Trader Sam's

[sadiebug]

Give me the scoop! We will be there before 8pm because we do have kiddos with us, but is the atmosphere still fun? Do the drinks come in the cool shrunken heads like they do at WDW if you pay extra for them? (I've never been, but I've seen posts!) What drink are you supposed to order for fun effects? Is there a secret menu?

 

[Zooey]

It’s hard to get a seat inside, the earlier you go the better. Atmosphere is very fun, but in a laid back way.
Best drinks for effects are the Shipwreck and the Krakatoa.
I always get an “old Kungaloosh” which is secret menu drink from the Adventurer’s Club.

 

[tzeitel]

We go to TS for lunch on every trip, it is still fun. They do have several souvenir mugs you can buy - I have 5 of them, including the shrunken head We get there about 15-20 minutes before they open and have always sat inside. I would not go to sit outside, but that is just me. We have gone as parties of 3 to 5.

 

[shannon006]

Have never been. Would this be ok to go with 2 18 year olds,1 11 year old and 2 non alcohol drinking adults?

 

[Zooey]

Have never been. Would this be ok to go with 2 18 year olds,1 11 year old and 2 non alcohol drinking adults?

I would go for lunch, and not try to go at night.

 

[BrianL]

Have never been. Would this be ok to go with 2 18 year olds,1 11 year old and 2 non alcohol drinking adults?

Just a warning to you, if you want to buy a mug, they have to pour the drink. I have had others drink my order so I could keep the mug (they actually don't give you the mug they serve it in - you get a new-in-box one). Anyway, you can always just not drink it or whatever. I've met some nice folks by buying them a drink though!

 

[j9isawesome]

The atmosphere is still fun, pretty much the same at both coasts. We have been to both locations numerous times (mug collectors lol). The drinks still come in all sorts of fun ceramic tiki mugs and for a fee you can take them home with you. Uh-Oah, Shipwreck & usually the Krakatoa will all get you special effects through the bar as your order is brought to you. FYI If the kids want a non alcoholic drink in a fancy mug to take home I'm pretty sure it would still cost the same as the mug plus adult beverage price. That said their mocktails are really good too. No secret menu needed, on menu drinks are great & the bartenders are really good and happy to make you something off menu if you ask. If you want the shrunken head specifically that comes with the Zombie. They also just added a few new drinks/mugs and totally changed up the menu when Tangaroa Terrace recently reopened. If TS is too busy you can get many of the same fun drinks and the same food menu at TT but I find the new bar next door actually helps cut down on TS lines. Also, I don’t know how old of kiddos we are talking about but just a heads up that if your kids are super young, overwhelmed by loud noises, would get upset by being sprayed in the face with water with no warning, have any sensory issues at all or can’t stay put at a table when lots of distractions are going on- you might want to consider skipping the inside of trader Sam’s and sticking with the outside patio area or try Tangaroa Terrace instead.

Have never been. Would this be ok to go with 2 18 year olds,1 11 year old and 2 non alcohol drinking adults?

You just can’t go after 8pm with anyone under 21. If you go for lunch you have a better chance of getting a table inside without an outrageous wait. If you wait til dinner time you could be waiting over an hour easy. Lots of good mocktails to try and a fun environment. No one would mind that no one in your group was getting booze.

 

[BrianL]

FYI If the kids want a non alcoholic drink in a fancy mug to take home I'm pretty sure it would still cost the same as the mug plus adult beverage price. That said their mocktails are really good too.

As a non-drinker I have run into this and they will not sell the mug without the pour of whatever signature drink belongs in it. They will not do it, even if you pay. I wanted a Nautilus really badly (this was at WDW) and would have gladly paid full price for the drink, but they said they had to pour it. He said I don't have to drink it, but they have to serve it. They could not substitute. I assume this has something to do with keeping the inventory squared away. Anyway, I told the waiter to ask a table across the way if they wanted to drink a Nautilus for me. They did. They waved me over and we had a fun night. I got my Nautilus to take home. In DL, I bought a drink for the person next to me. Still, they had to pour it.

Anyway, one of the mocktails comes in a pretty cool sipper, though it is plastic. I just want everyone to know that they are pretty strict about this.

 

[TyRy]

It’s hard to get a seat inside, the earlier you go the better. Atmosphere is very fun, but in a laid back way.
Best drinks for effects are the Shipwreck and the Krakatoa.
I always get an “old Kungaloosh” which is secret menu drink from the Adventurer’s Club.

Hold on - I can get a Kungaloosh at the Trader Sam's at DL? Totally adding this to the list for our visit - thanks for the heads up!!

