T-Rex Cafe Review
T-Rex Cafe is a dinosaur-themed table service restaurant in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World that is aimed primarily at families with small children. It is literally set in a prehistoric world, with meteor showers and giant prehistoric creatures including dinosaurs and Woolly Mammoth. The cuisine is primarily standard American fare that will appeal to a broad cross-section of guests (menu). T-REX is a 1-credit restaurant on the Disney Dining Plan, but does not accept Tables in Wonderland. However, it does offer a 10% Annual Passholder discount.
To give some context to this review, I should probably introduce you to someone. Meet 8-year old…let’s call him “Lom.” A fan of dinosaurs since first learning about them via some seriously awesome fruit snacks (and trading cards that came with them) that he consumed like they were one of the 4 food groups (back then, there were only 4 food groups!), he experienced an event that forever shaped the future of the United States: Jurassic Park debuted in theaters. After watching–and re-watching…and re-watching…and–this masterpiece, he became obsessed with dinosaurs. Virtually all money he earned from chores was used to purchase Jurassic Park playsets; he made Jurassic parks out of LEGOs; he even created an “extra credit” mural in school that consisted of painting various dinosaurs and writing facts about them underneath (banish the thought that he was a teacher’s pet–one teacher made the incisive comparison of him to Calvin from Calvin & Hobbes, which was probably not praise). Suffice to say, dinosaurs weren’t just an interest, they were a way of life.
In case it’s not readily apparent, 8-year old “Lom” is me, circa 1993. Had this restaurant existed during my annual visits to Walt Disney World in the 1990s, I would have begged my parents to dine here. My mind would have been blown so hard I probably would have had to go to the ER. It would have been the highlight of my trip, and I would have evangelized to all of my friends back at school about “the most amazing restaurant ever,” imploring them to implore their parents to take a pilgrimage to this place that transcended its understated ‘restaurant’ label.
As an adult, I am still an avid dinosaur enthusiast. If I were ‘campaigning’ for a post with Imagineering, my platform would be “more dinosaurs” (and lasers). I can think of literally nothing at Walt Disney World that couldn’t be improved exponentially by the addition of copious amounts of dinosaurs. Frankly, I am distrustful of anyone who doesn’t think it’s a good idea to reallocate all of the money we spend on “science” towards finding ways to bring back the dinosaurs.
With that said, for all of my love of dinosaurs, I also dislike Rainforest Cafe. T-REX is by the same folks as Rainforest Cafe–Landry’s–which is also a restaurant group I strongly dislike (as anyone who has read my Yak & Yeti Review knows). I also have disliked Downtown Disney since Pleasure Island closed, although I find my position on this shifting as Disney Springs is taking shape and starting to look nice.
So basically, my intense passion for dinosaurs competed with three things I disliked, and the “dislikes” won out. UNTIL NOW…
During an afternoon on a recent trip to Disney Springs to check things out, I was by myself and in the mood for a burger and to see some dinosaurs. Actually, I’m not really sure if this is a “mood” per se, since I always want these two things. Regardless, I wouldn’t have to subject anyone else to the restaurant nor was there any wait to sit at the bar, so I thought I’d give it a shot.
Upon walking inside, I was instantly impressed. The relationship to Rainforest Cafe was quite clear. It’s a lot like that restaurant, except with the whole show and execution taken to the next level. Plus, it has dinosaurs, and everyone knows dinosaurs are way better than whatever dumb animals live in the rainforest.
There are numerous rooms, each of which have their own style and unique draws, and I’d hazard a guess that this lends to the repeatability of the restaurant, as each dining room offers a dramatically different experience.
Each room brings something different and engaging to the table, and I would have enjoyed dining in any of them.
I found the Ice Age room to be the most impressive, as to me it felt like a fully immersive room, like you were actually sitting in a prehistoric ice cavern. By contrast, there were other places that felt like they were decorated with dinosaurs, and the illusion could be broken by looking up. Not a major complaint, and something kids aren’t likely to notice, but worth pointing out, nonetheless.
To be sure, neither T-REX nor its cousin Rainforest Cafe are on par with the type of work Imagineering could do (if given the resources). Whereas the best Disney restaurants showcase a deft thematic touch that often means subtelty in design, T-REX is over-the-top, in-your-face fun.
Some of the dinosaurs and design are slightly on the cheesy side, but it absolutely does not matter, because above all else, the ambiance is a ton of fun. I’d liken it to a well done summer blockbuster film, which may lack the careful artistic sensibilities of an award-season movie, but that’s not its aim. Rather, like the blockbuster movie, T-REX just wants to blow stuff up and entertain.
