Rainforest Cafe - did it scare any of your younger kidlets?

[carmiedog]

We have a 2yo and 5yo in our party. I don't *think* the thunder would bother them, but I've read that it can be frightening to some kids. Anyone have a bum experience due to your children and the special effects?

 

[Lesleyluvsdisney]

No we were OK I think! If I remember she was a bit startled when she was 2, but at 4 and 6 she was fine!

 

[antree]

When the thunder started and the lights went down my DS age 2 at the time was scared, he would hide under me. We always sit in the Gorilla room, so when the gorilla started pounding his chest and making loud noises it also scared him. So what we did was pound on our chest and say in a deep voice
"this is my house" and after a few times my son started to like the idea and would do it himself. It worked with our DD when she was little and then it worked on my son.
We just made sure we pointed everything out and made games out of it or talked about it. My son is now 5 and my DD is 13 and they still pound on their chest when the Gorilla starts.

 

[Pixiedust34]

My dd was scared of RainForest Cafe until she was about 5. Then it suddenly became her favorite restaurant!

All kids are different. Maybe you could take a quick walk-thru with your kids to see if they like the place. If they are OK with it, then keep the ADR and eat there. If they are fearful, cancel the ADR and eat elsewhere.

 

[mickeystoontown]

My son has never had a problem with the atmosphere at the Rainforest Cafe but he has been going to WDW since he turned one so he is pretty used to loud, fast and "jump out at you" things.

There are several rooms at the Rainforest Cafe. I remember the gorilla and elephant rooms. It seems like there is a room called something like the fish room?

If the restaurant is not super crowded and you don't mind waiting, you can request a table that's not right beside the gorillas or the elephants.

The thunder isn't super loud. The lights will flicker and then go dim. After that, you will hear all the chants of the gorillas and the trumpeting of the elephants.

My suggestion would be that you arrive a little early, take your children on a tour through the Rainforest Cafe store (you can see into the restaurant) and let them get used to the noises of the restaurant.

Hope you have a great trip, Lisa

 

[SalandJeff]

Our dd was 2 when we visited last year. She was fine when we were seated. She loves animals so we thought she might like to see them and dh walked around with her, but she did get frightened and wanted to only look from our table.

 

[Steph9072]

I have never been there, however my dentist has two-year-old twins and he said they had to get their food to go because the twins got so scared.

 

[mrzrich]

We were seated with a big Siver back Gorilla close to us and DS3 was terrified of it. The rain effects didn't bother him though

 

[trulygoofy]

All of my kids love it. Last year my youngest was 1 1/2 and he liked it when the the thunder started and the animals moved.

 

[BBGirl]

Yes my DD(3) is scared everytime we go but ask her where she wants to go when we go to Disney again and she'll say rainforest. so I don't know how truly scared she was.

 

[*MissNorway*]

My son was 3.5 when we were there last time and he was abit scared of the gorillas and elephants and terrified of the lightning/thunder. He climbed up on my lap crying, but once the thunderstorns were gone he was ok to sit back in his seat and finish dinner....

 

[eeyoreiscool]

DS was terrified from about age 2 until age 3. We went when he was younger and he didn't have a problem. Then suddenly he was afraid and wanted nothing to do with the place. We went back a year later to see what would happen and he didn't mind it. He didn't look totally convinced it wasn't going to rain but he didn't scream either.

 

[SmallWorld71]

We have one pretty near us in Mass. that we go to and my kids have always been okay. That said, there always seems to be some poor little child who is terrified. In my experience it has been those seated right next to the gorillas or elephants who are frightened, not the thunder that is the big problem. Since most animals are around the edges you might want to request a table that is not immediately next to the animals and I would make sure to seat the 2 year old so they are not right next to any animals (except fish). I also agree with the hanging out in the store first and getting used to the noises - it definitely helps. Have fun.