Let me tell you about one of my favorite breakfast spots in all of Walt Disney World Resort - Rainforest Cafe at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
You guys probably already know that I'm a complete sucker for immersive theming, so naturally when I found out this location served breakfast, I knew I had to try it during one of my early park mornings.
I'm happy to report that it completely exceeded my expectations, and I've been back several times since.
In this review, we'll go over everything I've tried along with everything you need to know before planning your own visit.
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Atmosphere & Location:
If you've never been to Rainforest Cafe before, it's a jungle-themed restaurant chain owned by Landry's, known for its immersive decor, animatronic animals, thunderstorms, and massive gift shops.
As I've said before, I'm an absolute sucker for theming, so naturally this restaurant has been one of my favorite places to visit since I was a wee tot.
At the Disney's Animal Kingdom location, every inch of both the exterior and interior is covered in detail. Outside, the building is themed like a giant cliff face or cave entrance, flanked by waterfalls and tropical plants to blend perfectly into the Animal Kingdom atmosphere.
One especially nice detail: there are entrances both outside and inside the park gates, meaning you do not need a theme park ticket to visit this location.
Once you step inside, you're immediately hit with a sort of jungle-themed sensory overload in the best possible way.
To your right, you'll find a massive gift shop filled with jungle-themed souvenirs, plush animals, toys, and hidden animatronics. Look up and you might spot a snake or a cheetah perched overhead.
To the left of the entrance sits a full bar tucked beneath a giant mushroom, while large aquariums flank the entrance to the dining room itself.
Inside the restaurant, the theming only gets better: animatronic elephants, gorillas, tropical birds, glowing stars overhead, dense jungle foliage, and nonstop rainforest sound effects surround you from every angle.
Every so often, the restaurant erupts into little atmospheric "shows." Maybe the elephants begin trumpeting, the gorillas beat their chests, or a full tropical thunderstorm rolls through complete with flashing lightning, thunder, and rain cascading around the edges of the dining room.
It's loud, chaotic, nostalgic, and honestly one of the most fun themed dining experiences in all of Disney.
Reservations, Check-In, & Seating:
Do you need a reservation for Rainforest Cafe? Technically no. The restaurant does accept walk-ins, but depending on the time of day and the season, the wait can get quite long, sometimes even stretching into multiple hours.
So if you already know this is a spot you want to include during your Walt Disney World Resort trip, I highly recommend making a reservation through the My Disney Experience app.
Like most Disney dining locations, you can check in up to 20 minutes early at the host stand located just inside the main entrance. After check-in, there's usually still a short wait, but personally I've never waited more than about 15 minutes before being seated.
As for seating, there are several options throughout the restaurant, including:
- half-padded booths
- full booths
- bar seating
- and standard tables with wooden padded chairs
No matter where you sit, though, you're still fully surrounded by animatronic jungle magic.
Menu Overview:
At this Rainforest Cafe location, breakfast is served daily from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM before the restaurant switches over to its lunch and dinner menu.
On the breakfast menu, you'll find:
- traditional diner-style breakfast options like an all-American breakfast, pancakes, and benedicts
- several breakfast sandwiches and handhelds
- brunch-style options such as breakfast pizza
- a "lighter side" section with fruit, yogurt, and egg whites
- a kids menu
- For drinks, there are smoothies, juices, coffees, and several brunch-style cocktails available as well, including mimosas and espresso martinis.
(Find the full Rainforest Cafe Breakfast menu here)
Everything I've Tried:
As some of you may know, I typically stay away from gluten, so on my first visit I was a bit worried there wouldn't be much for me to eat. Boy, was I wrong.
When I asked the server what I could have, she walked me through a very thorough list of substitutions, including gluten-free breads and pancakes. Afterwards, the manager even came out personally to let me know he would be handling my food himself, which felt really reassuring. So, let's get into it, starting with drinks
Espresso Martini - $16
I went through a bit of an espresso martini phase, and I have to admit this one was surprisingly good. The portion size was about what you'd expect, and the flavor leaned much more coffee-forward than sweet, which I personally love. There was a slight alcoholic burn in the aftertaste, but nothing overwhelming. Would get again.
