Trader Sam's;Polynesian Resort; Walt Disney World; Orlando, Florida

Well back to Japan after a nice almost two-week vacation in the U.S.  We did the Chicago thing with the family and then were off to Orlando with the sister and her family to play in the Parks.  And, as promised, here is a review of Trader Sam's Grog Grotto.

Welcome Tiki Fanatics 

First off, I'd like to thank my wonderful brother-in-law for the opportunity to go to Trader Sam's.  His meticulous planning allowed us to visit here even with our very busy schedule (which he planned as well).  In addition to his perfectly planned agenda, we were allowed to stay in their Bay Lake Tower Villa (DVC Contemporary Resort), so many more thanks.  We had perhaps the trip of our lives with my sister and her family.

Back to Trader Sam's, Trader Sam's authoritatively answers the question of who could create the best themed Tiki bar of all time.  Disney, of course!  There could not be a better place for a Tiki bar than the Polynesian Resort, a Polynesian-themed Tiki bar in a Polynesian-themed resort!!!  In addition to Trader Sam's, we were able to enjoy a dinner at Ohana, a Hawaiian-themed Brazilian-BBQ-like restaurant and a breakfast at Kona Cafe, a Hawaiian breakfast joint, both at the Polynesian resort.

The actual Trader Sam's bar is not the largest place, and from what I hear and how it appeared to be, it is very popular with Disney cast members and Orlando locals.  Accordingly, you may have to wait awhile to get into the bar. There is plenty of seating outside though near the pool.  Kids are allowed in the bar before 8pm (I think it is 8), but it is hard to get a table for more than 4.  Making it even more difficult to bring kids in the bar is the fact that when we finally were allowed in (party of 7 on the wait list), there were 7 seats available in the bar but they were not together.  That said, the bar is enjoyed best with a hot date or a cool brother-in-law as in my case.  We decided to let the wives and kids sit outside in the ample outdoor seating while we enjoyed a drink and the amazing scenery.

Let's start with the theming.  Man oh man is this place cool.   Everything from the Tikis...

Hello Mr. Tiki

To the views of the volcanoes outside...

Nice ocean view

To the Octopus waiting on the roof...

Somebody get the takoyaki maker ready

To the angry Tiki gods...

This might be a little too intense for the kiddies

Makes this a Disney masterpiece.

There are storms at times...

Get your ponchos ready

As well as volcano eruptions!

Volcano!!!

 There are some great drinks on the menu as can be seen below.

What shall we get next?

In the bar, I ordered the Hawaiian beer sampler, the Kona Beer Flight.  Let me explain why I made that choice in lieu of a Tiki drink. The brother-in-law and I decided to expedite our time in the bar since our families were waiting outside on the patio, so we ordered quick and easy to make drinks.  He ordered the Rum Flight, straight shots of rum, yummy!  Both of our samplers came out as three shots (5-once cups of beer for me) on surf boards.   I was familiar with all of my three brews since I regularly drink them in Japan as Hawaiian beer is popular here.

Triplets

Add 20 bucks for the souvenir shot glasses

While outside, I ordered the Nautilus and was not disappointed.  If you order the Nautilus in the bar, there is a whole production of shouts of "Nautilus!" and lighting effects when the servers bring it to your table.  I ordered it at our outside table, so instead it was brought out in two plastic cups and the souvenir mug was to be picked up later upon presentation of my receipt.  Disney does not want broken glassware like the mug in close proximity to the pool.  One warning is the mugs that come with the drinks are quite pricey.  My drink (which to my surprise, was for two) was 52 dollars.  You can ask for drinks without the mugs and they are considerably cheaper.   Here are the drink in cups and my mug, the biggest, second most expensive and perhaps the most impressive one of my collection.

Double the pleasure

Ahoy brave sailors

1st edition!

We also ordered some things to munch on with our drinks, the Chicken Lettuce Cups, Kalua Pork Tacos, Hawaiian Poke and Corn-battered Portuguese Sausages.  They all tasted very good, impressive but standard Tiki-bar fare.  Ironically, what impressed me the most of our food selections was the Pulled Pork Nachos from the nearby quick-service restaurant, Captain Cook's.  However, that didn't matter since we came to Trader Sam's for the drinks and the theming.

