Bar Crawl: How to Successfully Drink Your Way Through Disney’s Magic Kingdom
Mickey ear taps at Big River Brews (Photo: Scott Smith/Flickr)
The Magic Kingdom may be the most sought-after park in the Walt Disney World Resort, but in terms of “mature” fun, you might think it is lacking. You would be wrong. EPCOT isn’t the only place you can bar crawl your way through at Disney World.
Let’s us tell you how you can successfully get a healthy buzz on in the Kingdom. Come on the journey with us.
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The monorail (Photo: Scott Smith/Flickr)
The best part of this bar crawl: no designated driver necessary. Instead, we have a Monorail to shuttle us between the three resort hotels that surround the beautiful Seven Seas Lagoon. We’ll take a quick ride through all their bars before reaching Magic Kingdom.
PRO-TIP: Make Magic Kingdom your nighttime destination. If you are a guest of an official resort hotel, including Starwood’s Dolphin and Swan Resorts, you can gain park access during Extra Magic Hours. Even without that, Magic Kingdom routinely has the latest closing times — usually after midnight — so when the kiddies go to bed, you can enjoy shorter lines into the wee hours!
Glowing drinks (Photo: Leslie Kalohi)
The two bars in Disney’s Contemporary Resort open at 5 pm. Some of you will head downstairs for The Wave’s slick décor and chic Antioxidant Cocktail (berry vodka with pomegranate, lychee, and lemon), but I think Outer Rim is a wonderful place to perch and watch the Monorail sail through the hotel’s atrium. Outer Rim is also home to the Glow-tini, a sweet blue concoction of citrus vodka, peach schnapps, and pineapple served with a souvenir light-up “ice” cube. Walt himself once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” Here, if can dream it, you can drink it. So don’t be afraid to order off-menu.
Let’s sip these down while we plan our attack on Magic Kingdom and check up-to-the-minute wait times on our My Disney Experience apps.
My Disney Experience App (Photo: Disney Babble)
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Now it’s time to catch the Monorail! In just two stops around the Seven Seas Lagoon, we find ourselves transported from the Outer Rim to the Pacific Rim. If you haven’t already been to the Polynesian Resort, then you are in for a treat! Especially since it’s in the midst of a renovation. Totem poles and tiki torches set in lush vegetation make you think you are suddenly worlds away on an exotic vacation. We must come back one morning for the famous character breakfast at ‘Ohana, where we dine on Mickey-shaped waffles and hula with Lilo and Stitch (best not attempted hungover), but for now let’s take a seat upstairs at the Tambu Lounge. The thing to order here is the Lapu Lapu, a strong rum punch served in a fresh pineapple. I could relax in this paradise with a hibiscus in my hair and an umbrella in my drink all evening. Sadly, we need to get the check and get back on the Monorail.
‘Ohana restaurant (Photo: Tom.Arthur/Flickr)
The Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is by far the most elegant of the Monorail resorts. In fact, many of the restaurants and lounges require a dress code in order to soak up the lavish Victorian atmosphere. Luckily, it isn’t too strict at Mizner’s Lounge: Men are required to wear “dress shorts” or jeans, so save that Umbros and Ron Jon tank top ensemble for the plane ride home. (Actually, save it for the gym.) Mizner’s is best known for classic cocktails, so let’s order a Hendrick’s Gin Martini and a Manhattan and proceed to argue if the hotel is named after Wilson Mizner, the American Playwright, or Addison Mizner, the famed architect known for reviving Mediterranean-style architecture around Florida. If anyone is feeling a bit peckish, we must order the divine Slow-Roasted Berkshire Pork Belly.
The Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (Photo: Joe Penniston/Flickr)
Outside of the dinner service at Be Our Guest inside of the new addition to Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom is a dry park. If any of you were lucky enough to score a table there — kudos! Most of us have not gotten a coveted reservation this time around, so this will conclude our Monorail tour of magical mixed drinks.
Related: All our articles on Disney Magical Experiences
Magic Kingdom at night (Photo: Tom Bricker/Flickr)
I am sure these libations have livened you up enough to enjoy even the tamest of attractions. (I’m looking at you, Small World and PeopleMover!) But all of Magic Kingdom’s Main Street, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, and Frontierland is better with a buzz on. Don’t forget to keep checking the wait-times and your allotted FASTPASS times. You may be able to ride Space Mountain twice before the Extra Magic Hours are over!
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In her day job, Renee Cafaro is a political consultant, philanthropist, and fundraiser. By night she is the woman behind the lifestyle and fashion blog FoxyRoxyFashion and the lead singer of a bad-ass rock band. Even as a grown woman, she remains an obsessed collector of “Chip ‘n’ Dale” memorabilia.
