How To Plan Your Very Own Bar Crawl Using Disney World's Skyliner

Everyone who's ever been to Epcot knows about "Drinking Around the World," the traditional traversing of Disney's World Showcase pavilions, stopping for a drink at each one. From college graduations to bachelorette parties to lucky grown-ups who've left the little ones with grandma and grandpa for the day, adults on the Walt Disney World property flock to the park's 11 sections, getting sauced along the way. But that can create its own problems: What happens when the World Showcase is full to the brim with Dionysian revelers in Minnie Mouse ears and Tinker Bell wings? The answer is as simple as it is perfect for the atmosphere: You just fly.

Connecting Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Pop Century, Art of Animation, Riviera and Caribbean Beach Resorts, the Disney Skyliner opened in 2019. In a park already known for an internal transit system that rivals or surpasses many an American city, this collection of enclosed ski-lift style gondolas has opened up new paths to explore. And for those of us who like to find quiet in the chaos, the Skyliner offers the best alternative to the classic World Showcase marathon. For the sake of continuity we've started in Epcot and worked our way through the Skyliner resorts, ending the day in Hollywood Studios. However, we encourage you to start wherever is most convenient for your day's plans: The beauty of the Skyliner is that no matter where you start, you're never more than 20 minutes from your Skyliner Resort. You can even plan it around drinking during these hours to save money.

We begin our Skyliner bar crawl inside the iconic geodesic sphere at the center of Epcot, Spaceship Earth. So, if you can read the menu, thank the Phoenicians (IYKYK). A rare adult refuge where you'll find absolutely no character dining (no kids allowed at all), this new cocktail lounge sets off the relaxed vibes of our Skyliner bar crawl perfectly. One of the newest additions to an ever-changing Epcot, Geo-82 encapsulates the retro-futuristic heritage of the park while also being something unique on the WDW property. We suggest scooping up an early lunch reservation here (be careful, they can go fast) and raise a glass to a better future while you wait for one of the best shareable plates on property.

Yes, the charcuterie board is expensive at $29, but you'll need a bit of a base without being too full when the drinking starts. It's also not the same safe board you might expect at your local gastropub, featuring a unique assortment of crackers, cheeses, cured meat, chutney, pickles and more. Remember, you're in a retro-futuristic utopia for the moment, so sit back, sip on your whimsically Star-Trek shaded cocktail (or mocktail, those are delicious here, too), slip into the "world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy."

The one World Showcase stop on our burgeoning bar crawl, the U.K. pavilion's Rose & Crown Pub is a gem for a number of reasons. First of all, the atmosphere of the pavilion itself is top-notch, modeled after what looks like a cathedral or university town in the early 20th century. The centerpiece of the pavilion, a traditional British pub, is the perfect place to stop for a pint on your way out of Epcot and toward the Boardwalk area. Belly up to the bar and have a perfectly poured Guinness. Relax for a few minutes, there's a long day ahead. What constitutes this pub as a hidden gem, however, is its outdoor seating area, covered by awnings and umbrellas and offering a full view of the World Showcase in its splendor.

In the evening beginning at 4:30 p.m., this becomes a full service restaurant offering traditional pub grub, from bangers and mash to sticky toffee pudding. But before 4:30 p.m., guests are welcome to use this space at their leisure. You can bring a snack in from the nearby Canada or France pavilions, stop by the U.K. pavilion's fish and chips shop, or simply sit back with your beer.

After exiting Epcot through the International Gateway, conveniently located in between the U.K. and France pavilions, follow the path toward the Boardwalk and bear left at the fork just before Yacht and Beach clubs. We'll be back around that way shortly. While Disney's Boardwalk was once home to a much wider variety of choices when it comes to enjoying an adult beverage, there is still plenty to be found here. If you happen to be staying here, the pool bar, Leaping Horse Libations is one of the best, and the Belle Vue lobby lounge has excellent ambiance.

