FROM: Disney Drunkard Published Sundays
Lapu Lapu
Hey, is that a pineapple in your hand, or are you just staying at the Polynesian? I've been asked that so many times. (Not really.) But if I were to be asked that very question, it would mean that I was at that very moment enjoying a Lapu Lapu.
If you stay at Disney World's Polynesian Resort, you'll want to stop by the Tambu Lounge on the second floor of the Great Ceremonial House and buy yourself a Lapu Lapu.
(If you're not staying at the Polynesian, you'll want to come over and do the same.)
The Lapu Lapu ($13.25) is one of the most famous, most coveted, most eye-catching tropical drinks at Disney World. Is it delicious, too? Well, it's eye-catching, but as rum drinks go, it's fairly tame. You'll be buying it not for its potency but for its pineapple.
Behind the bar at the Tambu Lounge, the bartenders keep a box of several dozen hollowed-out pineapples (enough for a single night, typically). When the Lapu Lapu has been concocted, it's poured into the hollow pineapple, and then the pineappple's top is pressed back into service as a make-shift lid. You sip the drink through straws tucked into a wedge cut away from the pineapple top.
Neat, huh? Not much beats wandering the Great Ceremonial House sucking rum out of a big pineapple.
You can take the pineapple with you as a 'souvenir', but it's a real fruit, and it will become rotten real fast, especially the bottom, which has had a slice removed so the pineapple will sit squarely on the bar or on a table, where it belongs.
If you're not the bar type, you can also order the Lapu Lapu in either 'Ohana or the Kona Cafe. And if you're not the liquor type, you can ask for a non-alcoholic Lapu Lapu which resembles the real thing in looks if not in taste.
Why do they call the drink Lapu Lapu?
It's named after a chieftain who won the battle of Mactan against a small army of Spanish soldiers (led by Ferdinand Magellan!) in 1521. In the battle, Magellan was killed, though it's not know whether Lapu Lapu did the killing.
Today, if you visit the Philippines, you may not be able to get Lapu Lapu the drink, but you can see Lapu Lapu the national hero in statue form on Mactan Island.
History is thirsty work, and I'm sure you're ready mix your own Lapu Lapu right now:
- 2 parts Myers's Dark Rum
- 2 parts Pineapple Juice
- 3 parts Orange Juice
- 1 part Sweet & Sour Mix
- 1 part Bacardi Rum (to splash on the top)
- Enough crushed ice to fill the pineapple
- Cherry for garnish
The Lapu Lapu may not be your favorite Disney drink, but you can't really call yourself a Disney Drunkard until you've had one.
The image of the Lapu Lapu is courtesy of Kristen Kirk.
For further fantastic fun, check out:
- The Disney Drunkard main page, where the bar is always open.