Uh-Oa! Comparing Trader Sams at Disneyland and Disney World
When John agreed to spend a day in Disneyland during our recent visit to southern California, I knew this was my time to fulfill my dream of staying at the Disneyland Hotel. I know, I know, it really doesn't make a ton of financial sense given that the resort property is so small, and it's so easy to stay at another Anaheim hotel for much less. That being said, as a nerd of Disney history I felt drawn to stay at the original hotel that Walt created. You can see a review of our stay at the hotel here.
Because we were only going to spend one day at the park, it was up to us to find alternative dinner plans. While there are so many options located just steps away in Downtown Disney, I knew this would be a great opportunity to introduce John to the magic that is Trader Sam's.
We were able to snag a 5:30 reservation, and when we went to check in at the hostess stand, they asked us if we would prefer indoor or outdoor seating. Because it was a beautiful 75 degrees (compared to the 30 degree weather we had left behind in the midwest), John, as any reasonable person who wasn't familiar with Trader Sam's would say, immediately said outside. The hostess and I shared a knowing glance, and I made sure they knew that it was inside the bar that we would prefer. John was confused, but soon understood my insistence.
It didn't take long after entering the restaurant space for the show to begin. Someone immediately ordered a Shipwreck on the Rocks along with an Angolada, causing an eruption to begin (aka the bartenders spraying all of us with water, accompanied by thunder and flashes of light). John quickly caught on as to why seating inside was preferable to the balmy patio. The fun continued as tables around us ordered other fantastical drinks (the shipwreck, the zombie) though to my consternation no one ordered the Uh Oa. I almost broke down and ordered it just so John could see the show, but I must admit I felt daunted by just the two of us having to finish that monstrosity.
Even without the Uh-Oa!, we managed to have a memorable time. Both the drink and food menu at Trader Sam's at the Disneyland hotel differs from that at the Polynesian in Walt Disney World. I personally was sad to not be able to order the Spikey Pineapple (aka the boozy dole whip) though I did find comfort in repeat options such as the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum. John took a gamble on the Krakatoa Punch, and finished off with the Zombie. After my crowd favorite drink ( we both agreed it was the best of our bunch) I branched out to a Disneyland exclusive with the Tangaroa Cooler (a gin based drink). Noticing that the bartenders were happy to make the group next to us off-menu drinks, I mustered up the courage to ask the bartenders if they could make me my favorite of all Disney drinks--the Pog-mosa.
While the bartender seemed a bit surprised by this request so late in the day, he admitted that while he could do this, he didn't actually have Pog juice--instead he had something he claimed to be better--Guerilla Grog. Since it was mixed with prosecco I had no complaints about this slight deviation from my favorite juice.
Obviously with all of these libations being consumed, we needed sustenance! The Trader Sam's food menu differs by location, and we decided to split the Pu Pu Platter, which consisted of pork gyoza, panko-crusted long beans, macaroni salad, and sweet and spicy chicken wings served with Togarashi aioli. We really enjoyed this, but between the two of us and the drinks, we needed a bit more food. We branched out and ordered the tempura shrimp, which while beautiful on the plate, was a bit too much tempura and not enough shrimp for my liking.
Overall we had a fantastic, albeit different experience to what I was used to at the Walt Disney World Trader Sam's. The overall vibe was a bit chiller than in Walt Disney World (though that might have been due to our early reservation), and I was surprised by the number of children I saw within the bar. Our favorite moment came not from one of the more elaborate drink orders, but instead from a malfunction of John's barstool, which kept getting lower and lower to the ground. What we initially thought was a weird coincidence turned out to be an elaborate prank by the bartenders, which served up some Jungle Cruise Skipper-level puns as then eventually raised him back up to his normal height.
Having spent the last few days in Los Angeles, our reservation at Trader Sam's was the perfect introduction to our short Disneyland stay. It effectively transitioned us from real life to a slightly more fantastical lifestyle. I was happy to see that like most things in Disneyland, it differs slightly from the Walt Disney World version, making for a unique and new experience for all. Bottom's up!