The time has finally come!
Today, we’re checking out Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort’s new Island Tower, a new Disney Vacation Club (DVC) offering in Disney World. It officially opens up to the public on December 17th, but we got a sneak peek inside! It’s been a few years in the making, and we’ve been watching construction closely the whole time. Now it’s finally time to step inside and check everything out, including the new Wailulu Bar & Grill!
Wailulu Bar & Grill is a new walk-up pool bar located at Island Tower that, according to Disney, boasts “breathtaking views of the Seven Seas Lagoon and Cinderella’s Castle at Magic Kingdom Park.”
Not only does this pool bar offer specialty coffee and breakfast pastries for the start of the day, but there’s also a full lunch and dinner menu available as well, including appetizers like Sweet Potato Hummus and Spam Musubi.
For your main entree, you can grab options like Sticky Pork Ribs and Poke Bowls, among many others! And for dessert, don’t forget to grab the DOLE Whip Sundae!
This new restaurant has Disney World’s first entirely electric kitchen that the Cast Members have loved and have had no issues with so far. The whole hotel was designed with sustainability and conservation at the heart of the project, and you’ll spot artwork demonstrating that within the restaurant.
There are nods to Polynesian culture all throughout the menu, including sticks on the dessert that tie to wayfinding. It is also one of the only Disney World restaurant (if not the only one) to feature Spam on the menu because it is so integral to the culture.
We got a chance to visit with the chef and try a few things on the menu!
First, the Spam Musubi! This has a teriyaki glazed spam with sushi style rice rolled in nori seaweed. It is then crusted with crispy rice and pearls. It’s served over pickled sweet potato. We kind of thought was pretty basic. You can taste that it’s been marinated and the rice is nice and crispy. It will definitely make a good poolside snack with a pretty stand out nori taste. Plus, the fact that it’s such an authentic Hawaiian treat makes it a great choice to try!
Next, we tasted the Plant Based Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus! We were shocked by how much we enjoyed this hummus. We were a little worried about how the “bread” (it’s breadfruit) would go with the hummus, but it was incredible. The hummus has a fantastic flavor that is totally different than what you would expect. It’s robust and not sweet, and truly very delicious.
Then the Beef Short Rib Loco Moco. Honestly, we saved the best for last. This was one of the best things we’ve eaten at Disney World in a really long time. The beef is so tender, it just pulls apart. We never even needed our knife. The egg on top is beautifully cooked and mixes with the other flavors wonderfully. The mushrooms were fantastic, and the sauce reminded us of a marsala sauce in profile. However, even if you don’t like mushrooms, you could totally pick around them and still like the sauce and meal! Seriously, we could not say enough good things about this entree.
When we stepped out onto the patio, we noticed it was a WIND TUNNEL. Disney is hoping that in the summer it will be more functional, but right now, in December, it is pretty chilly. However, there are lots of space heaters out there!
While it is technically a pool bar, it is an elevated experience. Each night, they will even pump in the Magic Kingdom fireworks music, and it will be open until 11PM most nights. Don’t miss out on this fantastic pool bar while you stay at the new Island Tower!
We’ll be checking out all of Island Tower today, so stay tuned to AllEars for the latest news!
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What do you think of this new restaurant? Tell us in the comments!
Disclosure: We were invited by Disney to attend the media event for the Island Tower and Wailulu Bar & Grill. This did not affect our reporting of the event — our opinions are our own.
Just wish this was a table service restaurant offering advanced reservations. I may be borrowing trouble, but it seems as if it might be hard to find a table during some time periods.