At some point you reach an age where you stop hiding or apologizing for the things you like no matter how nerdy, niche, or uncool they may seem. When it comes to EPCOT’s Spaceship Earth—the park’s signature attraction often called “the big ball”—I know exactly when I hit that age. I was four. I love Spaceship Earth. Always have, always will. And I am very happy to explain why that giant geodesic sphere and its cheesy tale of hope, awe, and dated animatronics is the best. I love it so much it actually pained me to even type “the big ball” because that’s not its name.
Needless to say, I was just a teensy bit excited when Walt Disney World announced GEO-82, Spaceship Earth’s very own adults-only lounge. It opened earlier this summer. However, my love for the attraction seemingly set me up for disappointment. The first photos and videos from guests looked nice, yet left me a little underwhelmed. Now that I’ve actually visited, I understand why reviews were (and remain) uniformly positive. You can’t fully appreciate GEO-82 without seeing and experiencing it in person.
Pictures can’t fully capture its elegance. Videos can’t accurately convey its atmosphere. It’s a beautiful lounge with a superb, elevated menu of high-end drinks and small plates served with precision by talented staff. And it does so while perfectly captures the spirit and aesthetics of Spaceship Earth. It’s the kind of sophisticated spot adults rarely encounter in a theme park.
GEO-82 completely won this lifelong Spaceship Earth geek over immediately. Even then I still had zero hope for one part of the lounge. Its otherwise outstanding menu contains an item that has proven divisive (at best!) since opening day. Even those who otherwise love GEO-82 have called the $26 Caramelized Leek Martini cocktail “trash” and Walt Disney World’s “worst drink” ever.
…Yeah. Real harsh. Was the unusual, savory onion martini really that bad? I don’t love onion forward foods, but I do love trying weird stuff. So I was torn between desperately not wanting to try it and desperately needing to.
You can guess which side won out. But to find out what I thought of the Caramelized Leek Martini—a cocktail very much made with caramelized leeks—-you have to keep reading.
My first time visiting GEO-82 came during Walt Disney World’s Play ‘n’ Preview media event. As part of the presentation, I was among a small group of press members invited to a guided, private experience at the lounge. We arrived in the morning before it opened to guests.
Almost all of us were there for the first time and we all had the exact same reaction. “Now I get it.” GEO-82 looks so much better in person. It has a quiet elegance reflected in every detail. Everything is top notch, from the decor and staff, to the food and drinks, cutlery, menu, architecture, service, and ambience.
The drinks, consisting of both specialty cocktails and high-end spirits, come in custom glasses that celebrate Spaceship Earth’s iconic geodesic design. As does the space’s art, decorations, and walls. Cocktails also come with one of four types of ice. The cube branded with a Spaceship Earth logo in front of you is my favorite. Because of course it is.
The lounge’s small bites are just as good. We got to try a half serving of the Truffled Ahi Tuna, served with Japanese whisky barrel-aged soy-truffle ponzu, citrus, scallion, tobiko, black sesame seeds. It’s light, tasty, refreshing. It’s good, though not quite a standout must-have every visit.
The Cannellini Hummus is a standout must-have every time. It’s a white bean hummus with pumpkin seed pistou, radish, preserved lemon, fresno peppers, and pappadam. It was so incredible I was torn between anger and awe while eating. It’s airy, delicious, and flavorful. I genuinely couldn’t believe how good it was and still can’t. It has basically ruined regular hummus for me.
The culinary team at GEO-82 said they crafted each dish so it will pare well with any of the signature cocktails. Both small plates I had that morning went well with the drinks they served. That included the bar’s delightful Zero Proof mocktail, A Walk Through the Garden. It’s made with Seedlip Garden 108 non-alcoholic spirit, basil, fennel, lemon, Hella Cocktail Co. Orange Bitters, the bitter truth celery bitters, and bubbles.
I would have drank a bucket’s worth, but GEO-82 is far too classy for that sort of serving size. Which is good. I guess…
I was caught off guard by how much I enjoyed the perfectly-balanced Electron. It’s made with Siete Misterios Doba-Yej Mezcal, carrot, cinnamon, lime, Hella Cocktail Co. orange bitters, and pink peppercorn. Mezcal is not my favorite liquor, but I thought the Electron was excellent in part because it’s not too smoky. It’s a really nice, sophisticated drink with great depth of flavor.
GEO-82’s Brown Butter Old-Fashioned definitely is my type of drink and it did not disappoint. It features Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon, brown butter, maple, Hella Cocktail Co. Mexican Chocolate Bitters. It’s a slightly sweeter variation of my favorite cocktail and I thought it was excellent. You can absolutely taste the butter, but it’s not overpowering.
I only wish I could have sat there for hours slowly sipping it. As though I have that kind of willpower.
In the afternoon I came back as a regular guest after making a reservation on my own. I didn’t get any inside help making that reservation, either. GEO-82 reservations are hard to get, but if you pay attention on the Walt Disney World app, spots can open up during the day thanks to cancellations. Even though it’s always booked out weeks in advance, I also kept seeing openings become available the week before I arrived. Obviously the busier the parks they harder those are to nab.
