Day 4, Pt. 2: Open the Door, Get on the Floor, Everybody Walk the Dinosaur!
As I mentioned, after Joe and I rode Kali River Rapids, we made a quick run by Everest to see if we could squeeze in one more ride. Middle of the afternoon? Yeah right!
Most of you know that when walking to Everest you must pass right by Yak & Yeti. I had made ADR’s there back in July but the best we could get was 4:15 and others in the group didn’t like that. Admittedly that’s a little early for dinner, especially since our systems are on Central time so that would be like eating dinner at 3:15. Anyway, when we walked by it smelled SO GOOD!!! My mouth started watering like Pavlov’s mutt, and Joe agreed. But, oh well . . .
We headed back to Pop and I collected Sean from the kiddy pool so Wendy could chill for a while as was her only desire this trip. He was not thrilled to be forced back to the room but after drying off and a little chocolate milk, he was soon tucked in bed and catching a little snooze time. I was laid in my bed and watched Stacey’s Must-Do list for the 18th time with a little Coke Zero in my mug. Kudos to WDW for having CZ in the food court fountains, by the way!
It wasn’t long before my eyelids started to droop as well. As I was just drifting off with visions of sugar plums, the adjoining door opened and there was Joe (not a vision you want to wake to, unless of course you’re Mrs. Joe!) He said they were going to hang out in their room a while and would leave the doors open if I wanted to go to the pool. I was just a little comfortable and a little lazy to get up, put my suit on, etc. so I politely declined. Wendy returned soon after anyway and we began to pull ourselves together for dinner.
Our dinner reservation was for 7:00 at T-REX. I’ve said it already, but I was so excited for this one, and for a couple reasons. The first is I’m a dinosaur nut. Have been since I was about 4 years old. I’m such a dino-nut I even like Jurassic Park 3! Heck, I even liked the Flinstones movies. Both of them! Although there is a theory that the Flintstones were not actually about the past but in fact a post-Apocalyptic future where mankind must rebuild with modern know-how but primitive resources, hence stone houses, etc, and thereby making those creatures radiation-created mutant aberrations and not actually dinosaurs at all, but of course that’s a discussion for another thread . . .!
The other reason is I am a big fan of Rainforest Café. I work only about 10 minutes from one, and on particularly aggravating days, I will escape on my lunch break and just sort of mill around the gift shop. The employees are even getting to know me. I recently explained to one that they are cheaper than therapy for me. She laughed, gestured to the aquarium archway and said “yes, you know fish are supposed to be very relaxing.” I just like it because it looks, feels, and smells like vacation to me. There’s a palpable Disney influence there. The creator, Steve Schussler even uses a lot of Walt quotes. Usually after a few minutes at RFC and quick stop upstairs in the Disney Store, I can more or less get through the rest of the day. For the record we do also eat there on occasion!
Finally, I also feel a (very) loose connection to the Schussler brand. Steve Schussler’s first foray into the restaurant-ish business was a brand of nightclubs here in the Chicago area called Jukebox Saturday Night. As you can infer, it was a 50’s/60’s inspired dance club for adults in the 80’s. When I was a kid and my then single-mother was dating, I recall many a Saturday night when we’d have a sitter so she and friends could go to JBSN. We didn’t live far from it and that cherry red ’57 Chevy front-end hanging out over the doorway was a familiar site. Schussler had wild design ideas, even then. Fast-forward about 20 years and there I was, nearly-30, singing on-stage in the very same club belting out the Eagles and Jimmy Buffett songs.
Of course it had long since been sold and at that point was called Zookeepers (lame) and the walls were plastered with tiger and zebra stripes and neon lights hung everywhere. The “V.I.P.” room was an oversized booth to the right of the stage separated by plastic “animal cage” bars. As David Byrne once sang “and you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here???”
Still, the nostalgia was there for me.
So anyway, enough sidebar, you get the idea. I was excited to go to T-REX Café!
