SATURDAY SIX: 6 Drinks You Must Try At Disney Springs

This week’s SATURDAY SIX looks at 6 Drinks You Must Try At Disney Springs. Tomorrow, May 15th, is a gigantic day in the evolution of Disney Springs. The Town Center will officially be opening with a whole bunch of new restaurants and retail stores. The Lime parking garage will also start accepting guests, joining the Orange garage, dedicated ramps from I-4, and multiple pedestrian bridges that have been built over the last several years. Disney Springs, which was once the absolute worst place to get to on Disney property (and there wasn’t even a close second) has now become the easiest. We here at the SATURDAY SIX want to make a toast to this momentous occasion, and to do so we’re going to take a look at some drinks you need to try next time you go to Disney Springs. So sit back, remember to always use a coaster, and let’s start our countdown with…

# 6 –  P37 Swirl (Sangria Margarita) at Paradiso 37

The 37 in Paradiso 37‘s name references the 37 countries that make up North, Central, and South America. During the last couple years that Disney Springs has expanded, Paradiso 37 has also increased in size with a large amount of indoor and outdoor seating. You’re going to find a very large drink menu to choose from, but the restaurant’s specialties are tequila, sangrias, and the “coldest beer in the world.” One of their signature drinks is the P37 Swirl, which combines a frozen margarita mixed with frozen sangria. Very tasty, with neither drink overpowering the other, making it a solid choice while dealing with the Florida summer.

Our frozen P37 Margarita swirled with our famous Red Sangria. $10

Now, longtime SATURDAY SIX readers know we certainly weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to try a unique beer. Pardiso 37 has the P37 Lager, which is served at 29 degrees Farenheit (for our non-American readers, that’s like minus 100 degrees Celsius, give or take.) It’s actually a great tasting beer. Not sure how much the temperature adds to it, but it’s a neat gimmick.

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While watching us act like lunatics taking pictures of beer (only the best for you, Dear Reader) a manager showed up with a trio of drinks to try. These included the Prickly Pear Margarita (Don Julio silver tequila, prickly pear syrup, fresh lime juice, and sour mix,) Red Sangria (Premium red wine and brandy combined with pomegranate, guava, and cranberry juice) and White Sangria (Sauvignon Blanc wine, Club Caribe pineapple rum combine with mango and orange). Because of how many tequilas and sangrias that Paradiso 37 has, it’s your go to place at WDW for either.

While the menu at Paradiso 37 is expansive, we can whole heartedly endorse stopping by for drinks and appetizers. Everything was top notch and because there are several large bar areas you can pretty much always get in without a wait.

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# 5 –  Cotton Candy Martinis at T-Rex Cafe

T-Rex Cafe is less a restaurant and more of an experience. T-REX is so well themed inside that it belongs inside a theme park. But even though it is designed to be a larger than life sensory overload for the kids, there is also some fun stuff for adults as well. The massive Watering Hole bar area is gorgeous, with giant fish tanks and a humongous octopus looming above (we love the jelly fish lighting fixtures.) Cotton-Tinis are exclusive to T-REX and combine cotton candy, a staple of theme parks, with alcohol. This is a true marriage made in heaven. T-REX offers three varieties, but we went with the Candy Apple Cotton-Tini (also available are Cosmo-Paleo and Tropical versions).

Cotton candy is put into the glass, while the bartender mixes the cocktail in a shaker. The cocktail is then poured over the cotton candy and you get to see the liquid completely absorb the candy. It is a very sweet tasting drink and don’t be surprised to see a good amount of sugar at the bottom of the glass when you are done. 

Imagine a mixture of cotton candy and spirits. This new T-REX discovery is available in three amazing flavors. Plus, you get to keep the shaker! $11.99

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# 4 –  Pint of Guinness at Raglan Road

There are many places on Disney property where you can get a pint of  Guinness, but only one place in our hearts, Raglan Road. Despite the large venue, Raglan Road does an amazing job at recreating an authentic Irish pub experience. The live entertainment is among the best on property and the menu consistently delivers with interesting and unique takes on traditional Irish standards. Come for the drinks, stay for the food, stay even longer for the off-the-charts atmosphere, Raglan Road is a true gem of Walt Disney World.