Some Tiki Delicacies

Pulled Pork Nachos

In addition to the great theming in the bar, the patio's theming wasn't too shabby with abundant Tikis and entertainment in the form of live Hawaiian music.  The performer sounded really good especially after a few drinks.

Tiki

More Tiki

Tiki butt!!!

Our performer is way in the back.

If we didn't have 3 kids with us and Fast Passes for Space Mountain, I could have spent all night at Trader Sam's.  Really.  Nothing like strong drinks, being with buddies (great family in my case) and enjoying a vacation at an awesome Tiki bar.  I give Trader Sam's five Tikis out of five Tikis for its well-mixed drinks, good food and awesome theming.

If you are wondering where you can meet the actual Trader Sam, please proceed to the Jungle Cruise and your tour guide will introduce him to you.

Trader Sam has some deals you'll lose your head over.

 

Kura Sushi Revisted; Dragonball Z Prizes!; Tokyo

I've never understood the appeal of Dragon Ball, but I can't deny its popularity across the world.  My first experience with Dragon Ball was in college in the 90's.  One of my few college friends, Gambling Buddy Wu, was a huge fan and had Dragon Ball figures and comic books.  I had no idea what the heck Dragon Ball was other than being some funny Japanese thing.  Note that this was pre-Manga/Anime/Cosplay explosion.  When my days at U of I began, eBay and the internet were seemingly still in their infancies so Japanese stuff wasn't as popular or known.  Wu had been in Taiwan and Japan many times as a child and teen, so perhaps that's how he knew about Dragon Ball.

Well, to my girls' dismay, the prize in the Kura Sushi gatcha machine game was a Dragon Ball Z series of capsule prizes.  For a refresher about Kura Sushi, check here.    It took us about 25 plates of sushi to win one Dragon Ball Z prize.

Pick a plate or two.

Eat sushi, insert in slot, repeat four more times.

Upon every fifth plate, watch random Las Vegas type slot machine animation screen.  "Atari", which is above, means you win.  "Hazure" means you lose, which occurs like 80 percent of the time.

Look up at the gatcha machine dispenser if you get "Atari".

Watch capsule roll down (the orange ball).

Take capsule and pop it open like it's a coconut.

Look at prize and wonder WTF it is.

There you have it.  We got a magnet.  The figures looked cooler.  Neither of my girls cared though.  We ate 35 plates of sushi and got one prize.  Not so good odds.  The sushi was really good and affordable though.  I was able to treat my in-laws, and the total for the 6 of us was only 5,500 yen, which is about 50 bucks.  Try doing that in the States where some Korean or Chinese sushi shop owners (real Japanese sushi shops are not very common in the U.S.; if you want to find a real Japanese one, look for Japanese writing on the menu next to the English, and avoid sushi shops with the words Tokyo, samurai or Dragon Ball Z in the name of the shop) will charge you 4 times the amount for likely lower quality sushi (the above being said, I still highly recommend House of Kobe in Merrillville, Indiana; huge portions and the owners are absolutely wonderful). 

On a final note, Kura Sushi has the coolest self-serve tap beer machine, one of those only in Japan treasures.

Have a good one!!!

More Funny Items at the Shopping Mall; Tokyo

Happy Easter all!  The Easter Bunny visited our house and I'll post about the loot he left for the kids later.  But for now, more fun stuff you can find at stores here in Tokyo.

Who needs implants when you can get a shirt like this?

We sent my brother-in-law Joe one of these for Christmas.  It's just what everybody needs, a mini toilet filled with yummy sugary slush.  After you make the slush, you can use the toilet as a planter.

That' right. Fish heads, fish heads... Just like that early 80's song.  My sister sent me the link to that one a few weeks ago.  Here it is below if you don't know it. 

Yes, that's a young Bill Paxton in the video.

 Boxers complete with a measuring stick.  Now you never have to press that tape measure into your lower gut as forcefully as possible.

They're already getting ready for the onslaught of  Star Wars goods this December.  Super-deformed Stormtrooper, Yoda and Darth Vader.

1% alcoholic beverage.  No, it's not for me. 

Just what everybody needs.  Sushi socks.

When ordinary Q-tips don't suffice...

Sonic Boom!!! Guile mini-bloc set.

