It's gonna take a lot to take me away from this view! 7/10 - Finished!

[teekathepony]

We went to our next ADR location and checked in, before I could get any pictures of where we were, we were lead in and seated.

IMG_0869 by teekathepony, on Flickr

T-REX!

We were so excited for this meal. We both really liked Rainforest, and we're both huge Dinosaur geeks, and essentially two big kids so... yeah.

We were seated in the Fire section, next to the Ice Cave. It was a great spot, we were basically in the center of the restaurant and could see everything.

IMG_0870 by teekathepony, on Flickr

IMG_0873 by teekathepony, on Flickr
(Before the fish tank busted! )

IMG_0874 by teekathepony, on Flickr

I can't remember what Johnny got. I got the fish & chips for something a little different.

IMG_0878 by teekathepony, on Flickr

The waffle fries were deeeeeeeeeelicious, and Johnny got one shaped like a heart.
IMG_0877 by teekathepony, on Flickr



Of course I could barely eat anything. The low appetite that haunted me all trip was out in full force today! So for dessert (which I wouldn't have ordered but we were on the dining plan so, you know, might as well!) I took it easy and ordered:

Sorbet Sampler - Mango and raspberry sorbet topped with raspberry sauce and mango puree and served with a chocolate covered wafer $6.99
IMG_0882 by teekathepony, on Flickr

It hit the spot but I was wishing it had a little less flavour. I should have just ordered crushed ice.

Johnny went all out and decided on:

Ice Age Indulgence - Layers of ice cream sandwiches, fudge sauce, whipped cream and Heath Bar Crunch $8.99
IMG_0880 by teekathepony, on Flickr

The thing was laughably huge. He didn't even come close to finishing it, in fact I doubt he finished half!

[Review: Dining

Restaurant: T-Rex

The food: The selection here is great, lots and lots of choices. Both of us loved our food, big portions (too big if you ask me, but I know lots of people like big portions), very tasty, served very fresh and hot.

5/5 *****

The service: This is a BUSY restaurant, but they've got the staff to cover it. We never waited long for anything. Our waitress was never rushed, we never felt rushed in any way, and she was very friendly and attentive. Excellent service!

5/5 *****

Atmosphere: Seriously, so, so, so cool. If you want quiet or relaxed, absolutely do not go here. But it's big and loud and a lot of fun. I can definitely see how kids would love it, but we loved it too! Don't go if you have a headache though. When the meteor storms hit, it gets loud!

5/5 *****

We loved this place so much that of only TWO restaurants planned for our upcoming trip, this is one of them. I can't wait to go back!]

We left feeling happy and full!

We only had one more stop before leaving DTD and that was Basin, where we did a bunch of Christmas shopping.

Then it was back on a bus and back to our rooms to prepare for the evening's plans!

 

[KatMark]

Wendy, a fun update even without a lot of pictures.

We have something in common...the Christmas store is my favorite (and I come home with more than one ornament every year).

I hate going into that Lego store...it is ALWAYS a nuthouse.

LOVE the Mickey shoes.

Now you have me rethinking TREX. We are not fans of Rainforest (we've eaten at the one in Chicago and in Las Vegas and was not impressed). I figured TREX was probably very similar. But I have to say yours is the first review that has me reconsidering. Maybe we will put that on the list for our 2016 trip.

Those waffle fries look amazing.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Disney and Christmas together -- who could ask for anything more??

NOBODY... except for maybe Disney and Halloween.

Survived > Conquered! YES!!!!! I swear that shirt will outlive me. I guess I should just be thankful they didn't rip me off

T-REX is definitely a place I'd like to visit. I've seen the outside enough already. Waffle fries... YUM!

 

[MidnightParade]

Yay update! Although sad it's almost over

Thats weird that Pickle tree ornaments aren't a thing in Germany! lol, will have to ask next time your in the german pavilion.

Yay Mickey Crocs! Although boo for heel rubbing. I'm so paranoid of that!

Okay so you have sold me on T-Rex! Next trip it will be considered....unless I do it on our Disney Quest day... Bah! Stop it!!

 

[annegirl]

The christmas pickle thing is funny.
I have a friend who lived there for a couple of years and he said the same thing.
But when I learned about it in high school, it was from my German teacher from Germany.
So I figure it must be only parts of Germany or certain families that have it as a tradition.

 

[natebenma]

Cute comment about Johnny posing like a toddler. I love that!

