Dino-Sized Disappointment: Worst Restaurant at Disney World?
If Electric Umbrella isn’t the worst, what is? A reader asked this question on our Walt Disney World’s “Worst Restaurant” Is Not So Bad post. My stumbling answer listed a few possibilities, including Casey’s Corner, Lotus Blossom Cafe, and Restaurantosaurus. As I noted in my reply, the last one was my first instinct.
As we state in our full Restaurantosaurus Review, no one in their right mind should eat here with the excellent Flame Tree BBQ and Satu’li Canteen in the same park. Even if you have picky eaters with you, there have to be better options. It’s restaurants like this that give Walt Disney World dining a bad reputation, and Restaurantosaurus is one of, if not the, worst restaurants in Walt Disney World.
That pretty much says it all, but in fairness, it had been a while since we last dined at Restaurantosaurus (for reasons that should be obvious). Since we still had some bonus bucks left on a gift card after our adventures in dining at the “Mini Food & Wine Festival” at Animal Kingdom, we decided to head off to Dino-Rama to see what Restaurantosaurus is cooking up these days.
“Eager” to give Restaurantosaurus another chance and a fair shake, we opted to dine there over the wealth of other great options at Animal Kingdom. Actually, there was much consternation and debate about whether revisiting Restaurantosaurus was really necessary, or if literally every meal we’ve ever had there was evidence-enough of its terribleness.
Not one to miss out on an awful meal, we were joined by Josh of easyWDW.com, whose enthusiasm for skipping out on Flame Tree Barbecue in favor of Restaurantosaurus can charitably be described as “tepid.” However, this is the true roller coaster you sign up for when taking up Walt Disney World blogging. One moment you’re breathing the rarefied air at a new otter exhibit, the next you’re plummeting into Restaurantosaurus. So it goes.
Withholding further suspense about our exciting meal, I’ll start with the first entree. I ordered the Grilled Chicken BLT Sandwich: “Grilled Chicken Breast and Thick-cut Hickory-smoked Bacon, Tomato, Arugula, Spicy Aïoli, Toasted Parmesan Crumbles on a Brioche Roll and served with French Fries.”
The description sounds modestly ambitious, but that’s a ruse. The predominant flavors here are dry chicken and dry bun. The bacon is of the rubber and paper-thin variety, and I couldn’t even taste the aioli and parmesan crumbles over the dryness of everything else.
After a few bites to fairly judge baseline flavor, I loaded up with mushrooms and onions from the toppings bar. At least the sandwich was fine and filling with those enhancements.
Sarah ordered the Black Bean Burger: “Spicy Southwestern-flavored Patty on a Toasted Bun with Provolone and House-made Avocado Spread served with French Fries.”
I was cautiously pessimistic about this. We’ve seen strides in vegetarian options around Walt Disney World, but I didn’t expect that to extend to Restaurantosaurus. No surprise–it didn’t. It was about what you’d expect in a black bean patty from the grocery store freezer section, and none of the base toppings did anything to improve upon that.
Josh ordered the Grilled Chicken Salad with Mandarin Oranges and Cranberries: “Grilled Chicken on top of Mixed Greens tossed with Feta Cheese, Pecans, Mandarin Oranges, Dried Cranberries and Raspberry-Walnut Vinaigrette.”
He seemed reasonably content with this, and I won’t question that as the salad itself looked fine. However, I think the photos convey the dryness of the chicken, saying everything else that needs to be said.
We also ordered the Potato Soup. It was easily the best thing we ate, but that’s still not saying much.
In addition to our “interesting” entrees, Restaurantosaurus also serves the standard Angus Burger (elsewhere around Walt Disney World, this dry patty is wisely masked with other toppings), chicken nuggets, and breaded shrimp.
All of those things are Walt Disney World counter service staples found on menus throughout the parks. Everywhere you go, they are exactly what you’d expect them to be, for better or worse.
The reason there’s a question mark in the title is because I’m truly not sure which Walt Disney World restaurant is the worst. I do feel like making a definitive proclamation that Restaurantosaurus is the absolute worst restaurant at Walt Disney World would be hyperbolic. It’s simply not that clear-cut.
If I’m being fair, Restaurantosaurus has a few things going for it, including the free toppings bar. Piling anything high with toppings can mask even the worst sandwich, and improve the substance of a meal without increasing its cost. That’s huge, and one of the reasons why we like Cosmic Ray’s.
There’s also the drink refill station, plus the kitschy decor. While the latter will also be addressed in what Restaurantosaurus has going against it, this dining spot is the high point of Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama. And of course, everyone loves free, unlimited caffeine on a long day at Walt Disney World.
So what, potentially, makes Restaurantosaurus the worst? The menu is truly pathetic and has been for at least 5 years, so there’s that. It’s the epitome of stereotypical theme park fare, and virtually everything we’ve ever ordered there has tasted like it’s been dry-aged under a heat lamp for a duration best measured in days.