However, the truly can't-miss option here is AbracadaBar. Here, your cocktails come with an elaborate backstory: The space was supposedly once a hangout for local illusionists who would conjure cocktails (now on the menu) as they tried to impress each other with tricks. Props, tricks, and all manner of allusions to the golden age of magic are as ubiquitous here as tin signs at a TGI Friday's. The bar snacks here are sparse, but the cocktails are as whimsical as could be imagined, with names like the Parlor Trick, the Sour Assistant, and the Hoodunit's Punch.

Hidden away in the lobby of the Yacht Club next to the full service restaurant of the same name, the Lounge at Ale & Compass is one of the most laid back watering holes on this list, if not the entire Walt Disney World Resort. The staff, drink selection, house cocktails and bar snacks are all well worth it, and the reserved decor, in navy, brass, and leather, looks very much like it belongs in a hotel themed after an upscale boating club.

You can expect nautically-themed cocktails like the Dark and Stormy, the Captain's Mai Tai, or the Seaworthy Breeze, as well as a stocked wine cellar and generous selection of draft and bottled beers. For a snack, there's a small but fool-proof selection of wings, burgers, a rotating selection of seasonal flatbreads, and our favorite, the parker house rolls with three delicious spreads: bacon jam, pub cheese, and citrus butter.

We might be doing a very slight disservice to the other poolside bars on this list by including this one first, but to be fair, it would be difficult for any pool bar on property to compare with Bar Riva. Located in Disney's newest deluxe resort, the Riviera, Bar Riva is just that: deluxe. The hotel itself can, and often does reach, $1,000 per night, and its full-service food options are some of the best on property. Bar Riva reflects that upscale vibe. How many other pool bars offer premium French rosé and Italian Prosecco alongside cocktails composed of Courvoisier?

The theme of the menu, like the resort, leans heavily into the French/Italian Riviera, as does the atmosphere. The view of the pool, with its waterslide set into what's been made to look like a medieval stone tower, coupled with snacks usually not seen on American poolside menus (no corn dogs here), allows for a comfortable disassociation with the outside world that's noticeable even at WDW, where that's kind of the whole point. Seasonal arancini (rice balls), pasta with grilled chicken, and tiramisu are just a few of the options here.

Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort is the halfway point for many a Skyliner Journey, which is fitting since it's the only moderate resort on the Skyliner system. Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach, Swan and Dolphin, and Riviera are all deluxe resorts, while Art of Animation and Pop Century are value priced. The Caribbean Beach offers a happy middle ground, as well as a dramatic change in scenery. The bougie mediterranean vibes of the Riviera give way here to the even calmer waters of the Caribbean, where you'll find Sebastian's Bistro (named after the Caribbean crustacean in "The Little Mermaid"). Wide and ubiquitous windows looking out on a lagoon, bright colors and patterns, and sweet and spicy flavors make this a worthwhile stop on your Skyliner adventure.

The stars of the show here are twofold: the cold cocktails and the unique menu. The former are all reminiscent of whimsically-shaped glasses and pink umbrellas, like the Tallawah Punch, a blend of Appleton Estate Reserve Blend Rum, Pure Cane Syrup, Pineapple, Raspberry, Lemon Juices, with Fever-Tree Ginger Beer. If you're hungry, we recommend sampling the Taste of the Caribbean or Harvest of the Caribbean prix fixe menus.

Disney's Pop Century Resort is one of our favorites in general, offering Skyliner access and unique theming for a fraction of the cost of most other hotels on this list. With five building complexes each themed to a 20th century decade from the 1950s through the 1990s, Pop Century is at once a large resort and an eminently navigable one. Three pools grace the property, with the 1960s-themed Hippy Dippy Pool being the most central. Shaped like a flower, this pool is home to Petals, the perfect watering hole for your relaxing resort break between resorts.

