Tropical Hideaway in Disneyland‘s Adventureland opened Wednesday, with its grand opening scheduled for today, December 21.  AllEars.Net was at the Media Preview to check out this new location, as well as indulge in the sweet and savory treats on the menu.

When you enter the Tropical Hideaway, which is in the location of the former Aladdin’s Oasis, you are greeted by Rosita from the neighboring attraction Enchanted Tiki Room.

As the new location’s story goes, Rosita is waiting for her boat to arrive to embark on a solo career. As promised, she is quite chatty.

The area is set up to look like and give the feeling of a collection of market stalls along the waterfront of the Jungle Cruise.

We were able to spot Jungle Cruise‘s Kissimmee Kate while we were visiting the Tropical Hideaway.

The new area is  accessed via its main bridge, through the Enchanted Tiki Room, or along “Skipper’s Walk,” a pathway leading from the Jungle Cruise loading dock.

Once in the area you’ll find open seating. Many areas are under cover.

We enjoyed the assortment of seating arrangements, from the wood-topped tables above to the tables decorated below with fun prints.

Be sure to spend some time before or after you relax and indulge in the food and drink here to take in the details all around you. As always with Disney, there are some hidden gems in the details.

The oars bear references to members of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.). Disney World guests will be familiar with this Society as it is also featured in the decor and theme of the Magic Kingdom’s Jungle Skipper Canteen. Plus, we were told some paddles also provide clues for future attractions… so be sure to wear your thinking cap when reading these!

How about washing your hands at the water treatment facility?

There are several market stalls in the Hideaway, displaying goods from local artisans in the region.

You’ll find lamps, rugs, and more on display in the market stalls.

Now, on to the food! The menu includes the “Best of the Jungle” and “Fresh Off the River” delights. We chose to start with items from the “fresh arrivals” and “from the steamer” menus. Disney World guests will recognize one of these items from Animal Kingdom‘s Pandora.

First up were the Bao Buns. Options include a Spiced Vegetable Bao, Kaffir Lime Chicken Bao, or Bulgogi Beef Bao.

The Spiced Vegetable Bao is filled with garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and cauliflower and is spiced with curry.

The Kaffir Lime Chicken Bao is stuffed with a combination of butternut squash, lime, and a touch of spice.

Lastly, the Bulgogi Beef Bao contains a mixture of beef and potatoes with a hint of sweet chilis.

We thoroughly enjoyed all of these steamed buns, and would be hard-pressed to choose one over the other. You may have noticed the note on the menu to add sauce if you want it spicy. The sauce is Kogi Salsa Roja. We enjoyed it with the baos, but they are also very good without it.

Our next item was Sweet Lumpia — an egg roll filled with cream cheese and pineapple, and rolled in sugar. An addition the Disney World version of this sweet treat is the Dole Whip Dipping Sauce.

The addition of the sugar and dipping sauce take this to a new level. The sugar adds a crispness to the whole dessert, and the pineapple dipping sauce emphasizes the pineapple flavor over the cream cheese.

“Other Provisions” include a Ramen Shaker Salad. The shaker includes Ramen, carrots, zucchini and cilantro along with optional spicy togarashi cashews and an onion vinaigrette.

This is a fun salad to make, shake, and eat! We also tried adding the  Kogi Salsa Roja sauce from our Bao buns to this and found it added even more flavor (and some kick) to this flavorful salad.

Now, on to the star of the show, Dole Whip! And, if you’re a Dole Whip fan, run — don’t walk — to this new location.

That’s right — you are reading the menu correctly. There’s a new flavor in town — Raspberry Dole Whip! You can get the flavors “straight up” as just Pineapple, Orange, or Raspberry, or you can swirl Orange with Pineapple, or Raspberry with Pineapple. You can also enjoy a traditional Dole Whip Float here. If that isn’t enough, there’s another new item — Loaded Whips!

We were able to try these Loaded Whips with an orange and pineapple twist as well as a raspberry and pineapple twist. The “exotic” fruit topping is made of pineapple and mandarin oranges.

There’s even Pocky sticks (a Japanese treat — crisp cookies coated in chocolate) acting as spears in your ambush! The ambush is also topped with shaved coconut and candied hibiscus.

We enjoyed both versions of the Twisted Ambush. The combination of sweet, tart, and tropical all come together really well in this dish. It is definitely shareable as a snack (or you can make it a meal for one!).

The standard Twisted Ambush will be the orange and pineapple twist; you can request the raspberry and pineapple for your Ambush, just as we did, if you would like. The only combination that can not be made is an orange and raspberry twist due to the set up of the machines.

The Tropical Hideaway is a great addition to this park. It has fun reminders of the classic attractions Jungle Cruise and Enchanted Tiki Room all over. Plus, the food here is really tasty and enjoyable to eat. We see this becoming a popular place to relax, refresh, and refuel.

You can see the menu and photos of the Tropical Hideaway on our location page.

Don’t forget, after you visit the Tropical Hideaway visit our Rate and Review section to leave a review!

Remember! When you’re in Disney tag @allearsnet in your photos!

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Disclaimer: AllEars.Net was an invited media guest of Disneyland at the Media Preview of the Tropical Hideaway. This did not influence our report; our opinions are our own.

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