Adult Drinks

[mindylee847]

Hey everyone! We are headed to Disneyland in just a little over 2 months. Last time we were there was in 2008 and we were too young to partake in the alcoholic drinks. Does anyone have any pictures or any tips on where to get the best drinks throughout Disney property? We are spending 5 days there and staying at the Disneyland Hotel - so I know Trader Sam's is a must. Thank you!

PS: It's just my husband and I - we don't have kids yet! I've heard TS becomes adult only after a certain time so that won't be an issue for us.

 

[Girimama33]

Here is a good thread that was going on earlier this year: http://www.disboards.com/threads/happy-hour-the-original-magic-hour.3414200/

I love getting a Vodka Pomegranate Limeade at the Cozy Cone, Tequila Daisy at the Carthay Circle Theater Lounge and the Magical Cocktail at The Cove Bar...if you like something strong, the Mai Tais are really good at The Cove Bar as well. I also love the Piranha Pool at Trader Sams.

 

[mindylee847]

Thanks Girimama33! I was having difficulty just using the search function for something like "Alcohol"...

Oooo! A Pomegranate Limeade with alcohol?? That sounds delish. That will have to be on my must try list.

 

[tlovesdis]

I've not been yet, but people rave about the drinks at the Cove Bar right next to Ariel's Grotto in DCA!

We like the drinks at Tortilla Joe's. They have tequila flights that we may have tried once or twice!

 

[mindylee847]

Thanks, Tina! I feel so overwhelmed with all of the options. I've heard good things about Cove Bar as well but more so about the lobster nachos they have more than the drinks. And I was thinking about going to Tortilla Joe's our first night for dinner! I love having a flight since you can try so many different things then.

 

[SoCalTrojanSkip]

Go to the Carthay Circle lounge and ask for the "Queen's Apple". Our server during Halloweentime was an opening day bar tender and recommended it to us over the novelty drink that was being offered at the time. His exact words were...are you ordering it for the glowing skull, or because you want a good drink. I can't remember exactly what was in it, but it was red and delicious and not on the menu.

 

[darcie2000]

We really enjoyed the cocktails at Cove Bar Glad to see you'll be hitting Trader Sams as well

 

[Indiana Scott]

Thanks, Tina! I feel so overwhelmed with all of the options. I've heard good things about Cove Bar as well but more so about the lobster nachos they have more than the drinks. And I was thinking about going to Tortilla Joe's our first night for dinner! I love having a flight since you can try so many different things then.

The Cove is wonderful!
They make a good Micky's fun wheel (Long Island Ice tea) and a great MaiTai. Follow them up with an order of Lobster Nachos ($15) and prepare to drool.

Also the Hearth Lounge in the Grand Californian has a wonderful Irish coffee. I don't know what they do to them but they are the best I ever had.

 

[Bud Ice]

Trader Sams is a must,
Another great place is the MadTParty is DCA with glowcubes

Carthay Circle has glowciube drinks
Wine Trattoria for craft beer or wine
Margaritas at Rita Margaritas in DCA
House of Blues has Mason Jar drinks

Late Night or Early (6am!)
Hearthstone Lounge
Trader Sams
Paradise Pier Surfside Cafe

Generally, DCA has beer and wine freely available you can carry around the park. Disneyland not so much

 

[Iceman93]

The Uva Bar outside Catal at Downtown Disney is also a great spot to sip and people-watch. The lounge outside Steakhouse 55 has a relaxed, adult vibe. And in the afternoons they open up the upstairs patio at the Wine Country Trattoria which makes for a great view and out-of-the-way nook to sip some libations.

 

[agavegirl1]

I really enjoyed the Wine at Wine Country Trattoria as well. Many of the pre-mixed cocktails are a little light on alcohol content but wine is pretty consistent. Also, it is "California Adventure" so try some Cali wine.

 

[Khokhonutt]

Speaking of adult beverages, I know there's no World Showcase at DLR, but is there a DLR version of "Drinking Around the World"?

