I usually sleep in up until about check out time, but surprisingly I was up around 8 am. Packed my things and headed down to Amber Waves Haunted Lounge for one last rodeo. I asked the host if I could sit at the bar they told me that the bar doesn't open until lunch time. I was really bummed out, but the host was nice enough to check with the supervisor and they allowed me to sit at the bar and have a drink. What a treat.
Had the entire bar to myself.
The supervisor served me personally. I ordered an Irish Coffee to start my morning.
The supervisor periodically came by to check on me. It was quite busy for brunch at the restaurant.
Eventually the rest of the group woke up and met me at the bar. We checked out and left the hotel around 10 am. Had to do a bit of souvenir shopping, so we headed back to downtown Disney.
D-Street always had cool stuff.
Jack and Parker always try their luck with Disney's Vinylmation. This time it's Antman.
D-Street this year had a machine that would make custom phone cases. You choose from over 2000+ designs and then choose your phone, you can also inscribe it also. The machine makes the case on the spot in about 10 minutes. I had to get one. It came out to about $40 I didn't expect it to cost that much, but oh well. Case was a great fit, and the back and scratch resistant.
The backing is not a laminated picture, it's actually textured and you can feel all the lines of the illustration. Not sure it that applies to all the case options, but this one came like that.
Here's a few sample of other phone cases they had available. You would build it on the tablet they provided. Pay at the counter and you can walk up to the machine making your case at the back of the store where the worker would hand you your case.
After a bit of shopping we headed over to my favorite bar outside of the parks, Trader Sams Enchanted Tiki Bar located at the Disney Hotel behind ESPN Zone.
A nice outdoor fire place with outdoor lounge furniture. Would be a nice place to hang out at night and have a few drinks.
I thought Trader Sams opened at 11 but it actually opens at 11:30 am. So we sat outside waiting for it to open.
They opened right at 11:30 am.
It was Parker and Anh's first time because they missed out last year. Jason and Nicole left early last year so it was also their first visit. Alyssa isn't allowed to drink much, so she's background filler at the moment.
Jason started with the Piranha Pool.
I started with the Hippopotomai-Tai. You have a choice of it being served in a regular glass or purchase the souvenir cup. I decided I wanted to collect all the souvenir glasses they had. So lets go! If you're wonder they give you a brand new cup in a box to take home, instead of the cup it's served in.
Peter's helped me out by getting the Shrunken Zombie Head.
Nicole had the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum.
Two food items I recommend on the menu are the Panko Crsted Chinese Lon Bean
and the Big Island Flatbread. I really like Hawaiian style pizzas. Did you know that the Hawaiian Pizza was actually invented in Canada? Source
Jason decided he wanted to collect cups too! So he got the Krakatoa Punch.
I've been to Trader Sams a few times, but there are still new things that I'm noticing. I noticed that the Totem pole eyes moves occasionally.
Next I ordered the Shipwreck on the rocks. Some of these drinks trigger a bar show/event.
Nicole decided to go off menu and let the bartender make her a drink. This it the King Kamehameha Mai Tai.
Another thing I never knew about, was that some of the seats were on an air suspension, so some of the seats would drop very low during events. The bartender made extra long straws for us while we were low riding.
Every time I have been to Trader Sams I have sat on the side of the bar. I just found out that when you order a shipwreck n the rocks there's a ship in a bottle that sinks. Got a video of it below.
We were all able to collect the souvenir glasses, so at this point I decided to go off menu like Nicole. The bartender made me a Lapu Lapu.
and then I tried another off menu drink, which was the Navy Grog.
Eventually it was time to head home :(
We stopped by a tea house and picked up a few teas on our way to the airport.
All things come to an end, even when we don't want them to. I'm already looking forward to next years trip. It'll be our 10 year anniversary for this Halloween tradition. I'm not sure what I have planned but I want to do something big.
So where to next? I've been wanting to go to Canada so Vancouver will be my next stop in November. Stay tuned!