However, this same criticism could be levied at a handful of counter service restaurants at Walt Disney World. Every park has its “safe and bland” option, and these arguably serve an important purpose for fussy eaters or those beholden to their children’s palates.
Choosing a worst among those restaurants isn’t easy, but my tentative vote would go to Restaurantosaurus, even despite the toppings bar and decor. A big reason why is its quality relative to other dining options at Animal Kingdom. There’s an assumption that Walt Disney World’s best dining is in World Showcase, but for my money, the ‘most stacked’ counter service lineup is at Animal Kingdom.
Every restaurant is varying degrees of good or great…except for Restaurantosaurus. Relative to the other quick service options at Animal Kingdom, Restaurantosaurus is really bad. From a practical perspective, most visitors are only choosing among restaurants at the park they’re visiting. As such, that should be the key metric for evaluating dining. (We already grade Walt Disney World restaurants on a curve relative to other on-property options in terms of theme, quality, and price–extending that to individual parks is only logical.)
I’d go a step further and argue that even the fun and kitschy decor of Restaurantosaurus is a case of squandered potential. I’ve lambasted Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama for its half-baked theme and dumpster fire design numerous times on this blog (most recently as a dishonorable mention in my Tom’s Top 7 Backstories at Walt Disney World), so I’ll spare you that.
Usually, when it comes to Dino-Rama and Dinoland, I go easier on Restaurantosaurus. In an area of unmitigated awfulness, it is the unequivocal highlight. However, it’s still not good, and a meticulously-themed dinosaur restaurant could be so, so much better. Dinosaurs are one of the greatest subject matters ever, and they don’t deserve the theme park treatment given to them thus far.
On balance, is all of this enough to tip the scales in the “favor” of Restaurantosaurus as the worst restaurant in all of Walt Disney World? I’m not sure. That toppings bar is really compelling, and the decor makes lemonade out of the lemons that are Dinoland and Dino-Rama’s theme. On thing I can say definitively is that this is the Walt Disney World restaurant we are least likely to (willingly) revisit. There are just too many excellent alternatives at Animal Kingdom to waste your time with Restaurantosaurus.
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Your Thoughts
Are you a fan of Restaurantosaurus? Do you avoid it in favor of the superior options at Animal Kingdom, or is Restaurantosaurus a guilty pleasure for you? Or is it simply the most crowd-pleasing option for your family? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
we ate here last year, it was the worst experience ever at Disney! We had the Dining plan, and the person serving us gave us the food, I asked where the fries and drinks were. the staff member then told me that fries and drinks were not covered under the dining plan and we would have to pay for the extras. After a 10 min debate, the staff member slammed down fries and the cups for the drinks on the tray. I asked to speak to the manager, and was informed they didn’t have one on duty. We travel to WDW 2 – 3 times a year and have never met a cast member like this in the past 10 years….very disappointed. Will never eat here again!
Our kids loved the chicken nuggets in the bucket with the shovel at restaurantosaurus! We mobile ordered their resto meals while in line for Flame Tree BBQ. Everyone wins!
We went there for the kids’ meal with bucket and shovel too.
I disagree with your opinion of Casey’s Corner
I feel that all the food options are overpriced for the quality. It’s just such a shame that people are pretty much trapped into these food establishments. I wish they would bring in a good affordable hoagie place, or a McDonald’s or something in those lines.
I agree with Jim John’s on the being trapped feeling and don’t get me started on over priced of a conveyer belt food, every body needs to eat but do they have to empty your pockets at every turn, ruins the magic for me, never was this bad 4th trip here for us will not be coming back, so sad.
Wait- new otter exhibit?
You’re looking for a hoagie place, and your name is Jim Johns? Is this just a coincidence? Or are you shilling for Jimmy Johns sandwich shops?
I can honestly say I have never found any meal I have had at any WDW restaurant to be particularly bad. This includes restaurantasaurus, electric umbrella and cosmic rays.
All my family, excluding myself, are very fussy eaters and won’t try anything outside of the basic burgers and nuggets so these are the usual haunts for us but even I find something different each time to try and I do enjoy them. Occasionally I have a burger or chicken burger too and the topping bar is aways my first port of call. Not to mask anything but because I love having mushrooms etc on my burger.
As I said, never have we had anything from these places that we would rate as bad, though nothing out of this world either, they are middle of the road and that’s not at all a bad thing.
I disagree, based on entirely sentimental reasoning. Restaurantosaurus was the very FIRST restaurant I ate at on my very first trip to WDW. I was absolutely in awe!
I worked as a character performer back in ’06 on a CP, and Restaurantosaurus was by far my least favorite shift (out of ALL 4 PARKS) to be scheduled. We were supposed to keep to about 30 seconds per table, which I never could, and heaven help you if you come back late. I never had the food there, but it was certainly not a quality character experience for guests (maybe why they nixed that?). It was miserable then, sounds like it’s still miserable 13 years later. 2nd worst shift? Anywhere in Dinoland. I can’t believe that darn area is still puttering around.
