Rainforest Cafe & ESPN Zone
2 Downtown Disney restaurants that families love!
Both kids and adults love the beautiful Mayan-temple-style Rainforest Cafe and the hyperactive ESPN Zone restaurants. We'll be talking about BOTH of these family-friendly restaurants on this page of the Downtown Disney Anaheim section of this website.At the Rainforest Cafe, your group will dine in a lush, tropical atmosphere. Plants grow, waterfalls fall, thunderstorms boom at regular intervals--while lightning flashes! Live fish swim in huge aquariums, fiber-optic stars twinkle overhea, and animal "footprints" lead your way into the dining room. A number of mechanical, animatronic jungle animals--apes, elephants, snakes, butterflies and more--will help to give you a feeling that you're out on a safari!
Sounds of the tropics are piped in over the Rainforest Cafe audio system, tablecloths sport a jungle print, and menu items sport exotic names. It all adds up to a fun adventure into the "wilderness" that your family---and expecially the young ones---will enjoy and remember.
The Rainforest Cafe's atmosphere makes it seem so special that many families would like the experience of dining at this popular Downtown Disney restaurant. At the Rainforest Cafe, you can EXPECT to wait for your meal during the following times---
1.) The whole busy summer season, during traditional meal times
2.) Year round on weekend mealtimes
3.) Holiday periods, especially during traditional mealtime hours
What can you do to cut your waiting time? Here are several ideas you can try---
1.) Call the restaurant ahead of time to make reservations---The Downtown Disney Anaheim location of the Rainforest Cafe accepts reservations a whole YEAR in advance! They RECOMMEND making reservations at least 2 weeks in advance if you have a particular date and time in mind upon which you'd like to dine.
You may call the restaurant directly at The Rainforest Cafe phone number, (714) 772-0413. (This is NOT a toll-free telephone number.) Note: The Rainforest Cafe is one restaurant in the Downtown Disney District that does NOT use the Disneyland Dining reservations system. But if you'd like to make a spur-of-the-moment visit to the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney California, don't worry----they don't completely pre-book their whole restaurant with advance reservations! There are still plenty of seats left for "walk-ups."
3.) Dine at off-hours. If you plan to enjoy a meal at the Rainforest Cafe during a busy period, choose a time when less people will be competing for a table. Plan for an early lunch...or wait until the mid-afternoon. Try the same "early or late" strategy for dinner, as well. There are simply many more people who would rather wait in line for dinner than change the time they eat to a "non-traditional" mealtime hour.
4.) Enjoy another activity while waiting. If all else fails and you reach the restaurant when there's a crowd, be sure to check in at the Rainforest Cafe's front desk & get your name on the waiting list BEFORE you do anything else. You may just find that there's plenty to do while you're waiting! The Rainforest Cafe's gift shop is a "must visit" attraction in itself (for those who enjoy shopping for unique and interesting gifts.) You'll find clothing, toys, educational products and novelties based on a jungle theme...many of them featuring the cute animals in the Rainforest Cafe's logo!
Another way for waiting guests to pass the time is by enjoying the live parrot show (which also includes other tropical birds) that takes place outside the Rainforest Cafe daily from noon -- 6 pm. A very knowledgable bird trainer also fields detailed questions from the crowd in addition to showing off the birds.
Rainforest Cafe -- Menu overview
When it's your turn to dine, you'll snuggle into your cozy booth or table and stare at the menu. What to choose? At the Rainforest Cafe, entrees run in the $10--$20 range. Beverages and desserts are extra.The Rainforest Cafe's menu features the following items---
* Seafood...such as shrimp scampi, srimp with coconut sauce, fried shrimp, and shrimp in combo with other meats
* Beef dishes...such as pot roast, steaks, BBQ and beef ribs
* Chicken dishes...such as grilled chicken or chicken strips
* Pizzas and Pasta dishes with several types of each from which to select
* Burgers and Sandwiches
* Mexican favorites...such as giant burritos and fajitas
Desserts: The Rainforest Cafe offers several desserts, but they DO have their own "specialty" dessert---a concoction known as "The Volcano." For about $12, you'll get a dessert feast that can feed a family of 4. The volcano consists of a base made of vanilla ice cream, with a volcano-shaped structure built on top of that by several brownies. The "lava" oozing down is made of chocolate and caramel sauces. You'll be treated to fanfare when you order the Volcano---the waitstaff all over the restaurant shout "VVOOLLCCAANNOOOOO!" everytime a group is served this specialty-of-the-house treat! Would you like to find out still more about The Rainforest Cafe at the Downtown Disney District in Anaheim, California? Yes? Then, please use the following link to view the Rainforest Cafe FAQs and Photos page of this website. There, you'll see more photos and pictures of this lovely restaurant, and be able to read in greater detail about the menu items they offer in their restaurant. DOWNTOWN DISNEY ANAHEIM RAINFOREST CAFE CONTACT INFORMATION: The Rainforest Cafe phone number is (714) 772-0413. The Downtown Disney address of the Rainforest Cafe location is 1515 S Disneyland Dr, Anaheim, CA 92802. If you need directions to the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney, you'll find a selection of maps to guide you on the "Disneyland Maps" page of this website. In the slide show above, you can see pictures of Downtown Disney's ESPN Zone restaurant. The outside, as you can see, is very attractive and features figures engaging in various types of sports. You can also see pictures of games you can play inside of the ESPN Zone...and you'll also not that you'll never be far away from a television set nor sports scores while you're inside this wonderland for team sports-fans!
