Hi there, Jennifer. Welcome back to planDisney!
Okay, so I saw that you were asking about
Nomad Lounge in
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park and I jumped at the chance to answer you! This has become something of a must-do when I'm at this park. The atmosphere, the specialty cocktails, the small plates, and, of course, THE CHURROS make it just such a relaxed, comfortable vibe with some great
drinks and eats. Probably my favorite memory here is when a bunch of
planDisney Panelists took over the place to catch up on each other's lives and enjoy the ambiance. I distinctly remember looking over at my friend
Kaitlin P. as she smiled and said, "I'm just having such a great time." I hope your memories of this place are just as special.
While the time that Walk-Up Waitlists open up can sometimes vary, they usually open up on the
My Disney Experience mobile app when the restaurant itself opens. To be safe, you may want to just double-check on the restaurant's page of the app 15 minutes before the restaurant opens, but in all likelihood, it will open right at the opening time of the lounge! In order to join, you'll have to be in Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park. The last time I did this myself, I was able to join while walking up to the gates of the park. The app will tell you if you need to move closer.
Remember me telling you about the time the planDisney Panelists took over this lounge? My very resourceful friend
Amy A. was refreshing the lounge's page on the app like it was the latest ride with a
Virtual Queue. While you likely won't have to do
that to get on the list, taking a page from Amy's book is never a bad idea. In fact, I reached out to her today to help with this question! Once a Panelist, always a Panelist!
If you're interested in joining other Walk-Up Waitlists on your trip, the My Disney Experience mobile app has been updated to make it a bit easier to check for availability. Wherever you are at the resort, you can click the plus (+) sign in the middle of the bottom menu bar, select "Check Dining Availability," select your party size, and click "Join a Walk-up List" at the bottom of this screen. This will show you the availability of walk-up lists near you at the time. And even if they are not near you, you can usually still see what the current estimated wait is for the restaurant at which you're interested in dining. Not that I've ever done this while at home, drooling over what I
could be eating if I was only at the resort.
Jennifer, enjoy one of my favorite lounges...and be sure to check out others, like
Enchanted Rose at
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. My other friend named
Amy could tell you
all about that one! If you have any other questions,
I'm here for you.
Eat the good stuff,
Matt