Trader Sam's Grog Grotto
When I first heard that Trader Sam's was going to be opening at the Polynesian, I was super excited. At the time of this trip, it had only been open less than 1 Week so it was still very new with a very high demand for people that wanted to enjoy the bar. I was determined to get in at opening even if it meant I was going to wait outside at the Polynesian for over an hour prior to the 4:00PM Opening. I was more than willing to entertain myself for that time with my cell phone. The people that were among the first there with me provided a decent amount of entertainment to pass the time as well.
Crowd Pre-Opening
About 15 Minutes prior to 4:00PM, one of the hostesses for the bar came out to provide a stamp for the first group that would be allowed in. I was actually the first one for the night. Those not in the initial group of 50 guests were told it would be at least a 90 minute wait.
Stamp!
At exactly 4:00PM, I was ushered in & was the first one in for the evening & had my choice of seats.
I decided to take a seat at the bar as I was alone and I wanted to be entertained by the bartenders as I spent the next couple of hours there.
Before I get to my review of cocktails & foods, I'll post some of the pictures from the bar.
Bartender Making an Uh-Oa!
Light Decoration
Wall Decoration
Shell(y) - The Pearl for the Pearl Drinks comes out of here!
Zombie Family
Behind the Bar
Behind the Bar
Back of Bar
When certain drinks are ordered, there are some awesome special effects around the bar. I didn't take a video of all of them as I only had so much battery life left to get me through the rest of the evening. Here are two examples:
https://vid.me/YZqs
One of the Special Effect Videos (High Pitched) for Dark & Stormy
https://vid.me/Ju2D
Uh-Oa! Special Effect Video
Now onto what I sampled:
I started with a cocktail as I looked at the food menu to make a decision for the first of the appetizers I would trying.
Shrunken Zombie Head - Reserve and Aged Rums, Tropical Juices, Falernum, and Cinnamon.
I really liked this drink! It was definitely a strong one and I loved the glass! This is the glass I decided to keep as a memento for my first trip to Trader Sam's. I think each time I go, I'll get one glass until I have a full set of all the options.
I ordered the first appetizer as I was sipping this drink:
Pan-Fried Dumplings w/ Soy-Sesame Dipping Sauce
These were ok. It tasted like a standard potsticker you could get at any ordinary Chinese restaurant for half the price.
As it didn't take me long to finish the Zombie Head, I went to another one of their speciality drinks -
Krakatoa Punch - Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Pyrat XO Reserve Rum, Orgeat (Almond), Sam's Gorilla Grog & Hibiscus Grenadine
This was super fruity and also strong. I really enjoyed it as well and it had less of a fruit salad on top than the Zombie Head did.
As the dumplings weren't really enough for a dinner, I got another appetizer off the menu:
Kahlua Pork Tacos w/ Cabbage & Pickled Vegetables
So much better than the dumplings! The vegetables with the peppers were enough of a kick to really play off of the pork. The pork was properly cooked and had a nice amount of flavor to it.
Dark & Tropical Stormy - Gosling's Black Seal Rum, Fresh Lime Juice, Ginger Beer & Falernum
I went with a drink that didn't have a speciality glass option and one that wasn't as strong as the others. It was light especially with the ginger beer to offset the rum.
One of the awesome things is all the souvenir mugs you could potentially buy. At the time I was there, there were 3 Souvenir Glasses that were not yet available - Nautilus, Hippotomai-Tai, & the Rum Flight. I'm hoping the Rum Flight will be available in May when I return as I love the look of those shot glasses! You don't keep the exact glass you drink in but rather when you are given your receipt, you stop by the desk at the front door and are given a new one that is boxed up already & sent on your way.
The amount of special effects are awesome as there is always something to entertain you between the special effects and the bartenders.
Overall, I ended up spending over 2 hours in the bar enjoying my cocktails and the two appetizers I ordered. I think I'll skip eating food there again though as it really wasn't worth giving up a decent Signature Meal for. I will totally return for all of their wonderful cocktails though. We are staying at the Polynesian DVC in May for Star Wars Weekends & I plan on trying to get to Trader Sam's at least twice in the evenings during that trip since it will be in walking distance to the room. This will be happening after we have dinner someplace else in the Magic Kingdom Area. I hope they have some of the new glasses then too! Just to note, you cannot get a TiW discount here.