Trader Sam's and Tangaroa Terrace - Review About This Page:

[mechurchlady]

Tangaroa Terrace, Trader Sam's, cabanas, and the pool bar share one very small kitchen. I am very upset that Disney started from the ground up a new kitchen that is not able to meet special dietary needs. They only have three fryers of which none are dedicated. That oil is used for the panko (bread) crusted long beans, panko crusted fish, and anything else fried. The kitchen is way too small and inadequate for serving the bar, pool, cabana, and restaurant needs. I feel bad for the staff who really try hard to help guests. I now worry that new restaurants in DCA may face the same fate.

Location: Hook's Pointe had a very scary lift for wheelchairs. Mom and I do not like that kind of lift/elevator. Now there is a steep ramp up to the terraced area. It is doable for most people and there are steps. The height gives the terrace a nice view of the pool area.

Seating: Tangaroa Terrace has about 25 indoor seats with good sturdy chairs and bench seats. Trader Sam's has a few 4 top tables with sturdy chairs. The rest are barstools at a small table and at the bar. Outside is a nice terrace with two types of seating. The northern half is sturdy steel chairs with wood slats. The southern end has outdoor lounge furniture including some comfortable padded sofas. The idea is for the north to be fast food seating that won't be damaged by wet folks from the pool. The south is laid back lounging and relaxing furniture. Both ends are themed but not so much as to scream TIKI and POLYNESIAN. At the south end, across the way, is an outdoor fireplace with stones and furniture for sitting on. There are some nice picnic spots on the lawns on the east side of the hotel.

Staff at Tangaroa Terrace: Typical Disney staff in Hawaiian shirts. They went way out of their way to make me happy. Toby is the head chef and he made me a delicious salad at Tangaroa Terrace then later a yummy fish taco snack at Trader Sam's. They help guests through the new ordering process, politely answer questions and clean up fast. I went to the bathroom and left my dirty dishes on the table, poof, when I came back the table was spotless.

Staff at Treader Sam's: The Lost Bar is sort of back. Dedicated employees like bartender Ron are there to make things fun. Ron has served over 20 years with Disney, wow. The place is a hopping joint with lots of fun things going on. Ordering a Shipwreck on the Rocks will get sound effects and chatter about a ship or train wrecking. A couple each ordered the Mosquito Mojito so Ron put on a mosquito-net veiled pith helmet and whipped out an old fashioned bug sprayer. I had a good time because of Ron and his staff.

Decor and theming Tangaroa Terrace: Tangaroa Terrace is Polynesian in a muted way. You will hear in the bathroom and dining area Polynesian music. There is the Polynesian themed architecture with bamboo and tikis. It does not scream POLYNESIAN but softly embraces you and takes you to a tropical island. I loved the bathroom decor but would have made the bathroom a wee bit larger. Inside the restaurant is a niche with 3 two top tables and one long bench seat. Behind that bench seat is a black and white photo of Walt Disney and a black and white photo of the Tiki Room at Disneyland. Subtle reminders of where the tiki and Polynesian theme comes from. If you want nonstop theme screaming at you then go to Rainforest Cafe. There are not squawking parrots plasters from wall to wall.

Decor and theme of Trader Sam's: OMG it is like Adventure's Club in a small location. Packed with stuff from around the world you can spend the day staring at the walls. Bartenders can make the volcano erupt and they are good at lighting and sound effects. This is heavy on theme and decor. For a quiet retreat go outside to the terrace.

Food: I am soy and gluten free. At Tangaroa Terrace I had an Asian salad with a special dressing not on the menu. Over at Trader Sam's the only option was fish tacos with no sauce and a tasty slaw. Eventually they will have gluten free burger buns like Taste Pilot's Grill. For now GF guests get lettuce wraps. They have a small section that holds to go items like turkey sandwich, yogurt, chips, fresh fruit, and salads; sweet potato cake, danishes, desserts,and baked goods; bottled water, juice, beer, and bottled drinks.
They also have there the Kid's POWER Pack - With string cheese, Nonfat yogurt, sliced apples and whole-grain "fish" crackers

GF foods are listed in a later post. Toby really tried hard to meet my limitations. I would love to have the Asian Salad again. It was one of the best salads I have had in years. I loved the enoki mushrooms, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, and other goodies that gave a nice crunch to the salad.
At Trader Sam's there was a trio of little soft tacos with a slaw. It was without dressing but still very tasty especially with the slaw added. The cubed grilled fish was done just right and the slaw had a nice dressing. They gave me deformed sugar cubes for my iced tea at Trader Sam's, sort of damaged in shipping.

Overall the place has good decor, great staff, and great food. There is not enough shade and the kitchen is inadequate to handle special diets. Fried foods might contain wheat, soy, sugar, yeast, chicken and other meat, fish, coconut, and long beans. "Ginger-Soy Marinated Tofu fried crispy in a Coconut Panko Breading"
I was looking for fries but like vegans and those with allergies the fryers are off limits.

Will I go back? Toby is why I am going back. He is trying hard to make food that is suitable for special diets. He cares about his clients and has a long history with Disneyland including most of the Main Street restaurants. I know that he will make me a safe meal and last Sunday I felt so good after the two meals. Not one little reaction is almost unheard of for me. I will be back as it is a nice place.

[chezp]

Great review - thanks for sharing!

[Luvsun]

Thanks for the review!

[queenofheartsfan]

Wow! nice review! Thanks!

