Disney’s Monorail Lounge Crawl: What You Need to Know

The Monorail Lounge Crawl is so much fun and definitely a fun Disney bucket list item to cross off the list.  If you are interested in trying to accomplish this on your next trip, you definitely want to read this.  Here are twelve things you need to know:

12 – What is it?

The Monorail Lounge Crawl is where guests use the monorail to travel from resort to resort on the monorail track to have alcoholic beverages (there are also variations on this that include having snacks, desserts, non-alcoholic beverages, etc.). The key is that you have something at each of the resorts on the monorail’s track, which includes Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Bonus: Take a boat from Contemporary and visit Wilderness Lodge to add even more fun!

11 – Snack as you go.

It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to eat a huge meal before you go. You may want to make sure you have eaten well all day, and then plan to snack as you go. At each of the lounges, there are great appetizers and snacks that you are definitely going to want to try.

10 – It is NOT an advertised Disney event.

You may have heard of the Monorail Crawl before from various sources, but you won’t find this one on Disney’s actual website. This isn’t an event that Disney created or advertises for. There are no special pins, stickers or t-shirts if you complete the event, so you will have to come prepared with your own.

9 – Make your own experience.

There is no right or wrong way to complete the experience. The main objective is to have at least one drink (or another item) at each of the three resorts. So you can determine for yourself if you will go to every lounge at each resort, only one or whatever variation of interest you have. Don’t feel locked into a particular experience; just make it your own.

8 – Ask for a plastic cup.

If you are tight on time and want to keep moving, you can ask for your drink to be given to you in a plastic cup. That way, when you are ready to leave, you can grab your drink and carry it with you if you aren’t finished with it.

7 – The stops are technically kid-friendly.

I don’t necessarily recommend bringing your kids with you, but they are all technically kid-friendly, and there will be kid snacks available. It is a safe environment, and you don’t have to do any driving. I do think you will likely have more fun if you can leave the kids with a family member.

6 – Take turns paying for drinks if you are in a group.

It can be a lot of work for the bartenders to ring out all of the individual tickets. To save time and make things a little easier, you may want to see about taking turns paying at each stop so that you don’t have to run so many transactions each time. You could also plan to bring cash with you and use cash to pay also to save time or give your friend cash to pay for your drinks.

5 – Think about limiting yourself to one drink per stop.

This will help for a couple of reasons. The first is that it will help you to space your drinks so you don’t get too intoxicated as the night goes on. The other reason for this is to help encourage you to try some of the other lounges and areas so that you don’t spend too much time just in one place. If you are having a great time and want to stay in one place longer, just keep an eye on the time, so you finish the rest of your planned route.

4 – Ask about location-specific drinks.

Many lounges offer the same basic menu, which isn’t as fun when you are lounge hopping. Ask at the bar which drinks are specials for that location so that you can choose from options that are different than what you would be able to get at the other lounges you will visit.

3 – Talk to strangers.

Usually, this is a no-no, but in this circumstance, it is actually a great way to meet new people. Most of the other people you run into will be vacationers from all over the world or others out trying to have a great time. It’s a great opportunity to make a couple of new friends and have an interesting conversation.

2 – Make sure you have your end-of-evening plans worked out.

If you aren’t staying at one of the monorail resorts, be sure you know how the evening transportation will work. The only way to use Disney transportation and get back to a different Disney resort would be to go to the Magic Kingdom and take a bus or boat from there. The buses run for up to 2 hours after the park closes, so you will need to check that timing. You can also take a cab or Uber to return to your resort.

1 – Be respectful at all times.

Definitely, have a good time, but remember that there are families and kids everywhere, so you won’t want to let your party get wild and crazy. Disney is big on preserving the magic at all times, so they won’t let you and your group stumble around the resorts or carry on loudly in the lobbies.