On the subject of blowing stuff up–which T-REX unfortunately does not do–there is a ferocious meteor shower in one of the dining rooms every so often (it felt like maybe 20 minutes?) that is really loud and features darkness mixed with bright flashes of light. It was loud and bright even from the bar, so I can only imagine how it would be from the room itself. If you or your children are scared of loud noises and flashing lights, you should ask to be seated elsewhere. The restaurant is loud as a whole (which is a common complaint about it), but honestly, what do you expect–a candlelight romantic dinner with a violinist in the corner? This restaurant has freakin’ dinosaurs. You don’t go to Raglan Road and expect the live band or dancers to keep the noise down.
As for the food, as hinted at above, I only had one entree, so in that sense, you might not view this as much of a review. I disagree, given that the atmosphere here is absolutely the draw, and the environment is really the make or break element of the experience. Quite simply, I was satisfied with the restaurant before my food even came.
I ordered the Bronto Burger and was bracing myself for the worst–perhaps a rubbery burger that had been left sitting under a heat lamp, and that was the best-case scenario in my mind. Not only did the burger exceed my expectations (not all that much of an accomplishment given how low they were), but I actually enjoyed the burger. A lot.
The burger was well-sized, perfectly cooked, and didn’t seem like a frozen patty. In fact, everything about it seemed fresh. Based on the taste, I’m guessing it wasn’t exactly lean ground beef, but that was fine with me, as it had great flavor and didn’t taste overly-fatty. It was one of the better burgers I’ve ever had at Walt Disney World–unexpectedly delicious. Even the waffle fries were pretty good.
After the burger, I was emboldened. Much like a small dog that can devour a steak larger than it in a matter of moments, I can put down a lot of food, so I debated backtracking and ordering the appetizer sampler. Here’s where I should probably throw in some words of caution about T-REX: while you can have an inexpensive meal here, there are a lot of gimmicky things on the menu that can easily make this a very expensive meal. Many things glow, light-up, include a novelty souvenir, or have ‘smoke’ or other effects. I witnessed a few people next to me order these things after seeing another nearby party receive something with a cool effect. Your wallet will thank you if you just watch the show from afar, so be careful.
I decided this was a lot of money for just me, and I wasn’t that hungry, so I settled for dessert instead, and ordered the Cosmic Key Lime Pie.
This was more in line with what I expected from a Landry’s restaurant, with the pie tasting like it had come from a box purchased at Wal-Mart, and the whipped cream on top still having some ice crystals on it. It’s billed as “freshly baked”, but I highly doubt that. This key lime pie left me suspicious of the rest of the menu, wondering if my burger was just a fluke.
Overall, your takeaway from this review should be that the atmosphere of this restaurant alone makes it a must do for parents with small children who like dinosaurs. Ostensibly, it’s crazy to recommend a restaurant without regard for the food, but given the amount of money so many families spend at Walt Disney World to make lasting memories for their kids, perhaps it’s not so crazy after all. The cost of the meal here is insignificant in the grand scheme of a trip, and this restaurant will likely leave an indelible impression on its target audience.
Now, as for the food, you very well could have a great meal here, but I think it’s probably a ‘caveat emptor’ type of place. After my delicious burger, I’m willing to believe that anything is possible, but I can’t really offer a review or recommendation in that regard due to my limited experience with the menu. That’s why the score below is confined to atmosphere. Total cop out, but whatever. I’d recommend being mindful of menu prices–while T-REX can be a cheap meal, it also has the potential to be one of the more expensive restaurants on property if you get caught up in ordering gimmicky extras. To that end, I’d probably go for a entree-only meal with the safer options (burgers, ribs, fried stuff) and steer clear of the more nuanced dishes (steaks, seafood, fancy salads), getting dessert elsewhere, but that’s just me. At worst, it’s a really fun restaurant that families will enjoy. At best, it’s that plus a good meal, making it potentially one of the (I can’t believe I’m about to type this) gems of Walt Disney World dining.
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Atmosphere Score: 10/10
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Your Thoughts…
If you have dined at T-REX Cafe, what has your experience been with the food? Any menu recommendations? Did you and/or your kids enjoy the ambiance? Any other tips about the restaurant? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Just for the record there are two t rex cafes we annually go to the one at the legends shopping center in Kansas City, Kansas. So if KC is close to your home town you can get a magical experience without the Disney travel cost.
The food in KC has always been good. Be careful of wait times and call ahead for reservations are still probably good ideas waits for tables can be over an hour. But walking around seeing things takes a bite out of that wait.
We just visited T-Rex this month and could not have been more satisfied both with service and food not to mention atmosphere. I had the Omnivore’s Delight Salad and it was probably one of the best salads I have ever had, my husband had a burger and he said it was cooked perfect and very tasty our son’s was also and we shared the Dual Dip Appetizer, it was good but light on chips and just as we were going to ask for more our waiter appeared with a basket for us. Definitely got what we paid for, we will go again!
