Rainforest Cafe-Downtown Disney and Animal Kingdom

Disney has two locations of the chain restaurant, Rainforest Cafe.  You can find one at the entrance to Animal Kingdom and the other at Downtown Disney.  The menu ranges from burgers, appetizers, chicken, seafood, and ribs.  You can also enjoy salads, soups, and yummy desserts, too.  My personal favorite is the Caribbean Coconut Shrimp .

This dining option is not part of the Disney Dining Plan, although reservations are recommended.  While you are waiting for your table, you can enjoy the fun gift shop, and take a stroll through some of the shops located close to it at Downtown Disney.  Goofy’s Candy Company is a short walk, as are a few other shops.

Our family chose to dine here without reservations, as we were lucky enough to only have a 20 minute wait. Once we were seated, the fun really began.  You truly feel like you are in a rainforest during your dining experience.  There is lush vegetation, animatronic gorillas, birds, etc., and every 20 minutes there’s a “rainstorm”.

Some tips to keep in mind when dining at the Rainforest Cafe:

*Prepare your children for the “rainstorm” just in case they are scared of storms in real life.  It’s not super loud, and you don’t get wet.  But, it’s part of the experience so you might want to give them a heads up.

*Ordering an appetizer and one or two meals to share with your family isn’t a bad idea.  The portions are very plentiful!

*There are some great photo opportunities in the Rainforest Cafe.  Take advantage of them!

*At the Animal Kingdom location, there is an entrance to the Rainforest Cafe outside the park.  Therefore, you don’t need a park ticket to enter.

Overall, we give this Disney dining experience at “A”.