We ate at T-Rex, one of the few Downtown Disney restaurants none of us had eaten at before.
T-Rex is a Landry restaurant, the same company that owns and operates Rainforest Cafe. Which isn't surprising, given that T-Rex is essentially a carbon copy of Rainforest Cafe, except with dinosaurs rather than jungle animals.
The menu is similarly expansive, heavy on the meat. Nevertheless, I went with a fish dish, the Mesozoic Mahi Mahi: a filet of panko-crusted mahi mahi, served with a sweet and sour sauce, wild rice and roasted vegetables, including green beans, carrots, zucchini and peppers, for $23.99. (Apparently, T-Rex recently dropped the price $1, but replaced a shrimp topping and lemon shallot butter sauce with the sweet and sour sauce. It also changed the breading from a Parmesan crust to the Japanese breadcrumbs.)
Unless you're talking fish n' chips, fish doesn't need breading. Like a good steak, a fish filet's best when prepared simply - just grill or saute it. The sweet and sour sauce didn't add much to the fish, though I wish I saw roasted red peppers offered at restaurants more often. They're a yummy side dish.
My mother selected the Lost World Chicken Salad Sandwich, a pulled rotisserie chicken in mayonnaise with celery, onions, almonds and tarragon. It's served on a croissant, with potato chips for $13.99.
I found the chicken salad to have an off, perfumey flavor that kept me from trying more than one bite. Typically, I love tarragon, but in combination with the other flavors here, well, it just didn't work for me.
Unless you've got a kid who's a dinosaur fan, in which case you're likely to end up here at some point during your Walt Disney World vacation, there's no reason to seek out T-Rex. You can find much better food elsewhere on property, often at less cost.
After lunch, we walked over to West Side for a trip on Characters in Flight, the immense helium (not hot air!) balloon that floats 400 feet over Walt Disney World.
The 10-minute up-and-down trip costs $18 for adults and $12 for kids, ages 3-9. I wouldn't recommend the trip for anyone too short to see over the handrails, so skip it if you've got kids under 8 in your group. Nor will this ride appeal to anyone with a fear of heights, even if it's a mild case. You're in a real balloon here, so don't expect the stability you get riding something such as SeaWorld's observation tower. You feel even the gentlest breezes here.
That's Epcot, above. And here's a shot of Downtown Disney:
On a clear day, the views are lovely. Are they worth the extra cost? I'll leave that to you. But if you've never been up in a balloon before, this is an easy, visually rewarding way to do that.
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Anyway, whenever we visit now it is just for dessert, which even the weakest of kitchens has a hard time screwing up completely!
It's safe to assume that will happen again and again -- people who travel to Florida to see Potter will no doubt eamark time for Disney as well.
"What's good for tourism and entertainment is goof for Central Florida."
Surprisingly, Downtown Disney and CityWalk have pretty mediocre restaurants with a few exceptions (e.g., Raglan Road, Emeril's). Meanwhile, excellent fare can be found at their resort hotels, but some people don't want to travel out of the way to get to a good restaurant. I really think both resorts' dining/shopping/partying districts could use a high-end dining experience.
WORD to your stomach!!!!!!!!
Overall, I would recommend T-Rex for anyone who likes dinosuars, and good food.
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Lucky you getting on Characters in Flight. It always seems to be down due to potental weather!