Disney Crone/Kid
11-12-2001, 12:25 PM
So far, my all-time favorite restaurant is the Blue Bayou, hands down. It is pure Disney magic! And, I like the food. The fireflies get me, everytime. Since 1967 (before most of you were born?), I've returned to the BB again and again, and if anything, its magic is further enhanced with every visit.
Yamabuki at the Paradise Pier Hotel (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=34418&t=6134#post34418) is #2. Napa Rose at the California Grand Hotel is #3.
In DCA, Robert Mondavi's Restaurant was my favorite, rating far above Wolfgang Puck's. Alas, both are gone. I'm willing to give the "new" Golden Winery restaurant a try. Any preliminary reviews out there?
As for Downtown Disney, the Rainforest Café is a #1, but I have yet to try Catal and Naples. I love tapas and Italian, so this may change.
Here's why the Rainforest Café scored with me:
DH and I were hungry, and we drove down the freeway to DD, to the Rainforest Café, a heavily-themed restaurant that fits perfectly in DD, complete with a waterfall, rain, animatronic elephants, gorillas, and toucans. It was our first time, and my, my, it was a jungle in there. They've got the Disney thang down pat.
I was impressed with its most amazing gigantic salt-water aquarium -- two 8 foot, floor to ceiling, vertical cylinders connected by a horizontal cylinder above the entrance of the restaurant.
Although the wait was long, I didn't mind it at all. I was mesmerized by the salt water, tropical reef fish. Vibrantly colored or iridescent, each was a masterpiece of Nature's art. Seeing the fish from the bottom up, as they swam from one vertical cylinder to the other via the horizontal passageway, was trippy. Kinda like looking up girls' dresses through an acrylic floor. Trippy.
Talking about trippy: The "rainforest canopy" was definitely trippy for us plant-lovers. Maybe someone should have consulted a horticulturist? Five different species of flowers blooming from the same vine is botanically impossible.
I especially loved the midnight sky above us. The pinpoint stars were actually twinkling with occasional meteors streaking by. I would have loved to take that sky home with me and install it on our bedroom ceiling. 'Trés romantique.
Get a load of these stars. (http://www.rainforestcafe.com/RFC/Tour.asp?vt=star)
Our server was warm and friendly Kelly, always with a smile, and unflustered in spite of the non-stop busy-ness and requests for picture-taking, at least three while we were there.
The surprisingly good crabcake sandwich and BBQ beef wraps with fries, washed down with tall glasses of cold draft beer, made for a thumbs up, tasty lunch for a Sunday afternoon. The servings were ample, and I was too stuffed to have the dessert I had anticipated, an Almond Mocha Cappuchino. Instead, we opted for regular black coffee, perfectly brewed.
We experienced three thunderstorms, once every half hour. The roar of the thunder is (very) LOUD and the streaks of lightning, dramatic against the threatening skies.
Like I said, it is very theme-y. Between the storm and the (way too) LOUD Brazilian music, this is not a quiet, romantic restaurant, and it was a challenge to talk above it all. Blue Bayou is far superior for relaxed dining and wooing and romancing. I think the concept folks should visit a real rainforest. Except for birds singing, they are very quiet, peaceful places...
Overall, for a complete dining experience worthy of Disney, tasty food and lots of it, friendly service, and ambience, I give it :) :) :) out of 4.
Yamabuki at the Paradise Pier Hotel (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=34418&t=6134#post34418) is #2. Napa Rose at the California Grand Hotel is #3.
In DCA, Robert Mondavi's Restaurant was my favorite, rating far above Wolfgang Puck's. Alas, both are gone. I'm willing to give the "new" Golden Winery restaurant a try. Any preliminary reviews out there?
As for Downtown Disney, the Rainforest Café is a #1, but I have yet to try Catal and Naples. I love tapas and Italian, so this may change.
Here's why the Rainforest Café scored with me:
DH and I were hungry, and we drove down the freeway to DD, to the Rainforest Café, a heavily-themed restaurant that fits perfectly in DD, complete with a waterfall, rain, animatronic elephants, gorillas, and toucans. It was our first time, and my, my, it was a jungle in there. They've got the Disney thang down pat.
I was impressed with its most amazing gigantic salt-water aquarium -- two 8 foot, floor to ceiling, vertical cylinders connected by a horizontal cylinder above the entrance of the restaurant.
Although the wait was long, I didn't mind it at all. I was mesmerized by the salt water, tropical reef fish. Vibrantly colored or iridescent, each was a masterpiece of Nature's art. Seeing the fish from the bottom up, as they swam from one vertical cylinder to the other via the horizontal passageway, was trippy. Kinda like looking up girls' dresses through an acrylic floor. Trippy.
Talking about trippy: The "rainforest canopy" was definitely trippy for us plant-lovers. Maybe someone should have consulted a horticulturist? Five different species of flowers blooming from the same vine is botanically impossible.
I especially loved the midnight sky above us. The pinpoint stars were actually twinkling with occasional meteors streaking by. I would have loved to take that sky home with me and install it on our bedroom ceiling. 'Trés romantique.
Get a load of these stars. (http://www.rainforestcafe.com/RFC/Tour.asp?vt=star)
Our server was warm and friendly Kelly, always with a smile, and unflustered in spite of the non-stop busy-ness and requests for picture-taking, at least three while we were there.
The surprisingly good crabcake sandwich and BBQ beef wraps with fries, washed down with tall glasses of cold draft beer, made for a thumbs up, tasty lunch for a Sunday afternoon. The servings were ample, and I was too stuffed to have the dessert I had anticipated, an Almond Mocha Cappuchino. Instead, we opted for regular black coffee, perfectly brewed.
We experienced three thunderstorms, once every half hour. The roar of the thunder is (very) LOUD and the streaks of lightning, dramatic against the threatening skies.
Like I said, it is very theme-y. Between the storm and the (way too) LOUD Brazilian music, this is not a quiet, romantic restaurant, and it was a challenge to talk above it all. Blue Bayou is far superior for relaxed dining and wooing and romancing. I think the concept folks should visit a real rainforest. Except for birds singing, they are very quiet, peaceful places...
Overall, for a complete dining experience worthy of Disney, tasty food and lots of it, friendly service, and ambience, I give it :) :) :) out of 4.