September 2015 – Rooting to Rise

Welcome to this month’s Blogorail Green Loop. Today we are discussing some of the best bars and lounges at the Disney Parks.

What better way is there to bring out your Adult Disneyside than to visit all the great lounges in Walt Disney World? Each one offers a different atmosphere with that second to none Disney Flare.

Two of my favorite places to enjoy a delicious adult beverage and a scrumptious snackatizer in an atmosphere I could never find back at home, are the Tambu lounge which is nestled in Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and the California Grill Lounge found at the tippy top of the Contemporary Resort.

How does a trip to the South Seas Sound? The Tambu lounge is where you will feel you’ve been whisked away into the South Pacific as you hold a pineapple filled cocktail in your hands.

The newly renamed and re-imagined Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort has been on the scene since 1971 as one of Disney’s original resorts. For me, part of its charm is its 1971 flare which lends to its nostalgic feel. But this isn’t the only reason I continue to return to Tambu lounge. It’s definitely the snackatizers, aka pub food – South Pacific style.

My last visit was during the 2015 Princess Marathon Weekend; where else would four famished runDisney princesses go to stuff their faces after a race?

You will find Tambu Lounge on the second floor of Poly’s Great Ceremonial House adjacent to ‘Ohana. Cocktails are served about 4:00pm but food doesn’t start flowing until 5:00pm. It is best to plan on getting there early to grab a seat because this is a popular place for many, including native Florida residents.

So what did the four famished princesses order?

Chicken Wings, Crisp Breads and Dips and Pulled Pork Nachos!

‘Ohana and Tambu lounge are known for their chicken wings or as some refer to them- Sticky Wings; you can choose from Honey-Coriander or Spicy. For me Honey-Coriander always wins and never disappoints. The sticky sauce not only sticks to the chicken wings but also your fingers and your ribs. It is a sweet goodness that is not to be missed.

I can’t go on enough about their nachos. I couldn’t stop reaching in for more. It tasted like there were potato chips mixed throughout the nacho chips. They are loaded with pork, cheese, pineapple salsa and drizzled with spicy mayo – what’s not to love?! This was a delicious plate of nachos amped up with some delicious flavors and it hasn’t seen the last of me!

Lastly the assorted breads and dips, (Sun-dried Tomato Pesto, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, and Baba Ghanoush) were enjoyable, but next to the South Pacific wings and nachos they really became invisible. I rather of had this by itself with a glass of wine as a mid-afternoon snack.

So, if you are ready to take a trip to the South Seas and experience a little relaxation and enjoy some delicious flavors, visit the Tambu Lounge and order up a Lapu Lapu to get the party started.

My next NEW favorite is the stunning California Grill Lounge. Why? The view is jaw dropping! This is another lounge that you must arrive early because it is also on a first come first serve basis. To find your way there, check in with the hostess on the second floor then ride the elevator to the 15^th floor, the very top of the Contemporary Resort.

My first visit was in February of 2015 and it was one I will not forget. How often do you have the chance to sit on top of “The World” and look out upon Cinderella Castle and Space Mountain? I could see the steam rising from the Walt Disney World Railroad and the Liberty Square River Boat.

During this lounge visit we opted not to order food and just enjoy a cocktail. Nicole suggested the Cucumber Fizz, I fell in love. I am not one for mixed drinks, but this cocktail was refreshing and delicious. What was in it? Gin, Limincello, cucumber water, and a splash of Lemon Lime Soda, I could have easily had two without blinking an eye.

Before we ended our visit, we ventured out to the observation deck. It was just amazing to be in the open air so high up looking out and over the Magic Kingdom. I didn’t want to leave, it was so peaceful and quiet and I wanted to soak every moment in so I could return home with it locked in my heart.

I look forward to enjoying more Disney lounges each time I return “home”, after all …… what better way than to show your Adult Disneyside?

For more great Disney bars & lounges,
check out the other great posts from the Blogorail!

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail Green | Disney Bars & Lounges Loop:

1st Stop – What’s the Point? | Jellyrolls
2nd Stop – Rolling with the Magic | Crew’s Cup Lounge
3rd Stop – DISTherapy | Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar
4th Stop – Two Moms and a Mouse | Tambu Lounge & the California Grill Lounge
4th Stop – Bibbidi Bobbidi Booze | La Cava del Tequila

Recently my status has changed from married, to …. soon not to be married. I have labeled myself with the title of wife for 13 years.

I am just beginning to realize I have used these labels throughout life to create an identity for myself; it’s almost as if I need these labels to feel like a complete person. “Hi, my name is Maureen; I am a Mom, a wife, a runner and blogger – this is who I am.” But is it really?

I believe I’ve struggled with needing to label myself since my early 20’s. I felt completely lost most of those years searching for who I really was. I looked for my identity through boyfriends I dated, jobs I worked, religious organizations, and friends that would come and go throughout my life. Then at age thirty two I was married and my identity was of wife, at thirty five it became wife and mother and I struggled immensely feeling lost once again. I didn’t understand who I was outside of wife and mother and it took me years to feel comfortable within my own skin. Now I am getting divorced and losing a label and those unsure feelings are back, again. I do think this is somewhat normal, it’s a part of growing and learning who I am and who I want to be in this world.

Good enough labels ~

When labeling myself, I must be the utmost perfection of that label; otherwise it must not be true.

If I am not the best mother, the kind that attends all the sporting events, plans the best parties, joins the PTA- volunteering for everything – am I good enough?
If I am not the best wife, the kind that always has her house clean and in order, dinner made, bills paid, and keeps her husband and child satisfied and happy- am I good enough?
If I am not a great runner, the kind that can run a half marathon fully without walking one step, cross trains five days a week and enters all the local races – am I good enough?
If I am not a consistent blogger/writer, the kind that can write and post on a daily/weekly basis, always has the mindset to create and turn out the best pieces in a snap – am I good enough?

Without these labels and without being the best at each one – am I Maureen and am I good enough? This is what I am working on, figuring out why I need to label myself to feel relevant and good enough.

Am I trying to prove something to someone or myself? What happens if I am not a wife or even someone’s girlfriend anymore? Does this mean I am not good enough to be loved? Did I do something wrong that no one would want to love me? This is obviously a ridiculous question/statement. But somehow along the way I have adopted this line of thinking and it filters down into all the other labels I seek to place on myself.

I will tell you, it is exhausting trying to sustain these labels and to perfection, or what I perceive to be perfection. It is an internal struggle and battle that I wage war with quite often. How freeing it would be to feel I didn’t have to “be” anything. To know who I was without a label. To feel good enough without a label and at its perfection. How do I do this?

I have been on a journey of self-discovery for as long as I can remember and each time I seem to have a grasp on who it is I think I am – **** BAM **** life begins to change and it throws me off. I understand we are always learning and discovering about ourselves and I believe this makes life fun and challenging. It would be a dull and unfulfilled life to remain the same person from a child through adulthood. That being said I don’t want to feel the necessity to label or title myself as something to have an identity.

I want to be a great mom because I love my daughter and she is my world – period

I want my future romantic relationship(s) to enhance my happiness, not be the source of it and using them as my identity.
I want to be a runner free of demands I put on myself for perfection.
I want to be a blogger/writer simply because I love to share my experiences with the world and inspire others.

I want to live my life knowing who I am without a label and feel perfectly ok with it.

“Hi, my name is Maureen.” Period end of sentence

Showing Your Adult Disneyside

Learning to love myself just as I am ~ without a label