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PHOTOS - Disney reveals new lobby design and Trader Sam's lounge for the Polynesian
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Kman101
Well-Known Member
Well, true, and I should have known better, LOL
Kman101
Well-Known Member
I know. I would never have a child in a bar past a certain time. I understand you want to relax and have a drink and it's a fun atmosphere but the child needs to still have a bed time. That's just sad to me that a child is at a bar after like midnight (heck, even after 10/11pm, even if it is a great and well behaved child). Be it a well themed fun bar at Disney, it's still that, a bar.
sshindel
The Epcot Manifesto
I agree.
I'll admit, I tend to ignore the kid's normal bedtimes at WDW, letting them stay up later than I'd ever think of doing at home, but those are nights at the parks. MVMCP, or just a nighttime trip to the parks. Not a bar. No way. There would be a %1000 chance that my kid would be a pain in the neck, making my time a million times worse than just sitting around in the room with the sleeping kids would be.
Even if the Adventurer's Club made a triumphant 1-night-only return, if the options were attend but have to take my kids, or miss it totally, I'd choose option 2 every time.
Kman101
Well-Known Member
Well, that's because you're sane. And who would want their cranky upset child with them as they're trying to relax and have a drink? I just don't understand that mentality. I agree with keeping kids up to midnight in say the parks, of course, but a bar? No way. Although as a kid I was dragged to bars with my dad so I sort of have my own issues with that.
kkocka
Active Member
So far the only concept art is what's been made available to everybody. The theme here of Trader Sam's Grog Grotto is very sea-based, and 20,000 Leagues Under The Seas will have a dominant presence with its giant tentacle and what looks like possible pearl mugs and Nautilus mugs. We've also seen a shot of what looks like an animatronic Uh Oa from Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management. From these two shots alone, I'd say that the theme is not an improvement from the Disneyland Hotel's. You could argue that its a lateral movement and that its simply different, which it is, but when I think of a tiki bar I think of tikis, not "sea." Grog Grotto is certainly nautical from first glance. Even the teased tshirt has the Sam's logo wrapped by a giant octopus.
I'm a big fan of (good) tiki bars, and while Grotto is no doubt going to be very well themed, its not screaming tiki just yet. Concept art can be misleading however (Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar changed noticeably since its concept stages) so in the end we'll just have to wait and see for ourselves.
TomHendricks
Well-Known Member
Me too! When I went to Disneyland for the first time, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was the very first ride I went on.
doctornick
Well-Known Member
To be fair, I think the vast majority of parents going to WDW with children would agree and behave in the same way. The problem is that there are some outliers who are stupid with what they do with their kids. My opinion is that they are selfish more than anything -- they want to go to the bar and it's their vacation, so they drag the kid because they can't just leave them alone in the hotel room. Doing what is best for your child takes a back seat to personal enjoyment for those parents. Even though the child and other patrons are negatively affected.
Sage of Time
Well-Known Member
I'm really surprised at this attitude, seeing that lots of original and vintage tiki culture goes hand in hand with a nautical theme.
Navy grogs? Japanese floater lamps and other ship based aesthetics used in bars? Granted, the two 'genres' bleed over a bit, but no cultural framework is totally divorced from what inspires it and how it is used. Tiki culture is no different. Nautical is part of Tiki's origins and DNA.
Ever been to the Mai Kai? Their Molokai bar is filled references to colonialism and ships and the lure of the sea.... meanwhile, the Mai Kai is one of the oldest and most respected tiki establishments out there.
Grog Grotto will exist within the tiki/nautical paradigm... and that's perfectly OK. I can't wait to see it.
kkocka
Active Member
Nope, I'm in CA, but I know of it. I'm not saying they two can't coexist, only that it is less straight-up tiki. Concept art shows plenty of masks on the walls etc (likely not to be there in place of other trinkets and bottles of booze), but when your centerpiece appears to be a giant tentacle, well...
Sage of Time
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't say that the two aesthetics are mutually exclusive, but I understand where you're coming from. I'd still say Grog Grotto is going to be a tiki bar, just in a different vein that Sam's is.
Given its location in WDW, that's fine. I would expect comparisons between GG and TS to run about the same as comparisons to WDW and DL. Two different ways of operating, same mold, similar feelings and genres and topics.
