Goooood day, pals! We’re comin’ at you with a review of one of the more controversial restaurants in Disney World and we can’t WAIT to bring you along for the ride.

This time, we’re headed to Disney Springs to visit a HEAVILY-themed restaurant that is loved by some, and hated by others — T-Rex! This dino-themed spot is the sister restaurant to Rainforest Cafe and is known for some pretty spectacular prehistoric theming with some less than spectacular food offerings.

T-Rex is open for lunch and dinner each day with a LARGE and varied selection of food offerings. Despite being known for less-than-stellar eats, it can be pretty difficult to nab a reservation here, so you’ll want to make sure you snag one in advance.

The atmosphere of this restaurant makes for most of the pros with a very cool and very themed space, but we’re not always pleased with the food. Let’s see how T-Rex held up this time!

Atmosphere

T-Rex certainly sticks out when you’re strolling through Disney Springs. The exterior of the restaurant features HUGE dinosaur skeletons and prehistoric vibes. And the fun CERTAINLY doesn’t stop when you head inside.

The first thing that you’ll notice about the atmosphere of T-Rex is that there are GIANT dinosaur robots EVERYWHERE. Yup, that includes tyrannosaurus rexes! The schtick here is exactly what you find across the way at Rainforest Cafe: you’re IN the creatures’ world while you eat your chicken nuggets or pizza. Instead of jungle animals like at Rainforest though, you get more of a low-rent Jurassic Park vibe here (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!).

If you were a Parks and Rec fan, this spot always makes us think of Jurassic Fork, the eerily similar fictional robo-dino-themed restaurant in the show. That restaurant was oozing with cheesy dino-puns just like this spot (though admittedly not quite as heavy-handed here!).

After you get past the dino excitement, you might notice the giant, moving octopus hanging from the ceiling over the bar. (Yes, it’s colorful and cheesy. But also, try telling us you DON’T want to have a drink under a giant cephalopod! )

The restaurant has a few different themed rooms. There’s the sea area where that lovely octo-bar resides…

…the meteor room…

…a dinosaur forest room…

…and an ice cave.

Every 20 minutes or so, there’s a meteor shower that makes part of the restaurant go dark or change color while sound effects happen! You can even see the meteors in the meteor room.

The rooms feature standard seating with tables and chairs, booths, and bar seating. Sometimes, you might end up seated at a fun table like the ones INSIDE a triceratops!

For your table setting, you’ll find a paper napkin and utensils.

But enough about the atmosphere, let’s chat about the eats!

Eats

At our table, we were given reusable menus that were pretty large. T-Rex does have a solid spread of options, making it a great choice for a large group looking for a range of options. You’ve got choices for Appetizers like the Caprese Flatbread…

…and options for Soups and Salads like the Jurassic Salad. When it comes to entrees you have your choice of a variety of Pastas…

…Burgers and Sandwiches, and Seafood. If you’re noticing the unique food names, it’s hard not to — many are very heavy-handed dino-puns like we mentioned before!

There are a few choices for the Carnivores as well! For Desserts, you’ll spot a few flashy options.

For kids, there are nine different entree options and two dessert options. It should come as no surprise that T-Rex is often a hit with the younger set. It’s booming with lights and sounds and robots shaped like dinos. If you’re walking through Disney Springs with a child, chances are they’ll gravitate toward this restaurant like a moth to a flame!

On to drinks, you’ll find a selection of sometimes LARGE and fun cocktails from The Watering Hole, plus Wine, Beers…

..and non-alcoholic options (called The Big Chills!).

We kicked off our meal by ordering two of the more interesting cocktails. First up, there’s the Tropical Cotton-tini for $13. So, as the name implies, this drink features a fistful of cotton candy in a glass that your drink is poured over. It’s a quick “oooh” but still pretty fun.

This drink is Don Q Coconut Rum and Tropical Fruit Juices topped with Cotton Candy — and it includes a plastic Shaker Cup!

This sip tasted a lot like your standard sugary sweet rum drink but with a little extra sugary grit. (Cause MMM doesn’t a gritty drink sound delish?!) You know when cotton candy melts a little bit and gets weird and kinda gooey/kinda grainy? That was basically the texture but floating around in a cup of booze. Even though it tastes pretty average, it’s a lot more fun than a standard drink!

We also tried out the El Dorado for $15!

