, it is very close to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC). It's also fairly close to the bus stop. So I had several options when it came to getting around.

And though the Great Ceremonial House is far-ish, the walk along the water is wonderful.

And you can watch Wishes from the beach!

Speaking of views, the grounds in general are lovely, even during rather cool January weather, they help convey a feeling of warmth.

The pool looks nice with a volcano themed slide, but I did not go for a swim during my stay.

While I didn't feel the rooms felt as posh as others on property, the double bathroom is a great touch.

The bed and pillows are super soft. I slept better on this trip than any other before!

Then there are all the food and drink options, from the newer Trader Sam's Grog Grotto, to the classics, Kona Cafe and O'hana, to the fact you a monorail ride from all the options at the Grand, Contemporary and Magic Kingdom, this is maybe my favorite thing about the Poly.

Which I suppose goes back to location, location, location.

So, to recap. Yes, it didn't live up to my expectations, but really, several of the reasons why were not the fault of the Polynesian.

In other words "It's not you Poly, it's me."

My Walt Disney World Monorail Resort Loop Lounge Tour

By Nick 

If you aren't familiar, the Monorail Resorts are The Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower, The Polynesian Village Resort, and The Grand Floridian, and a lounge is a place to get inebriated. And lounge. Put them together, and you get The Monorail Loop Lounge Tour, which was on my must do list for my solo trip to Walt Disney World.

Since my wife wasn't with me, I figured it was the perfect time to do it because Barbie doesn't drink, so I wouldn't be dragging her from resort to resort to watch me imbibe. Plus I was actually staying at The Polynesian Villas, making my commute very simple indeed.

I didn't actually start out intending to do the tour on Saturday evening. I'd been at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and was in the mood for dinner, but everywhere I went was packed, as it was one of the last evenings for The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.

So I hopped a bus back to the Polynesian, and headed over to Trader Sams, which was also very crowded. I walked upstairs intending on checking if Kona Cafe had any open seats when I saw a spot open over at Kona Island, which is the sushi bar next to Kona, where I assumed that I'd be only able to order off their menu. I was surprised when a server approached me with a Kona Cafe menu!

I ordered the Kona Coffee Rubbed Pork Chop, which was delicious and a Lapu Lapu, which was also delicious, consisting of Myers’s Original Dark Rum and Tropical Fruit Juices served in a fresh Pineapple topped with Bacardi 151 Rum.

It was after drinking this concoction that I had the brilliant idea to do The Lounge Tour.

As I had been updating my Disney Exchange Podcast co-host Lisa Green as to my plans via Facebook Instant Messaging, I informed her I was about embark on this adventure, and she became my voice of reason. My Jiminy Cricket of sorts.

Unfortunately, like Pinocchio, I went somewhat astray. More on that later.

Perhaps my first misstep of the evening was my decision that Kona Island clearly isn't a lounge. It's an island. Luckily, a lounge is very close to that. Tambu Lounge is located adjacent to O'hana.

So I strolled over there, and, not wanting to get another Lapu Lapu, because, I'm pretty sure it's a rule that a different drink must be had at each stop(?), I started to peruse the drink menu. About this time a young lady sitting next to me received her drink, which had what looked to be a long backscratcher sticking out of it! Well, it looked that way, because it was indeed a backscratcher, which appropriately enough is the name of the drink it was in!

The Backscratcher is Bacardi Superior rum, Myers's Original Dark rum, and passion fruit juice topped with Jack Daniel's and, of course, a bamboo backscratcher.

About this time Lisa started telling me to be sure to drink water! So I did. Honest.

After this very tasty drink, I was feeling pretty good. So I headed over to the monorail stop, where I saw a very, very long line. As it was a fairly nice evening, I decided to walk over to the Grand Floridian. Is there a rule that one must ride the monorail on this tour? If so, I guess I'll just have to do it again in the future! But I digress. 

The second lounge on the tour was Mizner's. This is a very quiet spot. That is until The Grand Floridian Society Orchestra started playing, and I was swinging to some jazz. 

Well, by swinging I mean tapping my toes and drinking a very simple Bacardi and Coke.

