FULL Review: NEW Burger and Build-Your-Own Sundae Dinner Experience at Animal Kingdom’s Restaurantosaurus!
Do you hear the thump thumping of big prehistoric feet and smell some incredible food grilling?
Restaurantosaurus
That’s right! We’re traveling back to the Mesozoic era in Animal Kingdom‘s Dinoland, U.S.A. to feast on some carnivorous and omnivorous eats at Restaurantosaurus‘s new dinner experience!
While we’ve talked about how much we love the dino-themed quick-service location in our previous reviews, we were super excited to find out that they would be implementing a whole new dinner experience starting TONIGHT!
Restaurantosaurus Atmosphere
For a set price of $22.99 without tax per adult and $14.99 without tax per child aged 3-9 or a Disney Dining Plan quick-service credit, guests can select an entrée from a variety of burgers, a side dish, a token for a build-your-own-sundae bar, and a non-alcoholic drink. They had us at ice cream, tbh.
Restaurantosaurus Entrance
When we entered the restaurant, we checked in at a podium on the left side of room where we were greeted with a warm smile from the Cast Members. This is a podium dedicated only to the Burgers and Sundaes experience guests.
Restaurantosaurus Dinner Check-In
Note that Restaurantosaurus will continue to serve regular counter service options to other guests during this dining experience, but that Burgers and Sundaes folks will be seated in a special dining room.
They handed us a small chalkboard with our name and table number and menus to glance through before placing our orders.
Restaurantosaurus Regular Dinner Menu
Restaurantosaurus Regular Dinner Menu
There was even an allergy-friendly menu to accommodate guests further!
Restaurantosaurus Allergy-Friendly Dinner Menu
Restaurantosaurus Allergy-Friendly Dinner Menu
Now there were many “magical moments” for us during the evening, but here’s the first: the burgers featured during the Restaurantosaurus dinner were developed by the same chef team who created D-Luxe Burgers at Disney Springs! YUM!! The burger blend is 7 ounces of seriously delicious brisket, short rib, and chuck.
We settled on the Chili-Cheese (obviously we gotta have cheese) Corn Chips Burger and the Sunny-Side Up Burger. After placing our order with the Cast Member furthest to the left, we were given our ice cream tokens and our seater met with us to take us to our table. (How cute is this token?!?)
Restaurantosaurus Ice Cream Token
Along the way, she explained to us that there were unique dipping sauces we were welcome to help ourselves to (UM YES PLS ALL THE SAUCES)…
Restaurantosaurus Dipping Sauce Station
… cold and hot beverage cups were available by the drink station…
Restaurantosaurus Drink Station
…and that we could use the ice cream tokens to build our own dig site at the sundae bar after our meal! Adorbs.
Restaurantosaurus Ice Cream Station
After we sat down at our table and our chalkboard was taken from us…
Restaurantosaurus Atmosphere
…we were encouraged to doodle (and even write love notes to each other) with the white butcher paper and buckets filled with markers, crayons, and stencils.
Table Doodle Bucket
Table Doodle Bucket
After all, the paleontologists who created the restaurant encourage guests to have a dino-mite time!
Table Doodle Utensils
Our Table Doodle!
We were also told by our food runner that there wasn’t any outdoor seating for this experience at Restaurantosaurus. Instead, they stressed the benefit of AC and a fun meal without it being actual table service. We definitely didn’t mind staying out of the humidity, especially since it rained during our meal!
Restaurantosaurus Dining Table
Now let’s just talk about the cast members for a minute because THEY WERE AMAZING. So fun, so dedicated to making sure everyone had a great time, and 100% making the experience all that it could be.
While we waited for our orders to arrive, cast members and managers kept walking around to check on tables and tell jokes to guests. “What’s a smart dinosaur called? A Thesaurus!”
Restaurantosaurus Cast Member
We hopped up over to check out the dipping sauces at the station. They had Buffalo, BBQ Mustard, Mayo Ketchup, and Horseradish sauces, all created by the same team who worked on the D-Luxe menu sauces!
Dipping Sauces
Okay, so we have to admit that Mayo Ketchup with its slightly sweet and slightly tangy taste and the BBQ Mustard with its smoky hints were our favorites, even though the Buffalo and Horseradish were still delicious.
Dipping Sauces
Moments after getting back to our table, we were surprised to have our food brought out so quickly (score a million for the chefs and food runners!!).
Our Tasty Burgers!
We started with the Chili-Cheese Corn Chip Burger… And, boy, did it taste like a grown-up sloppy joe!
Chili-Cheese Corn Chip Burger
The chili was seasoned beautifully and mixed with a hearty amount of sauce, meat, and more, but it never felt too heavy.
Chili-Cheese Corn Chip Burger
That bun was sturdy, you guys! No sloppiness here!
Chili-Cheese Corn Chip Burger
The Fritos on top added a satisfying crunch to every bite without getting soggy.
