In what seemed like a great idea at the time, a couple of friends and I recently decided to embark on an Old Fashioned Crawl around the Magic Kingdom Resort monorail loop. The idea was simple: there was a new Old Fashioned at one of the resorts, but instead of just trying that one drink, we’d make a night of it. In this article, I’ll recap our evening and the end result of discovering Walt Disney World’s worst Old Fashioned. Let’s go.

Walt Disney World’s Worst Old Fashioned

I’ll start by saying this: I usually don’t review alcoholic beverages. I find cocktails to be far more subjective than food, so I typically only review meals. That, and the fact that nothing at Walt Disney World is getting cheaper. While my appetite going into the meal is usually high, my appetite to double the bill at the end of the night by adding alcoholic drinks is nonexistent. That said, this particular evening had one goal: Old Fashioneds.

Peeling back the curtain even more, I will say that I much prefer an Old Fashioned, Boulevardier, or Negroni to more flashy cocktails. An evening jumping on and off of the monorail to try each resort’s Old Fashioned had quite the appeal.

We’re going to start our evening at a resort not known for its Old Fashioneds, or whiskey at all, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.

Banana Old Fashioned at Wailulu Bar & Grill ($19)

In what can only be described as a sacrilegious act while visiting Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, we walked right past Trader Sam’s and Tambu Lounge, not even blinking. We were on a mission, and those two bars are quite rum-forward, with no Old Fashioned on the menu. Instead, we were headed to Wailulu Bar & Grill at the Island Tower.

While there is a table service component to this location (that we review here), we were focused on the walk-up bar/lounge area. On this particular night, it was a not-pleasant-at-all 84 degrees after sunset. That said, this was our only outdoor stop for the evening, so we bellied up to the bar and ordered our Banana Old Fashioned.

The Banana Old Fashioned is made with Michter’s Single Barrel Rye Whiskey, Tempus Fugit Spirits Crème de Banane, Appleton Estate 8 yr Reserve Rum, St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram Liqueur, and Angostura Bitters. It’s a departure from the traditional. That said, it was the closest thing that we’d find on a menu at the Polynesian.

This is a pretty solid drink. I don’t think I’ve reviewed it before, but I’ve certainly had it before. You’re going to easily find the banana in this drink. That said, you might not exactly find the bite. It’s a smooth-drinking cocktail. We made relatively quick work of it while discussing what we’d prefer was revealed for the Disney Believe cruise ship. A quick stroll through Michter’s Single Barrel Rye Whiskey resulted in some wonderful ideas, but that’s a different article.

Next up was Citricos and their $26.00 1806 Old Fashioned. In this drink, you’ll find WhistlePig 10 yr Rye Whiskey, Yellow Chartreuse Liqueur, Tempus Fugit Crème de Banane Liqueur, and house-made Banana Oleo-Saccharum. I know what you’re thinking because I was thinking the same thing: back-to-back banana Old Fashioneds – what are we doing? Before I could stand back up and walk over to the Enchanted Rose for a familiar return to their $28.50 Seasonal Old Fashioned, I was assured by our server that Citricos’ Old Fashioned was way better than Wailulu’s version. I’m not even sure if I needed the alcohol to hit my lips to know that was going to be true (although no themed coaster seemed like an oversight).

The 1806 Old Fashioned was wonderful, packing the punch that I was missing from the Banana Old Fashioned at Wailulu Bar & Grill. While both employ the Tempus Fugit Crème de Banane, I found the lack of rum in the 1806 to lead to a far less tiki-ish drink. In fact, the 1806 was almost herbal, leaving the banana scent and flavor behind. The WhislePig was allowed to shine here, complemented by the Chartreuse and a more herbal finish. Overall, a much better Old Fashioned, even if it’s not traditional by any means.

Orange Blossom Old Fashioned at Outer Rim ($21)

This was the drink that we all had circled before the night began. In fact, I hadn’t mentioned it yet, but we actually started our evening at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. The lines were long at the bars, so we decided to leave the Orange Blossom Old Fashioned for last. What a mistake. This is, easily, the worst Old Fashioned I’ve ever had, and thus, the worst Old Fashioned at Walt Disney World.

The Orange Blossom Old Fashioned is made with Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Fernet-Branca Amaro, Aperol Liqueur, Simple Syrup, and Orange Blossom Water. This drink was overly floral, and the foam that you see in our photo never went away. In fact, I would describe this as floral-soapy in both flavor and appearance thanks to that foam. The Fernet-Branca Amaro didn’t help, and while I was mildly excited to see what Orange Blossom Water might add to the mix, it was nothing but disappointment.

In fact, we were so disappointed with this drink that at least one in our party didn’t finish it. It was about sip #2 that we decided that the night couldn’t possibly end on such a low note. We had to go somewhere else, and Steakhouse 71 was just a couple of short escalator rides away.

Traditional Old Fashioned at Steakhouse 71

After two banana Old Fashioneds and a floral-soapy Old Fashioned, we were finally sitting across from a traditional Old Fashioned. It was the perfect way to end the evening, and a much-needed palate cleanser from the Orange Blossom Old Fashioned.

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!