But the TV "to die for" is their HUGE, 16 foot big screen---and, get this---it's now in HIGH DEFINITION! (You can see a picture of the ESPN Zone's huge screen TV in the slide show above.) There are not many places you can see such a sporting event on such a giant screen in high def! ESPN Zone has oodles of electronic games. There's so much to do inside the ESPN Zone that it's difficult to want to stop to eat! A room that will surely fascinate your kids is the 10,000 square foot video game room. There, you'll find a whole array of state-of-the-art video games that can keep you busy for HOURS if you let it! For example, at the golf game, you can swing a special golf club...then, the machine takes what you've done into consideration and shows you what your shot looks like on-screen. Did you get near the hole? (Or, at least near the green? If not, try again!) You can don special boxing gloves, and your moves translate into hits onto your video opponent's body. Really cool! You can go for the "knock out" without anybody getting hurt! The rest of the room is filled with sports-themed video games of all types. Plus, non-video activities---such as "Xtreme Glacier," a 30 foot tall climbing wall with 8 different climbing routes! Or Foosball. Or air hockey. Who could think of eating with all these activities to do? (You can see pictures of ESPN's games and climbing wall in the slide show above...but you'll only see a sampling! There are so many that a slideshow featuring ALL of them would be 'way too long!) You'll find the following entrees at the ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney Anaheim--- * Main dish soups such as their hearty chili, which is served with corn chips * Main dish salads...a nice selection from which to choose * Pizzas and pastas of several different varieties * Sandwiches, such as their famous ESPN Philly cheese steak sandwich served with French fries * Chicken dishes...such as fried chicken strips or grilled chicken breast * Beef dishes, including their house-specialty baby back ribs, plus steaks * Seafood...a limited selection, including shrimp, salmon and crab cakes. In other words, you'll find SOMETHING you like! Entrees run in the $8--$16 price range, and often include a side-dish. Beverages, desserts and appetizers (of which there's a large selection) are priced separately. For kids, there's a special $5.99 menu which includes a beverage for the price. Children's meals are offered only in the Family Dining Room, and not in the Sports Club area. Last, but CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, don't leave without hitting the restrooms first! Surprise, there are even TV's in the privy! Contact info for the Downtown Disney Anaheim ESPN Zone--- ESPN Zone Address--- ESPN Zone phone number---(714) 300-ESPN (3776). This is the local, Anaheim telephone number, and is NOT toll-free. ESPN Zone Website----www.espnzone.com
Appetizers: As well as entrees, you'll find a large selection of appetizers to kick off your meal. (Entree portions at the Rainforest Cafe are large, so you won't necessarily need to order an appetizer to leave the restaurant full.) Nevertheless, you'll find a list of tempting appetizers that perhaps you can't resist.
Kids meals are a specialty at the Rainforest Cafe. There are about 9 choices on the menu for young ones, all at a special, lower price.
Downtown Disney Restaurants -- ESPN Zone
Eat AND be entertained at the ESPN Zone!
ESPN features tons of TV's showing sporting events! Across the sidewalk from the Rainforest Cafe, you'll find the ESPN Zone, which is a 35,000 square foot restaurant and entertainment venue combined. The ESPN Zone's exterior looks so tranquil... but step inside and you'll get an entirely different picture! There are enough TV's going to make the displays at a big-box electronics store look puny by comparison! In fact, you'll find 175 TVs at the Downtown Disney Anaheim location of ESPN Zone!
ESPN Zone at Downtown Disney Anaheim -- Menu Overview
When you DO decide to take a break from the fun in order to dine, you'll find that the ESPN Zone offers a large selection on their American-food menu.
* Burgers, both "traditional" beef burgers and cheeseburgers, as well as turkey burgers!
Are you finished with dinner and tired of playing in the arcade? There's STILL more to do! You can stop by the ESPN store for your logo clothing and souvenirs. This large gift shop has something for all ages, and will give you some good browsing fun.
Contact Information for ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney Anaheim
1545 Disneyland Drive
Anaheim, CA 92802
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