Updated: July 29th

It’s a great day in Disney World! Why? We are heading over to a super popular lounge at Disney World to give it another visit! This location is one of our favorites, but we continually revisit spots to ensure you have the most up-to-date reviews. We want to make sure you have the best Disney World vacation! Plus, we will always take an excuse to return to our favorite lounges!

We are making our way over to Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. This popular lounge is bound to provide an entertaining evening, and we can’t wait to give you our full review of this exclusive lounge. Let’s go!

Atmosphere

Trader Sam’s is an entire experience, so be prepared for a memorable evening of drinks and small bites. This is an extremely popular spot at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and you will likely have to wait to get a seat inside the lounge. It doesn’t take advance dining reservations, so you will need to stop by the location to add your name to the list. Be prepared that it could be a bit before you are called in!

Let’s start with the background of Trader Sam’s. It is owned by Trader Sam himself, the famous Head Salesman of the Jungle Cruise attraction. He has spent years collecting artifacts from all over the world, and now we are being invited into his hideaway to see them all. The lounge feels like a tropical hideaway, but there is more to this lounge than meets the eye!

The lounge is family-friendly from 3 PM until 8 PM; however, after 8 PM, you will need to be 21 or older to enter the lounge. The part of the lounge we’re visiting today is located outside, so it’s more spacious than the indoor areas, but the theming isn’t as whimsical and over-the-top as it is inside. That’s right. There’s more than just an indoor bar here, people. We’re going to the SECRET TERRACE today.

But enough about the restaurant — what’s on the menu here?!

Menu

First, if you are at Trader Sam’s between 3 PM and 10 PM, you can choose from a selection of appetizers, including the Kalua Pork Tacos and the Thai Chicken Flatbread.

The main attraction at Trader Sam’s is the DRINKS, though. While the appetizers are yummy and delicious, the specialty cocktails are where this lounge really shines! Depending on what you order, you will spot interactive elements, special effects, and zany antics from the bartenders. You can also get some no-booze brews as well!

In addition to the no-booze brews and specialty cocktails, Trader Sam’s also offers zero-proof selections and a beer and cider selection. 

There is also a variety of sparkling, white, and red wines to choose from.

And now, onto the main event — the food!

Eats

We started with the Pan-fried Dumplings for $11. They are served with a soy-sesame dipping sauce.

These are your pretty standard dumplings; nothing too special about them. The filling was juicy and the outside was crispy. We wouldn’t rush over here to try them, but they are a good thing to snack on while drinking your beverage.

We also got the Kalua Pork Tacos for $10.50. These have been one of our favorites for a while, so we needed to revisit them to make sure they still get high marks!

These were really tasty! They’re on the sweeter side, which surprised us, but they tasted fresh, and we definitely could have eaten quite a few of these. They aren’t filled a lot, which is probably our main complaint, because we wish there were more. They are topped with a bit of cheese, a purple cabbage slaw, and a slice of jalapeño. The slaw had a bit of a pickled taste to it, but it still had a crispiness to it.

There was also a small bit of creamy sauce on the bottom of the taco, but it didn’t stand out much at all when you actually ate the taco. Overall, these were very easy to eat and tender — we’d certainly get them again!

Drinks

To drink, we grabbed the Uh-Oa for $27.50. This is made with Plantation Original Dark Rum, Bacardi Superior Rum, Orange, Passion Fruit, Guava, Pineapple, and Grapefruit Juices, Falernum, Cinnamon, and fresh Lime Juice. The main flavor we tasted in this guy was pineapple. While it has a long ingredient list, there wasn’t a whole lot of flavor to it. Ours was a bit watered down from melting, but we were a bit disappointed in the overall flavor.

You could taste a hint of the cinnamon, too, which was a fun addition. It was sweet and easy to drink, and we didn’t taste too much of the alcohol. This normally comes in two souvenir glasses, as it’s intended for two guests, but this one is served in two plastic cups.

We also got the Spikey Pineapple for $16.50. This drink is Cruzan Mango Rum blended with DOLE Whip Pineapple.

There’s honestly not much to say here because it’s pretty one-dimensional. If you like pineapple DOLE Whip, you’ll like it. We think the mango flavor of the rum is buried in there — you don’t really taste it. You can also get this drink “extra spikey” with a rum floater for an extra charge.

A DOLE Whip with a rum floater at Pineapple Lanai is $14.50, so if the Spikey Pineapple is all you’re after at Tiki Terrace, you might consider saving a couple of bucks and going to Pineapple Lanai.

Nosh or Not

This Disney World restaurant is a must-visit if…

• You’re looking for unique drinks
• You want to visit one of the most iconic bars in Disney World, but don’t want the immersive experience inside
• You prefer smaller meals

You should skip this Disney World spot if…

• You only want to eat at Trader Sam’s if you can dine inside
• You’re looking for a sit-down meal that has larger portions
• You’re not looking to leave the parks to eat

Overall

This spot is still one of our favorites, and it really has some great smaller bite options. The drinks very rarely disappoint us either, as long as you look at the ingredients and know what you do and don’t like. However, if you’re looking for the full experience, especially if it’s your first time, we recommend doing everything you can to eat inside!

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Disney World and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog for the latest Disney news and more!

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Have you eaten at this Disney World restaurant before? Tell us in the comments!