Chili-Cheese Corn Chip Burger
Chili-Cheese Corn Chip Burger
The fries were basically steak fries — salty, thick, and ready to be dipped in as much sauce or chili as you like.
Restaurantosaurus Fries
Despite how yummy the Chili-Cheese Corn Chip Burger was, the Sunny-Side Up Burger was our favorite of the two (it was a hard decision to make!!).
Sunny-Side Up Burger
Each part of the burger was layered beautifully, making our mouths water before even tasting it!
Sunny-Side Up Burger
The mildly flavored cheese mixed well the the stronger tastes of the other ingredients.
Sunny-Side Up Burger
An ya gotta love that egg ooze.
Sunny-Side Up Burger
(Ugh, just look at all the peppered, eggy GOODNESS!!)
Sunny-Side Up Burger
D-luxe Burger in Disney Springs is known (to us at DFB anyway) for being one of the only places that doesn’t automatically cook your counter service burger to oblivion, and we appreciated that here as well.
Sunny-Side Up Burger
The chips placed on the bottom added some saltiness and texture to the soft burger.
The onion rings were nice and crispy, although they tasted like typical counter service and not anything really special.
Restaurantosaurus Onion Rings
During our meal, we were told by the manager that they would be tentatively adding two bartenders to the staff at Restaurantosaurus so there would be one cocktail server to work the dining room and the other for quick-service. The same drinks served at Restaurantosaurus Lounge would be available during the dinner experience for an extra fee.
Restaurantosaurus Lounge
After our dinner plates were cleared, we were ready for our favorite part of the meal: ICE CREAM!
Restaurantosaurus Ice Cream Station
We took our tokens and were on our merry way to have a Cast Member give us the 2 scoops our coupon allowed.
Restaurantosaurus Ice Cream Station
The hand-scooped Edy’s ice cream featured regular flavors like Chocolate…
Chocolate Edy’s Ice Cream
… Vanilla…
Vanilla Edy’s Ice Cream
… Strawberry…
Strawberry Edy’s Ice Cream
… And a Raspberry Sorbet for guests with dietary restrictions and allergies.
Raspberry Sorbet Edy’s Ice Cream
But the real hero of the night: The SUNDAE TOPPING BAR! How much does my OCD brain love this map-o-toppings? SO. MUCH.
Restaurantosaurus Sundae Topping Bar
Hot Caramel and Hot Fudge were plentiful.
Restaurantosaurus Sundae Topping Bar
And then there was this sheer beauty. All the sauces, sprinkles, whipped cream, cherries, candy, and crunchies you could ever want — all there at the ready. These included chocolate chip cookies, whipped cream (x2), strawberry topping, pineapple topping, cherries, Mickey sprinkles, rainbow sprinkles, graham cracker crumbs, cake crumbs, fruity pebbles, M&Ms, chocolate cookie crumbles, chocolate rocks, waffle cone pieces, and (whew!) oreos.
Restaurantosaurus Sundae Topping Bar
Restaurantosaurus Sundae Topping Bar
You can double up on flavors with your two scoops, so we chose vanilla and strawberry.
Our Sundae Before
And then aaaaaaaalmost used every topping in the haus.
Our Sundae After
I’m in love. Are you in love?
Our Restaurantosaurus Build-Your-Own-Sundae
Yeah — this whole situation was completely adorable, the cast members were wonderful, and we’d have no trouble at all coming back again! <3
Nosh or Not
Restaurantosaurus’ new burgers and sundae bar experience will be great for you if:
- You’re in Animal Kingdom and are looking for a different take on counter service
- You love a good burger and are DONE with the “hockey puck special” you’ll get at most Disney counter service locations
- Your kiddo (or YOU) loves ice cream and can’t pass up a good sundae bar
- You want to take a little break in your touring, but don’t want to pay the prices for a table service restaurant
You can skip this mesozoic meal if:
- You’re not a burger fan
- $22 for a counter service meal sounds over-the-top for your budget
- You’d rather mobile order, eat, and get back to the rides
Overall
We. Had. A. Blast. It was a very fun evening, and you could tell the cast members were having a great time with it. The food was remarkable (we love a good D-Luxe Burger and these were a super fun set of new options), and while the setting was still a counter service restaurant, we’ve never kept it a secret that we think Restaurantosaurus is an incredibly fun imagineering concept.
But the thing that’s notable here is that this will be amazing for kids. The butcher paper and stencils, the sundae bar, the fun atmosphere — it’s perfect for your creative kiddo. And if mom and dad can have a great burger at the same time — SOLD.
We’re not sure how long this experience will go on. It may be limited time during the Galaxy’s Edge crowd influx, or it may last a while longer. We’ll keep you updated here at DFB — see the link below to join our newsletter.
Note that Pizzafari’s table-service dinner experience is still ongoing on the other side of Discovery Island, so it’s looking like Animal Kingdom continues to experiment with hybrid table service/counter service options for park guests. Let us know your thoughts on this!
Have you gone to dinner at Restaurantosaurus yet? Let us know in the comments below!
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