The Wonderful Trader Sam's at the Disneyland Hotel

Trader Sams - Disneyland Hotel

I was going though some photographs for a different post I was going to write when I came across this picture of the interior of Trader Sams at the Disneyland Hotel. I stopped and just had to smile. What a great place! Fun, relaxing, delicious drinks and appetizers, great staff, and loaded with atmosphere - it's the perfect adult break from your Disneyland day and a great replacement for the old Disneyland Hotel Lost Bar which was a fun place to begin with. I can't begin to tell you how much I look forward to going back to Trader Sams. Heck, it wouldn't be a bad place to be right now as Memorial Day weekend kicks into gear.

Adventures in Trader Sam's

Many fun nights were spent at the old Lost Bar watering hole at the Disneyland Hotel. On a warm evening, it was the perfect way to end your Disney day relaxing and reminiscing about what transpired throughout the day. So when I had heard the Lost Bar was closing during the Disneyland Hotel remodel I was a bit downtrodden. They were taking away the Lost Bar and the Water Falls? Well down deep, I knew Disney would replace the Lost Bar with something new and probably something even better. There's too much money to be made with a place like that and sure enough, Trader Sam's pops up with the Hotel renovations and it takes the Lost Bar and pluses it and pluses it some more. Trader Sam's is a fun place. Trader Sam's is a great place.

Since we weren't staying at the Disneyland Hotel this time around, Mrs DisneylandTraveler and I made our way down there one afternoon on our most recent visit to check out the changes to the hotel after renovation. It was our first chance to see it completed. Color me impressed. Disney did a fine job modernizing the venerable landmark and brought it up to a nice contemporary standard. A Trader Sam's is one of the nice new features. Yes it's a cocktail lounge, a bar, but nicely themed with emphasis on the exotic both with the drinks and the decor. The bartenders are first rate as well, helpful, fun, and friendly.

I asked the bartender for a recommendation and she said the Shrunken Zombie Head was their best seller. "I'm in" and the rum began to pour (3 kinds). Of course you can get your Shrunken Zombie Head in a Shrunken Zombie souvenir head so I picked up on that as well (and now proudly looks out on my cubicle here at work). About twenty bucks with drink and souvenir head and well worth it. Mrs. DLT is not much of a drinker and went with a virgin pina colada which she enjoyed though it appears Trader Sam's menu of non-alcoholic drinks is a bit on the skimpy side (at least on the printed drink menu).

One Shrunken Zombie Head - Bottoms Up!

Since Trader Sam's shares space with the Tangaroa Terrace walk-up food service restaurant, a menu of nice appetizers is also available. Mrs. DLT and I opted for chicken lettuce wraps a nice choice for a light afternoon snack. They were very good.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps - a light and excellent appetizer

Sam's only seats about 40 people inside. The good news is there is room for about another 65 or so with outside seating. There's a huge outdoor fireplace to enjoy when its chilly but when its warm, Trader Sam's snuggles up neatly against the Disneyland Hotel's swimming pool and new Monorail water slide. There's a lot to enjoy about Trader Sam's and the revamped Disneyland Hotel. I'll be back hopefully to spend a few nights enjoying the fun the revamped hotel can offer.

The Return of the Disneyland Hotel

It's taken a few years but the construction walls have been taken down, the assorted bulldozers and cranes have been removed, and finally the new and improved Disneyland Hotel is back in full operation (almost).  Well there is that sticking point of an on premises laundry facility not quite ready just yet - a deal breaker for Mrs. DisneylandTraveler - but other than that, the venerable DLH is back in business and updated for the 21st century.

Gone are sliding doors and the mini-balconies, the romantic waterfalls, the koi pond, the remote control boats, the Lost Bar, the Peter Pan pool, the giant Mickey Mouse statue to greet you, and the remnants of Dancing Waters.  In their places come all new rooms and lobbies, new expanses of lawns and tropical landscaping, an E-Ticket pool with an adjoining monorail themed water-slide, Trader Sam's, and a host of new details and touches.  Is all this change for the good?  Probably.  Something needed to be done with the old hotel which started construction back in the 1950's.  It needed to be brought up-to-date and modernized for a new generation of high-rolling park vacationers.  But at the same time, many people had a special bond with the old Disneyland Hotel.  Me, Mrs. DLT, and other family members spend many fine days (and nights) at the old DLH.  My claim is that the DLH felt like much more of the magic of Disneyland itself rather than just a hotel.  It had much more Disney charm than even the more costlier, grander, and convenient Grand Californian.  If you could fit it your Disneyland budget, a stay at the DLH was something quite special.

Will the new DLH be the same?  Will it have the same charm and magic?  I think so far the reports are quite good about the changes to the rooms, restaurants, and grounds but it remains to be seen if the new and improved version of the DLH can match what made the old DLH so special for me and Mrs. DLT.  Hopefully we will get back there sometime.

Andrienne Vincent-Phoenix gives a tour of the the hotel in her latest Disneyland Resort Update on MousePlanet.  You can read what she has to say and pictures of the hotel here.

The $72 (A Person) Thanksgiving Dinner

I'm sure the annual Thanksgiving Day buffet dinner served at the Grand Ballroom of the Disneyland Hotel is quite nice - first rate and something to remember to be sure. The cost of this opulence? A mind-numbing $71.99 (plus tax and tip) for anyone over the age of 10. If your in the 3 - 9 years of age range, it will only run $20.99 and if your 2 and under, congratulations, chow down all your want because it's free. A $72 turkey dinner with all the trimmings? Are you kidding? Even with rising food prices, turkey is still one of the cheapest protein sources you can get. The local Black Angus Steakhouse is offering their traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner with all the trimmings for $15.99. Whew! Now that's more like it.

Now granted, the Disneyland Hotel will lay our food choices for as far as they eye can see and even offer a prime rib carving station but the thought of whipping out around 3 large bills for a family of four borders on the unfathomable. And I'm also sure there will be no shortage of people lined up ready to get theirs come Thursday. And I'm also sure there will be many others this year who are saying "it's difficult out there, we are struggling to make ends meet and we might be better off forgoing the expense of our usual Thanksgiving dinner".

You know, if I hit the Lotto some day (and it might increase my chances if I actually played) I would love to go to the one of these high priced Disney Holiday buffet meals. And I would give an all expenses paid trip to Joey Chestnut to come along with me and tell him to have at it.