is The Rainforest Cafe worth it?

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

Here is a link to the breakfast menu (last update in January)

http://allears.net/dlr/din/menu/men_rfcb.htm

We had breakfast there a few years ago. I don't remember it being that crowded, but we did set up a priority seating time (or a reservation....whatever they call it). If you know you are going to eat there for sure, it can't hurt to have one. We made it for pretty early in the morning, and it got us up and moving....so we could finish eating and make it inside the park sooner.

Happy planning and have a great trip!

 

[rentayenta]

Here's my take: the food is akin to Red Robin or Chili's quality but with a great theme.

 

[canadadisney]

We've been there three times and I always leave thinking, "did I miss something?" Yet we keep going back. Food is okay. Make sure you ask for a good table or make a res. Once we were seated with a view of the emergency exit.

 

[Jagdcarcajou]

Heya,

Looks like you have lots of replies already, but here is my 2 cents.

For kids, the atmosphere is going to be fun. Lots to look at, lots of sounds, etc. Adults, not so much. It's loud and the novelty wears off pretty quick.

Food: If you have a Chili's near you, think of food slightly worse than that. That is Rain Forest. I had the crab legs many years ago and they were actually great, but last time I was there they were served luke warm and rubbery. Everything else my family ordered has always been "meh".

Service: Worst we had in the area every time we go. Service is slow, you might get one refill on your drinks, and they take forever to settle the bill.

Generally, ESPN is a better bet. Great arcade, better food, and I have always had better service there.

Hope that helps.

 

[mom2pirateNpooh]

I totally agree with Spacemermaid. If this is your only chance to get to an RFC, by all means try it! I think the breakfast idea is a good one. They open at 8 a.m. and hardly anyone is in the restaurant at that time. You can ask to sit near an aquarium (those seats can be hard to come by when it's very busy) if the gorilla and elephant are too scary. It's a wonderful atmosphere and a great little gift shop! Sometimes, when it is tremendously busy at RFC, like at lunch or especially dinner, you can end up outside, on the top floor, after waiting an hour for a table and there is almost no ambiance up there. You want to be inside somewhere, near some of the cool decorations. Breakfast is a good way to get the full atmosphere without the crowds, but the menu is much more limited in the morning.

I find the food to be good - the lunch and dinner menus have a wide variety of things. The chicken fried chicken is quite yummy. They have a drink (non-alcoholic) called the Rainforest Ricky (it's a delicious blend of all kinds of fruit juices), and you get to keep the glass it comes in as a souvenir. If you enjoy an occasional alcoholic beverage, there are plenty of fruity, frothy concoctions to try.

Excellent suggestion. DS3 is terrified of the animals at RFC, and we always ask for a table near an aquarium. We learned the hard way after he spent an entire meal hiding on my lap. If nothing's available near an aquarium, we ask to sit in the bar area. We invariably see other families with small children doing the same.

 

[kiwitinkerbell]

Hi from a fellow New Zealander! Definately go there. We've been tothe one in Downtown Disney at WDW a couple of times and really enjoyed it. It is so different to anything we have in New Zealand. The kids will love it and so will you. We found the food to be really good. Beware, the portions are huge! Have a great trip.

 

[mom4princesses]

Does anyone know how far in advance you can make a reservation (sine its not part of Disney dinning)?

 

[pixiewings71]

Don't go to ESPN....just don't. You want loud? ESPN was so much louder then we feel RFC is. We've had bad service, server was just neglectful and didn't come by much, but we've never had a meal we didn't like. We get the Maya Combo and DBF and I share it, we split the ribs and chicken and he eats the coconut shrimp (because I don't like coconut shrimp, if there was shrimp scampi on that dish we would share that too LOL), it's plentiful and it's good and it fills us up every time. We also like the cheese dip, it used to be crab but now the free dip is spinach, they did have the crab dip last time we were there but it wasn't free so we skipped it. The girls get pizza or DD13 gets shrimpkins, which is popcorn chicken and small breaded shrimp. Very good.

I've never done bfast there, we like that darn Maya Combo too much to change. LOL

 

[AZMyers]

We ate there our first day last year (even though we've been to the one in Minneapolis many times). We've already made plans to go again on our first day there. I also go every time we go to WDW as well. I don't know why, but to me it's part of the experience.

It's not the best place, but I always get good food and service. Yes, it is busy but last year we put our name down and shopped for a bit while we waited. Also, the wait time is less if you sit on the patio.

 

[Queen Elisabeth]

The food to us was so-so, not too bad. The atmosphere was pretty cool, although it took my daughter a little while to not be scared of the thunder, and then once she was okay with it, there was a problem with the fire alarm panel so all of the lights were on and the effects were off for most of our meal. After some persistence with the manager he took a percentage off of the bill, but it was like pulling teeth. We may try it again but we won't be breaking down the doors to go back. I had a lukewarm experience, but it was semi-cool I guess.

 

[blackjackdelta]

We ate there our first day last year (even though we've been to the one in Minneapolis many times). We've already made plans to go again on our first day there. I also go every time we go to WDW as well. I don't know why, but to me it's part of the experience.

It's not the best place, but I always get good food and service. Yes, it is busy but last year we put our name down and shopped for a bit while we waited. Also, the wait time is less if you sit on the patio.

What is the best place for the for the price, location, etc.

Jack

 

[crxrocks]

We were just there a couple of days ago and I can say it wasn't worth it. Maybe its just that we did it at the end of the trip and the kids were already jaded from seeing that sort of stuff all over the parks, etc, but they didn't really seem to care much about what was going on around us.

The food was so-so and the server was not good.

We won't be planning on visiting any RFC in the future.

Chris

 

[nana50]

When we went with a group of 17 (or 18 not sure) we had great service. We didn't have to wait for our table, and the servers were right there with refills, bringing out the birthday cake we brought etc. It was probably because we were such a large group and we went for the 5:00 seating that they were prepared for us. It was great though. The food.....well, it isn't Napa Rose but it was what we expected.

 

[Funball]

Aww the rainforest café thread. They have decent food. It used to be better. I think the whole atmosphere of the restaurant is Very cool with the “thunderstorm” and how the AA animals move. With out all that, I don’t think Rainforest cafe would be that great! They have funny seats at the bar area!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

We have been to the ones in WDW several times. Decent food, fun atmosphere. We don't have one near us so it is a "Disney" experience for us. I am bummed we missed TRex last year! My two cents is that you should go whether it is for a meal or just dessert.

 

[bumbershoot]

We just went to the (south of) Seattle location the other day, and their food is just about the same as at the DTD location.

Dislike the veggie burger (and told them so!).

Love the pita quesadillas (without the chicken), love them so much I want to marry them. Highly recommend them!

DS loves the cheese pizza there, and gets it every time we're there!


The DTD location is huge, and we prefer it to the WA location. DTD's is more open, not as close in, and that's nice for kids who might be too tired to really appreciate being *right* next to a moving elephant.


I do "rewards" sites, and am working on the Landry's cards to redeem for, because we do plan on visiting RFC and TRex at WDW, and we do visit RFC at DLR on about half of our trips (we don't always have the money for them).