Tips on drinking around the Monorail at Disney World

Every time I go to Disney World I’m on the lookout for two kinds of experiences: the new and the adult-oriented.

I’ve been visiting WDW with my husband at least once a year for the past 20 years, so finding new things to do can be a challenge. The same is true for finding grown-up things to do; it seems like even the most adult-oriented experiences are skewing younger every year.

I’d been hearing about the Monorail Pub Crawl (or “drinking around the Monorail”) for a few years, but we hadn’t taken the plunge. Naturally we’ve tried our hands at different variation on drinking around the World Showcase at Epcot — beers around the World, wines around the World, the many tequilas of Mexico. So the Monorail Pub Crawl seemed like a natural for us.

Coincidentally, we were visiting WDW at the same time as several friends, so our Pub Crawl became a fabulous social event. But it would also be a great date night if you’re there on your own or can leave the kids with a sitter.

Take a spin around the Monorail with us:

Outer Rim, Contemporary

We gathered at the Outer Rim, a small lounge on the Contemporary’s fourth floor concourse, overlooking Bay Lake. The Outer Rim serves the standard WDW cocktail menu, but the Jetsons-style standby, the Blue Glow-tini, is perfectly appropriate. Admittedly it’s over-priced at about $10, but we wanted to set the mood for our pub crawl, so the Glow-tini was the order of the day. If you haven’t experienced one, the Glow-tini is a concoction of Skyy Infusions Citrus Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Blue Curacao and pineapple juice, lit from within by a souvenir glow cube.

The Outer Rim (open 4:30-10:30 p.m.) isn’t the most memorable stop on the Pub Crawl, so feel free to make it a quick stop. If you’re meeting friends, it’s a handy meeting place.

The Contemporary has two other options for pub crawling: the Wave bar and the California Grill lounge. The Wave bar is nice and quiet — a rare respite from the madness of WDW. The California grill can be just the opposite. It’s a madhouse for at least an hour before the fireworks and 30 minutes or so after. If you miss that window, though, you can still enjoy the beautiful view — and you may even get a seat to rest your weary feat. If you got an early start and you can fit in a fourth stop before 10, when both these places close, you can end your night with a fourth stop back at the Contemporary and get a taste of a second bar.

Tambu Lounge, Polynesian

The Lapu Lapu cocktail

We timed our trip so we could catch the fireworks from the Polynesian. We craned our necks from the lounge area, but if you wander down to the beach, there’s a beautiful view from there.

The lounge is bustling and crowded, but in a festive way. It may be hard to find a seat, but it will be worth the wait.

Tambu is the rare Disney lounge that actually does have a signature drink: the lapu lapu, Myers’s Original Dark rum and tropical fruit juices topped with Bacardi 151 rum and served in a flamboyant fresh pineapple, complete with cocktail umbrella. My husband blithely ordered one of these beauties assuming it wouldn’t pack much of a punch. After all, the Glow-tini hadn’t given him much of a glow. Boy, was he wrong. This is a serious drink (especially for a guy who’s not a hard drinker).

I ordered another drink that isn’t exclusive to the Tambu Lounge but seemed suitable to the environment: The Eco-tini. Made of VeeV Acai Liquor, Triple Sec, Agave Nectar, ginger and lemon juice, this sexy martini is served with a souvenir Acai seed bracelet. Very cute.

If you want to linger, the Tambu Lounge is the last of our Monorail pubs to close, with last call at midnight.

The Eco-tini cocktail

Mizner’s Lounge, the Grand Floridian

It would be easy to sink into one of the plush chairs at Mizner’s and stay all night, so it’s a good thing we made this our last stop.

Mizner’s demands old-fashioned libations, like Old-Fashioneds, bourbon or scotch on the rocks. It’s also a fabulous place for a brandy or a spiked coffee. Mizner’s also has a great wine list, if that’s your thing. So forget the canned cocktail menu and let the spirits move you.

If you get there by 10, you also can enjoy the Grand Floridian’s jazz band or take in the fireworks from the beach.

This was by far my favorite stop on our pub crawl. It wasn’t the first time we’ve been to Mizner’s; we often stop in before dinner at Citrico’s or Narcoose’s (or — just once — at Victoria and Albert’s). So we knew we would sink in and be comfortable.

We lingered at Mizner’s late into the evening — as late as possible, given the 11 p.m. closing time — and finally shared a cab back to our resort with our friends.

More Monorail Pub Crawl tips:

• Watch the timing for fireworks. (Here’s the Magic Kingdom calendar. Click on the day to see the full entertainment schedule.) There are great views from the beach at the Polynesian, as well as obstructed view from inside near the Tambu Lounge. You can also see them from the beach at the Grand Floridian. Both are romantic spots, if this is date night.
• Make sure the Magic Kingdom is open late so the Monorail is running. The resort Monorail typically runs until an hour after park closing. If you’re not staying at a Monorail resort, if the Magic Kingdom is open late you’ll be able to take a bus from there back to your resort.
• Cabs are easy to get, so if you don’t want to take a bus back from your last stop, it’s easy to get a ride. Whatever you do, don’t drive.
• Do the pub crawl at Christmas and you get the added bonus of visiting the beautiful Grand Floridian when it’s all decked out for the holidays, and you can stop by the gingerbread house.