Rainforest Cafe

The sign outside

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary. Did we find a nice, quiet restaurant and enjoy a romantic dinner for two? Of course not! Since we're going through Disney withdrawal we went to the local Rainforest Cafe. We have been to one other restaurant in the chain before. You guessed it, we have eaten at the one at Disney's Animal Kingdom. There are actually two Rainforest Cafe's on Walt Disney World property, the other is located at Downtown Disney. It's on our "someday" list.

Part of the fish tank as you enter

If you have never been to a Rainforest Cafe and there is one near where you live you need to give it a try. The place is more about the atmosphere than the food. The interior is supposed to mimic a rainforest, there are vines, trees and fake animals everywhere. Some of the animals are animatronic, adding to the feel that you are at Disney. We were not seated far from a tiger family and there was also an elephant not too far from us. Every so often there is a "thunderstorm", the lights will flash, there's the sound of thunder and the animals all go nuts. It adds to the ambiance.

Two of the animatronic tigers

When we arrived we found out that there was an hour and a half wait. Being our anniversary and since we had said for weeks that we would eat there on our special day we decided to put our name on the list. The restaurant is located in a mall here so we walked around while waiting for them to text us.

Some things are larger than life. I hope.

It was worth the wait. Once we stepped inside the restaurant, past the giant fish tank, we really felt like we were back on Disney property. The food is good but not exceptional, the staff is friendly and it is a great place to step outside of the normal routine. The only misstep of the meal was that they got my order slightly wrong but it wasn't that big of a deal so I didn't even mention it.

There's a "Tracy the Talking Tree" at every restaurant in the chain

Once you leave the restaurant you will walk into a themed gift shop. That made it feel even more like we were back at Disney, since you have to exit through a gift shop for many rides. They had the same basic items as the one that we had been in at Animal Kingdom, only they obviously didn't all say Disney on them. It was a strange feeling because we've seen the Orlando counterparts so many times.

The sign outside of the restaurant but inside the mall

All in all I would recommend a trip to a Rainforest Cafe to anyone going through Disney withdrawal. It is a fun restaurant that offers you a chance to leave everyday life behind and transport yourself to a fun, worry free place. Isn't that also what Disney is all about? 

Outside of the Animal Kingdom version