What Is Rainforest Cafe at Disney Springs Like With Young Kids?
Disney Springs is home to so many restaurants that there are plenty of choices for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Between the different types of food, range of price points, and both quick-service and sit-down options, there’s usually something for everyone, even for picky eaters.
One of the more highly themed options is Rainforest Cafe. We’ve stopped in quite a few times to look around the gift shop and check out the fish tanks, but until recently, we had never actually eaten there with our two kids, currently ages 5 and 3. We typically end up at T-Rex, another highly themed restaurant at Disney Springs that our kids love. On a recent Saturday visit, we decided it was finally time to give Rainforest Cafe a try with the kids.
In this post, we’ll share more about our experience eating lunch at Rainforest Cafe in Disney Springs, including whether you need a reservation, an overview of the menu and pricing, how our kids did during the meal, and a few tips for eating here with toddlers and young kids.
What Is Rainforest Cafe Like Inside?
Rainforest Cafe is designed to make you feel like you’re eating right in the middle of a rainforest. There are plants everywhere, large fish tanks filled with tropical fish, and animatronic animals like gorillas and elephants. There are even effects that make it look like it’s raining in certain areas. There’s a lot to look at while you’re eating, and the fish tanks are always one of my kids’ favorite parts.
My kids absolutely love animals, so they were pretty excited to look around and see all of the different animatronics throughout the restaurant. Our table was right near the gorillas, with the elephants not too far away, which my toddler really enjoyed. Once we were done eating, we took a few minutes to walk around and check out some of the other areas of the restaurant before we left.
One thing to know before eating at Rainforest Cafe with young kids is that about every 20 minutes, a short “thunderstorm” happens throughout the restaurant. The lights dim slightly, you’ll hear thunder, screens on the ceiling flash with lightning, and the animatronic animals start moving and making noises. The whole thing lasts less than a minute, and my kids honestly didn’t pay much attention to it after the first time.
If your little ones are sensitive to thunderstorms or sudden noises, though, I would let them know ahead of time that it’s going to happen so they aren’t surprised. There’s a similar effect at T-Rex with a meteor shower, but we found that one much more noticeable, with darker lightning and louder sounds. The thunderstorm at Rainforest Cafe felt pretty mild in comparison, but it could still be a little scary for kids who don’t like thunderstorms.
Do You Need a Reservation for Rainforest Cafe?
If you decide to eat at Rainforest Cafe, there is a walk-up option where you can head to the host stand out front, provide your name and the size of your party, and they’ll let you know how long the wait is. You can also provide a phone number, and they’ll send you a text when your table is ready.
Just be prepared that depending on when you’re planning to eat, wait times can get pretty high. During peak lunch and dinner times, we’ve seen waits close to an hour. If you have a particularly large group, those waits can be even longer.
For that reason, making a reservation at Rainforest Cafe can be really helpful for cutting down on the amount of time you spend waiting. Anyone who has brought young kids to a sit-down restaurant before knows that getting them to the table a little faster can make the whole experience go much more smoothly.
On our recent visit, we made a reservation for 11:00 AM on a Saturday, which was right when Rainforest Cafe opened that day. Since it was so early, the restaurant wasn’t busy yet and we probably would have been able to walk right in without one. By the time we left an hour and fifteen minutes later, though, it was much busier and having a reservation would have been really helpful.
With our kids, we’ve found that if we know we want to eat at a particular restaurant and can make a reservation ahead of time, it’s usually worth doing. They don’t particularly enjoy standing around waiting, and I’d much rather spend that time enjoying Disney Springs before heading to the restaurant when it’s time to eat.
You can make a reservation for Rainforest Cafe through the My Disney Experience app. For more information on making Disney dining reservations and some of our tips for planning meals with young kids in Walt Disney World, you can check out our full Disney dining guide here.
What’s On the Menu at Rainforest Cafe?
The menu at Rainforest Cafe features recognizable favorites with a jungle-inspired twist. You’ll find a wide variety of pasta dishes, soups and salads, seafood, chicken, burgers, sandwiches and plenty of other options.
Portion sizes are actually quite large, and we found the quality of the food to be good. We also didn’t have any issues customizing our meals or making substitutions when necessary. There’s a pretty good range depending on how hungry you are, from lighter options like soup or salad to heartier meals like meatloaf or pot roast. If you happen to save room for dessert, one of the more popular options is the Sparkling Volcano, a large brownie sundae meant to be shared by three or four people.