I ate there just a few weeks ago and got violently ill from the food
Your kid-self sounds a lot like my 4 year old – he has been obsessed with Jurassic Park since he was 2. OBSESSED. He watches the movie at least weekly. He wants to be a T-Rex when he grows up. We’ve eaten at T-Rex twice now (we’ve never been to Rainforest Cafe, however) and I’m always impressed by the level of detail. I mean – here you have WDW and Universal practically hiding their dinosaurs in super-dark rides, and yet this restaurant has them out in the open, moving and making sounds and I feel they look pretty good. I’m not a fan of the meteor shower (like you said, it’s loud, and the restaurant is already loud enough. One perk to this, however, is if your child misbehaves, no one can hear him!)
We’ve always been satisfied with our food, which surprises us. Last time I got a simple pasta with shredded zucchini and squash, and a light olive oil sauce (?) – if I wasn’t lazy I’d google the menu – and I actually crave it on occasion. In my small hometown, finding something comparable is impossible. Now this review has me ready to go back again soon!
We’re going to Disney World in November during the Free Dining promo. As you can imagine, lots of the really great table service restaurants have been gobbled up already. BUT we did grab a spot at T-Rex. I know from your blog not to get my hopes too high for the food, but hopefully the atmosphere will compensate for my Jurassic Park-aficionado hubby and our 5-year-old son.
T Rex is always a must do for our family. The theming is great, a lot less cheesy than Rainforest. The food isn’t the best you can get at Disney but it’s pretty decent, and again better than rainforest for sure.
I think that being affiliated with the other hurts its reputation a bit.
We ate at Trex in October with a party of 13. We were seated quickly and while I knew the atmosphere would be a hit, I was very skeptical about the food. it was wonderful!! We got a massive variety appetizer dish and passed it around for all. Everyone enjoyed their meal! We spent lots of time walking around checking out the rooms. You have to go thru the ice cave room to get to the bathroom so all of the kiddos kept swearing they had to go back to the bathroom! I would definitely go again!
I’d opt for the Meteor Bites for dessert the next time you go to T-Rex. They were fresh and delicious (not as good as the donuts at Typhoon Lagoon, but definitely good)! ~ Meteor Bites for Two- Warm chocolate and vanilla donut holes dusted with powdered sugar. Served with caramel and chocolate sauces for dipping. 8.99
“…everyone knows dinosaurs are way better than whatever dumb animals live in the rainforest.” = my favorite line in the article 🙂 That being said, my kids do love T-Rex. We opted for Cookes of Dublin on our last visit and we can’t wait to go there again, highly recommend it for your next trip to DD.
I took my brother a few years ago who loves dinosaurs.
Being afraid of crappy food, I also got a burger. It was absolutely amazing. Seriously one of the best burgers that I have ever had. Grilled perfectly, fresh meat, etc My wife got a beautiful salad. I was surprised. If you love dinosaurs, it is a must do. If you get dragged along, the food is pretty good!
We’ve eaten at T-Rex several times. My boys are now 15 and 13, and they both say T-Rex is a must-do. I agree that the atmosphere is great. As for food, my experience is hit or miss. The first time we ate there, we were amazed at how good the food was. Also it was my younger son’s birthday, and the server was great about making a point of noticing and wishing him a happy birthday.
Our next trip, we were all drooling with expectation. Well, I had steak and it was so tough I barely ate any of it. Also, it was my other son’s birthday, which I noted in our reservation and he had a birthday pin on. The server didn’t even acknowledge it. Not a huge deal, but would have been nice to say something about it.
We went again this past summer, and I got the french onion soup instead of a meal. My soup was great, and my husband and boys enjoyed their food as well.
No surprise with regard to the steak being tough. Fatty and/or tough steaks seems to be one of Landry’s specialties!
We made an unplanned stop at T-Rex Cafe on our most recent trip to Disney (three weeks ago). My three boys (6, 4, 2) absolutely loved the “dig” outside — we played for almost an hour while we waited for a table.
I completely agree about the inside being scary for some kids — my four year old who absolutely LOVES dinosaurs refused to walk in further than a few feet. We had to request a different table (they were walking us to the back). While they were accommodating, it seemed to surprise them that someone would request a table at the front — maybe they don’t get this request often? They had us wait in the hallway (in the way) for about five minutes while they arranged a new table for us.
The food was very much Landry’s food. I ordered one of the summer specials (Chicken Kebab) and my meat was still raw. The waitress was great and quickly brought me a new plate and the manager came over to make sure it was cooked fully. I’m guessing it’s the sheer size of the restaurant (and the 800 person capacity) but it took a LONG time after placing our order for our food to arrive (almost another hour).
It was fun to visit once and we’ll definitely go back to play in the dino pit but we will find somewhere else to dine at Downtown Disney.