I think we were on the DTD bus by 6:15ish. Joe and I had to stand towards the back of the shuttle, which was fine. But from our vantage point we both witnessed as a woman (who by the by was also the one that held up the bus because she was on an ECV, though stood unassisted and sat down walked to a seat without visible effort) glared, rolled her eyes, and whispered comments to her husband about Sean and Abby the whole ride. The kids were well-rested and were being let’s just say a bit boisterous. I am the first to admit, and get annoyed, when my kid is being obnoxious. In this case, he was not. And even those closest to them were laughing and encouraging him, asking “who did you see today?” etc.
I just wanted to say to the lady, “look, if excited children bother you, next time just go to Branson. I hear there’s nobody under the age of 100 there!” (Ok, cheap shot. My apologies to fans of Andy Williams and Yakov Smirnoff!)
After studying the map, Ashley had recommended we exit at the Pleasure Island stop, rather than the DTD stop. But Joe and I called an audible that we would exit at the first drop. We explained to the girls later that we wanted to get off before one of us throttled the old lady. Plus I got the impression they were getting off at the first stop as well, and we’d have all had to wait for her to get off before moving on to the P.I. stop. So we snaked our way around the shops and restaurants, and I with my enthusiastic gate was the first to reach T-REX. I would later have to admit that the Pleasure Island stops are so much closer, so if you’re planning on eating there, keep that in mind! You could spit your gum and hit T-REX from those stops. Please don’t try it; I’m just sayin’!
I was at the podium right at 7:00 and we were more or less seated immediately. They no sooner handed me a pager then it was going off. Now, as for theme restaurants, its no secret many are often heavy-handed on spectacle, often cheaply slapped together, to the point where it’s just too much. And all to often its meant to mask the lower food quality. You end up paying for flair.
As far as T-REX Café is concerned, this is not at all the case! I thought it was AWESOME! Yes, it is a lot of spectacle. But I loved it. I love the animatronics. I love the giant Rex and her pups that greet you right at the entrance. I love the themed rooms, although I still don’t entirely get the giant octopus over the bar. But it works! My eyes couldn’t stop darting all around.
They sat us in the Geo-Tech Room which is covered by a “night sky” where there’s a meteor shower every 20 minutes. From our table I had a great view of most of the restaurant. I was looking right at the Rex in the center of the place, and the Wooly Mammoth was to my right, as well as the Ice Age room. That is amazing by the way! When you walk into it, it’s really like walking into a glacier. The lighting is so weird though and it takes your eyes a few minutes to adjust. I don’t know how the servers deal with constantly coming in and out of it. It would be like eating in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.
With any restaurant of course, the proof is in the pudding, right? The fear with a place like T-REX is that the food won’t be that good. Well, while I didn’t have any actual pudding, I can tell that everything I ate was DELICIOUS! We started with the nachos which ,while nothing really special about the ingredients were really tasty and would be a hit at any football party. Then I had the Boneyard Buffet which is bbq ribs and half a roasted chicken, along with waffle fries and cole slaw. My only complaint at all is that the chicken was a little bland. But it was cooked well and very juicy. The ribs were great. They were more saucy than the ones I’d had at Flame Tree (yes for those paying attention, I had ribs twice in one day!) The flavor was really nice and the meat tender. What else can you ask for? Joe had the Gigantosaurus burger, which looked bananas! Imagine a double-cheeseburger on steroids. I don’t even remember what the girls had because I was elbow deep in BBQ sauce and slaw!
But everyone agreed that the food was great. And the drinks were fantastic too! I have a “Category-5” which quite honestly I don’t remember what was in it (there’s a reason for that) but just know it involves a lot of rum and its red . . . I think. Even popped for the souvenir glasses for $13. So you know, if you do get the first one in the glass, you don’t have to pay $13 if you want another. It’s like $6 or $7 bucks. And they bring you a new glass in a box when you’re ready to leave. I know this may seem like standard operating procedure, but Joe was walking to the bathroom to rinse his and dry it off before our waitress stopped him. And I can’t laugh because I might’ve done the same! I try to act like I’ve been somewhere before but sometimes . . .