Featuring a simple yet satisfying offering of cocktails, wine, beer and bar snacks, Petals is a nice and easy spot in the midst of a global journey on the most "magical flight in the world." One standout drink that's perfect for some poolside lounging is the Pina CoLAVA, which adds raspberry puree to the already-delicious classic piña colada. If you haven't had the chance to grab a Mickey pretzel yet, this is the perfect time. Something about the extra soft dough in the middle makes them some of the best soft pretzels you'll ever have.

Disney's Art of Animation Resort is a bit of an odd-man out. Originally meant to be an extension of the pop century covering the decades from the 1900s to the 1940s, which explains why the manmade lake separating the two is shaped like an hourglass, that plan was ultimately abandoned and the new hotel was themed to classics of Disney animation, instead. Now guests can wander through courtyards meticulously themed after "The Lion King," "Finding Nemo," "The Little Mermaid," and others. It's "Finding Nemo" that owns the theming around the pool where you'll find the last pool bar on our list, The Drop Off.

Here, you can enjoy the immense collection of impressive artwork that inspired the hotel as you sip on a frozen Jack and Coke or a Big Blue Ocean, made of WÓDKA Vodka, Bacardí Superior Rum, Bols Blue Curaçao Liqueur, and Minute Maid Lemonade with a souvenir glow cube. It's also worth saying that here and at Petals are where you'll find some of the coldest beer on the WDW property. There's also a generous selection of snacks from sandwiches to Mickey ice cream bars.

After flying over Hourglass Lake from the Art of Animation and transferring at Caribbean Beach, you'll find yourself at Disney's Hollywood Studios, an ode to old Hollywood in all its forms. One of our favorites here is the Tune-In Lounge. This 1950s themed bar was once the living room style waiting room for the 50s Prime Time Cafe, where the servers call you cousin and not eating your greens might get you put in the corner with no dessert. Now a full-service bar called the Tune-In Lounge, the bar maintains the atmosphere while offering more seating, more classic T.V.s showing black and white reruns of shows like "Spin & Marty" and "The Mickey Mouse Club," and more cocktails. Also, you're less likely here to be chided for having your elbows on the table or your napkin elsewhere than your lap.

While you'll need to go next door to the restaurant for any food options, the cocktails here are predictably classic, if not in content then by theme. For example, you can get a classic margarita, queen of the tiki era cocktails. Or, you can get a "Tune-In PB&J Cocktail" (Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey, Bols Blackberry Brandy, and Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur topped with a maraschino cherry). Somewhere in between falls the delicious "Grandma's Picnic Lunch," made with vodka, peach schnapps, crème de casis, light lemonade, and pineapple juice.

We've saved perhaps the most elaborately themed bar on property for the end of this journey, in part to make sure that you're properly awed by the immersive surroundings and because the Fuzzy Tauntaun cocktail is likely to necessitate an early bedtime should one overdo it. Located in the Galaxy's Edge "Star Wars"-themed section of Hollywood Studios, Oga's Cantina is a place where bounty hunters, smugglers, fugitives and ne'er-do-wells of all stripes meet on neutral ground to enjoy a drink. With spacey tunes provided by droid DJ R-3X and alien animatronics all over, Oga's makes you feel like you're a Jedi on the hunt for a Sith overlord.

The theming on the cocktails is just as elaborate, with offerings like the Jedi Mind Trick (Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit & Rose Vodka, John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum, Bols Blue Curaçao Liqueur, White Grape Juice, Lime Juice, and Grapefruit Bitters), The Bloody Rancor (Tito's Handmade Vodka, Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur, House-made Bloody Mary Mix garnished with a Spicy Candied Rancor Bacon) and the aforementioned Fuzzy Tauntaun (Ketel One Botanical Peach & Orange Vodka, Bols Peach Schnapps Liqueur, orange juice with tangerine, pure cane sugar, and 'Buzz Button Tingling' Foam). No matter what you drink, you're sure to catch a trip off-planet. But good luck trying to recreate them at home.