Restaurantosaurus -- Lunch -- Quick Service -- Animal Kingdom
*This dining experience took place in May 2016.Check out my YouTube video walkthrough of the Animal Kingdom Park, including this visit to Restaurantosaurus. 
Restaurantosaurus is a quick service dining location at Dinoland USA in Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park. It's a good go-to spot for me when it comes to a solid quick service and also one that actually has air conditioning and is enclosed at the Animal Kingdom park. It always seems like the Animal Kingdom is super warm, so there's something to be said about a cool spot to grab a bite to eat.
I haven't been to Restaurantosaurus in a while, but it's the spot in the Animal Kingdom where I always get allergy friendly chicken tenders. The chicken tenders on Disney property are so good, and though there was a supplier issue for a while, they seem to be back throughout Disney property which is great.Restaurantosaurus does not have an allergy friendly menu for some reason, but I was able to talk to a manager about options. Allergy chicken tenders usually take about 10 minutes or so to prepare, so there was a bit of a wait. The manager will bring out the tray and all special diets orders come out on a green tray.
The allergy chicken tenders I ordered were delicious as usual. Crispy and flavorful, they really are some of the best gluten free and dairy free chicken tenders I've ever had. The chicken tenders are the same at all locations that carry them throughout Disney property, which is nice!The chicken tenders and fries are made in a dedicated fryer.My only complaint for my meal was that I had a small portion of fries (literally half of what I normally get), which I thought was odd until I realized that my brother's chili cheese fries were also on a green tray.We then realized based on the portion (and that the manager had noted the chili was gluten free) that they had made my brother's fries gluten free in a dedicated fryer and likely was the other half of the portion I typically get when I order allergy chicken tenders and fries.While we didn't order it that way, it was good to know that the chili cheese fries can be made gluten free (not dairy free). Note that in the photo below there are additional toppings added to the fries. These came from the toppings bar and should be avoided if you are concerned with cross contamination or have a severe allergy to any of those items. If you wanted toppings, you could always ask a manager for toppings from the kitchen, which is what I have done in the past at different locations.
Overall, Restaurantosaurus continues to be a solid choice. The options may not be really unique or different, but it's a solid choice and a great spot to cool off and enjoy a quick service meal. Plus, they have allergy friendly chicken tenders which is reason enough to go for me!Have you been to Restaurantosaurus? What did you order there when you went?
Plaza Restaurant -- Lunch/Dinner -- Table Service -- Magic Kingdom
*This dining experience took place in September 2014.
The Plaza Restaurant located on Main Street USA is a charming and quaint Victorian themed restaurant filled with nostalgia and lovely theming. As a table service location, it’s centrally located on Main Street and is very popular with guests looking to enjoy a sandwich and sundae right in the center of it all. I’ve always heard many terrific things about this restaurant and Chef Ken who works at the Plaza has a cult following as a terrific special diets chef.However, as a special diets diner, I’ve never had particularly great experiences at the Plaza. In fact, I’ve found them to be downright disappointing and even frustrating. Because of that, I haven’t made it a point to dine there frequently as I’ve found my options to be nothing particularly special or my interactions with Disney chefs there to warrant my returning on a frequent basis.But I’ve heard so many great things and been encouraged by many of you to give it another try, and so I made a reservation for my visit to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party for an early dinner. I had heard that Chef Ken did not work Sundays, so I did not anticipate he would be there (which he wasn’t) but I was really hopeful that my experience would change my mind about visiting the Plaza since it’s so popular among many special diets guests. I've also been reading the reviews from Gluten Free in Orlando lately, and Alexis has shared some fantastic meal reviews from the Plaza - so I felt like I had a good shot at getting a great meal.
When we arrived, we were seated fairly quickly. The restaurant itself was moderately busy but not completely filled with guests. We were seated near the rotunda/atrium which is a really lovely portion of the restaurant. The restaurant itself is so charming, and I love looking around at the nooks and crannies and the little details (it’s so cute in the winter time with the holiday décor).