The Lego Store and T-Rex. That's our DTD itinerary.

The food at T-Rex is surprisingly good. And portions are HUGE! You figure at a place where the draw is the décor, the food might suffer, but we have been pretty pleased.

Sorry to hear you weren't quite feeling up to the challenge.

OMG- Johnny's dessert is insane! (In a good way)

 

[TanzUnited99]

Great updates!

Love the Christmas pics again (ha ha) and I've never eaten at Rainforest Cafe in Disney so it's nice to read your review of the place. Them fries sounds delish and did I read right...that you had a low appetite on this trip?!! What's going on??

 

[eeyore04]

We only had one more stop before leaving DTD and that was Basin, where we did a bunch of Christmas shopping.

Looks like you guys had a blast despite you not feeling good and those sandals.

I love the fact that you went to Basin This is where the information fairy came in handy

 

[geckodani]

Can you believe I have never been in Basin? It's on my list for October!

 

[teekathepony]

Wendy, a fun update even without a lot of pictures.

Thanks Kathy! Glad you enjoyed it

We have something in common...the Christmas store is my favorite (and I come home with more than one ornament every year).

Cool! It's such a lovely store! I usually come home with more than one ornament too! Haha

I hate going into that Lego store...it is ALWAYS a nuthouse.

Me too. Johnny always wants to go in because, you know, he's never actually grown up.

LOVE the Mickey shoes.

Me too, I had them away for the winter and just dug them out again last week, they're so cute!

Now you have me rethinking TREX. We are not fans of Rainforest (we've eaten at the one in Chicago and in Las Vegas and was not impressed). I figured TREX was probably very similar. But I have to say yours is the first review that has me reconsidering. Maybe we will put that on the list for our 2016 trip.

Those waffle fries look amazing.

Well, I will definitely say that it's a lot like Rainforest. We loved both though and I would definitely highly recommend T-Rex! I'd hate to recommend it and see you not enjoy it, but we really did love it there, food and all

NOBODY... except for maybe Disney and Halloween.

Hahaha I knew you'd sneak that in there! I may be guilty of leaving that door open.

Survived > Conquered! YES!!!!! I swear that shirt will outlive me. I guess I should just be thankful they didn't rip me off

Now I should make a new shirt with iasw designs and the words Survived > Conquered. You know, we have the heat press at work and I can make t-shirts myself... hmmm... maybe I can use your design to sell shirts and mugs and keychains to Disers and give you 50%... *Business brain cells are a-burnin!*

T-REX is definitely a place I'd like to visit. I've seen the outside enough already. Waffle fries... YUM!

I'd say T-Rex would be a wonderful place to visit! It's so freaking cool! And the waffle fries are delish!

Yay update! Although sad it's almost over

There will be another! And then another!

Thats weird that Pickle tree ornaments aren't a thing in Germany! lol, will have to ask next time your in the german pavilion.

Yeah! At least it's not a tradition in her part of Germany. She had never heard of it! Haha

Yay Mickey Crocs! Although boo for heel rubbing. I'm so paranoid of that!

I don't think it will take much to soften the canvas so that they don't do that. I'll wear them around home a bit this summer and hopefully break them in!

Okay so you have sold me on T-Rex! Next trip it will be considered....unless I do it on our Disney Quest day... Bah! Stop it!!

Haha it's worth a visit, in my opinion! We loved it!

 

[Angeejoe]

I absolutely love you pics with the umbrella at Osborne Lights! Awesome shots!

 

[khaleesi]

That's funny that your friend doesn't know about the pickle tree!

T-Rex has never really been on my radar, but you made it sound very entertaining!! Not sure it's the type of place where I'd want to eat alone, but I will have to keep it in mind.

I absolutely LOVE that Snow White tshirt! How fun it would be to wear that!!!

And boo to your sandals hurting your feet. The Mickey ones you replaced them with are adorable!!

 

[teekathepony]

The christmas pickle thing is funny.
I have a friend who lived there for a couple of years and he said the same thing.
But when I learned about it in high school, it was from my German teacher from Germany.
So I figure it must be only parts of Germany or certain families that have it as a tradition.

Yes, that's about what I figured too (although my friend couldn't figure out what part of Germany it would have been from! )

Cute comment about Johnny posing like a toddler. I love that!

It's so true. The other day I went looking for him because dinner was almost ready and I found him playing in mud puddles outside. He really is a child at heart.

