The newest bar to open at Walt Disney World is the AbracadaBar located on Disney’s Boardwalk. Nestled in between Trattoria al Forno and the currently-under-renovation Flying Fish, AbracadaBar takes over the space previously occupied by Seashore Sweets. We’ve been to enjoy drinks (the only thing on the menu) the past two nights. Let’s jump into the review!

The Legend

Everything at Disney starts with a story, and the AbracadaBar has an intriguing one. As the legend goes, the AbracadaBar was the secret lounge to the master magicians that performed on the boardwalk. After Lasdow the Lucky failed to show up for his act on September 14, 1940, people became suspicious. As a matter of fact, the last time anyone had seen any of the master magicians was the night before, September 13, 1940. For weeks the public had nothing but unanswered questions until a custodial worker leaned his broom up against a false door which lead to the secret lounge. Here’s the full story from the November 13th edition of The BoardWalk Bugle.

The shocking revelation of a secret magicians’ lounge could point to new clues concerning the group of beloved illusionists who mysteriously vanished from our boardwalk weeks ago. Though, truth be told, we may be more perplexed than before…

A custodian working at the BoardWalk’s magic club made the surprising discovery late yesterday evening, when he rested his mop against a false door leading into a the secret room. By the look of the room’s peculiar decor – including magicanl accouterments and shelves lined with curious elixirs – this is no doubt the clandestine hideout of our missing master magicians.

But there’s just one dilemma…there are still no magicians in sight!

After investigating the magicians’ hideout this morning, The BoardWalk Bugle noticed something extra out of the ordinary about this already peculiar lounge. Glasses filled with odd elixirs still sat on the countertops. Magic props and playing cards were scattered all about. And, stranger yet, all of the clocks in the room were set to thirteen past the hour…almost as if time froze and every magician disappeared on the spot.

When we questioned the magic club owner about her knowledge of the hidden room, and the possible whereabouts of the missing magicians, she repeated the same unhelpful news we’ve been reporting for weeks now: “A good magician never reveals her secrets!”

According to multiple witnesses, the missing conjurers in question were last seen entering the loading area behind BoardWalk’s magic club on September 13th. All wore ostentatious costumes and were accompanied by assistants, stagehands, and crates filled with small animals – including doves, rabbits, and the like.

Suspicions only arose when the touring magician Lasdow The Lucky failed to appear for his much-anticipated matinee performance the following day. In addition to Mr. Lasdow, it would appear that his assistant, multiplying rabbits, and every illusionist on the boardwalk vanished along with him.

Whether a grand illusion or a simple misunderstanding, The BoardWalk Bugle will be certain to keep our dear readers informed about the whereabouts of our beloved magicians.

A nice little nod to the previous tenants of the space can be found in the bottom corner of the front page.

The boardwalks’ “sweetest” sisters have been invited to compete in the final round of the Miss Seashore beauty pageant. Their special talent? Serving confections with affection, of course! Wish the ladies luck as they lead a celebratory rolling chair parade this Sunday on the boardwalk. At this pace, they may be on their way to becoming the first twin “Miss America(s)”!

The lounge itself is actually located backstage as it relates to the now-closed BoardWalk magic club. As such, Cast Member only areas are referred to as having on stage access. It’s a fun little detail that reverses the role of the average guest walking around Walt Disney World as it relates to terminology.

The Magicians

What good is all of that back story if we don’t learn about the other master magicians who disappeared. Luckily, these magicians were a bit narcissistic and kept photos of themselves throughout the lounge. Let’s dive into their backgrounds. If you’d rather experience some of the magic yourself, feel free to skip to the drinks section of the review.

Lasdow the Lucky

The only magician named in The BoardWalk Bugle story is Lasdow the Lucky. We find his picture located behind the bar and to the left as you enter the lounge.

A seemingly classic magician, Lasdow the Lucky focused on pulling a rabbit out of his hat to entertain viewers of his act. Normally making other things disappear, if we keep a close enough eye on his portrait, we’ll see Mr. Lasdow disappear occasionally along with the other magicians.

