This full bar offers made-to-order drinks, as well as the full menu of choices from the adjacent 50's Prime Time Cafe.
If you ever need to define the word “kitsch,” check a dictionary (and by check a dictionary, we mean Google it). There you’ll find that it means design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but appreciated in an ironic way. However, if you would rather have a visual definition, there’s no better place than the Tune-In Lounge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Tucked away next to, and attached to, the 50’s Prime Time Cafe, the Tune-In Lounge invites you into Dad’s living room, where he happens to have a bar and a doozy of a liquor cabinet. Dad also evidently has a time machine because stepping through the door instantly transports you into the 1950s and you can’t help but notice the abundance of kitsch.
As with every era, there were several popular design styles in the 1950s and many are represented in Tune- In Lounge. For instance, the patterned wallpaper, knick-knacks, and antiques (even though it’s all antique to us) are holdovers from early American Colonial and Pioneer designs. Of course, like many family homes, an eclectic style pervades as pieces are added over the years.
If there is only one style from the 50s that lives on it is mid-century modern. It is highly noticeable in some furniture pieces (like those blue chairs) and encompasses the entire bar area. The frosted glass blocks that the bar rests on and the blue walls with wonderful, space age- looking sconces are about as mid-century modern as you can get.
Atomic age decor (think The Jetsons, which started in 1962) was also part of mid-century modern, and can be seen in the sunbursts and teardrop lighting. That strange curvy shape seen in the sign for 50s Prime Time Cafe also qualifies. Plastics (Formica, linoleum, etc.), wood paneling, and pastels were also big in the 50’s, and you can undoubtedly find a few examples of these as well. Since you are presumably here to break into Dad’s liquor cabinet, you should know that there are a few cocktails that are considered specialties. Dad’s Electric Lemonade is a neon blue concoction made with rum, vodka, blue curacao, sweet and sour, and Sprite. A Mowie Wowie is served with coconut rum, melon liqueur, peach schnapps, orange juice, and pineapple juice. Lastly, Grandma gets in on the cocktail creation with her Picnic Punch, made with vodka, peach schnapps, creme de cassis, lemonade, and pineapple juice. Along with the cocktails, there are a few selections of wine, draught beer, and bottled beer although not a big selection and nothing to send a postcard home about (they used postcards in the 50’s, right?).
A big plus for the Tune-In Lounge is that you can order off of the full 50’s Prime Time Cafe menu, which includes several tasty homestyle dishes. The big downside of the Tune-In Lounge also relates to the 50’s Prime Time Cafe, specifically that the Tune-In acts as the waiting area for the restaurant. If you happen by during the main dinner times it can be quite crowded. If you are looking for time to really browse around, try stopping in anytime between 11 am and 4:30 pm.
The handful of televisions positioned around the Tune-In Lounge show clips of 1950s shows and events, including the opening of Disneyland. They just add to the already special atmosphere that instantly transports you to a time that you may not even remember. Whether you were around to experience the 1950’s or not, this is one of those amazing places that can only be found at Walt Disney World and is not to be missed.