 

[j9isawesome]

As a non-drinker I have run into this and they will not sell the mug without the pour of whatever signature drink belongs in it. They will not do it, even if you pay. I wanted a Nautilus really badly (this was at WDW) and would have gladly paid full price for the drink, but they said they had to pour it. He said I don't have to drink it, but they have to serve it. They could not substitute. I assume this has something to do with keeping the inventory squared away. Anyway, I told the waiter to ask a table across the way if they wanted to drink a Nautilus for me. They did. They waved me over and we had a fun night. I got my Nautilus to take home. In DL, I bought a drink for the person next to me. Still, they had to pour it.

Anyway, one of the mocktails comes in a pretty cool sipper, though it is plastic. I just want everyone to know that they are pretty strict about this.

Disney World & Disneyland have different mug rules in general though. I have bought empty mugs & mugs with a non alcoholic version at the TS in Disneyland & while I had to pay the same price as if it had booze in it I was still able to buy it without issue & no one was poured boozy drinks at all. Are you saying you know that this isn’t supposed to actually be allowed at Disneyland or just at Disney WORLD?

 

[BrianL]

Disney World & Disneyland have different mug rules in general though. I have bought empty mugs & mugs with a non alcoholic version at the TS in Disneyland & while I had to pay the same price as if it had booze in it I was still able to buy it without issue & no one was poured boozy drinks at all. Are you saying you know that this isn’t supposed to actually be allowed at Disneyland or just at Disney WORLD?

Well, I did ask when I visited the DL one, but I think I said something like, "you can't substitute drinks, right?" The waitress said they could not. Now, at WDW there was a whole long conversation about it, so it could be different I suppose and I just got a waitress who didn't want to get into all that. It is nice if they can do it, but it wasn't my experience. It's cool. I made new friends at the table next to me, but not everyone is comfortable with that.

On my next trip I will have someone with me and they can drink for me!

 

[maltdizzy]

One note about DL vs WDW. In California, it is illegal for minors to enter a bar area unless it is attached to a restaurant (it gets a bit ambiguous once you add the restaurant). Because of that, DLR policy is kids cannot sit at the actual bar/barstools, they can sit at tables only. I mention this because WDW does not have this restriction.

 

[StarlitNight05]

How much do the mugs cost? I've never seen a concrete answer.

 

[j9isawesome]

How much do the mugs cost? I've never seen a concrete answer.

Depends on which mug you are talking about. They’re different prices. The new larger sized mug was about $60

 

[StarlitNight05]

Depends on which mug you are talking about. They’re different prices. The new larger sized mug was about $60

I was specifically thinking about the Zombie mug.

 

[j9isawesome]

I was specifically thinking about the Zombie mug.

I think it is about $28 for that one.

 

[gillep]

Disney World & Disneyland have different mug rules in general though. I have bought empty mugs & mugs with a non alcoholic version at the TS in Disneyland & while I had to pay the same price as if it had booze in it I was still able to buy it without issue & no one was poured boozy drinks at all. Are you saying you know that this isn’t supposed to actually be allowed at Disneyland or just at Disney WORLD?

For the Hitchhiking Ghost mug in DL last year they would only sell it to us with that specific drink, we could not purchase the mug alone, nor could we substitute any other beverage, possibly it is based on the mug itself since this one was a limited edition and not one of the regular ones that they always have we have not asked about substitutions for any of the other mugs/drinks.

 

[Long Distance Dis]

Can someone remind me of what the table set up is like/how large of groups they can accommodate? I'll be visiting with a group of six and I can't remember if they have any tables larger than four top... Thanks!

 

[O'12ears]

How late do they stay open and when does the crowd die down (if ever) We are staying at the DLH for our anniversary next Friday and I am wondering if we should add to our schedule.

 

[j9isawesome]

For the Hitchhiking Ghost mug in DL last year they would only sell it to us with that specific drink, we could not purchase the mug alone, nor could we substitute any other beverage, possibly it is based on the mug itself since this one was a limited edition and not one of the regular ones that they always have we have not asked about substitutions for any of the other mugs/drinks.

Yeah HHG mugs releases were a bit bananas, with the crazy long line up and not a normal purchasing process. Or at least it was the day we got our mugs at the DL location.

Can someone remind me of what the table set up is like/how large of groups they can accommodate? I'll be visiting with a group of six and I can't remember if they have any tables larger than four top... Thanks!

The larger low tables only usually have 4 chairs at them. Sounds like you would need to break up into two tables or sit outside where the tables can easily fit 6 ppl around them.