I had asked the head chef earlier what food I should try when I returned and he said as a Maryland native he was partial to his Jumbo Lump Crab Gteau. It comes with smoked cheddar, pickled mustard seed-lemon vinaigrette, and Supreme Caviar. I wanted 700 of them. Forget Walt Disney World foods. GEO-82’s Jumbo Lump Crab Gteau is one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life period.
I haven’t stopped thinking or talking about it since I finished my last bite. It’s incredible, light, satisfying, and bursting with deep flavor.
In the morning I’d also heard guests love the Brûlée Banana Highball and wanted to see why. Featuring Toki Suntory Whisky, Lustau ‘Don Nuño’ Oloroso Sherry, banana, coffee, cacao, and bubbles, it’s a nice, sweet, very banana-y cocktail. It’s also a one-and-done for me. It was thin and drinkable, but sweeter than I want from a cocktail. I like my cocktails to bring the alcohol to the forefront. But I can definitely see why others enjoy it.
Finally, after two wonderful trips full of opulence, elegance, first-rate service, and deliciousness, it was time. It was time.
I wasn’t even sure I was going to do it until the words, “Okay, let’s do it,” came out of my mouth. That only happened because my very friendly, very knowledgable bartender had finally convinced me. Just not in the way he meant.
He was the third employee at GEO-82 to tell me the same story about the Caramelized Leek Martini. I’d already discussed it with the manager on duty and with Stephanie Dold, Beverage Director at The Walt Disney Company. All three said the first time they drank the Caramalized Leek Martini they didn’t really love it, but that it grew on them. I didn’t think any of them were lying. I just wasn’t sure I totally believed them. The way they’d each said it made me think that they had come to tolerate the drink more than they’d come to like it. That’s not exactly an endorsement.
So what gave me that last nudge? My bartender said it tasted like French Onion Soup, the only onion-forward dish I do love. That got me to order the Caramalized Leek Martini, made with Fords Gin, Dolin Dry Vermouth de Chambéry, caramelized leek, and pickled onion.
Forget not being excited. I was prepared to have a truly awful culinary experience.
Then it arrived and it looked…..awesome. It’s a gorgeous drink in a gorgeous glass. You’d take a sip without even knowing what it is. (You’d also assume the tiny onion was simply a grape, so, you know, books and covers an whatnot.)
I was so positive I wouldn’t like this drink I didn’t record myself trying it. I wish I had because it’s….it’s good. Yeah, I know. I know. I’m still stunned.
The first sip was definitely weird and unexpected despite three different people telling me exactly what to expect. But even without those warnings, there’s no way I would have considered it “trash” or gross. It’s just unusual. It really does taste like a rich French onion soup made with gin. They key is that it has almost no viscosity. It’s one of the thinnest cocktails I have ever tried. If it had any thickness at all it would be like drinking gin onion soup and no one wants that. Instead it was like drinking onion-infused gin with a hint of sweetness that cuts through into the savory flavor profile.
I can’t say it’s my favorite cocktail ever, but I absolutely enjoyed it. The more I drank it the more I liked it, too. I would also absolutely get it again. It’s different and good. The more accustomed I got to its unlikely combination of flavors the easier it got to appreciate it. It’s definitely not for everyone, and no matter how many times some people try it that will never change. A savory cocktail, regardless of how elevated it might be, is not going to appeal to everyone anymore than a super sweet one does. (Though you might like the aroma if you’re ever there when they caramelize the leeks. The bar’s manager Chris told me you always know the second you walk in when it’s onion day because it smells amazing.)
Just listen to this one warning: do not bite the onion. I was told biting the onion and taking a sip creates a a very different experience. That is 100% true in the way that jumping into lava is a very different experience than jumping into water. :understatement like you have never seen before: I did not enjoy that. I’m still working on a new word to describe how much I did not enjoy it. Check back in a few years/decades. But once that pickled onion taste washed away I went back to enjoying the martini.
Was my first experience helped by the fact I tried it with both negative expectations and the detailed, informed expertise of staff who prepared me for its unlikely flavors? Of course. But neither of those could have made me like something I didn’t.
Even if I didn’t like it I’d be shocked by how divisive and controversial the onion martini has proven. I totally understand why some people don’t like it. It’s not like it was designed for “everyone.” But pure hatred seems extreme. There’s a big difference between, “Nope, this definitely isn’t for me,” and essentially yelling, “Abomination!” I don’t think there’s anything abominable about this. …Unless you bite the onion.
I love GEO-82. It’s gorgeous, elegant, and the overall experience justifies its prices. It might be expensive, but it doesn’t shortchange you in anyway from the moment you enter to the moment you leave. But while I’m not surprised a lounge inspired by EPCOT’s iconic attraction won me over, I am surprised I sincerely enjoyed the Caramelized Leek Martini.
Just like Spaceship Earth, I don’t care who knows that.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He’s thinking about GEO’82’s crab cake right now. You can follow him on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
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