Big Thunder Ranch BBQ

[jilld11]

Has anyone been there lately? My ds9 loves fried chicken and ribs so I thought it would be the one place he would love. I don't want to spend money on something not worth it, but for all you can eat I don't mind the price $24.99 or $27.99 or whatever it is. I just want to know if it is good and if we need reservations. I also want to go for the dinner not lunch as dd7 only likes sausages and I understand they are only at the supper, not lunch. Any suggestions woudl be helpful. Oh, I am looking to go on Sep. 22 (Sat.) , that is my ideal day, but could go Sep. 21 or 24 if that would be better for some reason.
Thanks,

 

[skiingfast]

I would make reservations as you don't want to show up and have to wait 30 minutes. You can probably make them the week or day before.

Just be aware the chicken is not fried, it's BBQ chicken like the ribs and sausage(dinner only).

 

[coaches24]

My favorite place to eat in DL by far. It is very worth it IMO.

 

[CMHusband]

if you like fried chicken - go to the Plaza Inn at the end of Main St.

The BBQ is okay - I don't really think it's smoked, just slow cooked. The sauce is a little strange tasting - which I find weird since I like just about ANY bbq sauce out there - but I found myself saying...hmmm, next time, bring a bottle of sauce in the back pack. The cole slaw is good, but I'm not really paying $25 bucks to eat cabbage. Would I eat there again? Yes. Do I ever think to myself "man I gotto go get some of those ribs at Disneyland? No. Instead I always seem to gravitate back to the Plaza Inn for that fried chicken.

 

[23bw]

if you like fried chicken - go to the Plaza Inn at the end of Main St.

The BBQ is okay - I don't really think it's smoked, just slow cooked. The sauce is a little strange tasting - which I find weird since I like just about ANY bbq sauce out there - but I found myself saying...hmmm, next time, bring a bottle of sauce in the back pack. The cole slaw is good, but I'm not really paying $25 bucks to eat cabbage. Would I eat there again? Yes. Do I ever think to myself "man I gotto go get some of those ribs at Disneyland? No. Instead I always seem to gravitate back to the Plaza Inn for that fried chicken.

This sums up how I feel about the Thunder Ranch BBQ too. But if you've never been and are curious, you still should give it a try for yourself.

Plaza Inn Fried Chicken!

 

[Malcon10t]

We enjoy the BBQ. We love the ribs and the beans. We usually make a ressie the morning of our visit for a time we know we want to go. We have also done walk up many times, never had more than a 10 min wait. But I prefer to call so we don't have to wait even the 10 mins.

 

[NiceOneSimba]

We really enjoyed it! It's not the best BBQ I've ever had, but it's very, very far from the worst. It was one of our favorite meals in the park.

 

[mouseymommy]

We were there a couple weeks ago. We made a ressie about 2 weeks out, and were not able to get our ideal time, but that was also during spring break. We really liked the ribs. In fact, our DS4 cracked us up by eating tons of ribs, and then with a look of desperation claiming "I need more ribs!!" We preferred to just get more ribs because we just got a bunch of chicken wings for the chicken. We really liked the beans, cole slaw and cornbread. The entertainment was really cute, and the have real brewed iced tea. We would definitely go back!

 

[blackjackdelta]

We saw folks waiting up to an hours when we were their this last summer. Reservation are easy make and save the hassle.

Jack

 

[Rlv]

It's good but don't be shy in asking for the food you want- ribs -chicken breasts,etc. It's family style but you are not limited to what they bring in the bucket which is a mxture of what's available.

 

[oklamomof4boys]

We ate there this past week, and we loved it- like we always do! The sauce on the ribs tasted like it had chili powder in it and one of the kids didn't like it too well. But they bring you a little saucer of sauce and it tasted more like what they were used to. We also go at dinner for the sausage. My boys like it so much on our next trip they want to go there 2 times instead of Goofy's Kitchen twice.

 

[GrandBob]

The sauce is a little strange tasting - which I find weird since I like just about ANY bbq sauce out there - but I found myself saying...hmmm, next time, bring a bottle of sauce in the back pack.

Is the sauce overly sweet? DW and I had the BBQ chicken baked potato at Troubadour Tavern, and neither one of us liked it at all. The sauce was sickeningly sweet - we didn't even finish our meals. We like BBQ with some tang. How would you describe the BBQ sauce at BTRBBQ?

-Bob

 

[albertamommyof4]

are you able to order some items without sauce? my one son isn't a fan of bbq sauce. Thanks

 

[disneylover2005]

Is it still a "character meal", with Woody and Jessie?

 

[mouseymommy]

Is it still a "character meal", with Woody and Jessie?

Woody and Jessie weren't there, but we saw them both just outside of the restaurant. They do have some people singing and playing piano though. The kids loved it. They even got to go on the stage and sing and dance with them. It was a good time!

 

[skiingfast]

Is it still a "character meal", with Woody and Jessie?

No, there is some on stage entertainment but it's no longer a character meal.

are you able to order some items without sauce? my one son isn't a fan of bbq sauce. Thanks

I've never done that, but it may be possible.

 

[3monkeys4me]

are you able to order some items without sauce? my one son isn't a fan of bbq sauce. Thanks

When we were there, June 2010, our waiter had no issues bringing out some chicken without sauce for our dd.

 

[elaw]

I've tried it several times and just don't care for it. It's an all you can eat buffet and I personally think the quality of the food is sub-par. Quantity over Quality.

 

[pixiewings71]

I've tried it several times and just don't care for it. It's an all you can eat buffet and I personally think the quality of the food is sub-par. Quantity over Quality.

It's not a buffet at all. It's table service, they bring the food to you. And I disagree 100% with the quantity over quality comment, I love the food at the BBQ, it's very good. It is all you can eat, served family style at your table, refills are brought to your table as well. Not a buffet.

 

[coaches24]

It's not a buffet at all. It's table service, they bring the food to you. And I disagree 100% with the quantity over quality comment, I love the food at the BBQ, it's very good. It is all you can eat, served family style at your table, refills are brought to your table as well. Not a buffet.

Very true. Not a buffett but it is all you can eat. And the quality of food when I ate there was terrific. The ribs were falling off the bone and melted in my mouth. The chicken was done to perfection. The sausages were very good (hard to screw up sausage unless you just dont like sausage). Im not a baked bean or coleslaw guy but the rest of my family loved the coleslaw and baked beans. I didnt think there was anything low quality about the food at all.