While the old Downtown Disney may have seemed a bit dated and tired, the new Disney Springs appears to be a fantastic collection of new restaurants and shops, and warrants a visit from anyone who hasn’t been recently. Disney Springs is a great place to head if you have a few hours at the beginning or end of your vacation, as no addmisison is required. We usually stop by one evening after visiting Animal Kingdom, but with that park staying open later now, we may need to find some other time to visit. There are quite a few new restaurants in Disney Springs, and we were wondering, what is the best Disney Springs restaurant for kids?
I narrowed it down to two options for you, two completely different restaurants, one of them should work well for your family:
Best Disney Springs Restaurant for Kids
- Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant – Raglan Road is a MUST DO for my family, and has been since the restaurant opened in 2005. The entire bar area was imported directly from a Pub in Dublin, it is fantastic. Raglan Road features Irish entrees that are absolutely gigantic in proportion, along with some of the best desserts anywhere. I dream about their bread & butter pudding. Yum! For kids, Raglan Road offers some Irish choices like Young Shepherd’s Pie and Dalkey Duo (dalkey-battered sausages) as well as some Americanized items like Macaroni & Cheese and chicken fingers. The best thing about Raglan Road though is the entertainment, kids absolutely love it. They have nightly music and Irish dancing, and if you fancy taking a turn, they will even let you get on stage to show of your Irish moves. Reservations are required, especially for dinner, and Raglan Road accepts the Disney Dining Plan as payment, 1 table service credit per person. Hey, I got through that entire thing and didn’t even mention the Guinness on tap. Silly me.
- T-Rex – The Dinosaur themed Rainforest Cafe. That isn’t even fair, I really, really like T-Rex and can’t stand Rainforest Cafe. T-Rex features a bunch of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals placed all around the restaurant, plus ample use of aquariums make the place really, really fun for both adults and kids. If your young ones scare easily because of darkness, loud sounds or dinosaurs, you may want to rethink this choice and go elsewhere, but the darkness and loud sounds are really short and are spread out, but the dinosaurs are ever-present. The food here is what you would associated with Flinstones, HUGE portions of meat and potatoes. While they do offer salads and sea food, this is a place that Fred Flinstone would be comfortable visiting. While you won’t get a side of brontosaurus ribs dropped on your car, you can order a Bronto Burger (not real brontosaur meat BTW), a Mastadon Stuffed Chicken or the Boneyard Buffet, which includes a lot of everything on the menu. Kids meals are similar, with entrees such as Prehistoric Pop’n Shrimp, Lava Lasagna and Mini Mes-O-Bones (ribs). T-Rex has pretty decent food and a fantastic atmosphere. Just be warned, if you go once, you will be going every single trip to Disney from that point forward, as it will become your kid’s number one request when planning your dining. Reservations are a must, and T-Rex accepts the Disney Dining Plan as payment, 1 table service credit per person.
So, what is your favorite Disney Springs restaurant for your kids?
