As travel agents based in Florida, we are lucky enough to experience the newest attractions, rides, parades, and restaurants at the Walt Disney World Resort. This week, the newest restaurant opened at Downtown Disney Marketplace. Our entire office took the afternoon off to experience T-Rex to share with our customers. I took my family, including my son who is 4 and daughter who is 2, to this new restaurant. With the name, T-Rex, I am sure you can tell it is themed after dinosaurs. The first glimpse of dinosaurs happens as you walk through the entrance of T-Rex with the huge dinosaur fossil. As you walk to the hostess stand, you see a huge animiatronic T-Rex, to welcome you to the restaurant. This dinosaur is amazing to watch as he moves. His eyes look so real as they scan the restaurant (for his next meal.)
The restaurant has animatronic dinosaurs, everywhere you look. T-Rex is themed after fire, water, and ice. The water section you will immediately see as you walk to your seat with bright blue colors and sealife floating from the ceiling. The water section features a huge octopus, lots of jellyfish, and several aquariums with fish. I loved this section with all of the vibrant colors and sealife. For those hidden Mickey fans, there is a Mickey Mouse hidden on the octupus. Here is a picture (above) of the water section with the huge octupus and jellyfish.
The next section as you walk through the restaurant is fire. This section features the huge fire pit, where they cook your meals. This is where you will also experience the meteor shower as part of the “show” during your meals. The last section is ice, which is almost breathtaking. This whole section of the restaurant is a huge glacier with a wooly mammoth and even a t-rex frozen in the ice. The ice changes colors during your meal, making it an even more amazing experience.
As we sat in our seats, we were just mesmerized by all of the dinosaur animatronics, colors, and sounds. Both of my kids were wide-eyed and actually quiet (for a change). I think we were in the restaurant for over 30 minutes just looking at everything, before we even thought about eating.
The menu is very similar to Rain Forest Cafe, with lots and lots of options. They featured great appetizers, sandwiches, salads, pasta, seafood entrees, and incredible desserts. Our server was excellent! He was a recent Orlando local and very excited about his new job at T-Rex. He did an incredible job, especially for a brand new restaurant. The food and desserts were incredible.
After enjoying dinner and this pre-historic experience, stop by the gift shop. They have lots of fun souvenirs for the whole family, including some activities for the kids. Build a Bear has the Build a Dino store, where your child can build a dinosaur and even dress them in the most fashionable modern attire. You can even let the preschoolers play in the Discovery Dig Site outside and discover fossils and dinosaur bones. This activity is free for all guests.
We spent several hours at T-Rex during our meal and then in the gift shop area. Our kids are already talking about another visit to T-Rex! This brand new restaurant is a must see for kids of all ages during a Disney World vacation. They are not taking any reservations until after New Years. They are taking walkups only. To avoid the longer waits, plan on having lunch or dine during off hours (like 2-4). This is an incredible restaurant and we recommend this for any family visiting Disney World.
Review from Allison Jones – Disney Specialist at Destinations in Florida Travel