Consider This..”….If all WDW restaurants were outside the Bubble, Would Any of them be Great ??? I Think Not!
I got great food and great service at all restaurants except Planet Hollywood. They are the reason I dont believe in mandatory tipping…..it makes for lazy wait staff and lousiest service ever!
Restaurantasaurus has the best chili around… it’s just amazing and full of flavor I recommend it to all.
I love Flaming BQ. I get the chicken and ribs. The birds have never jumped on the table while I was there. The Coleslaw could be changed to something else but I have no complaints other than that.
I like how you sounded informed but ultimately, you aren’t. Freedom of the internet I suppose.
I miss when AK had the picnic lunch that you could preorder and pick the time you wanted it!
The Worst Restaurant is by far The American Adventure Pavilion in Epcot. Why would Anyone eat there With many other great Cuisine around. You Have Morroco Restaurant with belly dancers , Italy Pizza and Pasta England Fish and Chips, Japan Hibachi, France Chef d’whatever. AND WE HAVE A CAFETERIA SETTING WITH BURGERS AND HOTDOGS For the Greatest Country in the World. GIVE NE A BREAK!!
I agree that the American pavillion is a terrible and unrealistic representation of American food… however, stating that it’s the worst food because of that? A bit over the top. The burgers there were juicy and flavorful. I don’t like hotdogs, so haven’t any opinion on those. The fried chicken sandwich wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but the flavor was good and it wasn’t dry. The fries are the same as everywhere else. The fried shrimp basket was pretty typical, but in no way bad. I figured it was the same as Columbia Harbour House in MK. I have not tried anything else there, but other family members have and nobody complained.
As you implied though, it’s rather insulting that the options in the American pavilion are so… drab in comparison to other countries. I’d love to see some NY Cheesecake, Louisiana dishes, Texas style BBQ, California style salads, Maine lobster on a stick, etc. And then name the dishes for different states or locations around our country.
That was my husband’s go to restaurant when American Adventure quick service had the strip steak. Unfortunately it was removed from the menu last time we were there. The pulled pork sandwich is pretty good for me but usually I pick up at the quick service in Japan and bring to America. They have a large seating area.
I believe, when AK first opened it was a McDonalds. I remember the Happy Meals had AK themed toys. That was great, back then. I really find it hard to believe that Disney could allow such a horrible restaurant to exsist on property. we were there last summer and it was awful. but we were tired, grumpy and starving!
Yes, would much prefer the McDonald’s to what we have now.
Yes, when I took my three middle children for their first trip in 2004 there were McDonalds kiosks. When I went back a couple years later they were gone.
We actually had a good counter service meal here when we were there in March. All the food was fresh and tasty, and the air conditioning was welcomed on a hot sunny day. Personally, I can’t say anything bad about the place. For the record, we also dined at Flame Tree on our trip and enjoyed that as well….
Restaurantasoris has a killer good brownie!
What about worst table service? I loathe Tony’s Town Square at MK. It’s like D list Olive Garden.
At least OG gives you unlimited breadsticks.
When I’m at the Disney World parks I like to get a salad. Flame Tree BBQ is the worst at any of the parks because I don’t like smoked chicken and the salad has barbeque sauce on it which I don’t like either, and the outdoor dining requires you to be constantly on the alert for birds jumping onto your table to get your food. My opinion the best salad at the Disney World parks is the awesome Energy Salad at Epcot Electric Umbrella. I’m curious if anyone knows other good salads at any of the Disney World parks (counter service only because I’m thrifty).
Is there a way you can do surveys? The comments have been really interesting on everyone’s opinions of what is the best or worst food options in Disney? I know there’s too many throughout Disney, but maybe by park? Just a thought as I really enjoyed reading your review and the many others who commented!
Thank you for your helpful posts and have a great day!
If you ever ate anything at MK in the 70’s, you would would think all the food at any Disney park or resort was great.
So. As someone who worked at Resto for my college program in 2017 I can 100% say that it is not only the worst place to eat but also the worst place to work. Because of “picky eaters” (lame excuse btw) it is easily the busiest place at DAK. Which means the cast in the back are working at a stupidly high pace to crank everything out, so a lot of the food does sit under heat lamps since so much of it is made at once. No one knows how to work a system there so a lot of the food is thrown out for not reaching temp after awhile. It has the worst back story in all of DAK, if no the whole WDW property… Dinoland’s story is literally about making money off of dumb tourists. I would be thrilled if they gutted Dinoland for another theme, I still don’t understand how anyone can actually think it lives up to disney standards.
all in all, The absolute worst place on Disney Property. Saying it has a/c or places to sit is an awful way to try and redeem this dino hell.
So….you’re not a fan then? LOL thanks for the interesting insight into behind the scenes…
Just wanna say that I love your name