Ugh..Don't eat at Rainforest Cafe

[pixiewings71]

Perhaps he has more to add to the story that might change some minds?

He should have complained about the service. The animal? The restaurant has no control over that. They should have offered to move him, however.

Where's the nodding head guy when you need him? LOL

Skewering him? We are wondering why he's complaining, he got his meal for FREE after complaining to the manager, what's left? lol And yes, he should have been moved after complaining, his server definitely dropped the ball on that one. But really, he's telling everyone to never eat there because of a possum?? So should I never BBQ in my backyard (and FTR, I don't live in the country, I have neighbors all around me right next door) because of the possum that keeps walking thru? Yes, it's a rodent, yes it's scary and yes I would jump but I wouldn't blame RFC for a possum walking around.

Altho, the more I think about this the weirder it is.......is there outdoor dining available downstairs at the RFC? I don't think so, the outdoor dining is on top of the restaurant, on the second floor.....so how did the possum get up there without anyone noticing? You have to walk into the shop and the downstairs restaurant before climbing the stairs to the second floor and heading outside. And actually, the outdoor seating may be even higher than the second floor. I'm trying to picture it in my head but I've never really paid that much attention, I just go where they tell me to and we normally eat downstairs anyway.

 

[lntsmom]

I would have been surprised, but not offended.

However, the bad service...I'm with ya on that one! We had a similar experience at Mimi's in Colorado Springs last weekend. Our waitress forgot to bring us bread. Some guy brought it and my salad dressing about 5 minutes before they brought our meal. She also forgot my cup of soup. The meal arrived, so I decided to just ask her to take it off the bill. Who wants an appetizer served after the meal? Next, she forgot my son's french fries. We finally flagged her down for them. She never did come back to see if we needed drink refills, dessert, etc.

Eating out is a splurge for us...same with being on vacation. Poor service ruins an evening. I tipped a tiny bit, but do plan to drop a note to the manager. We won't be going back to their location soon...and he needs to know why!

BTW...thank you for sharing! When you have a choice of where to eat, why would you want to go somewhere that has a history of bad service? If it happened you, it's happened to others who just didn't take the time to speak out!

 

[Chriistiinaaa]

I love mimi's ! I've had the same experience but not at Mimi's it was actually at red lobster. Our server took forever to come take our order, he helped another customer that came long after we did. then he got our orders mixed up, didn't bring our appetizer and never refilled our drinks.

My aunt did speak to the manager about it and took the items he forgot off of the bill. We did tip the server but not the amount that should be tipped. Their service was a disaster. It wasn't even busy !

 

[amyamya]

Altho, the more I think about this the weirder it is.......is there outdoor dining available downstairs at the RFC? I don't think so, the outdoor dining is on top of the restaurant, on the second floor.....so how did the possum get up there without anyone noticing?

I was wondering this too, there is no outside seating in front of the restaurant, but maybe on the side? If I was camping and an (o)possum ran under my legs I would laugh and be a little freaked out. If I was eating in DTD and one ran under my legs, I would be horrified. I'm in the "that's a rodent" camp!

 

[pixiewings71]

I think on the side is only the waiting area. You can sit outside and wait before you are seated but I don't think you can be seated outside downstairs to eat. I'm going to find out, we have a couple of gift cards for our trip in 5 days.

 

[Gisele]

Pixie,

if you see that possum, say hello to him or her for me.
Take a picture of the little guy too. O.K. I know they are not that small. Just a term of affection.

 

[SANDIEGOFAN]

Odd man out here but I don't have a problem with the OP. My take is it had more to do with service than anything else. BTW - note the OP's avatar and my screen name. You're all jerks, but in a nice dis way

Edit - possum is gud eatin.

 

[mousefit]

The last time I ate there I had the best service ever. I thought it might be bad because I was outside in the corner, but boy was I wrong. I think it would be funny to have some wildlife crawl under the table at Rainforest Cafe. Just make sure to bring your golf shoes.

 

[Mugglemama]

OP, thanks for sharing your experience! i, for one, would definitely NOT want to eat at a restaurant that had a history of opossums running around. yikes!

i'm surprised too, that an opossum would be in a busy area...as one other person stated, it would make me nervous that maybe it was sick. blech.

it would definitely seem prudent for the server to have offered to change tables, PLUS contact somebody to come and handle the animal (Animal Control?), being that they can carry rabies. not that i blame Disney for the animal actually being there. we all know if they started setting traps or something, the PETA folks would be out to get them. but you know, the RFC employee could have handled it better.

regarding the cats....personally, i think the cats around DLR are cute, but it does bug me that they are so near the restaurants (some folks here have posted photos of the cats right near their tables). they can't all possibly be regularly de-wormed or anything, so it just grosses me out that they are that close to people while they're eating. no doubt, some people are feeding them off the tables and that keeps them coming around, but i digress.

on the other hand, the cats likely keep down the rodent population. and opossums eat snails, slugs, insects, snakes, and rats, so maybe overall, they help too. who knows?

i won't be eating at RFC, though. gross. and i won't be eating anywhere that people are encouraging the cats to hang around, either.

