Giant dinosaurs, fantastic food and meteor showers

Hey everybody, time for another post about our local attractions. This time the fiancée and I went on a prehistoric adventure to the T-Rex Café at Downtown Disney, complete with blurry Iphone photos! At the entrance of T-Rex Café is a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex (good themeing goes a long way). From the moment you walk in you are transported to prehistoric world filled with giant dinosaurs, fantastic food, and dino-themed t-shirts. The restaurant side features enormous animatronic dinosaurs, an ice cave, an enormous octopus bar, geodes, and life size (back when they were alive) insects and my favorite, some woolly mammoths. On the store side there is the Paleo Zone, Discovery Dig and Creek, and a Build-A-Dino workshop by Build-A-Bear.

When you visit the T-Rex Café for brunch or dinner make sure you brink your appetites. The menu is packed with delicious items for all ages. The Bronto-Burger was fantastic, the Fish and chips were great but my favorite was the Paleozoic Chicken Sandwich. The desert was of course the highlight of the meal which was ice cream with chocolate brownies. Don’t worry folks; the two of us didn’t eat all this food ourselves, we shared dishes with her sister and her boyfriend.

The store features a variety of dino-centric products. T-shirts, toys and tar pit goo can be purchased here. Here you will also find the Paleo Zone and Discovery Dig where children can unearth the past. The best aspect of the store is the Build-A-Dino Workshop. Here kids of all ages can pick an exclusive prehistoric animal, have it stuffed, and choose how to accessorize their new friendosaur. I’ve already asked for a woolly mammoth dressed as a super hero for Christmas. Also every 15 minutes there is a meteor shower which darkens the entire building as ice cave changes colors, the sounds of explosions are heard everywhere and lights flash with a red glow. I don’t know how the employees put up with that but mad kudos to them.

We had a great time at the T-Rex Café located at Downtown Disney. If you are visiting the area on vacation or a local like us you have got to check out this one of a kind restaurant; the only other location is in Kansas (really, Kansas). As a local you really have to take advantage of all the entertainment that Central Florida has to offer; especially when the weather is so nice and there are less people here in November. Also included in the pictures is a shot from the Lego Store at Downtown Disney, but that visit is for a later post….. (Cliffhangers build suspense)

Submitted by Anthony Breath

Who's Duffy the Bear?

 

If you haven’t been to Epcot or to Downtown Disney you’re missing out on the newest and cutest visitor.  Duffy the Disney Bear has officially arrived at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, strait from Japan.  Duffy, the Disney Bear will be for sale at Epcot theme park and select locations at the Walt Disney World Resort. 

Disney had been making Disney bears since the 1960s but it was only on November 5th 2004 that Oriental Land Company (the company behind Tokyo Disney Resort) decided to reinvent a mascot for their new park.  Duffy would become the key mascot of DisneySea’s American Waterfront world.   Mickey was about to set sail on an adventure to visit friends around the world.  The Bear was a gift to Mickey from Minnie so hey would have something special to remind him of how he was loved at home.  She stayed up all night to hand make the plush teddy bear with all of her heart; the stuffed bear, which has a Mickey Mouse-shaped face and a Mickey-shaped birthmark on its hip and the bottom of his feet.  Mickey adored him and named him Duffy (since the bear would travel in Mickey’s duffel bag).  Mickey Mouse brings the bear with him as he travels around the world.  In this way, Duffy is able to experience all the joyous moments that Mickey experiences too. 

By Christmas 2005, the generic Disney Bear was gone - Duffy had become the character we know and love today. Whereas Disney had simply intended the Disney Bear as a product to sell, Oriental Land Company designed Duffy's park presence and merchandising as an experience to be had.  Deeply grounded in Tokyo’s DisneySea's themes of adventure and exploration, as well as classic Disney values of giving, friendship, the value of work/sacrifice, the power of magic and love; the new story firmly establish Duffy as a classic Disney character, and independent from his generic Disney Bear origins. 

At Epcot, you can meet Duffy at across from Plaza Towers East (looking at World Showcase Lagoon from Future World, it’s on the left) which is home to Duffy merchandise including outfits from each country in World Showcase.  But I have to say the sailor outfit is my favorite.  You can also find Duffy merchandise at Downtown Disney in Once Upon a Toy and of course, the World of Disney store. 

Submitted by Anthony Breath