This MASSIVE cocktail was made from Patrón Citrónge Orange Liqueur, Monin South Seas Blend, and citrus juices topped with a 50ml Captain Morgan Spiced Rum Bottle.

Oh WOW was this drink sweet. The strongest flavor was the orange but it mostly just tasted like general fruit juices since there are so many flavors. (If you’re curious, like we were, Monin “South Seas” flavor is listed as predominantly mango, guava, and ginger.) The rum cuts the sweetness a LITTLE, but you’ll need to REALLY like sweet drinks to really appreciate this. 

We also picked up The Ultimate Prehistoric Smoothie. You can create your ultimate smoothie combo yourself, blended with nonfat vanilla yogurt and topped with whipped topping. You can pick two treats to mix in for $6.99 or three treats for $7.99. Don’t let the name “smoothie” mislead you — this is basically a milkshake disguising itself as a smoothie. The “treats” are bananas, strawberries, and a variety of what are essentially candy choices!

We picked Strawberry and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for our inclusions in the hopes that it would turn out like a PB&J Milkshake. Spoiler alert: It did not. The yogurt in the smoothie made for a wonky flavor profile but we could see it being tastier with some of the other options. So we either recommend going full healthy flavors, like strawberry banana, or full-on candy fest it up with Oreos and more. 

Alright, on to the appetizers! Nacho lovers, rejoice! We tried out the Colosso Beef Nachos for $19.99.

With this dish, expect nacho chips topped with Monterey Jack, cheddar cheese, black beans, pico de gallo, green onions, ground beef, and sour cream.

The nachos were pretty meh. If you’ve ever had nachos at a chain restaurant or sports bar, you’ve probably had something almost exactly the same. It’s a HUGE portion and pretty tasty on the top layer, but the topping to chip ratio wasn’t the best. All of the under-chips had little to no topping!

The beef was seasoned well and really, the dish would be a fine choice if you’re just craving a big plate of nachos. Still, it wasn’t anything to write home about. You also get a (quite large) dish of salsa. We could have done without this, but it’s there if you like it!

Next, we got the Supersaurus Sampler for $30.99! Whew, this pricy appetizer serves four and is a pretty hearty portion.

The platter features Cheesy Skillet Meatballs, Nashville Hot boneless wings, Chili Con Queso, Caprese Flatbread, and Mozzarella Sticks. Here’s the thing though — that’s not what we received. We were noticeably lacking in the Mozzarella Stick dept. and instead got a chicken quesadilla and lots of garlic bread on our tray. Hmm. 

Some of the items surprised us in a good way! Those rogue quesadillas, for instance, had pico de gallo INSIDE them and a lovely avocado crema on top of them.

The flatbread had a decent flavor and tasted pretty fresh. It was better than the Caprese at Pinocchio’s Village Haus in Magic Kingdom, but still not amazing. It did have a handful of peppery arugula and a drizzle of Balsamic glaze on top that helped add some flavor.

As for the queso, it was good but tasted just like what you can get in a jar at the grocery store. It didn’t have any heat either which might disappoint some diners.

The meatballs were pretty good! They weren’t at all dry and they tasted fine. Like most of the other items, they weren’t anything special but we didn’t mind eating ’em!

The wings were our favorite part of the platter because they actually had a SOLID level of heat! We really liked them. Be warned, being “boneless wings” they’re really just popcorn chicken disguised as wings, but they’re yummy AND have a kick! They were served over a handful of onion strings.

The garlic bread was…garlic bread. That’s a tough one to mess up, right? Overall, nothing was wildly amazing and everything tasted like something you might eat at a Chilis. If you’re craving generic appetizer food (hey, no shame there!), this will hit the spot!

Full yet? Too bad, we’re on to the entrees! One entree we snagged was the Prehistoric Pasta with Chicken for $24.79.

The dish is listed as alfredo sauce and fettuccine pasta but it also had mushrooms and diced tomatoes.

This was a VERY generic entree. Honestly, you could have a better alfredo dish at Olive Garden. Or an Applebee’s. Or from a jar of sauce you got from the grocery store. The sauce lacked any strong flavor and the chicken and veggies didn’t do much to help. Everything was cooked well, it was just ultimately very bland.

Our other entree was the Paleozoic Chicken Sandwich for $19.99.