 

[ploeb]

Ok, if it were me, I would have freaked out! Its not Disneys fault but I hear you OP. I love animals, and by the way, those critters are MEAN!!!

 

[pigletliz]

Opossums are everywhere in Southern California, so in our city (not sure about Anaheim specifically), animal control is too busy to respond on opossum sightings. I'm another one who thinks they are ugly. Our local animal control will only respond if the animal is injured. As someone else posted, they are usually in highly populated areas because people leave food everywhere.

I think it was good customer service for the manager to provide dinner for free, although, I'm sure my appetite would have been long gone.

 

[Califgirl]

Odd man out here but I don't have a problem with the OP. My take is it had more to do with service than anything else. BTW - note the OP's avatar and my screen name.
Edit - possum is gud eatin.

GOOOO Chargers!! Who'd have thought that we would be in the playoffs??? Hope LT is healthy for Saturday.

btw, maybe they were substituting possum for the chicken and it escaped from the kitchen!

 

[pixiewings71]

Pixie,

if you see that possum, say hello to him or her for me.
Take a picture of the little guy too. O.K. I know they are not that small. Just a term of affection.

Anything for you Gisele! I'll have my brand new camera so I'll be sure to take some pictures for you!

Odd man out here but I don't have a problem with the OP. My take is it had more to do with service than anything else. BTW - note the OP's avatar and my screen name. You're all jerks, but in a nice dis way

Edit - possum is gud eatin.

Thanks Jerk! LMAO, Chargers suck but that's cuz I'm a Raider fan. LOL I know, we suck too.

GOOOO Chargers!! Who'd have thought that we would be in the playoffs??? Hope LT is healthy for Saturday.

btw, maybe they were substituting possum for the chicken and it escaped from the kitchen!

Eww, I actually EAT the chicken at RFC!!!! Maybe not anymore....... And I'm rooting for the Chargers, even tho I'm a Raider fan. I mean if the Chargers can get into the playoffs there is hope for the Raiders next year!!!

You guys know I'm kidding with ya right?
not about being a Raider fan and not about rooting for the Chargers in the playoffs, I really hope they make it to the Super Bowl! That would be cool!

 

[visitingapril09]

I am sorry your experience was not good. We had a fabulous dinner there this past April and plan on making it our first dinner in Disney again this year.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

About Cats at DLR. When we got our afterhours pajama tour our concierge said that they tried to get rid of the cats and the mouse population SOARED. They allowed them to stay..and the mouse population went away..then people started feeding them and the mouse population soared again.

So uh..NO ONE FEED THE CATS. THey take care of the mice/possums/everything else

 

[Lynzer Torte]

About Cats at DLR. When we got our afterhours pajama tour our concierge said that they tried to get rid of the cats and the mouse population SOARED. They allowed them to stay..and the mouse population went away..then people started feeding them and the mouse population soared again.

So uh..NO ONE FEED THE CATS. THey take care of the mice/possums/everything else

Interesting...

The veral cats are thinking: "Why should I hunt for food? These big human things just hand it to me!"

I never thought of it that way.

 

[mr.bungle]

can't have extra mice taking away the attention from mickey huh? j/k bad joke.... i know....

 

[SANDIEGOFAN]

GOOOO Chargers!! Who'd have thought that we would be in the playoffs??? Hope LT is healthy for Saturday.

btw, maybe they were substituting possum for the chicken and it escaped from the kitchen!

Thanks Jerk! LMAO, Chargers suck but that's cuz I'm a Raider fan. LOL I know, we suck too.



Eww, I actually EAT the chicken at RFC!!!! Maybe not anymore....... And I'm rooting for the Chargers, even tho I'm a Raider fan. I mean if the Chargers can get into the playoffs there is hope for the Raiders next year!!!

You guys know I'm kidding with ya right?
not about being a Raider fan and not about rooting for the Chargers in the playoffs, I really hope they make it to the Super Bowl! That would be cool!

Sorry for the OT but..Go Chargers!

Good news is, they're in the playoffs. Bad news is, they've lost in the playoffs each time we've been at DL in January when they've played. Guess where we'll be this weekend? Yay Califgirl, boo pixiewings71

Back on topic - I told the family about this now they want to eat there (except the wife). Go figure.

 

[pixiewings71]

Well they are a CA team so I'll be rooting them on...maybe they will break that cycle this time! LOL

 

[DizMe]

Well, you have to understand that I live in the country and am surrounded by acres of wildland so a possum sighting would not create any kind of stir with me. We had a bobcat on our back deck one evening and we thought it was cool.

Nevertheless, I do understand that others do not particularly care for wildlife crossing into their personal space and appreciate that it would not be an event that would enrich their dining experience.

BUT...I have to object to the title the OP used...."Ugh..Don't eat at Rainforest". I don't see that RF deserves that; it sounds to me like they were very generous about trying to make up for something that was not in any way their fault. Telling others not to eat there and using "Ugh" is, IMO, very unfair.