Is T-Rex Restaurant Too Scary for Your Kids?
Should you go to the T-Rex Restaurant at Disney Springs with your (dino-loving) sensitive or anxious kids?
Figuring out dining at Disney is another huge piece of the planning puzzle, so if you’re anything like me, you’ve spent a ton of time reading reviews of different restaurants.
We know that eating out can be a challenge with kids in general, but there is an added layer if you have highly sensitive, sensory sensitive, or anxious kids. It’s important to consider things like the environment, visual stimulation, proximity to others, and the menu, as you make decisions about where to dine with your family.
If you’re wondering about the level of sensory overload and whether it would be a good place to dine with your highly sensitive kids, let me break it down for you in this review and rating of the T-Rex Restaurant.
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T-Rex Restaurant Background Info
Before we get into the nitty gritty details, let’s talk about some basics!
T-Rex Restaurant is located in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World. What is Disney Springs? It is an outdoor shopping and entertainment area, with lots of restaurant options as well. Disney Springs is divided into different sections, and T-Rex is located in the Marketplace area right next to the LEGO store.
It is a table service restaurant, which means it’s a full-service sit-down dining experience in Disney language. This is different than quick service, which is more a fast-food style of dining. It is recommended that you make dining reservations ahead of time, either on the website or on the My Disney Experience app on your phone. You can start reserving meals 60 days before your trip.
As the name suggests, T-Rex is themed after dinosaurs! It first opened in 2008, and has been delighting dino-lovers ever since. The creators of Rainforest Cafe made this dino-themed restaurant, so there are definitely some similarities between the two. The dinosaur theming throughout the restaurant is VERY immersive, and they have numerous dinosaur animatronics, including a 15 foot tall T-Rex, in their habitats.
The restaurant is divided into different themed areas:
- The Ice Cave with the T-Rex skeleton and other fossils
- The Ocean which includes the Aquarium and giant octopus, jellyfish, coral reef. This is the bar area right when you enter the restaurant
- The geothermic, fire area with T-Rex and the wooly mammoth. You have a view of the grill from here
- The sequoia and fern forest area with Herbivore dinosaurs
T-Rex Restaurant Experience
T-Rex serves both lunch and dinner. You can find the menu here. It is described as “themed dining”, and you can tell from the fun play on words for various menu options. Some examples include: Supersaurus Sampler, Triassic Trio, Meteor Meatloaf, Raptor Rita (instead of margarita), and my personal favorite – Prehistoric Fashioned (instead of an old fashioned).
There is also a gift shop to the right of the entrance, as well as a whole Build-a-Dino experience (similar to Build-a-Bear except…well, dinosaurs). Towards the front of the gift shop, there is the Paleo Zone, where kids get to dig for hidden dinosaur fossils. It’s essentially like a giant sensory bin! It’s not required to dine at the restaurant to explore the gift shop, Build-a-Dino, or the dig area.
So now that we know a little background info about T-Rex Restaurant at Disney Springs, let’s get into the ratings!
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