Going to an Irish Pub for a night of drinks and debauchery is probably not what you expect to do on a vacation to Disney World, but at Downtown Disney’s Raglan Road, you can do just that. The self-appointed “authentic” Irish pub and restaurant offers traditional Irish fare throughout the day in the expansive restaurant and serving from the bar menu into the night. Each night, live music and dancing entertains revelers who stick around well past sunset.

Irish Pub & Restaurant Raglan Road at Disney World

In the middle of the restaurant next to the massive authentic bar is a “jig-only” dancing platform on which an Irish-trained dancer livens up the pub with her award-winning energy. House band, Creel, plays live Irish tunes most nights for which guests to dance and revel. Order a frothy Guinness from one of four bars at Raglan Road or sit outside with friends while listening to the music.

The traditional dinner menu is served until 11pm nightly, and the limited bar menu is available until last call, whenever in the night that happens! Get a babysitter and take a break from the kiddie entertainment at Disney World when you’re on vacation to head to Raglan Road. You won’t be disappointed.

1640 East Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
(407) 938-0300

photo credit: angie lynch

Rock Out at these Summer European Music Festivals

Nothing says summer like a good outdoor rock festival, and all over Europe, there are huge gatherings of metal heads gathering for loud weekends of rock, metal, thrash and more.

So if you like to spend hot summer nights headbanging along with a couple of thousand of fellow fans, here are my picks for the best European all-rock festivals not to miss this summer.

In chronological order:

Sweden Rock Festival – June 08-11, 2011
Solvesborg, Sweden

This rock fest takes place northeast of Malmo and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Headlining are legendary artists like Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Whitesnake, Rob Zombie, Thin Lizzy, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Styx, Queeensryche, Mr Big and Stryper.

Single day tickets range from 690 to 1290 Swedish Krona (approx. $110 to $205 US), and 4-day weekend passes are 2390 Krona (approx. $380 US).

Sauna Open Air – June 09-11, 2011
Tampere, Finland

A few hours north of Helsinki, this festival will be rocking two stages over three days. It’s a bit smaller than most of this list’s fests, but it’s more hardcore, too.

Heavy metal and thrash headliners include Ozzy Osbourne, Helloween, Doro, Saxon, Joey Belladonna, Queensryche, Accept and Judas Priest.

Single day tickets are €58 and a three-day pass will cost €112 per person.
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Alcoholic Architecture - hope you like gin and tonics!

Happy Friday! Thought I’d give you a little taste (or smell, in the cases of one of these bars) of some very unique bars from all over the world. The list was compiled by and published on this site, and it’s a really fun list. Here are five of my favorites:

1. Alcoholic Architecture (London, UK)

This new bar concept opened up in 2009, and patrons apparently have to only breathe in the air in order to get a little bit of a buzz. The air is basically a big gin and tonic, and for around $8, you sit there and “breathe in” your drink. Interesting.

Ice Bar in Orlando, Florida

2. Ice Bar (Orlando, Florida)

This bar is as advertised — it’s all ice inside (except the bathrooms.) So bundle up and get your drink on! Just make sure you’re not shivering when you deliver that pick-up line. Definitely a cool part of Orlando’s hopping nightlife scene.

3. Red Sea Star Bar (Eilat, Israel)

It’s underwater! I’ve always wanted to go to one of these types of places. Great excuse to “drink like a fish.” Nibble on the tasty fare offered, too.

4. Clinic Bar (Clarke Quay, Singapore)

Why walk around a bar if you can buzz around in a wheelchair? And drink out of IV bags? Everything in this bar is hospital themed, down to the pill-shaped rooms.

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem

5.  Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem (Nottingham, England)

First off, this bar (or at least the inn housing it) has apparently been around since 1189 A.D., making it Britain’s oldest. Secondly, it’s at the bottom of a castle (which it’s connected to by a series of passageways.) Pretty cool.

Photo: Chris_Reed, Colleen_cc, rozsagab

Entrance to San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter

In my opinion, few American cities have as wonderful a downtown nightlife district as San Diego does. San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter is a safe, clean and completely walkable eight square block area of stores, restaurants and bars. Almost every restaurant has sidewalk seating, giving the area a European feel. Replicas of old fashioned gas lamps, for which the area was named, can be found on most corners, signaling to visitors when they enter and leave the Gaslamp. Thing can be fairly quiet during the week, but on the weekends, music blares from every restaurant and bar and you’re just as likely to get run over by a pedi cab as you are a real car.

Gas Lamps from San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter

In the mood for an non-alcoholic evening in the Gaslamp? Try Ghiradelli for some delectable dessert in an old fashioned atmosphere. The ice cream here is very rich, and it’s just as much fun to eat inside the store as it is on the cute patio outside.

Ghiradelli san diego

You can dance the night away at a number of clubs in the Gaslamp including On Broadway, The Blue Tatoo and the Onyx Room. For drinks, some of my favorite spots are the Martini Ranch, Rock Bottom Brewery and Cafe Sevilla.

The Cosmopolitan's at Martini Ranch are fantastic.

Photos: Zoonabar, cogdogblog, steve snodgrass, rick