Rainforest Cafe questions

erinbharris

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
348
I am curious...

Where do you prefer to sit at RFC? Upstairs or downstairs?

We'll book a reservation as it gets closer but I'm not sure where we should sit. Our kids are 4 and 7.

Also, is there an advantage to going at a certain time of day? We're thinking around 6 for dinner.

Thanks!
 
Have they ever been to one? At 4, the first two times DS went near a RFC he flipped out. Too loud. Thankfully by the time we got to Disneyland's RFC he was OK (plus we were seated really close to the front, in a quietER section).

Last time we were seated upstairs and quite liked it.

6 for dinner is probably right around when everyone else will decide it's a good time for dinner. Prepare for waits!

Are you joining or have you already joined the Safari Club? If you haven't, join when you get there. It gives you the privileges and discounts right then and there. Just go to the giftshop and buy the membership...you'll get the plastic card and initial gift certificate weeks later, but at least you'll get the normal discount at the meal.
 
We prefer to be outside on the terrace/balcony (there are a couple of levels, upstairs). It's so much quieter and that works better for me and my family. There are torches and you can watch the people below in DTD, plus it feels a bit like a Mayan temple or something. Inside, it is loud, dark, and there are periodic bursts of noise (the animals coming to life) plus a pretty crowded atmosphere on top of it all. It's very cool and we enjoyed it the first time, but now I prefer outdoors.

If you plan to be inside, go early! We like 4-4:30 for dinner. There are virtually no crowds, at least in our experience. The downside is that you can't go on the balcony until 5, so I would recommend 5 if you want the terrace. Inside, I much prefer upstairs, but once we were seated right next to the waterfall and we asked to move after about 10 min because there was so much mist drifting over us non-stop. Some might see that as a positive, though.

We went in Nov. and the wait was insane, even with PS and a Safari Club membership, for a 6:30 dinner reservation. We had to wait over an hour for a table for 4 and we were willing to take anything :)
 

We were there last October with DD6 and DS4 and they both found it too loud. My son was actually quite scared of the thunder and once it stopped, he kept asking if it was going to happen again for the rest of the meal.
 
We like it inside, near the fish tanks. They have them both up and down stairs, our favorite is the one downstairs. We like sitting inside more then out, but that's because you get the full experience inside. Outside is nice when it's busy and on a warm summer night it's great, but you don't get the rainforest experience out there at all so if that's important you need to know.
 
We were there last week, inside, upstairs. There is a lift to the upper level. I rang around 6pm to see if they could sit four that evening, and we could get a 7.10 reservation which I took. The staff were commenting that it was quiet that evening and day, but I couldn't see any empty table anywhere.
 
I have a son who is 4 and autistic (so usually loud noises are a problem), We took him when he was 3 and the gift shop area in advance got him used to everything. We were seated up close to an elephant and THAT was a mistake he ate with his eyes closed the entire time and was frightened of Dumbo the next day. Now he has gotten a lot of help with things and doesn't mind being seated a few seats away from the animals where he can see and hear them but not so close where he would freak out. I advise taking them to the gift shop area first to get them used to the sounds and atmosphere. Most of the animatronic animals are upstairs and it seems to be a better view with the waterfall IMO.
 
When we went last September we had a reservation. Even with the reservation we still had around a 15 min wait. We were taken upstairs and the hostess told me that all the PS reservations were seated upstairs. This is just what she told me so I don't know if anyone can confirm it. We were seated next to the upstairs fishtank with the elephants behind/in front of us (depending on which side of the table you sat) and the gorilla family across from us. We really liked it but my kids have no problem with the noise. My youngest (then 2.5) actually fell asleep at the end of the meal. However, this would not be common for most because it is extremely loud. Not the place for a family bonding meal & conversation. :)
 
We were taken upstairs and the hostess told me that all the PS reservations were seated upstairs. This is just what she told me so I don't know if anyone can confirm it.

When we went last November I had a PS but we were seated downstairs. Every other time we have gone (always with a PS), we were seated upstairs (which I liked much better than where we were downstairs).
 
We love RFC! DD is enamored with the animals, so we always sit upstairs and request to be next to an animal--started at 3 y.o. when she cried because they didn't seat us next to an animal... they moved us though! I think being next to the gorillas is our favorite.
 
Now I'm excited...and made a reservation requesting upstairs. She said they can't take requests for outside--just up or downstairs.

:)
 
RFC takes the ressies themselves, you don't go through disney dining, I think the person I talked to last made said they could be made a year in advance if you wanted to... not sure that that extreme is necessary though! I just make them around the same time as I make all my other dining ressies.
 
I've made PS and have gotten both upstairs and downstairs. I can say that as a woman who is terrified of heights, upstairs is no bueno. :lmao: We were once seated upstairs in a booth next to the outside railing and it was all I could do to keep from running screaming in terror in the other direction. :rotfl:
 



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