Also, if you're a tikiphile, get thee to Mai Kai. One of the classics. A lovely place.
xdan0920
Think for yourselfer
You could always get the kiddos a drink. They could split a Mai Tai or maybe something with glowing ice cubes? Chill them right out.
sshindel
The Epcot Manifesto
No way. At home they just can't handle their liquor. They get all belligerent and start picking fights with the cats and each other. The last thing I want is for them to start a fight with one of the piano players at Jellyrolls.
tikiman
Well-Known Member
I have to agree you Sage of Time. I have noticed that different areas of the country have their own style of tiki bar and it seems that the bars and even drinks that came out of the Atlantic side are different than what came to the west coast from the Pacific but I often see nautical themeing like what is going into GG out here on the west coast. I grew up going to the original Trader Vics, the now gone Lanai restaurant and bar and the Tonga room. All had similar decorations as what I saw is going to be sent to GG. The Tonga room’s bar/ dance floor is the deck of a ship. GG will have its bamboo accents and plenty of tiki masks but I believe they are leaning more towards an Adventurer’s Club feel with a 20,000 leagues twist to it where the Enchanted Tiki Bar reminds me more of the Tiki room or Jungle Cruise. Most people are just going to enjoy the atmosphere and not really judge it for its tiki bar authenticity but I know there will be tiki bar aficionados that will be judging every part of it down to how they mix the drinks. If it lives up to their standards than I think that is great but if it does not I think it will still be a hit with guests. It will never be a Mai Kai or a Trader Vic’s but I don’t see it trying to be.
I have loved everything tiki since I was little. My love came more from the authentic culture of the Pacific Islands and not so much from the bars because I was not old enough to enjoy what the bar had to offer, but I am learning to appreciate the drinks and their complexity. To have a good tiki bar to me is more about what you are offering in the drinks and food. As far as the rules to a good tiki bar I don’t think one should be judges by what others look like. The whole point is to be somewhat unique. As long as it is not dull then I think it can be a great place for people to enjoy. I don’t see Grog Grotto being dull.
Communicore
Well-Known Member
"Don't tell your mom, it's the second time this week ok?"
flyerjab
Well-Known Member
So we were visiting all of the monorail resorts on Thanksgiving and checking out the Holiday decorations. The only reason we stopped at the Poly was so that we could check out the construction.
Wow is pretty much all I can say about that.
The interesting event that took place was that my daughter heard my wife and I discussing the removal of the fountain and the work going on behind the wall in the lobby. We were on the first floor at the time, and she went in back of a planter and snuck her hand through a gap in a corner of the wall and snapped pictures (god bless her). The flagstone flooring is essentially almost finished. There was nothing else there.
I asked a cast member at the newly refurbed check in area - looks nice by the way - and she said that they hope to have the lobby walls down by mid-December.
At the DVC desk I inquired about when plans should be available for the DVC units at the Poly. The cast member at the desk did not know. A manager in the lobby came up to us at that moment. The first thing she did was tell my daughter not to do that again (after the manager left I high-fived my daughter for her efforts
). The second thing she did was tell us that the plans should be made public by mid-December. My wife asked if there was going to be a model at the DVC facility in SSR and the manager said no.
Wow is pretty much all I can say about that.
The interesting event that took place was that my daughter heard my wife and I discussing the removal of the fountain and the work going on behind the wall in the lobby. We were on the first floor at the time, and she went in back of a planter and snuck her hand through a gap in a corner of the wall and snapped pictures (god bless her). The flagstone flooring is essentially almost finished. There was nothing else there.
I asked a cast member at the newly refurbed check in area - looks nice by the way - and she said that they hope to have the lobby walls down by mid-December.
At the DVC desk I inquired about when plans should be available for the DVC units at the Poly. The cast member at the desk did not know. A manager in the lobby came up to us at that moment. The first thing she did was tell my daughter not to do that again (after the manager left I high-fived my daughter for her efforts
). The second thing she did was tell us that the plans should be made public by mid-December. My wife asked if there was going to be a model at the DVC facility in SSR and the manager said no.
Mouse Trap
Well-Known Member
Does anyone have any sort of an updated estimated completion date of Trader Sam's?