Outer Rim in Contemporary ?

[AdandO]

Just wondering if you are able to take drinks from the Outer Rim to Contempo Cafe. Also, would it be totally weird to bring food from Contempo Cafe into Outer Rim? The drinkers in my family are not too excited about the wine and cocktail choices at the cafe . Considering most nights will be spent at MK for our trip, this may be their only chance to booze it up! Thanks for helping a first time poster!

 

[Sweet Melissa]

Yes, you can do either. If you ask for the drinks "to go", the bartenders at the Outer Rim will put them in disposable cups for you. You can basically walk around with drinks anywhere; you just can't take drinks in or out of the parks.

 

[AdandO]

Great, thanks!!

 

[eeyoresmom]

We are doing a monorail pub crawl and were going to end at the Top of The World Lounge (DVC members)....Is the atmosphere/views from the Outer Rim comparable? Last time I was at TOTWL there were soooo many toddlers, strollers etc. Really not a lounge feel at all.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

We are doing a monorail pub crawl and were going to end at the Top of The World Lounge (DVC members)....Is the atmosphere/views from the Outer Rim comparable? Last time I was at TOTWL there were soooo many toddlers, strollers etc. Really not a lounge feel at all.

No. The views out the window are not comparable. However, the views of the toddlers and strollers are.

 

[si-am]

We are doing a monorail pub crawl and were going to end at the Top of The World Lounge (DVC members)....Is the atmosphere/views from the Outer Rim comparable? Last time I was at TOTWL there were soooo many toddlers, strollers etc. Really not a lounge feel at all.

People hang out here waiting on ADRs for Chef Mickeys, most of them using the chairs without drinking. Kind of takes away from the atmosphere. I wish Outer Rim opened in the afternoon so that people could enjoy the view and the atmosphere with a bit more peace and quiet.

Tambu at Poly is the same way but at least they open earlier in the day, well before Ohana diners start showing up.

 

[sotoalf]

People hang out here waiting on ADRs for Chef Mickeys, most of them using the chairs without drinking. Kind of takes away from the atmosphere. I wish Outer Rim opened in the afternoon so that people could enjoy the view and the atmosphere with a bit more peace and quiet.

Tambu at Poly is the same way but at least they open earlier in the day, well before Ohana diners start showing up.

Well, The Wave is open at noon -- it and Tambu are the only lounges in the MK resort area open before dinner. It's shocked me for years that a hotel as expensive as the GF offers only a pool bar to people who want midday libations.

 

[si-am]

Well, The Wave is open at noon -- it and Tambu are the only lounges in the MK resort area open before dinner. It's shocked me for years that a hotel as expensive as the GF offers only a pool bar to people who want midday libations.

Yes, this is true. The Wave is cool but it doesn't have the views of Bay Lake or the monorail, though!

I agree it's weird that GF (or any other deluxes for that matter) don't have lounges that open earlier unless you count the pool bar.

 

[eeyoresmom]

No. The views out the window are not comparable. However, the views of the toddlers and strollers are.

Lol.Thanks. I think I know the area.... right outside Chef Mickeys and Contemporary Cafe? If so its more like a waiting area than lounge.

 

[sotoalf]

Ever since The Wave opened, my group (and the Contemporary itself, for that matter) have ceded Outer Rim to Chef Mickey's as a glorified waiting area.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

Lol.Thanks. I think I know the area.... right outside Chef Mickeys and Contemporary Cafe? If so its more like a waiting area than lounge.

That's the one! All the ambiance of an airport terminal.

 

[sbf0202]

Not sure if the menu or drink choices were better back then, but from looking at old photos of the Grand Canyon Concourse, the Outer Rim (and Coconino Cove all the way back in that alcove behind Chef Mickey's) seemed to have a more sophisticated, grown-up feel.

 

[Networth]

Well, The Wave is open at noon -- it and Tambu are the only lounges in the MK resort area open before dinner. It's shocked me for years that a hotel as expensive as the GF offers only a pool bar to people who want midday libations.

This. The amount of comments I have given Disney over the years about not having a bar at the Grand that opens before 4:30. Sometimes when people want an afternoon nap I want a drink and the club level drinks or pool bar don't cut it.

 

[JZCubed]

This. The amount of comments I have given Disney over the years about not having a bar at the Grand that opens before 4:30. Sometimes when people want an afternoon nap I want a drink and the club level drinks or pool bar don't cut it.

I am with you about pool bars not being the same thing, certainly, not on a hot/cold day when you're finishing up your daily routine and transitioning into evening. And pool bars typically serve in plastic.

Little girls can get Tea starting at 3pm, but Mizner's Lounge does not open until 4:30 (?). I don't get that either.

While I'm not opposed to eating tea sandwiches, it would certainly be preferable for me to sit inside Mizner's while the 'girls' enjoy afternoon Tea. Of course, nap time is a similar circumstance.

I'd even offer to buy your cocktail to justify my second (diabetes prevents me from gong past 2 anymore)…..then it's time for my nap.

Almost forgot to mention - Outer Rim is more a convenience bar than Lounge. Sure, in the evening when Chef Mickey's closes it's more like a Lounge, but not really - you're still in a part of a hotel lobby and you know it.

But best advice, go downstairs to the Wave for better selection of both food & beverages. Outer Rim is for people stepping off the Monorail to get back to hotel room and/or going to Chef Mickey's (or grabbing something at Contempo).

And if your friends are snobs (and I can say that, I'm a food snob) about the booze they drink, but not the dinner food available at Contempo, then I suggest they have at least one cocktail before ordering dinner.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Try the bar at the Wave on the first floor instead. Plus the Wave opens early. If they are really snooty about their booze, you can even go up to the bar at California Grill if they have room up there.

Is the atmosphere/views from the Outer Rim comparable?

There is NO atmosphere at Outer Rim. The best view you will have will be of the stroller parking for Chef Mickey's.

 

[sotoalf]

I am with you about pool bars not being the same thing, certainly, not on a hot/cold day when you're finishing up your daily routine and transitioning into evening. And pool bars typically serve in plastic.

Little girls can get Tea starting at 3pm, but Mizner's Lounge does not open until 4:30 (?). I don't get that either.

Oh man! We're kindred spirits. Three weeks ago my father, brother in law, and I were flummoxed: where do you get a drink while the girls are at the Princess tea? We hung out at The Wave's bar/lounge area, which was crowded thanks to conventioneers playing hooky. When we returned to the GF around 3:45, we noticed a group of thirsty guests queuing up outside Mizner's! It's insane that nobody in GF management has responded.