So how does Lasdow the Lucky tie into Disney history? A little rearranging of the letters of his name give us Oswald the Lucky, as in Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the precursor to Mickey Mouse himself! It’s only fitting that Lasdow the Great works with rabbits.

The Great Nyokaa

Moving left to right across the room, we find The Great Nyokaa. He is a fortune teller whose “eyes see no lies”. A closer look at his portrait sees that were asked to trust him as he tries to hypnotize us with his glare. An even closer look reveals that the base of his crystal ball is made into the shape of a snake.

The clues of his hypnotizing glare, snake at the base of the crystal ball, and a plea to trust in him leads us to look at the second half of his name to reveal another Disney tie-in, this time to Kaa from the Jungle Book.

Tyrus

Tyrus and the next magician are both in the back right of the lounge. This magician is definitely one of the more obscure Disney references, so we’ll jump right in. The Chinese art and label of “Conjurer from the land of Red Dragons” points to one man, Tyrus Wong. Wong was the lead art director for the 1942 classic, Bambi.

In his retirement, Mr. Wong has made many intricate kites and flew them at the Santa Monica Pier.

Madame Heshire

The Mover of the Moon, Madame Heshire’s tie to Disney is truly revealed when she disappears.

The crescent moon forms the ‘C’ necessary to transform her last name to Cheshire, as in the cat featured in Alice in Wonderland.

Encantadora del Toros

The legend goes that the Encantadora del Toros can make a live bull appear and vanish with just the swish of her skirt. Her debut in America took place in the late 1930’s and the first appearance of her magical trunk was in an animated short entitled “Baggage Buster”, which aired in 1941. The Disney tie-in is that this short features Goofy as the protagonist who has to transport a magicians trunk and finds a piece of red cloth that is able to make a bull appear and disappear with just a swish.

Drinks

All of the “curious cocktails” are are set at $12, with two non-alcoholic offerings at $5.

The Sour Assistant

This cocktail represents the hard working assistant who does most of the work, but get’s none of the credit. She’s definitely very sour! Breuckelen Distilling 77 Whiskey & House-made Sweet-and-Sour.

Seashore Sweet

This non-alcoholic drink is a nod to the previous tenants of the space. Served with a pinch of magic in the form of disappearing cotton candy. Odwalla Lemonade & Blue Cotton Candy.

Parlor Trick

This is an old fashioned cocktail that celebrates old fashioned magic. Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon, Simple Syrup, & a splash of Soda Water.

Pepper’s Ghost

A nod to another piece of Disney history found in the Haunted Mansion. Ciroc Pineapple Vodka & Habanero Lime.

Collin’s Double

A clever Gin cocktail that is a secret look-alike of Tom Collins. Hayman’s Old Tom Gin and House-made Sweet-and-Sour topped with Soda Water.

The Conjurita

Pictured above as the purple liquid, the Conjurita never reveals its secrets, or its true color! Gran Centenario Plata Tequila, Cointreau, Simple Syrup, & Lime Juice.

Elixir 13

This is the cocktail that made the room full of magicians disappear into thin air. We performed our own disappearing act before taking this picture too. Lucid Absinthe & Water.

Details

In addition to the fun backstories for all of the magicians, we also noticed a few details and nods to other Disney properties.

Society of Explorers and Adventurers Fez and Dumbo’s feather.

A nod to the last operating date of SpectroMagic can be found in playing cards.

Walt Disney himself can be found pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

A Hidden Mickey can be found.

The rest of the lounge no doubt contains other nods to magicians and Disney history, but we have to go back to find more!

One final detail worth exploring is the wallpaper itself. I’ll let you find the hidden images yourself for this last illusion.

Video

Here’s a quick overview video of the space.

Review

Overall, we enjoyed our time at AbracadaBar. The theming is well done, the back story is fun to figure out, and the drinks are very unique to Disney property. We were treated to great service from Annie the first night and would highly recommend her to anyone visiting. On opening night, there was a magician, Antwan, who kept the place laughing and smiling. I was disappointed to not see any magicians the second night we visited and would note that it makes a big difference when it comes to the atmosphere of the evening. If you’re looking for a place to grab a drink and you’re in the Epcot/resorts area, I would recommend taking an hour or two to drop into AbracadaBar.

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