A Downtown Disney Evening

August 14th, 2013 by in Walt Disney World Beer Reviews, Walt Disney World Locations, Walt Disney World Trip Articles

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After the trip to Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge, all of us took the bus over to Downtown Disney where we took the Sassagoula River boat back to Port Orleans Riverside. The boat ride is rather nice and it passes Saratoga Springs, the Treehouse Villas, and Port Orleans French Quarter on its way to Riverside.

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IMG_7369As you may have figured out, the plans for my sister’s engagement were to be set into motion this evening. After we made it back to Riverside, it was time for the kids to get to bed and afterward my wife and I were headed to Downtown Disney. In the meantime my sister’s boyfriend had an inexplicable and overwhelming desire to see Wishes again and then they would meet us at Downtown Disney.

However, Wishes was just a ruse. Instead my sister was headed to a surprise horse-drawn carriage ride. They would see that the carriage was parked in front of the main building and my sister’s boyfriend inquired about the carriage ride and coincidentally there was a cancellation and the carriage was free right then. In reality he had booked the 9:00 ride but it’s still a surprise.

IMG_7373In the meantime, all three kids weren’t going to bed as they had caught a second wind. My wife and I finally got them to somewhat settle down but my mom, who was going to watch the kids, was nowhere to be found. I went next door to see where she was, and my dad said she went to get water and would come look after the kids.

At this point my wife and I headed for the dock to take the boat back to Downtown Disney. On the way there we searched for my mother who wasn’t in Riverside Mill getting water from the fountain. Instead she was hiding on the side of the main building behind bushes waiting for the carriage to come back! I mentioned what she told my dad she was doing and she held up her water bottle and said “I did!”

While all this was going on, the carriage ride was going according to plan. A spot had been picked out in advance for the carriage to stop at, and a friend of my sister’s boyfriend was camped out reading a book so that she could take pictures. He gave my sister a ring in a glass slipper, the proposal went off without a hitch, and they’re getting married next year!

At the boat dock, my wife and I saw the carriage coming back to the main building across the river. I shot a few photos from the dock but didn’t have the right lens on the camera. However, the carriage arrived at the main building before the boat arrived so I was able to get a few photos there.

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The Downtown Disney boat arrived shortly afterward and my wife and I were off to enjoy the evening! I’m sure by now many of you are thinking

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so let’s get on with it!

From the boat dock near Rainforest Café, we noticed the new Lava Lounge but decided to pass. According to Eating WDW, we weren’t missing anything as far as beer was concerned. We weren’t really looking for a meal, so we ended up passing by most of the places in the Marketplace. It wasn’t until we reached the remnants of Pleasure Island that we decided to stop at Raglan Road.

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IMG_7398Heading inside, we took a seat at the bar and perused the beer menu. Unfortunately, Cigar City’s Jai Alai IPA wasn’t available so I ordered a Terrapin Hopsecutioner while my wife decided on an Orange Blossom Pilsner. We relaxed and really enjoyed the atmosphere and the guitar and fiddle duo on stage. It was a Wednesday night; even though it was June it wasn’t very crowded.

After the guitar and fiddle duo took a break, a group of Irish step dancers took the stage and a small platform in front of the stage. They were also very entertaining and really good.

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As for the beers themselves, Terrapin Hopsecutioner is not as scary as it sounds, but it is a nice cloudy orange IPA with some floral notes, caramel, and a nice bitter bite that lingers. I really wanted to try Jai Alai but this was a good substitute.

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Orange Blossom Pilsner, on the other hand, was just a standard pilsner to me; golden, bubbly, and wheat flavor. Nothing offensive but nothing special either. If you have someone who’s not as adventurous with their beer (like my wife), an Orange Blossom Pilsner might be a good choice.

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After Raglan Road, we walked through the rest of Downtown Disney but honestly there wasn’t much interesting going on. Even Splitsville seemed dead except for a few people at the outside bar; we went in but there was hardly anyone inside including the staff. We walked all the way down to the end of West Side, then decided to make our way back to the bus since the boat to Riverside closed at 11:00 PM.

Hopefully Disney Springs is going to revitalize the Downtown Disney area and make things more interesting, especially at night. Right now Raglan Road is really the place to be, and while I loved Raglan Road some variety would be nice.


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