Wilderness Lodge’s Territory Lounge: Want Some Popcorn With That Whiskey?

It’s trip report time yet again! Come along on my long weekend trip to Walt Disney World for the Princess Half Marathon. Today we’re discussing our evening spent in Territory Lounge. You can see all the post in this report here. Onward!

I skipped a planned evening in the Magic Kingdom in favor of a couple hours spent in Territory Lounge, and you know what? I don’t regret it. Sometimes a girl is tired after her Princess Half Marathon, and in light of the alcohol-free leadup to the race, she could also use a celebratory drink.

We chose Territory Lounge because… we were staying at Wilderness Lodge, and that’s the lobby bar. So it was more of a convenience thing than the result of careful research. Having found ourselves there, however, we managed to make a pretty sizable dent in the menu, and had fun doing it. Let’s get going – westward ho!

TERRITORY LOUNGE AMBIENCE

Territory Lounge is located across from Whispering Canyon Cafe. It’s small, or if you’re feeling more charitable, cozy. It was busy-ish on a Sunday evening, but it never felt packed. You can sit at the bar proper, or choose any table and a server will swing by to help you out.

Decor is themed exactly as the name implies: wall art – and even the ceiling – speaks to the mythical Old West as viewed through the lens of nostalgia. As is Disney tradition! Think oil paintings of wildife, shadow boxes with spurs and Native American artifacts, etc.

There are also a couple televisions if you simply must see the night’s sportsball. They are framed as though they too are paintings, which we thought was a nice touch.

THE DRINKS

Follow along with the menu here!

Territory Lounge has a neat little drink menu – in addition to any of your standard mixes, there’s a decent specialty cocktail list and even the option for a bourbon flight.

After careful consideration, I selected as my first drink the Orchards Bounty: Ketel One Botanical Peach & Orange Blossom vodka, Dolin Blanc vermouth, Aperol liqueur, and house-made Pinot Gris syrup.

I selected this drink for two reasons: I like a good botanical, and I also historically enjoy Aperol spritzes. It was good, but fruitier than I expected. Maybe that’s a dumb thing to say given that first ingredient advertises peach and orange blossom, but I thought the aperol would balance out the sweetness a bit more than it ultimately did. If you’re in it for the fruit, you’ll like this, but if you’re after something a bit more complex, skip it.

As much as I did like my first drink well enough, I couldn’t help but side-eye Kristin’s – it looked up my alley. So for my second round, I went with the L&C G&T, Fords gin, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, and elderflower tonic. L&C? I wondered to aloud, and then instantly answered my own question – Lewis and Clark! Of course!

I don’t drink a lot of straight G&Ts – to be honest I might’ve been in it for the cucumber inclusion as much as anything else – so I don’t know how much the elderflower elements moved the flavor needle. What I can tell you is that the pine-iness wasn’t too aggressive, and the tonic was light and refreshing. If you want bubbles without the sugar of sparkling wine, give this one a shot!

I didn’t personally order this, but Kristin also got a bourbon flight, and that good, kind, generous soul let me taste them too. As an uninformed but enthusiastic whiskey consumer (Woodford Reserve FTW), I thought this was super fun! Kristin let the bartender pick the bourbons; my personal favorite was definitely the Knob Creek Disney Select Single Barrel. I swear I don’t say that just because it’s Disney… but that checks out, no?

THE FOOD

We also selected an assortment of snacks – always snack when you drink! Very important! Don’t worry about the prices; Disney money isn’t real. It’s true!

Our first item was the artisanal cheese and charcuterie board (in addition to room wine, Jecky likes a good charcuterie board). The menu doesn’t specify exactly what you’re going to get beyond “handcrafted bread and accompaniments,” but we were ready to take a chance.

Turns out one of them was grapes, which I DETEST to the point of fear, so I made everyone else eat those. 😅 Luckily you also get pickled vegetables, crackers, honey, and sweet gherkins, all of which are delicious. The meats and cheeses weren’t particularly interesting or exotic, but they were all tasty, and it was fun making up little bite pairings.

The surprise winner of the night was the Territory Popcorn Sampler, which came with five flavors: spicy, caramel, sea salt, truffle, and barbecue. While the texture of the popcorn itself was standard, the flavorings impressed me much more than I anticipated. The spicy was hit-or-miss in terms of capsaicin content, if that’s a concern to you. But what shocked me most was that my favorite was the barbecue. I’m just not normally a barbecue girl, and yet this iteration played down the sweetness and upped the spices admirably.

My one regret is that we didn’t order the bone marrow and brie, as I am intrigued by the whole bone marrow thing. If I’ve had it in the past, I don’t remember it. Oh well; gotta go back, I guess. Very important. Maybe tomorrow? You busy then?

SHOULD YOU VISIT TERRITORY LOUNGE?

Territory Lounge is well themed, and there are some very interesting items on the menu. I could see it being worth a trip for someone staying at a Magic Kingdom resort – boat access would make getting there comparatively easy, especially if you’re coming from Fort Wilderness.

Beyond that, I’d probably advise against traveling any great distance for it, especially for first-timers who must ration their time carefully. Still, if it’s convenient, definitely give it a go! And if you plan to get the bone marrow, would you invite me too?

Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!