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Rainforest Cafe
Description
One of the few restaurant chains with Disney's sense of theme, the Rainforest Cafe is a table-service restaurant set in the rainforest, with animated animals and real fish surrounding the tables. There is a gift shop for those who are waiting for a table - there's also a full-service bar if you'd rather spend your money on consumables while you wait. The location here, just at the entrance to the Animal Kingdom, is accessible from both inside and outside the park.
The food runs the gamut from appetizers, soups, salads, and burgers to comfort food entrees. This is the only Animal Kingdom restaurant for which Disney offers a menu online. If you have trouble loading this large PDF file, try the simpler summary at AllEars.Net.
History
Landry's Restaurants, Inc., the owner and operator of this and every other Rainforest Cafe, is also responsible for the Yak & Yeti in the Animal Kingdom as well as T-REX in Downtown Disney.
Review
If you like this restaurant in your local mall, or if you don't have one in your local mall, this can be a treat for the kids, but it is not materially different from any other Rainforest Cafe. The food offerings are typical of the many chain family restaurants across the country, albeit with jungle-themed names (just what makes the Volcanic Cobb Salad volcanic?). And they took the meatloaf off the menu some time ago. The prices are high even when not at the locations in WDW. Add the general popularity of this restaurant to the noise of the gorillas, elephants, and chimpanzees, and you have the perfect recipe for white noise throughout your meal. If you do decide to go, try to save room for the Sparkling Volcano dessert, which will satisfy between two and four people depending on appetite.
Touring Tips
- Since this restaurant is open beyond the early park closing hours in the low season, a dinner reservation for half an hour after park closing can be a nice extension to the short day at the Animal Kingdom. Bear in mind that many other people may have that idea, though.