11/20: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

[Al Lutz]

Christmas? Dinner Time? Gouging? Kevin has a Walt Disney World Round-up, Discuss it all here!

[Pressler69]

Hahaha surcharge for eating on a peak day?! I would love to see them try that at Disneyland.

[loaloa]

Hello, about the TRex restaurant, i found a video about the one in kansas city, and you can see it on you tube at this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_kbE107jgg&feature=user

personnally, i don't like a lot what i see - i loved the rain forest cafe , but here it's a mix of everything , trex, velociraptors, mammoth, and even a giant squid!.....and the animation of the trex AA looks very bad...let's hope they will do something with a better taste at WDW

[SciFi96]

My wife and 18 month old son went to the T-Rex Cafe in KC a couple of weeks ago. If I would have known that it was the only one in the country I would have taken pictures. It is fairly similar to the Rain Forest Cafe.

Outside is a large rock pool with a dinosaur skeleton. The pool has spotlights at night. Also there is a big T-Rex near the entrance.

When you enter you check in at the rhino.

There is a bar near the entrance that reminds you of the Rain Forest Cafe, and a lounge area surrounding it.

To the right is a store, much like the (you guessed it) Rain Forest Cafe, which sells merchandise and has a Build-A-Dinosaur section. But something that the T-Rex has that the Rain Forest does not have is a mine and a dig site. I think you have to pay $5 to enter, but that gets you in all day, and it keeps people from walking in off the street just to play in the dig site. There is also a mine that the $5 gets you into. Since my 1 year old was getting kind of fussy we didnt do either, but it looked fun, although the area wasn't very big.

There is a show kitchen area. You cant eat at a counter or anything, but the fire is pretty cool

There are several themed rooms. We sat in the room themed from pre-historic jellyfish. It had a large aquarium. Other rooms were set around different dinosaurs much like the different themed rooms of the Rain Forest.

Something I thought was weird was that the restrooms were on a second floor and you had to climb a lot of stairs to get to it. There is an elevator, but it is kind of hidden.

Just like the thunde storm in the Rain Forest; every 15 minutes or so a meteor hits (at leats thats what I guess it sounded like) which means loud booms and the lights flicker and dim.

The prices were not bad. I think that most lunch entree's were between $11 - $18. Atleast thats what I remember.

Overall lots of theming, but I wasn't all that impressed with the layout.

[Ian]

Sure there are other reviews, but here's my quickie on the T-Rex in KCK:

I've been to the T-Rex in KCK a few times with the kids, and lemme tell you, if you've been to Rainforest Cafe, you've been to T-Rex. Now, that's not all bad, as the decoration and immersion are quite impressive (and better than Rainforest in most ways), but the food is predictable aside from the few spicy pieces they had.

When you walk in, there is a large animatronic bronto at the door to meet you. it's at least 30-feet tall. It roars, blows hot air, the whole bit, It scared the heck out of my kids the first two times. But they got used to it.

There are a number of areas: The lava field, the ice age area, the underwater area. All are well decorated with a ton to look at for the kids.

But, as you might expect, it's loud, the wait is usually really long (a lot of space went to "stuff" instead of seating in this huge location) and like I said, the food is just decent.

There's also a build-a-dino store by the build-a-bear people. I liked the options for dinosaurs, but it's not much different than any other build-a-bear.

There are some educational plaques around the place explaining why there's a woolly mammoth in that giant block of "ice" and stuff like that.

All in all, my family (me, 35, wife, 39, daughter, 5 and son, 7) prefers the Dave and Buster's next door for better food and a longer experience.

If you have any other questions, I'll be happy to answer.

[danyoung]

Excellent article, Kevin, with one notable exception. You of all people shoud know that it's Joe Rohde (ROAD-eee), not Rhode. Shame!!!

[Brian_WDW74]

I have several pictures of the current T-Rex Cafe posted here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brian_w...7594425671445/

I agree with the previous posters. The theming is much better than your typical Rainforest, and the food is comparable. Good, but not outstanding. If you or your kids are into dinosaurs, you'll have a great time here.

[mikeland]

Great article ... it made me hungry ... but that restaurant in the sky is a terrible idea. What if someone needs to go to the bathroom? What if the ketchup falls and hits someone below? Ouch. Plus, with Florida's weather, you couldn't use it every day.

[nursemelis374]

Loved the update as usual! I also ordered 2 of the books!!! Can't wait to get them.

[KevinYee]

Originally Posted by danyoung

Excellent article, Kevin, with one notable exception. You of all people shoud know that it's Joe Rohde (ROAD-eee), not Rhode. Shame!!!

I do know that... checking my original submission; maybe it was changed in the editing process.... alas, nope. Mea culpa.

[danyoung]

You know how it is in the cutthroat world of online communication. You could present a thesis as deep and moving as anything ever written in history, and someone (like me!) will hang you out to dry for the silliest thing. . .

[BC_DisneyGeek]

My initial reaction to the "Holiday Surcharge" is negative, but why is it any different than paying a higher price for a hotel during peak season? It feels wrong, yet it also makes sense. Anyone care to elaborate?

They have to know this will be viewed negatively in any case, food at WDW is not cheap to begin with.

[BlueSkyDriveBy]

Dinner in the Sky... what nitwit came up with this idea?

Once someone starts choking on a piece of food -- and it happens every day -- you can kiss that dining patron good-bye. No way they'll be able to lower the platform in time for someone to perform the Heimlich Maneuver.

Given that Disney lawyers neutered Tuck & Roll's Drive 'Em Buggies to a slow crawl, there's little doubt they would never entertain the possibility of putting this contraption on property.

[BC_DisneyGeek]

They should just turn one of the Tower of Terror ride vehicles into an elevated dining experience. That way if there is an emergency, they can bring people back down lickety-split

[jcruise86]

Hi Kevin, I think your new book arrived only about 48 hours after I ordered it. I'll start it tonight.

I disagree with one part of your latest article. You wrote of the castle in the day: "up close, it's as ugly as any pink cake castle overlay (which WDW had done for the MK's 25th birthday some years ago)." Maybe the pictures failed to capture the reality, but it didn't look THAT bad to me in the day. Comparing it with the cake seems unfair.

Then again, comparing anything to the birthday castle seems unfair to me.