It’s Labor Day Weekend in Disney World, and you know what that means…LOTS of people are going to be hitting the parks. That means if you’re also heading to the parks, you can expect crowds and long lines, all in the heat and humidity of Florida.

Raglan Road

But what if we told you there was something else you could do in Disney World this weekend without even needing to buy a park ticket or stand in a long line? Well, there is! The Great Irish Hooley has returned to Disney Springs, and it’s a great way to escape the crowds, the heat, and the high price of a park ticket.

The Great Irish Hooley is an annual tradition at Raglan Road. It’s a roots-revival music festival where you can catch some of the top Irish bands performing on indoor and outdoor stages at the restaurant throughout the holiday weekend. It runs from September 4th through September 7th, and we got an early sneak peek at this year’s festival!

The Great Irish Hooley is here!

Live music starts at 4 PM on September 4th and runs from 11 AM to midnight for the rest of the weekend. You’ll be able to see some great Irish performers this year, including:

• The Consequences
• Folk Division
• Plain Sailin
• Men of Aran
• Adam Sheahan
• Northern Crossing
• Raglan Road Dancers

Live music

You also can’t have a festival without food and drinks, so Raglan Road will be offering up its full menu throughout the weekend, including the Rollicking Raglan Brunch at 9 A.M. on Saturday and Sunday. There are also brand new fall and Halloween specials debuting this weekend, and we got to try them!

Check out the 81Bay Brewing Company’s Booo! — Pumpkin Cream Ale ($10.75). Y’all…this is like pumpkin pie in a glass. The cream comes through with notes of cinnamon and pumpkin. It’s a light ale, too, so even non-beer drinkers might appreciate these autumnal flavors.

Pumpkin Cream Ale

We also had a chance to enjoy the Samhain Sangria ($18). It’s made with The Whistler Irish Whiskey and Pinot Grigio, shaken with apple cider juice and house-made cinnamon syrup, topped with a bubbly Magners Irish cider float. This drink is WICKED, and we mean that in the best way possible. The whiskey is so smooth that the flavors of the Pinot Grigio and apple cider come through beautifully. This is also a drink that’s hard to sip because it tastes SO good, so you’ve been warned.

Samhain Sangria

You’ll also be able to enjoy some new Halloween-themed bites created by Raglan Road’s culinary team. We got to try the spooky Bandaged Bangers ($19.45), which are mini sausages bandaged in golden pastry, served with a cherry buffalo sauce. So you’ve basically got spicy little sausages wrapped up in a perfectly crispy pastry. They’re also served with a cherry buffalo sauce, which is tangy, bright, and spicy. The little sausages aren’t just cute, though; they’re also well-cooked.

Bandaged Bangers

We also got to try the Black Barrel Whisky Rib ($25.45), which is a half rack of slow-cooked pork ribs, coated in a Jameson Black Barrel whisky glaze, served with a side of Guinness glaze and topped with crispy onion strings. Boozy meat, y’all. The rib is spicy and sweet, and the meat is so tender that it falls off the bone. It’s also got the perfect crispiness on the outside. The crispy onion strings are just a perfect addition. This is one of those dishes that’s made with an adult palate in mind.

Black Barrel Whisky Rib

Then it was time for Raglan’s Ghostly Guinness Pie ($19.45), which is puff pastry surrounding braised beef, wild mushrooms, and slow-cooked Guinness gravy, garnished with a sweet onion puree. The pie crust is flaky but sturdy. The beef stew filling is tender and robust. This is something we’d want to eat on a cold, wintry day. Our only complaint is that we wanted more mushroom flavor.

Ghostly Guinness Pie

We tried the Perfect Little Pumpkin ($13.45) for dessert. This gluten-friendly treat is a pumpkin and gingerbread cheesecake with peach compote on a chocolate soil. The cheesecake is creamy and smooth, and you really get a strong pumpkin flavor. The peach adds a bright aftertaste that isn’t so sweet that it overpowers the pumpkin flavors. The gingerbread is crispy with just the perfect amount of spice. This dessert is so refreshing, and it’s the perfect finish for a fall meal that won’t leave you feeling heavy afterward.

Perfect Little Pumpkin

You can also get Irish Pumpkin Shake ($16). It’s Raglan’s signature Baileys shake featuring pumpkin spice and topped with cinnamon cold foam. Okay, so the Baileys shake is already perfect, but now they’ve added the taste of fall? We can’t EVEN. It’s creamy, delicious, and those spices really take the standard shake up a notch. We’ll take THREE!

Irish Pumpkin Shake

There is no additional charge to attend the Great Irish Hooley, but reservations are highly recommended.

REVIEW: As If We Needed Another Reason To Love Raglan Road at Disney Springs

Have you ever attended the Great Irish Hooley at Raglan Road? Share your experience in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Raglan Road to attend their media preview of the Great Irish Hooley. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