Where To Eat?
We arranged a visit to Unversal City Walk for dinner to try out the new Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen. This was still pre-official opening (soft-opening) so there were a few teething troubles (not many toilets and completely closed on one of the floors which made for a bit of a line). The place was heaving folks everywhere as this was really new so they were checking out the store (chocolates, macaroons and a variety of edible and non-edible gifts) and dining venue. It has a steampunk style to it, with dining upstairs and downstairs. The upper floor has a bar where you can wait for your call to dinner (they text you!) and they have the most fabulous Too Chocolate Stout available.
We were shown to our table and had a bit of a wait for them to come and take our order. There is a reasonable menu with a few vegetarian selections alongside sandwiches, burgers, pasta, flatbreads, chicken, salmon, steaks and more. They made a few mistakes - one meal was forgotten, so very late coming out, another had to be sent back as not how described, but overall the food wasn't bad and it was early days. On the day I'd give them three and a half out of five, but since then I've heard both good and bad things!
Their signature dish is the milkshake (which is actually a milkshake in a jar, with a good-size cake on the top) - we didn't get a chance to sample these.
This was our first visit to the Tusker House Restaurant. It's a buffet with servers bringing drinks to your table and your favourite Disney characters - Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Minnie - visiting each of the tables. Note, they should make sure each character visits your table but if your group gets split fetching food they might visit half of the group and move on so keep an eye out and if you missed a character, tell a cast member who will hopefully fetch them back to you (eventually). We booked a late breakfast, which meant that they had started to put out some lunch items as well, if you want a wider range of food to try. They don't seem to try to hurry you out at all. It is loud though and a bit manic so don't expect a nice quiet meal. It's a great opportunity for meeting characters without standing in line for ages.
If you have a birthday or anniversary (or something else you are celebrating) let them know when you book - or at least when you check in - as they will probably give you a card signed by the characters and maybe a small cake.
This was another first for us. It's another Landry Restaurant and if you've tried Rainforest Cafe, then T-REX is similar, but the animated animals are several million years older! If you have kids (or adults, not to mention bears) that love dinosaurs you really should try this place - it's great! They have American fare (burgers, salmon, chicken, etc)
At T-Rex, Rainforest and Paddlefish you can use a Landry's card. It costs $25, but you get that back off your first use. You also get points with every purchase that eventually gets you more money off vouchers and on your birthday (as registered on the account) they send you a $25 credit to use in your birthday month. You can apply for this even outside of the US and as soon as you register you will get an account number which you need to get your rewards, even if your card doesn't arrive in time. In addition to financial rewards, it means you don't have to book, just arrive at the restaurant and you will get priority seating (though in busy times this could still be forty-five minutes) but should be quicker than non-members - these are popular restaurants!
Another exciting thing within T-Rex - well, it's exciting for the bears - is the Build-A-Dino store. Similar to Build-A-Bear (same company) there is a store where you can make a stuffed animal or, if you (your child?) already has one, you can get dinosaur- or explorer-related clothing and accessories. They have some lovely dinosaur t-shirts. Perfect place for the dinosaur fans in your life
The Nomad Lounge at Disney's Animal Kingdom serves a small range of food, beer, wine, spirits and more but its speciality is a wide range of travel-orientated cocktails, with flavours from around the world. Adult-only, it was a lovely place to cool down and relax for a while before heading out for the next fastpass.
Thinking of what to ask for for your birthday? Or even Christmas? Why not try a 