When we’d finished the girls took the kids outside while I waited for the bill. As most of you know T-REX is not part of the dining plan. And I will forewarn you that it’s not cheap. It’s not super expensive but it is pricey; expect to pay vacation prices if you know what I mean. But I will also tell you, from my perspective, it is money well spent. Everyone really enjoyed the entire experience. And I’ve seen some reviews of people saying “T-REX is not for little kids” etc, and I guess you just have to consider the kid. Our kids loved it.
The only time Sean got scared at all was when Wendy and I were taking pictures all around the restaurant by various displays. Wendy was holding him in front of a baby Brachiosaurus and out of nowhere it decided to wake up and swing its neck around behind them. They both jumped out of their skins. But it was funny, and Sean quickly recovered before any tears appeared. I think Wendy took longer to compose herself! I just regret not having the video camera!
While I was settling up, the manager stopped by our table to ask how everything was. We actually had a nice conversation. She told us that they went from being slammed to slow virtually over night the week before and she seemed genuinely appreciative to have us there. We talked about the opening and I asked about her career. She’s been with the company a long time, managing a couple RFC’s and then she opened the Yak & Yeti (which was also a Schussler brainchild.) She asked if we’d eaten there and I just growled. Just kidding, but I told her about only being able to get an early reservation, to which she told me we could have just walked up at any time we wanted and they’d have fit us in pretty quickly. She also confirmed that the smells weren’t deceiving and that the food really is good. So it is definitely a must on my next trip. Super nice lady.
She had funny stories about Steve Schussler and even dropped a rumor about what he and the Imagineers might be partnering up on for DTD / P.I. next. It actually seemed like a weird idea, and somewhat unlikely given they have one at Epcot already. I ain’t saying any more because I don’t wanna get sued or get her fired! I’ll just say anything’s possible at Disney!!!
Sean and I built a “castle” at the LEGO store for a while (castle means Sean stacked as many blocks on top of each other as he could get his hands on in a straight column) while the ladies shopped at the World of Disney. Joe had gone off in search of some sports themed store (Mickey’s Athletic Club?) Anyway, I made the mistake of taking a tired, cranky, 2 & ½ year old who was already annoyed with me for leaving the LEGO store into WoD. That was dumb. Everything at eye level was “I want!” or “Mine!” Bad daddy! Bad!!!
After a whirl on the carousel we stopped at Goofy’s Candy Company. I must admit my wife told me numerous times I should pack our cups from the last time we went when we made those slushies in there. Mine’s got a Goofy hat and shoes and hers in Minnie Mouse. She kept saying, they will refill them there and it’s cheaper and you know when you’re there you’ll want one. But me being a man said no, it’s just more junk to pack and then lug around. We’ll be fine. I won’t want one. Too much sugar anyway. Yadda yadda yadda! So we walked into Goofy’s Candy Company that night and guess what was the first thing my mouth started watering for . . . !
But as good as it sounded to cap off a good night with a slushie, it just wasn’t worth the “I told you so’s.”
Just putting it out there guys. If you’ve got ‘em, take your cups. It’s worth it.
Although I wouldn’t have minded making a Stitch cup too!!!
At any rate, we made our way back to the busses loaded with treats, and soon were back home at Pop. It really was a good night. One of those “fall asleep with a simple, satisfied smile on your face” nights.
The next day was Thursday, our last full day in Walt Disney World. I was already getting depressed. I must admit, this is the first trip to Disney that I found myself having a hard time just trying to live in the moment and enjoy it. Everyday I had this running counter in my brain, counting down to Friday when it all blew up. I don’t know why that was. Guess I’m just getting older. Yeesh!