 

[mindylee847]

This all sounds so awesome!! I'm so glad I asked. An Irish coffee sounds delish!

Bud Ice - I really want to check out the MadTParty but I heard that it may not be running at the end of February on another thread. Does it normally not occur during slow periods of the year?? That's something I definitely want to check out. And everything you mentioned sounds so awesome!!

agavegirl1 - I will definitely need to try some Cali wine! So many people talk about wines out there.

And I'm wondering the same thing Jeff - Is there some sort of "challenge" similar at DLR to World Showcase? That would be cool!! Or maybe it's just a make up your own.

Thank you all so much. I'm getting so excited!

 

[Khokhonutt]

And I'm wondering the same thing Jeff - Is there some sort of "challenge" similar at DLR to World Showcase? That would be cool!! Or maybe it's just a make up your own.

I'm thinking we may have to plan our own, but it would be cool to know if there's a secret official "plan". I did find this - Disneyland Bar Crawl Guide - by a guy who also wrote Drinking Around the World Showcase at Epcot, which we've done.

 

[mindylee847]

I'm thinking we may have to plan our own, but it would be cool to know if there's a secret official "plan". I did find this - Disneyland Bar Crawl Guide - by a guy who also wrote Drinking Around the World Showcase at Epcot, which we've done.

Awesome find!! There's really some great tips in there and the pics have me really excited.

 

[SnowWhite09]

If you are happy to go for a stroll to somewhere off-site, Fire & Ice at the Garden Walk was pretty good. I didn't like my first drink there and they replaced it for free. The Mimosas at Mimi's Café are pretty good too!

 

[DizMe]

My sister and I just returned from the parks. You've been given a lot of great advice about what & where. One thing I thought I'd mention is that the cost is (not surprisingly) very high if you plan to do more than one cocktail each. Over the course of a trip, you could be spending a big chunk on drinks. What we did to soften the blow was buy a bottle (in our case, rum). We bought bottles of juice and made our own tiki rum drinks in the hotel (GCH) as a starter.

Now initially we decided it was too much of a hassle to bring our own since we were flying. You can't take it on carry-on and I was nervous about it breaking in my checked luggage. After one day in DLR, however, we decided to try and buy something off property. We didn't research it and just asked a couple of CMs, who directed us to go through an employee parking lot to a store on the corner of Walnut and Katella. Turns out they wouldn't let us go through the parking lot and it was a very long walk there and back, especially since we thought it would be faster to go back up Walnut instead of retracing our steps down Katella and across where PPH is. But we discovered that there is no entrance on Walnut so we had to go all the way around to the front entrance of DLH. We felt kind of stupid walking along with a bag of juice and rum, LOL.

I'm sure there is a much better method and I do recommend having your own if you can swing it, as you can still enjoy the fun drinks at the resort without going bankrupt. Just don't try walking to that little store unless you can figure out an easier path than we did

 

[mindylee847]

If you are happy to go for a stroll to somewhere off-site, Fire & Ice at the Garden Walk was pretty good. I didn't like my first drink there and they replaced it for free. The Mimosas at Mimi's Café are pretty good too!

I'll definitely have to keep that in mind! I know the hours are generally shorter when we are going so it's very possible we'll need more to do! Thank you.

 

[darph nader]

There's always the ESPN Zone,,,but it be a 'tad noisy'.

 

[taniahappy]

My favorites are:
- Karl Strauss cart for quick beer or Bayside Brews cart, both @ DCA

- ESPN Zone has some your basic drinks but if in the area and want to catch a game they are good and strong

- I highly recommend the Carthay Circle lounge @ DCA - love it there, order a couple of cocktails or a bottle of wine and just relax

-Now THIS is my favorite spot for drinks (other than the beer carts) Cove Bar (if hungry I recommend the Lobster Nachos)... signature cocktails are...

Black Pearl

Fun Wheel

Zombie - my personal favorite

Yum!!!

My Trip Report (several) is (are) here if you wish to read it