Trex with a toddler?

[TOBS2010]

Our toddler will be a little over 2.5 years old and is really into dinosaurs lately. I was thinking about making an ADR for Trex---but having not eaten there before, I am not sure if he would be scared or not. He has eaten at Rainforest Cafe before---around 9 months it was a little too much for him, but he liked it much better around 18 months.

Anyone have experience with young ones at Trex? If we tried to eat there and he was too scared after we sat down, would they still charge us the $10 per person if we had to leave because of it?

 

[Aggieamy5]

We went last summer when my son was three and he absolutely loved T-Rex. It was definitely one of his favorite restaurants we ate at during our trip. I don't remember it being scary or too much for that age. (I will say my child is very outgoing and doesn't get overwhelmed easily.) I would say if your child could handle Rainforest Cafe at 18 months, he should be just fine at T-Rex.

 

[MimiOfTwo]

Make your reservation directly with TRex. They aren't Disney owned and you won't be subject to the $10 per person charge. That said I've taken a toddler multiple times and she loves it.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

T-Rex is not much different then the Rainforest cafe. I say it just depends on the child. One child may love it while another child may be scared by it.

 

[Imagineer5]

We've done T-Rex twice with my DD, at 2.5 and 3.5. She loved it both times (FWIW, she also was afraid at RFC around age 1 but has since gotten over that).

 

[jenjersnap]

T-Rex is not much different then the Rainforest cafe. I say it just depends on the child. One child may love it while another child may be scared by it.

Yep, really depends on the kid. My younger two were both scared at T. Rex until about age 5, too much stimulation and noise plus the dinosaurs look realistic to little ones (and can be right next to you growling while you try to eat, lol). They love it now.

Definitely call and make the reservation directly. No worries about the fee that way.

 

[cjsquared]

My kids, then 5 & 1, hated Rainforest Cafe but loved TREX.

 

[KarmaCat]

If you're worried about your child being overwhelmed or overstimulated, but you think he would love the dinosaurs, here are two pieces of advice--speaking as the mom of a very sensitive kid at that same age...

1) T-Rex is really cool, but also really LOUD (dinos roaring and meteor showers endlessly). A pair of headphones that will cancel out a little of that noise may help your little one get less overwhelmed by the noise so that he can enjoy the visual coolness a little more.

2) Whatever you do, for the love of Spock, do NOT let them seat you in the "ice cave!" The lighting in that area alternates between neon blue and neon pink back and forth (it's difficult to properly identify your food or your eating companions at times), you are far away from the cool dinosaur animatronics, and the ice cave is where the frequent "meteor showers" happen--which sent my son into fits of tears and freakouts every time because he was frightened and overstimulated by the experience. The experience is nowhere near as intense elsewhere in the restaurant. Again, headphones would have helped a lot.

Those things being said, T-Rex is actually a really neat place to eat. My husband still raves about how delicious the food was (and he's a hard sell, let me tell you), and all of us are happy to go back. It's worth doing... just heed the advice above if you decide to give it a try!

 

[hammie59]

If you sit in the ice cave, it's not as overwhelming. The ice changing color throughout the day, which is neat, but you don't have the crazy meteor shower over your head when it hits (the other rooms show it on the ceiling) and there are no moving dinos in there. It's our favorite place to sit.

 

[pezaddict231]

We tried to go with my 2 year old. She is sometimes scared by noise and the entire place freaked her out. She was scared of the big dinosaurs, she hated the meteor showers which seemed to happen way more often than every 20 minutes. We were in the ocean room near the bar so no dinosaurs that close to us and I thought she would like the aquarium. We ended up having to leave because she was so scared. The restaurant staff was great and very understanding. We were not charged a fee or charged for the drinks that had already been brought to the table. We ended up going to Portobello which was very quiet for lunch and she was much happier.

Seemed like a cool place and I liked the menu. Hope to try it out when she is older.

 

[hammie59]

Now that I think of it, I remember my son being terrified at Rainforest Cafe when the thunderstorms hit. I think he was maybe 2-3 years old at the time. The meteor shower is about as loud as that.

 

[mkla2015]

Just depends on the child. My DS3 is obsessed with dinosaurs- for over a year now. We went to TRex in March and he was in heaven! DD5 was scared at first but was fine after a few mins.

 

[beck00]

So is the "ice cave" region better or worse? Two conflicting posts above, if I'm reading both correctly.

 

[KarmaCat]

Meteor showers are definitely visible/intense in the ice cave. The entire room flashes red and the loud noise with the crashes, etc. is audible. Not sure what the other post is referring to!!!

 

[KarmaCat]

Okay, here you go... Here is a video showing the perspective inside the ice cave:

Take a look and then decide for yourself what you think!

 

[hammie59]

I suppose if you or your child are sensitive to the lights flashing in the cave, then it might not be a good choice. My family prefers it over the main room that has all the animatronics and meteors flashing across the ceiling. Just seems too busy with all of that AND all the people. To us the ice cave is fun, more secluded, and seems less chaotic (except for when the meteor shower hits). I would definitely check out both areas on YouTube first.

The video in the previous post is during the meteor shower.

 

[Miumiu4me]

Our toddler will be a little over 2.5 years old and is really into dinosaurs lately. I was thinking about making an ADR for Trex---but having not eaten there before, I am not sure if he would be scared or not. He has eaten at Rainforest Cafe before---around 9 months it was a little too much for him, but he liked it much better around 18 months.

Anyone have experience with young ones at Trex? If we tried to eat there and he was too scared after we sat down, would they still charge us the $10 per person if we had to leave because of it?

My daughter is 21 months old. I took her to T_rex last month and she was not a fan. The meter shower scared her, as did the T-Rex in the front.

 

[RafikiTiki21]

The walk-through videos of T-Rex on You Tube were helpful when thinking through the same question for our trip, as shown above. I thought it appeared too loud, but seems others with experience are helpful in specific details for their child. Hard to know! We decided not to go with our 3 year old due to the noise, and he is sensitive. Hoping to try next time.

 

[disneyshan]

We brought our 23 month old and 4 year old for the second time last year (the year before, no one was afraid, but neither loved it). The 23 month old was petrified of both the meteor shower and the dinosaurs (and he normally has no fear). The 4 year old was okay with it but didn't love it (despite loving dinosaurs). They loved the build-a-dino afterwards, but the meal and service were awful both times and since neither DS loved it, we won't be back unless they insist on it in the future!