Rainforest Cafe in Disney's Animal Kingdom

 

I know that Rainforest Cafe is not a "Disney" restaurant and for that reason, some people will tell you to skip going here if you are planning a day in Animal Kingdom and to instead enjoy some of the other restaurants that you cannot go to if you are not on a Disney vacation.  While that might be one way to look at things, I am going to say that I will have to disagree.  I am going to give you a review of our experience at Rainforest and why I think that it can be a good fit for your day at Animal Kingdom.  

Let me start by saying that Rainforest Cafe is before you enter the park, so if you are planning on going back in after dining keep that in mind because you will have to go back through the gate after your meal.  We only live a few hours from Disney, so we will often leave late morning and get to the parks around lunch which actually makes this restaurant perfect for us to have lunch at before going into Animal Kingdom. There are also many visitors that will go to Animal Kingdom in the afternoon so if you are getting here a little later in the day, it might be a great place to eat at before you enjoy the park.

We did not have dining reservations for Rainforest yesterday when we went, but we managed to luck out anyway and not have to wait longer than 30 minutes to get seated.  I do recommend if this is a place that you really want to eat at to make those reservations prior to because you might not always be that lucky.  However, in my next blog I am going to tell you a secret way to get into Rainforest, Yak and Yeti, and TREX without any reservations!! Yep! So stay tuned for that!!

The Rainforest Cafe that is in Animal Kingdom is actually the largest Rainforest Cafe that there is which makes it even more special.  From the time that you enter the restaurant you just feel like you are somewhere fun.  There is a huge gift shop with all of your favorite rainforest creatures, souvenirs, and some great bags and attire too.  I honestly felt like the prices in the shop were not too bad and the kids had a great time walking around looking at all the animals etc while we were waiting for our table. There is also a fun area behind the restaurant that opens up to the outside and has a beautiful waterfall and an elephant that squirts water. All of these things go right along with the terrific ambience of Rainforest Cafe and set the tone for when you get to walk into the main restaurant.

I had mixed reviews from others about the food at Rainforest before we ate there so I was not sure what to expect, but I have to say that I was happy with our meal and the prices were not overwhelming either.

My husband got the ribs, steak, and shrimp trio.  I got the cheeseburger meal with fries, and I should mention that I have a true gluten allergy (celiac) and they have a dedicated fryer for the fries and a gf bun that tasted just like the real deal. My kids opted for pizza and chicken off the kid's menu and they were both happy as well. I know that the meal might not be as unique as some of the other choices that you will find in the park, but it was yummy none-the-less and you cannot beat the atmosphere!

So, every 20 minutes there is a "thunderstorm" in the rainforest and when this happens all of the animals go a little crazy and start making sounds and moving all about.  This was a lot of fun to watch.  The animals are animatronic and while we were there we spotted some tigers, elephants, gorillas, zebras, pythons, and more.

The staff at The Rainforest Cafe were so very sweet and accommodating to my gluten allergy as well.  Overall, this was a terrific experience that I know we will never forget and I highly recommend anyone to give it a try!

 Let me know if you do!! 

Here is a video that I took while we were there 💕

                               

                                                                   Have a Magical Day!!