Still, we had one more day and we were going to make the most of every minute we could spending our final day at the Magic Kingdom one more time.
As I mentioned, after Joe and I rode Kali River Rapids, we made a quick run by Everest to see if we could squeeze in one more ride. Middle of the afternoon? Yeah right!
Most of you know that when walking to Everest you must pass right by Yak & Yeti. I had made ADR’s there back in July but the best we could get was 4:15 and others in the group didn’t like that. Admittedly that’s a little early for dinner, especially since our systems are on Central time so that would be like eating dinner at 3:15. Anyway, when we walked by it smelled SO GOOD!!! My mouth started watering like Pavlov’s mutt, and Joe agreed. But, oh well . . .
We headed back to Pop and I collected Sean from the kiddy pool so Wendy could chill for a while as was her only desire this trip. He was not thrilled to be forced back to the room but after drying off and a little chocolate milk, he was soon tucked in bed and catching a little snooze time. I was laid in my bed and watched Stacey’s Must-Do list for the 18th time with a little Coke Zero in my mug. Kudos to WDW for having CZ in the food court fountains, by the way!
It wasn’t long before my eyelids started to droop as well. As I was just drifting off with visions of sugar plums, the adjoining door opened and there was Joe (not a vision you want to wake to, unless of course you’re Mrs. Joe!) He said they were going to hang out in their room a while and would leave the doors open if I wanted to go to the pool. I was just a little comfortable and a little lazy to get up, put my suit on, etc. so I politely declined. Wendy returned soon after anyway and we began to pull ourselves together for dinner.
Our dinner reservation was for 7:00 at T-REX. I’ve said it already, but I was so excited for this one, and for a couple reasons. The first is I’m a dinosaur nut. Have been since I was about 4 years old. I’m such a dino-nut I even like Jurassic Park 3! Heck, I even liked the Flinstones movies. Both of them! Although there is a theory that the Flintstones were not actually about the past but in fact a post-Apocalyptic future where mankind must rebuild with modern know-how but primitive resources, hence stone houses, etc, and thereby making those creatures radiation-created mutant aberrations and not actually dinosaurs at all, but of course that’s a discussion for another thread . . .!
The other reason is I am a big fan of Rainforest Café. I work only about 10 minutes from one, and on particularly aggravating days, I will escape on my lunch break and just sort of mill around the gift shop. The employees are even getting to know me. I recently explained to one that they are cheaper than therapy for me. She laughed, gestured to the aquarium archway and said “yes, you know fish are supposed to be very relaxing.” I just like it because it looks, feels, and smells like vacation to me. There’s a palpable Disney influence there. The creator, Steve Schussler even uses a lot of Walt quotes. Usually after a few minutes at RFC and quick stop upstairs in the Disney Store, I can more or less get through the rest of the day. For the record we do also eat there on occasion!
Finally, I also feel a (very) loose connection to the Schussler brand. Steve Schussler’s first foray into the restaurant-ish business was a brand of nightclubs here in the Chicago area called Jukebox Saturday Night. As you can infer, it was a 50’s/60’s inspired dance club for adults in the 80’s. When I was a kid and my then single-mother was dating, I recall many a Saturday night when we’d have a sitter so she and friends could go to JBSN. We didn’t live far from it and that cherry red ’57 Chevy front-end hanging out over the doorway was a familiar site. Schussler had wild design ideas, even then. Fast-forward about 20 years and there I was, nearly-30, singing on-stage in the very same club belting out the Eagles and Jimmy Buffett songs.
Of course it had long since been sold and at that point was called Zookeepers (lame) and the walls were plastered with tiger and zebra stripes and neon lights hung everywhere. The “V.I.P.” room was an oversized booth to the right of the stage separated by plastic “animal cage” bars. As David Byrne once sang “and you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here???”
Still, the nostalgia was there for me.
So anyway, enough sidebar, you get the idea. I was excited to go to T-REX Café!
