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Trader Sam's
- Thread starter Huglife
- Start date
ajt5027
Member
I stayed at Poly a week ago and we went to Trader Sam's a couple of times. The experience was hit and miss. It is hard to get a seat. The host will give you a pager should a table become available, but seating is first come first serve, so there is no guarantee. This makes absolutely no sense, but it is the truth, the pagers are somewhat useless. Your best bet is to send someone into the walk-up bar area and hawk a table as soon as it comes available. We had parties of 5 or more each time so this was necessary, if its only 2 people its much easier.
As for the experience, it depends on the servers. We had a great experience with Cory and Nick, however the servers rotate every night. To make it worse, they don't know if they will be inside or outside (at Trader Sam's Terrace) until they come on shift. Outside is not nearly as fun as inside. One night the servers seemed like wet blankets, but maybe it was just because Cory and Nick were so much fun.
The drinks are good, but sweet. If you like fruity cocktails, you will like Trader Sam's. Almost every drink has some kind of shtick (a saying or action the servers will do), which you will experience as your drink and other peoples drinks are served. Some drinks are more involved like the Nautilus and Uh-Oa!. I really liked the Misquito Mojito and Dark and Stormy since I am not into fruity drinks. The Spikey Pineapple is made with Dole Whip, since Poly is the only place outside of Adventureland you can get it. They also have a full bar so you can order any drink you want.
Like I said, hit and miss, but if your over Poly way its worth a trip. Also, weekends are better than weeknights. More people better atmosphere.
Hope this helps.
As for the experience, it depends on the servers. We had a great experience with Cory and Nick, however the servers rotate every night. To make it worse, they don't know if they will be inside or outside (at Trader Sam's Terrace) until they come on shift. Outside is not nearly as fun as inside. One night the servers seemed like wet blankets, but maybe it was just because Cory and Nick were so much fun.
The drinks are good, but sweet. If you like fruity cocktails, you will like Trader Sam's. Almost every drink has some kind of shtick (a saying or action the servers will do), which you will experience as your drink and other peoples drinks are served. Some drinks are more involved like the Nautilus and Uh-Oa!. I really liked the Misquito Mojito and Dark and Stormy since I am not into fruity drinks. The Spikey Pineapple is made with Dole Whip, since Poly is the only place outside of Adventureland you can get it. They also have a full bar so you can order any drink you want.
Like I said, hit and miss, but if your over Poly way its worth a trip. Also, weekends are better than weeknights. More people better atmosphere.
Hope this helps.
DisneyWall-E
Well-Known Member
How much was the Nautilus and was it good?
bethymouse
Well-Known Member
I think the Nautilus is 52$$$!
I haven't tried it.
P_Radden
Well-Known Member
Wow, when we stayed there in March, we went at least 3 times and walked right in and sat down each time. Actually it was pretty cool because we got to show our non-WDW savvy friends Trader Sam's for their first time, and we all had a blast sitting around the high top table in the middle of the room, near the bar. One of the stools at the table kept sinking slowly so that person was constantly wondering what the heck was going on. It was like someone (TS cast member) had a remote control to that stool and would slowly lower it to mess with us.
Also when one of the drinks was ordered where the tropical storm takes over the volcanoes in the pictures, we would feel rain droplets. Silly us were looking up at the ceiling for some sort of hidden Disney Imagineering device as the source, but we quickly realized it was just the bar tender with a squirt bottle haha.
We also ended up with a black pearl. Overall, we had great experiences every time with no wait ever.
Also when one of the drinks was ordered where the tropical storm takes over the volcanoes in the pictures, we would feel rain droplets. Silly us were looking up at the ceiling for some sort of hidden Disney Imagineering device as the source, but we quickly realized it was just the bar tender with a squirt bottle haha.
We also ended up with a black pearl. Overall, we had great experiences every time with no wait ever.
Tuvalu
Premium Member
It is under $30 if you don't keep the souvenir mug it comes in. It is the equivalent of 2-3 drinks. My daughter had one and enjoyed it.I think the Nautilus is 52$$$!
Nathanael Bareham
New Member
Me and my girlfriend went to Trader Sam's at the end of April for celebratory drinks after we got engaged on the Poly beach. We arrived at around 10 o'clock and managed to get a table straight away. We both absolutely loved this bar and were gutted that we only got to visit it the once. Its the best themed bar we have ever been to and the servers were great. As people have said above, each drink has a different ritual which is really fun! We got the Uh-Oa which was a lot of just the two of us and had a lot of rum in it 
After visiting Trader Sam's my life ambition is to now own a Tiki bar. I can' recommend this bar high enough. It's definitely worth a visit. I just hope your experience is as good as ours!!
After visiting Trader Sam's my life ambition is to now own a Tiki bar. I can' recommend this bar high enough. It's definitely worth a visit. I just hope your experience is as good as ours!!
JohnD
Well-Known Member
The website says until midnight.