Robert P
GLOBEX - taking over your world one country at a t
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2002
- Messages
- 2,550
REVIEW: RainForest Café (RFC) (located at Downtown Disney Marketplace area)
SUMMARY: Unexpected visit, but okay food, and better than average service for a RFC.
Staying at the Wilderness Lodge, and without dinner plans this night, we had called and made dinner ADR’s for House of Blues (HOB) at DTD. After braving the still present wind and rain from Tropical Storm Fay, and getting more than a bit wet in the process, we arrived at DTD via WDW bus. We chose to get off at the Marketplace bus stop, because we thought that the boats may still be running, despite the windy conditions, and we could huddle together on a boat, under a mass of ponchos, keeping reasonable dry, and disembarking with only a 50 yard walk to HOB. The Pleasure Island bus stop was much closer to HOB than the Marketplace bus stop, but walking in that much wind and rain was a guaranteed soaking anyway, and while we don’t mind getting wet while touring in the parks, sitting down in an air conditioned restaurant, wearing soaking wet clothes, is not a favorite thing to do.
Exiting the bus, and dodging the now increased rain, we rounded the front of RFC to see the chain gates up at the boat dock, and the sign saying BOAT DOCK CLOSED. Ughhhhh!!
So, with a momentary regroup under a building edge, we discussed other choices nobody was nuts about (all of which involved getting even wetter). Since we were right beside RFC,
and we had our Safari Club card with us, we said what the heck, and checked at the podium. Despite a more than half empty restaurant, and only 3 people in line, they said the wait was going to be 20 minutes. Since it would take us 15 minutes to walk to HOB, getting soaked to the skin, we begrudgingly said sure, why not. Grabbing our ticket, we browsed the gift shop for less than 3 minutes, before our party was called. Guess the 20 minute estimate was a bit off??? We were then lined up at the aquarium, and were seated in less than 5 minutes from that point.
Our server, Jessica, took a while to get over to us, but once she arrived, she was pretty good (especially when compared to the normal 'service' you seem to get at RFC). Since this was probably going to be our only visit to RFC on this trip, I splurged and ordered one of my favorite gimmicky drinks of all time, a Margarilla. The new glass this drink came in reminded me of some space aged champagne flute, which was distracting from the fact that the serving size is now smaller. I am positive that this glass is smaller than the glasses used in the past, but this tall glass presentation distracts well from that. At $7.99 per dink, it isn’t outrageous for WDW prices, but still, not cheap, especially considering that the glasses are getting smaller. My apologies for the 2 sips missing from the drink, but it took a couple of minutes before the quesadilla arrived, and I couldn't help myself. (Note: That does not qualify as a picture of half eaten food. It was an emergency melting overflow prevention action, taken on my part.)
Using our Safari Club card, we opted for the free appetizer quesadilla. Not my favorite appetizer here, with the thick pita bread thing going on, but edible, and the rest of our table liked it. Here is a closer view of just the appetizer.
For meals, the girls both chose the kids mini hot dogs. Tough to screw up hot dogs, so it’s a safe enough bet for the girls. (no pictures of the hot dogs, sorry).
Mrs. P went with the RFC Burger, what I would call comfort food in this miserable weather. She declared it to be ‘a little better than average’, and it did look tasty enough. The presentation was rather humorous, especially the pickle. (Notice everyone seems to be recoiling in horror, scared of what appears to be a very angry pickle.)
None of the entrees appealed to me at this visit, nor did the overpriced ‘featured specials’, so I kept it simple, and ordered the Awesome Appetizer, which is a combination of many different appetizers. As usual, it did not disappoint. The calamari and the Chimi Cha-Cha stood out this meal as being very good. The chicken tenders were good, and the crab dip was just okay. We even had enough left over to box up and take back to the room for later. Clockwise, from top, are Chimi Cha-Cha, Caribe Chicken, Big Blue Crab Delight, and Coastal Calamari.
Jessica kept the table clear, and the drinks refilled enough to keep everyone happy. We felt a little rushed near the end of the meal, not by her so much, but by the headphone wearing clipboard people (resembling the Borg with clipboards) who kept coming around looking for empty tables, but that's not unusual for anyplace trying for this high of table turnover (Resistance is futile). After our RFC discount (i.e. free appetizer), the total was about $65. Except for the smaller looking Margarilla, the thing that seemed most out of whack price wise was the sodas, at $2.99 each.
Interesting additional pictures.....
Psycho rogue elephant:
Perplexed gorillas: "Help me Dr. Zaius"
Summary: The meal was fine, with above average service for RFC. However, this visit seemed out of sync, almost forced, and maybe that’s because we couldn’t get to HOB as intended this night (due to the weather). In fairness, we felt like we got what we paid for here. But having dined at RFC now for many years, and sampled so many of the menu items, we may be giving it a rest on future visits. Without a decent sized killer Margarilla to look forward to, and the girls getting old enough to not be so entertained by the animatronic antics of the elephants and gorillas, I suspect we’ll try something new this Fall (maybe even the new T-Rex, if it opens on time). I’ve been a supporter of RFC in the past, with the varied menu and decent prices, but the prices have went up yet again on most items (since our April visit), and it is now approaching that realm of ‘not so good of value’.
On a closing note - in case you were wondering what happened to supporting characters, after they have retired from the Enchanted Tiki Room.
This bird looked crazed, and even more so by the strings holding him up. He was just in the very left corner of my field of vision, and I kept expecting him to divebomb our table at any moment.