The dish is made from grilled marinated chicken breast, bacon, Swiss cheese, pesto mayo, and a sourdough bun.

Overall, it was a pretty basic chicken sandwich. The chicken was a little dry but the strong flavor of the bacon and pesto mayo helped to combat the dryness. That pesto also gave it a more unique flavor than your typical chicken sammie! It was fine if you’re craving a classic, but again, nothing special.

The sandwich came with fries, which were cooked well and still crispy, and a small cup of slaw. Both of the entrees we had were generic and only okay. Of the two, we liked the sandwich a little better, but truthfully, we wouldn’t order either of them again. 

Alright, the final eat! For dessert, we snagged the $20.99 Chocolate Extinction.

This dessert came out with dry ice creating a column of fog that poured out over the table and floor around us. Uh…NEAT!

It was four pieces of chocolate brownie cake with ice cream, caramel, chocolate, and Butterfinger. This treat could DEFINITELY serve four (maybe more!) so we think it’s pretty worth that price tag.

The cake was REALLY good. It was dense like a brownie but moist like a cake and it went great with the ice cream and crunch from the Butterfinger topping. Sure, nothing was groundbreaking in flavor but it was a super fun dessert and easily the best thing we ate.

Now, there are still better desserts (and other eats) elsewhere in Disney Springs, but we were happy with that Chocolate Extinction as a capstone on an otherwise mediocre meal. If you have kids in your crew, the dry ice “smoke” will likely blow their minds and be the most memorable thing they see all day. 

So, how DO we feel about T-Rex after this experience? And should YOU eat there?

Nosh or Not

You SHOULD dine at T-Rex if…

• You’ve got a dino-lovin’ kiddo in your party. This restaurant has SUCH a fun environment and kids will have a blast looking around at the theming.
• You’re looking for a memorable location to hang with some friends. This spot is a hit with bigger groups of guests looking for a unique place for drinks and apps.
• You’re a party full of picky eaters. T-Rex is a picky eaters paradise. It won’t please someone with more adventurous or refined tastes, but if you’re looking for easy options, this could be your winner!

You should SKIP T-Rex if…

• You’re a food-lover. T-Rex has little for you if you’re looking for interesting flavors or quality ingredients. There are SO many amazing spots in Disney Springs where you’ll be able to find truly stunning eats.
• You’re on a budget. T-Rex is NOT cheap. What’s worse, the food tastes pretty cheap so it stings even more when you get that bill and see just how much you racked up with a full meal.
• You don’t have a reason to go to T-Rex. This spot certainly serves a purpose, but if you don’t have a specific reason to go, we’d recommend you go elsewhere!

Overall

Overall, we had an okay experience at T-Rex. We always go into a review hoping for the best, even here. The whole “fool me once” adage definitely should be ringing true by now for us here though. We’ve eaten here many times and each time we leave feeling like “fool me for the 3rd, 6th, 9th time…shame on me.” That said, the service was lovely, and the theming was super special. And dry ice makes all desserts way cooler. But dry ice, robots, and ice caves don’t make up for the fact that the food is some of the lowest quality we’ve experienced in a sit-down meal at Disney World. Still, if you’re not a kiddo with an affinity for dinosaurs, the theming might not be enough to make up for the overpriced, not-amazing eats.

In general, if you’re NOT a very specific type of dino fan, you might want to skip T-Rex. We love a dinosaur robot as much as the next diner, but the food is so generic and only okay that it’s hard to justify eating here over the other options in Disney Springs. It makes us sad to stroll past the delicious smells of Wine Bar George or Morimoto Asia with heavy, underseasoned alfredo and nachos in our bellies. Sorry, tummy, we’ll do right by you next time.

T-Rex isn’t for everyone. It’s loud and over-the-top which is awesome for kiddos that are already MEGA overstimulated in Disney World and parents just. want. them. to. eat. But for others, the in-your-face lights, colors, sounds, and…well…robo-dinos might be just TOO much. If it were outside of Disney World, it might be a better experience. This would be that cool restaurant in a mid-sized city you go to on special occasions as a kid and remember forever. When you ask your parents about it years later they roll their eyes and go “yeah, that place was…not great to eat at. But you liked it.” That’s T-Rex in a nutshell (or dino eggshell if you want to be on-theme!).

Click here for ANOTHER review of T-Rex!