Dining with Dinos

Earlier this year, a friend and I had a "mom and son" trip to Disney World and we were looking for a special place to take our 8 and 10-year-old "dates."  It had to have a great selection on its kids' menu, be unique, and not have a sign of any princesses anywhere near.  We settled on T-Rex in Downtown Disney.

From the moment we walked in, the boys were in awe.  One of the first things I noticed was the nautical-themed bar area.  There are giant jellyfish hanging from the ceiling and it appears that the bar patrons could easily be lunch for the octopus that owns the legs suspended above them.  There, of course, were also giant, animatronic dinosaurs as well as a woolly mammoth that captured the boys' imagination.

We were seated in the ice cave.  In this area, the walls appear to be made of ice and in one wall is a giant dinosaur skeleton.  The lights in the walls change colors giving the room an ambient glow.

Of course, all of this doesn't make for a good restaurant - we were hungry!  First, their menu didn't disappoint.  They had one of the most complete kids' menus I've ever seen.  There were 11 entree options - everything from pizza to chicken to ribs to shrimp, all priced around $7.  The adult menu also had plenty of selections priced from $13.99 for a burger or sandwich to over $30 for steak.

We started with the Colosso Nachos for Two.  I know it said for two, but that must mean two people with hearty appetites who haven't eaten all day.  All four of us picked at them and while they tasted great, we just simply couldn't eat them all, especially since we had more food coming!  My son had the lasagna from the kids' menu and loved it.  I also really liked my Guac-asaurus burger.  Again, we just couldn't eat it all.

After lunch, we explored the restaurant taking photos of all the different dinosaurs.  We also experienced one of the meteor showers that happens periodically.  While we were eating, one occurred and we saw that the lights in the ice cave flashed and changed color, but we wanted to experience one out in the main part of the restaurant.  For about one minute, lights flashed throughout the restaurant, the animals moved, and meteors went streaking across the ceiling.  The boys liked it but it may frighten smaller children.

We finished our visit with the Paleo Zone and Build-a-Dino.  In the Paleo Zone, the boys used touch screens to test their knowledge about dinosaurs.  They also went panning for stones.  Then, they built their own dinosaurs to take home (with budgets set by the moms).  Similar to Build-a-Bear, Build-a-Dino allows you to pick out a dinosaur "skin," stuff it, and dress it.  Our boys even added a pair of sunglasses to make sure their dinos were super cool!

The only drawbacks to us were that the portions were too large, which may not be a drawback to other people, and that you'll need to bring a full wallet as our bill for two adults and two children was about $100 inclusive of tax and tip and we spent another $70 on the boys' dinos.  That being said, we thoroughly enjoyed our time there and plan to go again on an upcoming trip.