We Took Our Tots To Have Lunch With Dinosaurs At T-Rex In Disney Springs
Disney Springs is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment center located within Walt Disney World. Of the approximately 70 different restaurants located within Disney Springs, my little ones’ favorite is T-Rex. In this post, we’ll share why this restaurant is our tots’ top pick, review a few of our favorite menu items, and provide some helpful #Tot Tips for dining with little ones.
This highly-themed prehistoric dining experience transports guests back in time to when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. You’ll come face to face with a T-Rex, gaze up at Pterodactyls and sit side by side with a Wooly Mammoth as you sample a fairly large menu. You may find your table underneath a gigantic octopus, within a color-changing ice cavern, or even inside a forest with giant insects. Every 20 minutes, a meteor shower brings the entire restaurant to life.
Wait Times & Reservations
This restaurant is extremely popular, which means that there is always a long wait and depending on the size of your party, it can be considerable. However, don’t get discouraged just yet! Reservations are accepted (and encouraged). We haven’t had much luck with getting reservations ourselves. Oftentimes, we make a spontaneous decision on the weekend to go for dinner, and at that point there aren’t any reservations left. Guests that are staying in a Walt Disney World Hotel though, can make dining reservations up to 60 days before their stay. Take advantage of this opportunity and book a dinner reservation early; you will not be disappointed!
If you’re unable to get a reservation, plan on waiting a minimum of an hour. If you have a larger group size, that wait time may be higher. I recommend heading straight for T-Rex when you arrive at Disney Springs and provide your name to the host. You’ll be given an approximate wait time and they’ll send you a text message when your table is ready. While you wait, you can explore the T-Rex Store, Build-A-Dino, or the Paleo Zone. Most of the time, once we put our name in, we head for the World of Disney Store which is just a short distance from the restaurant.
T-Rex Store, Build-A-Dino & The Paleo Zone
Located within the restaurant, is a small store featuring a variety of toys, clothes and other collectibles. Even though you can expect typical theme park pricing on items, they do have a pretty good selection to choose from given the size of the store. As an added bonus, in the back corner of the store, there are a few touch screens with dino-themed activities that your toddler can enjoy as well.
As you continue further into the store, you’ll see the Build-A-Dino experience (by Build-A-Bear Workshop). Your little ones can choose from a variety of dino pals and truly make them their own with fun clothes and accessories to match. Even when the restaurant is busy, we’ve never seen the wait too long for this experience. Definitely a fun way to spend your time waiting for your table to be ready.
For the little Paleontologists that want to experience what it would be like digging for fossils and other treasures, take them to the Paleo Zone. This free to play area boasts a large digging site and all the tools needed to enjoy. It’s covered from the sun, and most importantly, is not filled with sand but rather more like small pebble material.
The Menu
T-Rex is considered a casual dining restaurant featuring American cuisine. Expect to pay an average of $20-$30 per plate. Kid’s meals cost about $12 and most of the kid’s entrees come with a side and a drink. The portion sizes are quite large and the food tastes good. For my husband and I, our typical go-to choice is the Brontosaurus Burger (cheeseburger). It comes with two patties, classic burger toppings on the side, and you also get a side of seasoned waffle fries. For the baby, we typically just bring food from home for him right now. And for my toddler, when he’s feeling adventurous, he has the kid’s cheese pizza.
Tips
Below is a list of tips that we found to be particularly helpful when eating at T-Rex with our two little ones.
Plan ahead for the wait as much as possible. As a popular restaurant, it can often take awhile for your table to be ready. We like to walk around the store, and visit other stores nearby until we receive the text message that the table is ready.
Review the menu before you go and have a game plan for what everyone would like to order. Although the service is surprisingly efficient for such a busy restaurant, minimizing any possible wait with little ones is ideal.
Bring distractions! We have a small backpack that we bring with us specifically for sit-down meals. I keep it stocked with toys, books, and puzzles. I try to rotate the toys to include ones that they haven’t seen or played with in awhile.
Carry backup snacks/food if you have particularly picky little ones. Our toddler eats approximately 5 different foods. Sometimes, he doesn’t want to eat anything when we go out to eat. Although we’re trying to work with him to experience new foods, at the end of the day it’s just important to me that he eats. I pack a few backup foods for him that I know he’ll eat when we go out.
Talk to your little ones about the Meteor Showers that happen in T-Rex before you sit down to eat so they’re not surprised. They take place approximately every 20 minutes. The lights dim, there’s sounds similar to thunder, the animatronics come alive and you’ll hear loud roars and see the dinosaurs move. My toddler was pretty apprehensive. He covered his eyes every time they happened. The baby on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind.
Bring any helpful cups or silverware that you’re able to. The restaurant has small kid’s cups with a lid and a straw. That cup will not last long with either of my little ones. We try to bring their spill proof cups from home and pour drinks into them.
Final Thoughts
Overall, eating at T-Rex is one of our favorite experiences, mainly because of how excited our tots get. With a little bit of planning ahead to minimize wait times, T-Rex is sure to be a crowd-pleaser for the whole family.