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# 3 – Blueberry Lemonade at The BOATHOUSE

We’ve been to The BOATHOUSE many times since it opened last year. The food is fantastic (get the Filet Mignon sliders and thank us later), the S’mores Baked Alaska is one of the greatest desserts at Walt Disney World, and the drinks are truly wonderful. It was a tough call on which drink to recommend but we decided on the Blueberry Lemonade. You may think that’s crazy, but we sat outside at one of the bars on a recent trip and got to watch the bartenders make it. First they grab a handful of blueberries and then proceed to manually crush them to get the juice. This is as fresh as fresh gets. The juice is then added to Stoli blueberry vodka, Deep Eddy lemon vodka and homemade lemonade. A lot of bars at Disney have been criticized lately, and rightfully so, for charging premium prices for pre-made drinks coming out of jugs, so it’s always good to see the drinks being made to order by the bartenders as the quality is just that much better.

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# 2 – Cool-Headed Monkey at Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar

Just as T-REX would be right at home inside Dinoland USA in the Animal Kingdom, Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar and its Indiana Jones theme is done so well that it probably should have been put into Disney’s Hollywood Studios to give people a reason to justify buying a full price ticket to that park. All the little touches, from the themed coasters to the awesome swizzle sticks, push Jock’s up the list as one of the best bars on Disney property. Like Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto, the Hangar Bar delivered in a major way in the area of souvenir mugs: specifically the Cool-Headed Monkey. Referencing an unforgettable scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the Cool-Headed Monkey is everything a fan of the movies could ask for and then some.

According to the locals, this chilled rum concoction makes a fine punch! Starr African rum, Van Der Hum tangerine liqueur, fresh lime juice, watermelon and pineapple juice. $10.25

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# 1 – White Lilly at Morimoto Asia

With the addition of restaurants such as The BOATHOUSE and Morimoto Asia, Disney Springs has taken the throne from EPCOT as the best place at WDW for restaurants (and there are still more coming including STK, The Edison, and chef Art Smith’s Homecoming: Florida Kitchen.) We have been continually blown away at Morimoto Asia. The restaurant itself is beautiful (which is saying something because it is one of the few that wasn’t built from the ground up and instead was retro-fitted into a building from the now shuttered Pleasure Island), the service is exceptional, the menu has a ton of great options, and it is a terrific place to get drinks.

The Sake Sangria is one of the restaurant’s signature drinks, but we’re going to recommend the White Lilly simply because how beautiful it is. Don’t get us wrong, it tastes great, but the presentation itself is simple yet stunning. Run, don’t walk, to Morimoto Asia on your next Disney trip.

 Shirayuri (White Lilly) – Sudachi Shochu, Calico, and yuzo served with a twist. $14

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So there you have it: Six Drinks You Must Try At Disney Springs. See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out The Magic, The Memories, and Merch! articles, or, for your listening pleasure, check out the E-Ticket Report podcast. You can also follow Your Humble Author on Twitter (@derekburgan)

If you enjoyed this article, you will surely like the following:

Six Best Souvenir Cups at Walt Disney World

Six Great Indiana Jones References in Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar

Top Six Signature Dinks at the Universal Orlando Resort

Six Theme Park Questions For the Magic 8 Ball

25 Drinks of Christmas – Lapu Lapu

Special Thanks to crack staff photographer Brandon Glover, photo wunderkind Mike Sperduto, and blogger to the stars Megan Stump for their invaluable assistance with this article. Be sure to also check out Brandon on The Park Blogger podcast with co-hosts Aengus Mackenzie and Brian Carey and Meg’s Yeti To Be Named Disney Podcast.