Big Thunder Ranch BBQ

[Teki]

I know that for a while this was celebration round up, but have heard it is no longer. I will be going in June 2011 and thought this might be fun to take my DBF for his birthday as he loves BBQ is that a good idea? What can I expect fromt his resturant?

 

[Dziactor]

I'm a big BBQ fan and I didnt think that highly of it. The activity was nice for my son but the food wasnt great. There is better in OC for good BBQ.

 

[skiingfast]

It doesn't have characters anymore. But for table service it's one of the few DL choices. It's the only dinner and show in the parks.

It's basic BBQ fare. Coleslaw, Beans, and Corn on the cob. Chicken and Ribs, for dinner they add Sausage. Fairly simple and dessert is extra.

 

[pixiewings71]

You actually don't get corn either if you go for lunch but lunch is cheaper. It's all you can eat and drinks are extra as well as dessert. DBF and I love love love this BBQ! It's very good!! But the girls don't like BBQ that much so we usually let them go somewhere else while we eat and eat and eat.....lol Usually when we do this BBQ it's our only actual meal of the day, we will snack before and after but we like to go at 11 and eat up. I'm not kidding, we went once for lunch, just he and I (the girls went to the Golden Horseshoe and had chicken strips) and we had 4 refills of food. lol We like sitting outside and listening to the campy music that's performed, it's fun.

 

[blackjackdelta]

You actually don't get corn either if you go for lunch but lunch is cheaper. It's all you can eat and drinks are extra as well as dessert. DBF and I love love love this BBQ! It's very good!! But the girls don't like BBQ that much so we usually let them go somewhere else while we eat and eat and eat.....lol Usually when we do this BBQ it's our only actual meal of the day, we will snack before and after but we like to go at 11 and eat up. I'm not kidding, we went once for lunch, just he and I (the girls went to the Golden Horseshoe and had chicken strips) and we had 4 refills of food. lol We like sitting outside and listening to the campy music that's performed, it's fun.

I have to agree. We all loved the food. I am not a big eater but found myself eating more than usual. We did the dinner and there was a 40 minute wait the day we went for those who did not make reservations.

Jack

 

[summer0407]

Is this opened year round? We tried to go in August but did not have reservations and we showed up to late to get in. Looked like it was all outdoor seating. We will be going in December and my DH loves BBQ so I thought it would be a good idea but not sure if it will be open. Does it close down if it rains?

 

[lilpooh108]

Does anyone have pictures of the food? I looked at Yelp and the pics looked pretty good...wanna see some DIS'ers pics

 

[oc_tony]

Does anyone have pictures of the food? I looked at Yelp and the pics looked pretty good...wanna see some DIS'ers pics

Here's the review of our experience that I wrote for the DIS blog this past summer. It includes pictures.

 

[23bw]

The food is decent but nothing spectacular. When I think BBQ, it should be grilled outdoors on a grill. The food here is basically oven baked meats with BBQ flavoring and sauces. Even my local Lucky's supermarket does a better BBQ.

Lunch for 2 adults and 2 childen ran us $80 after tip. We won't be going back.

 

[lilpooh108]

Here's the review of our experience that I wrote for the DIS blog this past summer. It includes pictures.

Thanks for the review! Did you get 10% w/AP? For some reason, I did not see the BBQ listed as an AP discounted restaurant. We have SoCal APs.

 

[pixiewings71]

It is all outdoor seating, I imagine in the rain they will close it down and yes it can get cold out there. It is opened year round tho, we ate there in December, January, summer months and fall as well....we didn't eat there every trip but we did eat there a lot. We did get a %, we had PAP's and yes we got a % on our dining there. I find it interesting that 23bw says it's oven baked, did you ask 23bw? Because most of the times we ate there we walked by, smelled the BBQ smoke and instantly wanted to eat there. And yes Jack, I eat a lot more then I usually do when we eat there......I don't normally eat 2 plates let alone 3 or 4 but that one time I sure did and man I loved every single bite of that....I love the beans they serve, the cole slaw is the BEST I've ever had (DBF hates cole slaw and he loves it there) and the ribs.....sooooo good.....

 

[Mulan's Ma]

My family opted not to eat there when we saw the prices. My 10 year old was considered an "adult".

 

[pixiewings71]

My family opted not to eat there when we saw the prices. My 10 year old was considered an "adult".

All children 10 and up are considered adults for Disney, whether you're buying a park ticket or food. This is part of why we like that DD14 & DD10 chose to eat elsewhere when DBF and I go here, they will no where near enough food to cover the adult price we would have to pay for them. And since they don't like it and since we are so familiar with the parks we have no issues splitting up for a meal.

 

[jimreuter]

I can answer a couple of the questions.

The Ranch does close when it rains more than a bit. Tuesday it opened at 11:30, quickly filled up for lunch, and then started shutting down about 1:15 when the rain became too heavy - eventually remaining closed for the day as the rain seemed unlikely to abate. Wednesday, The Ranch (as well as Carnation Cafe and Cafe Orleans) never opened because of the rain.

APs get a 10% discount, 15% for Premium APs. There is also a 10% discount for Disney Rewards Visa cards.

 

[auntiedot]

Just got back from DL last night and had a great time. I took my GD to the BBQ for her 11th birthday since she loves ribs. What a disappointment. I paid dearly for her to take a few bites of her food but more importantly it wasn't much of a birthday celebration dinner. The food presentation was poor, the service was slow and the entertainment mediocre. I would not recommend this place.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Just got back from DL last night and had a great time. I took my GD to the BBQ for her 11th birthday since she loves ribs. What a disappointment. I paid dearly for her to take a few bites of her food but more importantly it wasn't much of a birthday celebration dinner. The food presentation was poor, the service was slow and the entertainment mediocre. I would not recommend this place.

We were there all last week and had the completely opposite experience. The entertainment was Hillybilly which it has been converted, we stuffed ourselves and had to wait for nothing. Sorry your was not what you had expected.

Jack

 

[Hawleys]

Hold yer horses! Billy and the Hillbillies are playing at Big Thunder BBQ now?!?!

Did I understand your post correctly? That change will be a huge draw. Are they still playing at the Golden Horseshoe as well?

 

[blackjackdelta]

Hold yer horses! Billy and the Hillbillies are playing at Big Thunder BBQ now?!?!

Did I understand your post correctly? That change will be a huge draw. Are they still playing at the Golden Horseshoe as well?

It was Hillbilly type of music not the people who play at the golden horseshoe.

Jack

 

[pixiewings71]

Just got back from DL last night and had a great time. I took my GD to the BBQ for her 11th birthday since she loves ribs. What a disappointment. I paid dearly for her to take a few bites of her food but more importantly it wasn't much of a birthday celebration dinner. The food presentation was poor, the service was slow and the entertainment mediocre. I would not recommend this place.

Not our experiences with the BBQ, of course experiences vary all the time but we've always enjoyed our time at the BTRBBQ.

We were there all last week and had the completely opposite experience. The entertainment was Hillybilly which it has been converted, we stuffed ourselves and had to wait for nothing. Sorry your was not what you had expected.

Jack

Hold yer horses! Billy and the Hillbillies are playing at Big Thunder BBQ now?!?!

Did I understand your post correctly? That change will be a huge draw. Are they still playing at the Golden Horseshoe as well?

No, the entertainment is simply a country/western theme....they play guitar and piano and sing some twangy songs. LOL Billy Hill and the Hillbillies are only at the Golden Horseshoe.

 

[Hawleys]

It was Hillbilly type of music not the people who play at the golden horseshoe.

Jack

Well I feel a bit sillybilly.

Thanks for explaining.