I chose this option because I figured, hey, it's rum. The other drinks had rum, so...
Lisa: "Stay Hydrated!" Yes ma'am! 

If you have not caught The Grand Floridian Society Orchestra, you should! They play a wide range of great jazz standards, I especially loved The Pink Panther, as well as Disney classics.

I stumbled strolled onto the Monorail to head to my last stop, The Contemporary. More specifically, Bay Lake Tower and The Top of the World Lounge, which is for members of the Disney Vacation Club. 

 
This spot at the top of BLT offers a great view of the Magic Kingdom and Seven Seas Lagoon.

It was not very late, but Wishes was over, the lounge was almost completely empty.

I sat down and ordered a Monorail Yellow, which is Myer's Platinum Rum, Pina Colada Mix, and Orange Juice.

Lisa: "Are you still drinking water?! Don't mix too much." Me: "Well, all my drinks had rum in them, does that count?"

Well, it didn't count, it turns out, because the next morning, I felt none too well!

My advise, stick to one type of drink. A beer or a whiskey at each stop instead of several tropical drinks. Have a bite to eat in between. And, yes, stay hydrated!

This article was originally posted on The Disney Exchange Blog, official home of The Disney Exchange Podcast!

Trader Sam's Grog Grotto at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort

By Nick

When I went to Walt Disney World last month, there were many new experiences I was excited about, mostly, I confess, places to eat and drink.

Since I was staying at the DVC Villas at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, I was especially interested in visiting Trader Sam's Grog Grotto.

 I intentionally stayed away from information, as I wanted to be surprised, and boy, was I!

The first thing that surprised me was the size of the place. It's tiny! And if you didn't know about this establishment, you would very likely never know it was there, as it could easily be mistaken for a closet!

But what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in themeing and fun. Well, the fun may very well depend on when you go. I went twice during my stay, the first night arriving at opening on Friday January 1st. It was loud, a lot of the volume being provided by the staff telling corny jokes along the lines of those you'd hear on The Jungle Cruise.

The second night was a Tuesday and it was much more sedate. The staff and guests both much more subdued. But I assume that all it would take to turn this place into a party would be a raucous group.

As for the food and drinks.
Whew! Okay, while I had avoided spoilers for the most part, I had at least heard the themed drinks were not cheap and had seen pictures of a few of these.

I knew going in I wanted the Nautilus which contains Barbancourt Pango Rhum, Appleton Estate Reserve Rum, Combier Crème de Pêche de Vigne Liqueur, Tropical Juices, and Falernum.
I had a vague idea that this was a $30 drink. But I love the film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and miss the attraction that was at the Magic Kingdom based on that film, and wanted this souvenir, perhaps for my wife to use as a planter.

I was told the drink was for 2, which was fine, I went ahead and ordered it. I am a big boy, I can handle it. It was delicious.

I was asked if I wanted the Nautilus, and my server Brandy explained to me I would receive a fresh one boxed up when leaving. I said "Absolutely!"

Then I got the bill. And sticker shock! The drink was in the $30 range, but the actual Nautilus was an additional $20. Plus tax and tip, this was a souvenir over $60! Oh well, I was on vacation.

By the way, the box it comes in is HUGE and took up a good amount of my carry on luggage!

The second night I went, I ordered another themed drink, this time opting to not bring it home (next trip maybe!).

The Shrunken Zombie Head is Gosling’s 151 Black Seal Rum, Appleton Estate Reserve Rum, Bacardi 8 yr Rum, Tropical Juices, Falernum, and Cinnamon.

It is also very good. And it made me hungry, so I ordered Pan Fried Dumplings and Roasted Chicken and Pork Pâte Báhn Mì Sliders, both of which I cannot recommend enough, but if I had just one to choose, I'd go with the Sliders.

To wash these tasty morsels down I ordered the Kona Beer Flight, which is 5oz. pours of Longboard Island Lager, Fire Rock Pale Ale, and Castaway IPA. I have to say, I was impressed by just how good these were!

So, my suggestion on Trader Sam's. Maybe go with a large group of friends. Absolutely ask for prices unless money is no object! The food and atmosphere are well worth a visit!