SUMMARY: Unexpected visit, but okay food, and better than average service for a RFC.
Staying at the Wilderness Lodge, and without dinner plans this night, we had called and made dinner ADR’s for House of Blues (HOB) at DTD. After braving the still present wind and rain from Tropical Storm Fay, and getting more than a bit wet in the process, we arrived at DTD via WDW bus. We chose to get off at the Marketplace bus stop, because we thought that the boats may still be running, despite the windy conditions, and we could huddle together on a boat, under a mass of ponchos, keeping reasonable dry, and disembarking with only a 50 yard walk to HOB. The Pleasure Island bus stop was much closer to HOB than the Marketplace bus stop, but walking in that much wind and rain was a guaranteed soaking anyway, and while we don’t mind getting wet while touring in the parks, sitting down in an air conditioned restaurant, wearing soaking wet clothes, is not a favorite thing to do.
Exiting the bus, and dodging the now increased rain, we rounded the front of RFC to see the chain gates up at the boat dock, and the sign saying BOAT DOCK CLOSED. Ughhhhh!!
So, with a momentary regroup under a building edge, we discussed other choices nobody was nuts about (all of which involved getting even wetter). Since we were right beside RFC,
and we had our Safari Club card with us, we said what the heck, and checked at the podium. Despite a more than half empty restaurant, and only 3 people in line, they said the wait was going to be 20 minutes. Since it would take us 15 minutes to walk to HOB, getting soaked to the skin, we begrudgingly said sure, why not. Grabbing our ticket, we browsed the gift shop for less than 3 minutes, before our party was called. Guess the 20 minute estimate was a bit off??? We were then lined up at the aquarium, and were seated in less than 5 minutes from that point.Our server, Jessica, took a while to get over to us, but once she arrived, she was pretty good (especially when compared to the normal 'service' you seem to get at RFC). Since this was probably going to be our only visit to RFC on this trip, I splurged and ordered one of my favorite gimmicky drinks of all time, a Margarilla. The new glass this drink came in reminded me of some space aged champagne flute, which was distracting from the fact that the serving size is now smaller. I am positive that this glass is smaller than the glasses used in the past, but this tall glass presentation distracts well from that. At $7.99 per dink, it isn’t outrageous for WDW prices, but still, not cheap, especially considering that the glasses are getting smaller. My apologies for the 2 sips missing from the drink, but it took a couple of minutes before the quesadilla arrived, and I couldn't help myself. (Note: That does not qualify as a picture of half eaten food. It was an emergency melting overflow prevention action, taken on my part.)
Using our Safari Club card, we opted for the free appetizer quesadilla. Not my favorite appetizer here, with the thick pita bread thing going on, but edible, and the rest of our table liked it. Here is a closer view of just the appetizer.
For meals, the girls both chose the kids mini hot dogs. Tough to screw up hot dogs, so it’s a safe enough bet for the girls. (no pictures of the hot dogs, sorry).
Mrs. P went with the RFC Burger, what I would call comfort food in this miserable weather. She declared it to be ‘a little better than average’, and it did look tasty enough. The presentation was rather humorous, especially the pickle. (Notice everyone seems to be recoiling in horror, scared of what appears to be a very angry pickle.)
None of the entrees appealed to me at this visit, nor did the overpriced ‘featured specials’, so I kept it simple, and ordered the Awesome Appetizer, which is a combination of many different appetizers. As usual, it did not disappoint. The calamari and the Chimi Cha-Cha stood out this meal as being very good. The chicken tenders were good, and the crab dip was just okay. We even had enough left over to box up and take back to the room for later. Clockwise, from top, are Chimi Cha-Cha, Caribe Chicken, Big Blue Crab Delight, and Coastal Calamari.
Jessica kept the table clear, and the drinks refilled enough to keep everyone happy. We felt a little rushed near the end of the meal, not by her so much, but by the headphone wearing clipboard people (resembling the Borg with clipboards) who kept coming around looking for empty tables, but that's not unusual for anyplace trying for this high of table turnover (Resistance is futile). After our RFC discount (i.e. free appetizer), the total was about $65. Except for the smaller looking Margarilla, the thing that seemed most out of whack price wise was the sodas, at $2.99 each.
Interesting additional pictures.....
Psycho rogue elephant:
Perplexed gorillas: "Help me Dr. Zaius"
Summary: The meal was fine, with above average service for RFC. However, this visit seemed out of sync, almost forced, and maybe that’s because we couldn’t get to HOB as intended this night (due to the weather). In fairness, we felt like we got what we paid for here. But having dined at RFC now for many years, and sampled so many of the menu items, we may be giving it a rest on future visits. Without a decent sized killer Margarilla to look forward to, and the girls getting old enough to not be so entertained by the animatronic antics of the elephants and gorillas, I suspect we’ll try something new this Fall (maybe even the new T-Rex, if it opens on time). I’ve been a supporter of RFC in the past, with the varied menu and decent prices, but the prices have went up yet again on most items (since our April visit), and it is now approaching that realm of ‘not so good of value’.
On a closing note - in case you were wondering what happened to supporting characters, after they have retired from the Enchanted Tiki Room.
This bird looked crazed, and even more so by the strings holding him up. He was just in the very left corner of my field of vision, and I kept expecting him to divebomb our table at any moment.
Loving your sense of humor in your reviews!