Whoa, I had no idea this restaurant had an 800 person capacity. I mean, it’s clearly large, but that’s pretty insane. No wonder the food is inconsistent–even a highly skilled kitchen would have serious trouble keeping up with that many patrons.
My family dined at the T-Rex cafe earlier this month and enjoyed almost every aspect of it (except the tab). I dined on the shish-kabobs and my wife really enjoyed her steak and seafood combo platter. My 8 and 6 yr olds… well, it’s hard to screw up noodles and chicken fingers. The ambiance was what you would expect of a dinosaur themed restaurant; loud, colorful and active. I had just bought a new DSLR camera (Nikon D3300) and per the instructions of our server, I walked around the entire restaurant taking many pictures. I’m sure that was annoying to the people seated next to the more popular dinosaurs, but I would not consider my behavior out of place. My wife and I each had a mixed drink, which I would not order again. Sugar water with a touch of alcohol. I would order a beer next time, or just get a pop.
Overall, I would rate this restaurant a 9.5 out of 10. It was a bit pricey, but our food more than made up for that, the atmosphere was fun and our kids loved it. I can think of many other places where I could blow $150.00 and not see one dinosaur or one meteor shower.
“I can think of many other places where I could blow $150.00 and not see one dinosaur or one meteor shower.”
This made me laugh out loud. Next time I spend that much on a meal at a different restaurant, I’m complaining to the manager about the lack of dinosaurs and meteor showers! 😉
I popped in here to check out the decor and have a cocktail at the bar, definitely preferred it to Rainforest!
Hmmmm…adding copious dinosaurs to everything at Magic Kingdom? How about a dinosaur version of Haunted Mansion? It could be full of dinosaur ghosts! Awesome, right?
I can GUARANTEE with 11000% certainty that the reason this isn’t a real attraction is because it would have 6 hour waits at all hours of the day and 79 guests per day would have to receive medical attention after awesomeness ODs.
Great idea, but totally impractical, Lisa. C’mon…be realistic! 😉
I have a 9yr old who seems very similar to “Lom”. We aren’t doing Disney this year but are going to try the T-Rex Cafe in Kansas City on our vacation later this summer. It looks really cool but I’ve been concerned about the food quality. Maybe I’ll raise my expectations a bit now.
I think it’s fair to say that many of my interests as an adult are pretty similar to those of an average 9 year old. That either means I am really immature, or 9 year olds have AWESOME TASTE IN STUFF. 😉
Another review that nailed it Lom…err….I mean Tom. Like you we are not fans of Rainforest Cafe but love the theming of T-Rex. While the food is overpriced (even by Disney standards), it’s not awful food. Some of it is actually good. We’ve had good burgers and the entree salads along with their other sandwiches with good luck. Our kids are older, yet being big Dino fans since they were little, they still like the the Dinos here. We too prefer the Ice Cave.
Not everything is overpriced…it’s just that the full meal tends to be expensive if you go for their main entrees, any of the “cool” drinks, or special desserts. I’ll bet the final bill surprises a lot of people who go to T-REX, because all of those things can really add up.
My burger was ~$15. Given its size and quality, I didn’t think that was too bad. Only a few dollars more than average counter service.
We ate there two years ago as a party of nine. It was cool for maybe the first hour, but being there for three hours total after a long, sweaty day in the parks, we were dying to get out of there. It could be having three children with us or just exhaustion from the week, but we weren’t big fans. Maybe we’ll try it again since we know what we’re getting into now.
Thanks for the review. I’ve always wanted to go here, but it being Landry’s scared me off. I love Dinosaurs (how stoked are you for Jurassic World? I am more than excited!), so maybe I will convince my fiance to go sometime.
On a side note about Disney Springs, do you have any plans to review The Boathouse? My fiance and I are wondering whether to make reservations there, but we haven’t found very many reviews about it yet.
I love T-Rex. I too ate there by myself the last time I was at Disney and it was a blast just to look around and enjoy the insanity. It’s big, loud, and dumb, but in the best possible way. It’s like what you imagine Pizza Planet should be like, it you swapped out arcade games with dinosaurs. The food isn’t really the reason to go, but it’s tons of fun and a great choice for kids…and 25 year olds.
I agree about Pizza Planet. When I was a kid, we had a restaurant in the town next to mine called Pizza in Space, which was really similar to Pizza Planet in Toy Story. Pizza wasn’t that great, but it had space ships, robots, aliens, a three giant jungle gyms, a mini-golf course, and arcade games as far as the eye could see. So when I heard about a Pizza Planet being put in at DHS, I was stoked with memories of child hood. But when I got there, it was super lame. It should of been one of those places that is Go Big or Go Home, and instead they went mediocre. Maybe they will expand it during the revamp at DHS.