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Review: Pleasure Island Drinks for #ThrowbackThursdays in Disney Springs This Summer!


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Care to take a walk — or a sip? — down Memory Lane?

Then join us for few drinks at Dockside Margaritas in Disney Springs!

Why??? Because the outdoor Margarita Bar located in the Marketplace is currently serving drinks that used to be served at Pleasure Island. For those unfamiliar, Pleasure Island was once a section of Disney World’s shopping, dining, and entertainment district — then known as Downtown Disney — that put the emphasis on entertainment, offering nightlife for adult guests. Dance clubs included (among others) the 70s and 80s themed 8TRAX, the BET Soundstage, and Mannequins; while comedy spots included the Comedy Warehouse and the much beloved and dearly missed Adventurer’s Club.

So if beverage names like Leisure Suit, Hoopla, Thriller, Punch Line, Funmeister and Kungaloosh mean anything to you, then you’re going to want to belly up with us today at Dockside Margaritas!

Dockside Margaritas at Disney Springs Marketplace

Dockside Margaritas at Disney Springs Marketplace

Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to enjoy the view from Dockside Margs. It’s certainly changed since the days of PI. Now you can gaze at the new Paddlefish, the handy pedestrian bridge, and the revamped styling of Characters in Flight. But somehow that Florida sky never lets you down…

View from Dockside Margaritas

View from Dockside Margaritas

And there’s a bit of semi-covered seating, so you don’t have to hurry off to another location once you get your goodies. Grab a vintage drink, plop down on a comfy chair, and chill, maaaaaan. This location often has live music in the evenings as well!

Dockside Seating

Dockside Seating

But now, some details! We’re here for #ThrowbackThursday, because the Pleasure Island drinks — twelve total with four featured beverages rotating on a weekly basis — are available for a special price of $9 each (with non-alcoholic options ringing up for $5).

Four Featured Drinks

Featured Drinks, plus one!

But here’s an important TIP! While there will be four featured beverages per week on the signage, all twelve of the throwback beverages will be available every day of the week of the promotion (which runs through September 28), but not at the reduced #ThrowbackThursday price (they’ll be $11-$13, depending on the liquor used in the drink). So if you’re NOT there while your favorite bevvy is being featured, that’s OK. You can still get it. But it just won’t be at the back-in-the-day price.

Drinky Drinks from Dockside

Drinky Drinks from Dockside

If we had to place bets, we’d be willing to put money on which of the drinks we think will be most popular:

Kungaloosh!

Kungaloosh is a totally delicious frozen mixture of Captain Morgan Rum, blackberry brandy, orange juice, and strawberry juice. (At least that was the recipe from about 2000 onward…if you want to see both Kungaloosh recipes — and a fun pic from the Adventurer’s Club — click here!) And it’s as pretty as it is tasty.

Kungaloosh

Kungaloosh

We totally get why this is the most “famous” of the throwback drinks. It’s sooooo good — and strong! The strongest we had out of the bunch! And because it’s frozen, it’ll also cool you down from the inside out. It’s basically a required beverage of the summer. Just sayin’.

Kungaloosh

Kungaloosh

Bell Bottom

Okay, so we just love the name of this next drink. But the DFB Team is divided on their love of this one. The Bell Bottom is comprised of Bacardi O Rum, blue curacao, and sweet and sour. So it’s definitely got a good look (as well it should with a name like Bell Bottom!).

Bell Bottom

Bell Bottom

But some of the team thought it tasted the most ordinary out of the throwbacks we tried, and the blue curacao just didn’t do it for them. But if you’re a big fan of those sweet-sour drinks, you’ll likely enjoy this one!

Bell Bottom

Bell Bottom

Pleasure Punch

Pleasure Punch is a terrific blend of fruity, flavorful ingredients: Bacardi Limon Rum, amaretto, cranberry juice, and pineapple juice. They combine to create a really lovely, tropical color.

Pleasure Punch

Pleasure Punch

And the flavor is totally lovely and tropical too. It was our second fave drink of the day, especially with the amaretto giving it such a unique and sweet flavor profile. We would absolutely get this one again, but note that if you’re not into sweet drinks, this might be too cloying for you.

Pleasure Punch

Pleasure Punch

Emil’s Strawberry Colada

Emil’s Strawberry Colada is the non-alcoholic throwback option (which means it comes in at just $5 on #ThrowbackThursday!). It’s a frozen drink combining strawberries and pina colada mix.

Emil's Strawberry Colada

Emil’s Strawberry Colada

Again, the frozen aspect was a big hit on a steamy day. And while the drink is made of simple ingredients, it’s super delicious. It’s nice to have a different drink that’s also family-friendly. (Note that the non-alcoholic drinks are served in white cups. But we cheated and asked for a clear cup to pour ours into for the photo.)

Emil's Strawberry Colada

Emil’s Strawberry Colada

So those are the four featured (or highlighted) beverages this week, but there are eight other throwback beverages on the menu as well.

Of course, we had to try another, non-featured drink, so, you know: bottom’s up!

Hoopla

Hoopla is such a fun name that we almost don’t care what’s in it. But since that’s sort of our business, we dug in. Hoopla is comprised of coconut rum, vodka, Midori, and pineapple juice. The last two ingredients combine to create one shocking color.

Hoopla

Hoopla

But somehow, it completely and totally works with the Pleasure Island throwback theme! The drink is a great balance of sweet and sour, so if that’s your jam, you’ll def be into this. And it was popular back in the day, so we think it’ll be a crowd-pleaser.

There are seven other throwback drinks on the menu. Those are Armadillo Punch, Punch Line, Techn-O, Shark Bite, Thriller, Funmeister, and Babylonia’s Brew. The monikers are everything. So fun, so retro, and so compelling. We’ll be back for more!

Of course, the regular Dockside Margaritas menu items are available, as always. But if you are in Downtown Disney– err, Disney Springs ;) — up through September 28th, we highly recommend raising a glass with one of these Pleasure Island drinks for old time’s sake!

Which Pleasure Island drink would you love to try once more, or for the first time? Please let us know with a comment!

Disney Food Blog Fans, be sure to check out our DFB Disney World Dining Guide e-Books! Find great deals at DFBStore.com! Also, come on over and:


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