[mechurchlady]

Gluten Free Options

meat: grilled chicken, grilled salmon, grilled mahi mahi, hamburger, cheese, tofu, pork

holders: corn tortillas used in the fish taco, lettuce wrap, lettuce bed or cup, salad, and eventually gluten free buns like the ones at Taste Pilot's Grill

sides: slaw, white rice, jasmine rice

sauces: I did not try anything but the green papaya sauce. They have honey, ketchup, Tabasco red sauce, a low sodium soy sauce, and Sriracha sauce (HOT). The latter I only know that it contains chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. The low sodium soy sauce probably has lactic acid (dairyu/casen) and wheat.

Barbecue Sauce: They have three types of barbecue sauce. First is made on site from barbecue sauce and hoisin sauce. Hoisin sauce is an Asian sauce that varies from brand to brand. Normally it is red chili peppers, fermented soybeans, vinegar, spices, and thickeners such as rice and wheat. Commercial brands can be an allergen laden nightmare such as "Dynasty brand hoisin sauce includes white distilled vinegar, soybeans, rice, garlic, salt, sesame oil, caramel color, onions, red chili peppers, xanthum gum, spices, natural flavor, citric acid, star anise, sodium benzoate, autolyzed yeast, ginger and licorice root."

GOOD NEWS: : the chefs use Cannonball to make a mild pulled pork dish and for the base for the spicy hoisin spiked sauce. Ask and they will do Cannonball barbecue sauce on the side. I have not had a reaction to Cannonball and it is supposed to be GF, CF and low or no soy.

The third sauce is by Heinz which contains High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soybean Oil, "natural" smoke flavor, Corn Starch, garlic, Unidentified Spices,and Unidentified Natural Flavorings . Staff keeps these packets behind the counter so you have to ask for them. I have packets in the kitchen so I can go over ingredients, GF yes, NOT soy or corn free.

Robert Irvine method of listing things, lol. There are a lot of options if the right chef is on duty. It depends on if the chef want to make fish tacos at Tangaroa Terrace or make a grilled fish Asian Salad. At least chef Toby and his crew are trying hard to make special diet items. I wore him out but did learn a lot. He told me about the buns being like Taste Pilot which I know is safe. Disney has some of the best people on earth. They use enoki instead of button mushrooms now that is a nice change.

Thanks for the nice words everyone.

[disneydani]

Thanks for the informative review, Laurie!

Danielle

[mechurchlady]

I had $11 left on my rewards card so SPEND.

Toby made me 6 corn tortillas topped with lettuce leaf and slice tomato. On top of that was delicious pulled pork. I did not want to bug poor Toby too much so I topped my pulled pork tacos with the slaw. OMG what a match made in heaven, sheer delight. The tang of the dressing, kick of the cilantro, and the crunchy julienned veggies were a nice meal. The cilantro is something I love and I can eat a lot of it at one meal. Again Toby was successful.

I have updated this thread to show things I found out. The chef tells you what to order then you note allergens then the chef makes an allergen free meal. I listed above the options using Dinner Impossible star Robert Irvine's way of handling things. Normally one would just order cheeseburger on GF bun but currently they do not have those. Instead of flatbread one can use corn tortillas, salad, or lettuce wraps.

For the fish they have malt and vinegar sauce. I post not just for GF and soy free but for everyone. Another perfect meal by a great chef. Disney does its magic again. With my AP it was under $10.

[disneydani]

Do you now if the pulled pork is dairy free, Laurie? My daughter has a new love of BBQ pork...pulled, ribs, slow cooked...you name it!

Danielle

[mechurchlady]

I am pretty sure the pulled pork is dairy free. Talk with a chef as I only focused on soy and wheat. It tasted more like Mexican carnitas without the spice. I had no reaction from eating there either time. Today I went into a crash over a half cup of root beer float. I give up on figuring what I react to. I hope your daughter can have the pulled pork.

[cubfancolleen]

Excited to hear Trader Sam's is like a mini-Adventurer's Club! Any idea whether or not any AC characters might make an appearance?

[mechurchlady]

Trader Sam's is packed with um stuff.
1. There are no animatronics like the Adventurers Club but those tikis are said to slowly move their eyes to watch the antics of patrons..
2. They do have a wall with a volcano that can be set off.
3. No shows just silly bartenders doing spiels for entertainment.

Welcome to Trader Vic's

Victor Bergeron first began mixing drinks in 1934 in his Oakland saloon called Hinky Dinks, he embarked on his first South Seas adventure and completely immersed himself in island living and culture. Upon his return to the States, his objective was clear: inject the spirit of the islands into our everyday lives; hence the birth of Trader Vic’s.

Walt Disney would have been familiar with Trader Vic who started his tiki restaurant in 1936. However this bar is more a tribute to the Jungle Cruise and Tiki Room.

Adventurers Club does appear in this bar in a letter from Colonel Critchlow Suchbench to Trader Sam. Colonel from Adventurers Club is "honored" at Trade... on Twitpic

[disneydani]

Thanks, Laurie....we will likely give it a try!

Danielle

[mechurchlady]

Toby verified that the sauce is Cannonball and the meat is dairy free. For now they use lettuce, plastic or melmine bowl, and regular burger buns and flat bread. Later they will use buns that are GF like at Taste Pilot's Gille.

PULLED PORK IS CASEIN FREE.

[disneydani]

Great info! Thx for investigating....izzy will be thrilled!

Danielle

[w-steele]

We may be force to try them out in two weeks.