As a mom with two very picky eaters, I was happy to see the variety of choices on the kids’ menu, which is meant for children ages 9 and under. There are dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets or regular chicken tenders, mini cheeseburgers, mac and cheese, pasta, and my kids’ favorite, cheese pizza. Each entree also comes with a side and a drink.
Pricing at Rainforest Cafe is on the high side, but pretty much in line with other theme park restaurants you’ll encounter during your time at Walt Disney World. There are less expensive options within each category, but on average, expect to pay around $30 for an adult entree and $12 for a kids’ entree.
What Did We Order?
The menu at Rainforest Cafe is very similar to T-Rex, so we more or less knew what to expect. To start, my husband and I ordered the cheese sticks for $14.99. You get eight cheese sticks with a small cup of dipping sauce, along with some crispy onion strings on the plate. A classic for a reason, they were delicious and something we typically order when we visit these types of restaurants.
For our entree, we actually ended up splitting the Amazon Rainforest Burger, priced at $20.49. You can choose how you want your burger cooked, and the toppings come on the side, which is nice because you can put it together exactly how you want it. During our visits to T-Rex, which is owned by the same company, we’ve noticed that the burgers seem to switch between one thicker patty and two thinner pressed patties. This time, our burger came with two thinner patties that were cooked well, along with french fries on the side.
The kids tried the cheese pizza, and we opted for a Go-Gurt on the side and apple juice to drink. The pizza is very cheesy, which my older son isn’t the biggest fan of, but otherwise it’s a pretty good pizza. The sauce isn’t too zesty, which some kids can be sensitive to, and overall, it’s a pretty safe choice for our picky eaters.
One thing I would be careful with is the kids’ cups. The straws are paper, so little ones can chew through them pretty easily, and the lids are made from thin plastic that can spill if the cup gets knocked over. We learned that firsthand during this meal. I’d recommend bringing a spill-resistant cup that you can transfer their drink into so you don’t have to worry quite as much about the straw or an accidental spill.
Overall, we had a nice meal and everyone found something they were happy with. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any room left for dessert this time, but there were definitely a few options we would try on another visit.
How Did Our Kids Do During the Meal?
We sat down at our table around 11:15 AM and finished about an hour and fifteen minutes later. For the size of the restaurant, and considering how much busier it started to get as we got closer to lunchtime, I didn’t think that was an unreasonable amount of time for the meal.
When we got to the restaurant, we asked for a booth because it makes keeping my toddler contained a little easier. If he’s sitting in a chair, he sometimes tries to escape, but with a booth we can strategically block him in and make it a little harder for him to leave.
Typically, when we go to sit-down restaurants with the kids, I like to bring a few small toys or activities to entertain them while we’re waiting. For some reason on this visit, though, I completely forgot to bring anything with me. As soon as I realized I didn’t have their Play-Doh, puzzles, or books, I knew it was going to be an interesting meal.
The theming entertained them for a few minutes, but after that we had to rely entirely on the activities that came with their kids’ menus. They each got a couple of crayons, and there were some basic coloring activities and word games to do. Truthfully, those didn’t hold their attention for quite as long as I was hoping.
All things considered though, they did pretty well. Once we hit about the one-hour mark, my toddler was ready to leave, so we did have to hurry things along a little toward the end. Next time, I think I would ask if we could have the kids’ meals come out sooner instead of waiting for everything to arrive at once. I’d also definitely bring their spill-resistant cups after the spill we had during this visit, along with a few small activities to keep them entertained while we wait for the food.
Another option is to take a walk around the restaurant and let them look at all the different animals, plants, and fish tanks. If you happen to get a table near one of the fish tanks, that’s even better, since they can be a fun distraction for kids while you’re waiting.
Rainforest Cafe vs. T-Rex: Which One Does Our Family Prefer?
Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex are owned by the same company, so certain aspects of the experience at each restaurant are pretty similar. The biggest difference, however, is the theming. While Rainforest Cafe transports you into the jungle, T-Rex takes you back in time with the dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures throughout the restaurant.
The menus are also nearly the same, just with different names to match the theme, and the overall size and atmosphere of the two restaurants feel pretty similar.
My kids love both animals and dinosaurs, but when asked which restaurant they liked more, T-Rex was the clear winner. The dinosaur animatronics are impressive, both because of their size and the way they move and make noises. The center of the restaurant is themed to look like a giant ice cave that changes colors, and there are even pterodactyls hanging from the ceiling.
We still had a great time at Rainforest Cafe, and I’m glad we tried it, but given a choice between the two, I think my kids would pick T-Rex next time. If you’re trying to decide between the two restaurants and want to read more about our experience at T-Rex, you can check out that post here.