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Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort is Walt Disney World’s most famous bar, and one of the hardest to get into. We’ve been in September 2023 and again in September 2024. Here’s how getting in works now, what to order and what to expect once you’re inside.
Details checked in November 2026. Disney changes hours and rules often, so check the My Disney Experience app before you go.
What Trader Sam’s is
Trader Sam’s is a tiny tiki bar packed with masks, carvings and nautical props, themed to the Jungle Cruise’s “head salesman”. It’s Disney World’s version of the original Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel. The draw is the show: order certain drinks and the room reacts with lighting, sound and special effects, while the bartenders join in.
How to get in: the walk-up list
- Trader Sam’s doesn’t take reservations. Since December 2025 you join a walk-up list in the My Disney Experience app.
- The app only lets you join when you’re at or near the Polynesian, so you need to be on site.
- It now opens at 11am (it used to open at 3pm). Join soon after opening if you can. Waits later in the day can run two hours or more.
- Smaller parties of four or fewer are often seated faster. The room only holds around 50 people.
Hours and age rules
- Indoor Grotto: 11am to midnight.
- All ages until 8pm, then 21 and over only.
- The outdoor Tiki Terrace has been closed for refurbishment since April 2026 and is now expected to stay closed through mid-December 2026. The terrace serves the same drinks, but you don’t get the indoor effects.
What to order
The drinks to order are the ones that set off the effects. The Uh-Oa! is the big one: a flaming bowl for sharing that sets off a storm across the room. Here’s ours being lit in 2023:
- Uh-Oa! (around $28.50): the flaming share bowl with the storm effect.
- HippopotoMai-Tai (around $19.50, more with the souvenir mug): Trader Sam’s take on the Mai Tai.
- The Nautilus (around $38, more with the bowl): a big drink for two or more in a submarine-shaped bowl.
- Polynesian Pearl (around $24.50): a creamy drink, and you keep the pearl.
Prices are approximate, from late 2026 reports. Several drinks come in collectible tiki mugs you can buy, like the blue skull mug below. The potstickers are a good snack to go with them.
Even a regular drink gets you a show if someone else orders an effects drink. Here’s what the room does:
Tips from our visits
- Get there early, and have someone join the walk-up list while the rest of your group heads over.
- Sit at the bar if you can. You see the bartenders’ show up close.
- Ask what’s new. Seasonal drinks and mugs change through the year.
- It’s small and loud. Don’t plan a long, quiet catch-up there.
- Pair it with dinner at the Polynesian, or take the monorail to Magic Kingdom or Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
Where to stay
Staying at the Polynesian or along the monorail makes Trader Sam’s much easier, especially if you want to be there when the walk-up list opens.
More tiki
Read our visits from 2023 and 2024, the original Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at Disneyland, and our guide to Disney bars and tiki lounges. Want to make tiki drinks at home? See our Tiki Bar Gear list.
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