I think we were on the DTD bus by 6:15ish. Joe and I had to stand towards the back of the shuttle, which was fine. But from our vantage point we both witnessed as a woman (who by the by was also the one that held up the bus because she was on an ECV, though stood unassisted and sat down walked to a seat without visible effort) glared, rolled her eyes, and whispered comments to her husband about Sean and Abby the whole ride. The kids were well-rested and were being let’s just say a bit boisterous. I am the first to admit, and get annoyed, when my kid is being obnoxious. In this case, he was not. And even those closest to them were laughing and encouraging him, asking “who did you see today?” etc.
I just wanted to say to the lady, “look, if excited children bother you, next time just go to Branson. I hear there’s nobody under the age of 100 there!” (Ok, cheap shot. My apologies to fans of Andy Williams and Yakov Smirnoff!)
After studying the map, Ashley had recommended we exit at the Pleasure Island stop, rather than the DTD stop. But Joe and I called an audible that we would exit at the first drop. We explained to the girls later that we wanted to get off before one of us throttled the old lady. Plus I got the impression they were getting off at the first stop as well, and we’d have all had to wait for her to get off before moving on to the P.I. stop. So we snaked our way around the shops and restaurants, and I with my enthusiastic gate was the first to reach T-REX. I would later have to admit that the Pleasure Island stops are so much closer, so if you’re planning on eating there, keep that in mind! You could spit your gum and hit T-REX from those stops. Please don’t try it; I’m just sayin’!
I was at the podium right at 7:00 and we were more or less seated immediately. They no sooner handed me a pager then it was going off. Now, as for theme restaurants, its no secret many are often heavy-handed on spectacle, often cheaply slapped together, to the point where it’s just too much. And all to often its meant to mask the lower food quality. You end up paying for flair.
As far as T-REX Café is concerned, this is not at all the case! I thought it was AWESOME! Yes, it is a lot of spectacle. But I loved it. I love the animatronics. I love the giant Rex and her pups that greet you right at the entrance. I love the themed rooms, although I still don’t entirely get the giant octopus over the bar. But it works! My eyes couldn’t stop darting all around.
They sat us in the Geo-Tech Room which is covered by a “night sky” where there’s a meteor shower every 20 minutes. From our table I had a great view of most of the restaurant. I was looking right at the Rex in the center of the place, and the Wooly Mammoth was to my right, as well as the Ice Age room. That is amazing by the way! When you walk into it, it’s really like walking into a glacier. The lighting is so weird though and it takes your eyes a few minutes to adjust. I don’t know how the servers deal with constantly coming in and out of it. It would be like eating in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.
With any restaurant of course, the proof is in the pudding, right? The fear with a place like T-REX is that the food won’t be that good. Well, while I didn’t have any actual pudding, I can tell that everything I ate was DELICIOUS! We started with the nachos which ,while nothing really special about the ingredients were really tasty and would be a hit at any football party. Then I had the Boneyard Buffet which is bbq ribs and half a roasted chicken, along with waffle fries and cole slaw. My only complaint at all is that the chicken was a little bland. But it was cooked well and very juicy. The ribs were great. They were more saucy than the ones I’d had at Flame Tree (yes for those paying attention, I had ribs twice in one day!) The flavor was really nice and the meat tender. What else can you ask for? Joe had the Gigantosaurus burger, which looked bananas! Imagine a double-cheeseburger on steroids. I don’t even remember what the girls had because I was elbow deep in BBQ sauce and slaw!
But everyone agreed that the food was great. And the drinks were fantastic too! I have a “Category-5” which quite honestly I don’t remember what was in it (there’s a reason for that) but just know it involves a lot of rum and its red . . . I think. Even popped for the souvenir glasses for $13. So you know, if you do get the first one in the glass, you don’t have to pay $13 if you want another. It’s like $6 or $7 bucks. And they bring you a new glass in a box when you’re ready to leave. I know this may seem like standard operating procedure, but Joe was walking to the bathroom to rinse his and dry it off before our waitress stopped him. And I can’t laugh because I might’ve done the same! I try to act like I’ve been somewhere before but sometimes . . .