Can't get that unpleasant smell out of your nose?  Try these nose mints (or cleaning your upper lip).

It was only about time until Cinderella came out with her own brand of pumpkin bread.

Here's a vacuum cleaner... for your ears!!!

Video game magazine.  Don't judge a book by its cover.  This magazine is actually PG-13.

No one can tell you have cotton in your nose under your new mask!

Well, I expect traffic to be low today because everyone is with their families for the holiday.  Please have a safe one and eat plenty of lamb and peeps.

Cherry Blossom Viewing Again; Yasukuni Shrine; Tokyo

Guys, if you can read the sign above, please take note of it.  That's right, if this interests you, you have until April 5th to enjoy the cherry blossom viewing festival at Yasukuni Shrine.   If you want to get here, take any of the subway lines to Kudanshita and follow the signs to the shrine. The cherry blossoms are beautiful and the yatai food (festival fare) is delicious. 

Pretty exciting stuff.  Lots of yatai stands.  Lots of different foods.  What do you Japanese eat at festivals?  Deep-fried twinkies? Funnel cakes?  Corn on the cob?  Cream puffs?  Hmmmm.... Let me show you the typical Japanese festival fare.

You can see the yatai stands on the right side.  Getting excited.

Candy apples, corn on the cob, Chinese dumplings...

Fish on a stick, fish-shaped pastries... There's a funny story about the fish on a stick.  I'm pretty sure that when we came to Yasukuni in 2008, they were 300 yen.  In 2009 they were 400 yen.  Last year I think they were 500 yen.  This year, some places had them at 600 yen.  Now that's inflation at work.

Closer to the fish.

These guys don't win any awards for being pretty.  But they taste pretty good.  Their skin is crunchy and there was steam coming out of the little guy as I gobbled him down.  I searched carefully and got him for 500 yen or about 5 bucks.  Generally, the further you are from the center of activity, the cheaper the prices.

Chocolate bananas...

A close-up of the choco bananas.  One my stinkers got one.  I think it was 300 yen or about 3 dollars.

Steak, pork and chicken sticks...

Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes with meat, egg, vegetables).

More steak sticks.  Of course I got a steak stick.

Here they are cooking my steak.

Yum-oh.  I'll do it again because it deserves it.  Yum-oh! 500 yen.

Little red bean paste cakes.

Grilled squid.

Candied oranges and cherries.

Giant okonomiyakai.

Fried chicken.

Here's a piece of fried chicken.  Yummy.  We got our lines crossed and my father-in-law and I ended up getting fried chicken from two different stands.  I liked his chicken better and wifey liked my chicken better.  Each cup was like 5 bucks, around 500 yen for a large one.

Cotton candy.  That's right.  Yet more Frozen goods.  Of course, we got a bag of Frozen cotton candy at around 5 bucks, or 500 yen.  500 yen is the magic number for most of the yatai food.

Here is the super store of yatai foods.  They got it all.

Giant hot dogs without the buns.

Scallops, mussels and clams.

My father-in-law ordered three sticks.  Each one was about five bucks or 500 yen apiece.

Here's a scallop.  Damn it was good.

Various meat and fish on sticks.

They have games for kids too.  No they aren't going to eat the goldfish.  Kids scoop them up with a paper net.  Once the paper breaks, the game is over.  I've seen evil goldfish game operators that were giggling when a kid's paper net would break and the kid didn't win anything.  That's just wrong.  I think if an operator laughs when a kid fails to win, that operator should get punched in the balls "I make-a da shoes" style.   That would be fair.

I have to be honest that when we finished eating our food it kind of felt like when you wake up on the day after Christmas.  I really look forward to eating all of this stuff every year at this festival.   As you can tell, the yatai food is pretty expensive and to save money, we load up on convenience store rice balls and sandwiches and eat them before we get the yatai food.

We ate so much this year during our cherry blossom viewing that wifey and I didn't feel like eating dinner.  The in-laws generously took the kids for the afternoon and let us have some time alone.  It was some really special time.  I was very happy with wifey for planning it out.  Although most of the time was spent walking around in Tokyo and drinking coffee at Starbucks, getting time alone is nice.  I have to admit it was pretty strange being without the gremlins but it was relaxing.  So a quick thank you to wifey and in-laws.  That's it for now.