The Lego Store and T-Rex. That's our DTD itinerary.

Sounds like a good one to me! I might not be the biggest Lego store fan (I like the blocks, just not the store! lol) but Johnny is, (big kid again) and we loved T-Rex!

The food at T-Rex is surprisingly good. And portions are HUGE! You figure at a place where the draw is the décor, the food might suffer, but we have been pretty pleased.

Portions are huge! I can't wait to go back this year with a 6 year old boy, it's going to be a totally different experience!

Sorry to hear you weren't quite feeling up to the challenge.

Ahh it sucked but it's all in the past. Hard to remember the bad when there was such an overwhelming majority of good!

OMG- Johnny's dessert is insane! (In a good way)

Hahaha we told people about that dessert for months (actually we still do sometimes!) Johnny has a picture of it on his phone that he shows people when talking about huge desserts!

Great updates!

Love the Christmas pics again (ha ha) and I've never eaten at Rainforest Cafe in Disney so it's nice to read your review of the place. Them fries sounds delish and did I read right...that you had a low appetite on this trip?!! What's going on??

Ahhh yes, I was getting a really nasty flu and had no appetite all week. It never bothered me until the last day though so I got really lucky!

 

[teekathepony]

Looks like you guys had a blast despite you not feeling good and those sandals.

I love the fact that you went to Basin This is where the information fairy came in handy

We did! We loved T-Rex!
Basin is awesome, I'm going back and spending a fortune every trip now because I am addicted to their bath bombs.

Can you believe I have never been in Basin? It's on my list for October!

I hadn't been there before this last trip! Johnny has some pretty nasty allergies so we usually avoid it but we gave it a try and he didn't find it too bad. I guess their ventilation must be good!

 

[teekathepony]

I absolutely love you pics with the umbrella at Osborne Lights! Awesome shots!

Thank you! It's one of those pictures I can see popping up as a Facebook profile pic every few months.

That's funny that your friend doesn't know about the pickle tree!

Yeah I know! All over Disney they swear it's a German tradition, but my German knows nothing about it!

T-Rex has never really been on my radar, but you made it sound very entertaining!! Not sure it's the type of place where I'd want to eat alone, but I will have to keep it in mind.

It was very entertaining! We loved it! It would be pretty loud and busy for a solo trip, I can see that. This year I'm going with a party of 8 (two kids!) so that will be different!

I absolutely LOVE that Snow White tshirt! How fun it would be to wear that!!!

I'm kicking myself for not getting it. It's so cute!

And boo to your sandals hurting your feet. The Mickey ones you replaced them with are adorable!!

At least they made it most of the trip without being too bad, I've had worse!

 

[PopArtGal]

Oh you just reminded me of the waffle fries. Yum!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I really want to try T-Rex. It's just that all of the restaurants I want to try at Downtown Disney can't seem to find a spot on our touring plans because I'm too busy packing our schedule in with park and resort time. One day, I'll get to T-Rex and Raglan Road.

Oh, I remember the Christmas Pickles from the Germany pavilion! I think you and I had this brief discussion in my October trip report how this may very well be a German-American tradition rather than a German one.

 

[teekathepony]

Oh you just reminded me of the waffle fries. Yum!

Mmm they were really good!

I really want to try T-Rex. It's just that all of the restaurants I want to try at Downtown Disney can't seem to find a spot on our touring plans because I'm too busy packing our schedule in with park and resort time. One day, I'll get to T-Rex and Raglan Road.

I know the feeling, I usually plan a tentative DTD day that can be switched to a park day if necessary. I usually get there though! T-Rex and Raglan Road are two of my favs, but I haven't been to Raglan Road in forever!

Oh, I remember the Christmas Pickles from the Germany pavilion! I think you and I had this brief discussion in my October trip report how this may very well be a German-American tradition rather than a German one.

Yes, I do remember that conversation! I did see Christmas pickles for sale in a German Christmas store, but one that's heavily geared toward tourists so that could still be a good explanation.

 

[amazingact21]

Would I be a horrible DISer if I said I had no idea there was a pickle Christmas tree in the Germany pavilion? Guess now I have something to look out for on my next holiday trip.



Trex gets such mixed reviews. Some people hate it, others eat there every vacation. I guess it's one of those places you just have to try out for yourself and see how you like it. Both you and Johnny's desserts looked delicious! And I agree with portion sizes; sometimes, they are just too big! Although, I do appreciate that factor whenever Alex and I split meals. We don't feel jipped at all.