Our server quickly took our drink order and let us know he would get the chef. Chef Kevin came out a few moments later and asked about my dietary needs. He said that my only option was chicken tenders. I inquired about the sandwiches and he told me that the bread options were no longer gluten free and dairy free and that they were only gluten free.I wasn’t given the allergy binder this visit, so I couldn’t go through the list of options, but I did ask him what brand they were using. I mentioned Local Oven, Udi’s (which was there last visit), GNI (also there on my last visit), and Chef Kevin told me none of these were available. When I asked again about the bread, I was told they use an “off brand for the gluten free bread” to “save money.” He also indicated that they are focusing more on gluten free offerings versus those with multiple needs.I was honestly shocked when he told me this. First off, I can’t imagine any Disney special diets offering using an “off brand” which I’m not even sure exists and second, the fact that he wouldn’t disclose the brand or ingredients was equally disconcerting. I asked if my only option was a salad or chicken tenders and his reply was simply, “yep.” He was not willing to give me a sandwich with a lettuce wrap (which could have worked with several of the sandwiches including the tuna salad), and he was not willing to flex on the offerings.I did express my concern about this, and he couldn’t seem to be bothered. He said that it’s not his decision (which I understand) and that there’s nothing he can do other than make me allergy chicken tenders (or give me a salad but he was really pushing the tenders). I asked if he had any sauces available for the chicken tenders, to which his reply was, “ketchup.” I did press him a little, and he said he’d see if the barbeque sauce or honey mustard were safe but he couldn’t promise anything.Figuring I could make allergy chicken tenders work (despite the fact that I could get them cheaper somewhere else), I assumed (falsely) that I could get a sundae to make up for the fact that there were no sandwich offerings. However, that was quickly squashed when Chef Kevin informed me that they no longer carry Mrs. Richardson’s chocolate syrup (which is gluten free and dairy free) and they only carry Nestle hot fudge which contains dairy. I was told I could have vanilla or chocolate Tofutti and that was it.It was at this point that I expressed even more serious concern to Chef Kevin about this, stating how this is very disappointing for guests. He just shrugged and did not answer me and went to prepare my food. The entire table was stunned by the lack of offerings and everyone decided to skip dessert because of the lack of options for me, which was very nice of them.Chef Kevin came out about 15 minutes later with my chicken tenders and fries along with ketchup, honey mustard, and barbeque sauce. He literally didn’t say one word to me (even when I said thank you). *Note: I realized after this post (and in talking to others who joined me for the meal, that he did comment that he included barbeque sauce & honey mustard for me) As much as I love allergy chicken tenders, it put a sour taste in my mouth even to eat here at this point.
The chicken tenders themselves were cooked well (not as well as Columbia Harbour House but then I’m partial), and the steak fries were nothing to write home about. I actually am not a steak fry fan, so I was glad to have some dipping sauce on hand.
Our entire party actually ate quite quickly because none of us were feeling very comfortable at this restaurant.After my dining experience, I went to City Hall to discuss this experience with the Disney team – something I have never done in my 5 ½ years of dining gluten free and dairy free at Disney (not even when the Chef at Jiko made me a terrible meal because he said coconut milk was dairy). I was just stunned at the chef’s lack of professionalism. I can completely understand if the restaurant has changed their offerings and limited availability but this seemed rather excessive and completely out of the ordinary for Disney restaurants. It was an unfortunate experience overall, and I honestly can’t justify ever going back. It was that bad.I personally don't want to bother going someplace that can only serve me allergy chicken tenders when I can go to a quick service location and get them at half the price. (This is my personal preference, but I see the value in having this option at a table service) To add to the fact that each time I’ve been here I’ve had just horrible service from the chefs and servers, it just makes the Plaza a place I can’t go back to.And I really wish that wasn’t the case. I want to love it. I want to have amazing experiences there and meet Chef Ken. But a location that has only a handful of great chefs and a higher percentage of mediocre to terrible chefs has an inherent problem in the kitchen. There’s a lack of consistency and training across the board, and it’s also unfair to those awesome chefs who end up taking on the brunt of special diets (regardless of whether they love it or not, it’s still a lot of extra work).So, this was the final straw for me. I just can’t go to the Plaza again. Maybe in a few years but not for a really long time. This experience just really was dreadful. I can’t even give it a rating because I don’t think there’s a fair scale of which to even rate it.Have you been to the Plaza? What was your experience there?