The (Monorail) Crawl is for All!

Growing up, my family and I always stayed at the Grand Floridian when we visited Walt Disney World. Because of this, I formed a deep obsession with the monorail early on in my life. When much later in life I discovered that I could combine my love of the monorail with a tour of all the best lounges the Magic Kingdom Resorts had to offer, I knew it was a Disney Bucket List item I needed to cross off.

Luckily I got the chance to do this a few weeks ago, and we are recapping the fun and shenanigans here!

We began our day bright and early at the Magic Kingdom. After approximately six hours in the park, we were definitely ready for some rest, relaxation, and snacks! Our first stop on our crawl was the new Steakhouse 71 Lounge at the Contemporary Resort. We loved the turn of the century vibe of the lounge’s decor, and our waiter Chad (shout out to Chad) immediately made us feel right at home. We tried a myriad of cocktails including the Espresso Martini (not on the menu but they make an excellent version), the Pear French 71 (a twist on our favorite cocktail the French 75), and the Vodka Gimlet. In addition to our drinks, we got a plate of onion rings to share. These onion rings were LEGIT—crispy and easily shareable with a delicious spicy ranch dipping sauce.

Our next stop on the crawl was to one of our favorite resorts, the Polynesian! We attempted to get a table at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto, however the wait was a bit too long for us (we had crawling to do!). However it was a beautiful, sunny day, and therefore we found a table on the Tiki Terrace at which to enjoy our drinks and snacks. The terrace serves the same drinks and snacks as the grotto, so we were still able to get a great experience!

Because this was the midpoint of our crawl, we knew we needed to fuel up with snacks. We treated ourselves to the Kahuna Tuna Sushi Roll, the chicken-lettuce cups, the pan-fried dumplings, and the Kalua Pork Tacos (which we sadly learned are no longer able to be offered as a gluten free option). We enjoyed a variety of delicious drinks from the Trader Sam’s menu, but the Spikey Pineapple (extra spikey) remains our favorite.

That being said, the TIki Terrace doesn’t have EVERYTHING we love about the Polynesian…specifically the Lapu Lapu. However, we easily remedied this with a quick trip up to the Tambu Lounge to get everyone’s favorite pineapple infused cocktail.

Our final stop on the crawl was at my favorite resort: The Grand Floridian! I have adored this resort since I was a kid, however the inclusion of a Beauty and the Beast themed lounge (my favorite movie) solidified the resort's icon status for me.

By the time we got off the monorail at the Grand Floridian it was clear that the island vibes were strong within us. Have you ever seen five grown women twirling on the balcony of the Grand Floridian? You did if you were also there on April 8th. After a brief encounter with a photo pass glass slipper opportunity that this Cinderella-bound princess couldn't pass up, we made our way over to the Enchanted Rose Lounge on the second floor of the Grand Floridian's main building.

Megan and I had been to the lounge once before, and while we enjoyed the food and drinks, we were surprised by how dark the interior was. However upon this visit we were thrilled to see the lounge was much brighter and open than during our last visit. That being said, we did ultimately make the decision to sit outside on the balcony in order to enjoy the beautiful 70 degree weather. After being seated, we ordered a round of drinks (Kir royals, French 75s) before our friend Amy made the executive decision that our day needed to get a bit more Veuve-y. A bottle of our favorite champagne was the ultimate treat to end our crawl. However, knowing we still had roughly 5 hours to spend at the Magic Kingdom once we were finished, we knew that ordering some sustenance would be crucial. We enjoyed the artisanal cheese selection (and wished we had brought a baggie for the pine nut bread that comes along with it) as well as the truffle fries.

One of the reasons we had never done this crawl before is because we felt that our time in the parks was so precious we didn't want to miss out on anything! However, the crawl was a fantastic break during the worst part of the day (in our opinion) at the Magic Kingdom; by spending between 2 and 5 crawling around to different resorts we avoided parade crowds, hot weather, and sore feet. We also found that we had a hard time booking any Lightning Lanes for the middle of the day, so instead of standing in lines, we instead took a trip on that magical sky train known as the monorail. Do we fully remember riding Pirates of the Caribbean when we returned to the park? No. Did we immediately need more food in the form of dole whips and popcorn? Yes. Would we crawl again? Absolutely. After all, THE CRAWL IS FOR ALL!