 

[teekathepony]

Saturday, November 16 Sweet and Sparkley We had just come back from Downtown Disney. We got our cameras and headed back to the bus stop. Since it was late, there were not too many people going to the parks. There was a bus loading a scooter when we got there, perfect timing for us! We got on and got a seat and headed to the Magic Kingdom. When we got to the park we headed straight for Tomorrowland Terrace and were the first people in line for...

[Facebook: Check-in

"Desserts and elbow room for the fireworks! — with Johnny at Tomorrow Land Terrace Dessert Party. "] We waited a little while but it was a pleasant evening so we didn't mind. Soon people started lining up behind us. Then the CMs started getting their lists and bracelets ready. Next thing we knew we were being checked off their list and escorted to the very best table in the whole place! Front row center! I had my camera but no tripod. We were here more to enjoy than to photograph, but of course I still got lots of pictures! (After we got a plate of sweets!) IMG_5217 by teekathepony, on Flickr IMG_5220 by teekathepony, on Flickr IMG_5223 by teekathepony, on Flickr IMG_4953 by teekathepony, on Flickr IMG_4955 by teekathepony, on Flickr Yum! I didn't eat much (shocker!) because everything tasted too sweet to me. I thought it was just me again, but Johnny agreed. We sat and nibbled, I sipped hot chocolate which was just perfect for a chilly night. We watched the Main St. Electrical Parade go by but no one got up to watch it. We all just ate and listened to the music. IMG_5225 by teekathepony, on Flickr Last time I did the dessert party most people stayed in their seats for the fireworks, just some people from the back moved forward, so we thought it would be the same this time and planned to just stay in our seats to watch. Nope! As soon as the announcement was made everyone RUSHED in front of us to the wall. We were so shocked we were left sitting behind everyone! But no matter, we liked the view better from as far left as possible, so we headed over there and got a nice spot. Until we got really crowded in! The man next to me, who was busy complaining very loudly about absolutely everything, had a big backpack on and he kept turning away from me, smacking me really hard with the pack. I tapped him on the arm and politely pointed out what was happening (since I figured it was behind him and he was unaware) and he made a face at me and just turned away again. Okay. Didn't realize it was so rude of me to request to not be smacked by a backpack repeatedly. Sorry about that your majesty. I'll just move over in front of Johnny. I balanced my camera on the ledge to try to get some pictures. As a result, they're not the best, but you get the idea. IMG_5227 by teekathepony, on Flickr IMG_5246 by teekathepony, on Flickr IMG_5248 by teekathepony, on Flickr When the fireworks started everyone who was jostling for a spot and elbowing and pushing and whacking finally stopped moving, so we were able to enjoy it a little more. IMG_5249 by teekathepony, on Flickr IMG_5258 by teekathepony, on Flickr IMG_5259 by teekathepony, on Flickr IMG_5263 by teekathepony, on Flickr IMG_5264 by teekathepony, on Flickr When it was over we both got one last glass of water and chocolate covered strawberry and waited for the crowd to leave. [Review: Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party *Note: We have done this twice now, but this review is based only on this particular experience. Food: There was a large selection of desserts, but we found everything to be too sweet. We're not big sweet eaters so the sugar was a little overwhelming. Some slightly more tame, plain options would have been appreciated. There was a nice selection of drinks available too. 4/5 *** Service: Well, there's not really a lot of service here, being a buffet and all, but there were lots of CMs around cleaning and refilling and seating and just doing anything that needed to be done. Everyone was friendly too. 5/5 ***** Experience: Not as good as last time by a long shot. We felt great until the fireworks started and then the rushing and pushing was worse than it would have been on Main St. We did get a spot by the wall and had lots of room at first, but then we got crowded in there too. We were elbowed and shoved and hit by a backpack over and over again. I felt more stressed and crowded than I ever have on Main St for a normal Wishes night. We were disappointed because we don't really go for the sweets, but for the guaranteed Wishes viewing spot and elbow room. 1/5 * Overall: 3/5 *** *Again, this is only for this experience. Last time we went we had the best time ever. I would definitely try it again because I feel like we just hit a bad night.*] I was going to cut off the story there for now, but I'm anxious to get this TR finished up so let's finish off the night. (Continued in next post) ************************************