Mimosa - $9
This is the drink I now end up ordering on almost every visit. For the price, it's actually a pretty generous pour of champagne topped with fresh-squeezed orange juice.
Breakfast Nachos - $19.99
Tortilla chips, scrambled eggs, chorizo, cheddar and jack cheese, pico de gallo, cilantro crema
I absolutely cannot resist nachos when I see them on a menu, so naturally I had to try these.
The chips were fresh and heavily loaded with toppings. A generous amount of cheese, eggs, and sauce. The cilantro crema was slightly sweet, and the dish came with a chunky homemade salsa on the side that I really enjoyed.
My only complaint was that the eggs had clearly been sitting out for a bit and were slightly cold and soggy by the time they arrived.
Still, overall this was a large portion and very tasty. Would I order it again? Maybe...but I'd probably prioritize trying some of the other menu items first.
Iggy's Egg Sandwich - $18.99
Bacon, fried egg, Gruyère cheese, smashed avocado pico de gallo, pesto aioli, arugula, brioche bun
Spoiler alert: this is currently my favorite breakfast item at Rainforest Cafe.
Since I eat gluten-free, they kindly substituted the brioche bun for an Udi's ciabatta roll. The bun itself was soft, warm, and had a faint rosemary flavor that worked perfectly with the sandwich.
The bacon is candied with either honey or maple (I honestly couldn't tell which), but it's sticky, sweet, and absolutely delicious. The avocado is mixed with pico de gallo, turning it into a sort of fresh guacamole, and both buns are slathered with pesto aioli, which really tastes like pesto mixed with mayo to bring it all together.
The sandwich also comes with breakfast potatoes that are cubed and fried with onions and peppers.
Overall, I genuinely love this sandwich and will absolutely continue ordering it again and again.
Breakfast Burrito - $16.99
Flour tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, black beans, cheddar and jack cheese, topped with pico de gallo and fire-roasted salsa, served with breakfast potatoes
I didn't personally order this one, but my friend did, so I'll pass along his thoughts.
His overall impression was that it was "just okay." He described it as a fairly standard diner-style breakfast burrito-almost like a larger version of something you'd get at McDonald's.
He added bacon to the burrito, but unfortunately only found a few pieces throughout the entire thing.
Know Before You Go:
Not necessarily, but I would definitely recommend one if you really want to include Rainforest Cafe as part of your trip.
Nope! Daily breakfast is specific to the Disney's Animal Kingdom location because of its placement inside the park. Some other Rainforest Cafe locations may offer breakfast on weekends, but you will not find this same daily breakfast menu at the Disney Springs location.
Breakfast is served daily from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM before switching over to the lunch and dinner menu.
Surprisingly, no! There is an entrance to the restaurant located outside the park gates, meaning you do not need an Animal Kingdom ticket to dine here.
Anyone who loves highly immersive theming. While the food is genuinely pretty good, the atmosphere and decor are what truly make this restaurant special.
Guests with sensory sensitivities. Like all Rainforest Cafe locations, this restaurant is intentionally loud, chaotic, overstimulating, and packed with sound effects and flashing lights.
Pricing is fairly standard for a theme park restaurant, with entrées averaging around $15-$25 and drinks typically ranging from $10-$20.
In my experience, yes! As I mentioned earlier, once the server was informed about my gluten intolerance, the staff handled everything with a lot of care-offering substitutions and even having the manager personally oversee my order.
What would you try for breakfast at the Rainforest Cafe in Disney's Animal Kingdom?
If you enjoyed this review, you may also enjoy:
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- Gluten-Free Nomad Lounge Review | Disney's Animal Kingdom
- Dining Gluten-Free at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
- Flame Tree BBQ | Disney's Animal Kingdom
- Gluten-Free Dining at Sebastian's Bistro (Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort)
- Gluten-Free Dining at San Angel Inn (EPCOT's Mexico Pavillion)
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