When we’d finished the girls took the kids outside while I waited for the bill. As most of you know T-REX is not part of the dining plan. And I will forewarn you that it’s not cheap. It’s not super expensive but it is pricey; expect to pay vacation prices if you know what I mean. But I will also tell you, from my perspective, it is money well spent. Everyone really enjoyed the entire experience. And I’ve seen some reviews of people saying “T-REX is not for little kids” etc, and I guess you just have to consider the kid. Our kids loved it.
The only time Sean got scared at all was when Wendy and I were taking pictures all around the restaurant by various displays. Wendy was holding him in front of a baby Brachiosaurus and out of nowhere it decided to wake up and swing its neck around behind them. They both jumped out of their skins. But it was funny, and Sean quickly recovered before any tears appeared. I think Wendy took longer to compose herself! I just regret not having the video camera!
While I was settling up, the manager stopped by our table to ask how everything was. We actually had a nice conversation. She told us that they went from being slammed to slow virtually over night the week before and she seemed genuinely appreciative to have us there. We talked about the opening and I asked about her career. She’s been with the company a long time, managing a couple RFC’s and then she opened the Yak & Yeti (which was also a Schussler brainchild.) She asked if we’d eaten there and I just growled. Just kidding, but I told her about only being able to get an early reservation, to which she told me we could have just walked up at any time we wanted and they’d have fit us in pretty quickly. She also confirmed that the smells weren’t deceiving and that the food really is good. So it is definitely a must on my next trip. Super nice lady.
She had funny stories about Steve Schussler and even dropped a rumor about what he and the Imagineers might be partnering up on for DTD / P.I. next. It actually seemed like a weird idea, and somewhat unlikely given they have one at Epcot already. I ain’t saying any more because I don’t wanna get sued or get her fired! I’ll just say anything’s possible at Disney!!!
Sean and I built a “castle” at the LEGO store for a while (castle means Sean stacked as many blocks on top of each other as he could get his hands on in a straight column) while the ladies shopped at the World of Disney. Joe had gone off in search of some sports themed store (Mickey’s Athletic Club?) Anyway, I made the mistake of taking a tired, cranky, 2 & ½ year old who was already annoyed with me for leaving the LEGO store into WoD. That was dumb. Everything at eye level was “I want!” or “Mine!” Bad daddy! Bad!!!
After a whirl on the carousel we stopped at Goofy’s Candy Company. I must admit my wife told me numerous times I should pack our cups from the last time we went when we made those slushies in there. Mine’s got a Goofy hat and shoes and hers in Minnie Mouse. She kept saying, they will refill them there and it’s cheaper and you know when you’re there you’ll want one. But me being a man said no, it’s just more junk to pack and then lug around. We’ll be fine. I won’t want one. Too much sugar anyway. Yadda yadda yadda! So we walked into Goofy’s Candy Company that night and guess what was the first thing my mouth started watering for . . . !
But as good as it sounded to cap off a good night with a slushie, it just wasn’t worth the “I told you so’s.”
Just putting it out there guys. If you’ve got ‘em, take your cups. It’s worth it.
Although I wouldn’t have minded making a Stitch cup too!!!
At any rate, we made our way back to the busses loaded with treats, and soon were back home at Pop. It really was a good night. One of those “fall asleep with a simple, satisfied smile on your face” nights.
The next day was Thursday, our last full day in Walt Disney World. I was already getting depressed. I must admit, this is the first trip to Disney that I found myself having a hard time just trying to live in the moment and enjoy it. Everyday I had this running counter in my brain, counting down to Friday when it all blew up. I don’t know why that was. Guess I’m just getting older. Yeesh!
Still, we had one more day and we were going to make the most of every minute we could spending our final day at the Magic Kingdom one more time.
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