The Wandering Disciple

A large triceratops greets visitors at the T-Rex Cafe in Downtown Disney. The dinosaur themed restaurant is a popular spot for kids and adults alike. The restaurant comes to life every twenty minutes as a meteor shower brings the dinosaurs to life. (Photo: January 30, 2011)

The prehistoric world comes to life at T-Rex Café in Downtown Disney. Pictured here is the bar in the Under the Sea room. The animals roar to life several times a day during the meteor shower. (Photo: January 30, 2011)

A Lego Sea Monster rises out of the water at Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is home to the Lego Store, a popular hit for kids. In addition to the Lego Store, Downtown Disney is home to many stores, restaurants and nightlife. (Photo: January 30, 2011)

A Marine One movie prop sits on display at Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney. Planet Hollywood combines great food with memorabilia from the silver screen, creating a one of a kind experience. (Photo: September 20, 2003)

The mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex guards over the T-Rex Café at Downtown Disney. Step pack in time and dine with numerous prehistoric dinosaurs but beware of the impending meteor shower. (Photo: January 30, 2011)

On the water at Downtown Disney, Fulton's Crab House features fresh seafood from around the world. The three story restaurant built to resemble a steam powered riverboat features some of the best seafood entrees at Walt Disney World. (Photo: January 28, 2006)

Straight from Hollywood, the shrimp boat named Jenny sits in a lagoon outside the Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney. Jenny was used during the filming of the Academy Award winning movie Forrest Gump. The 1994 movie staring Tom Hanks follows the life of Forrest Gump during the late 20th century. Today the shrimp boat used by Forrest is on display as one of the many movie props on display at Planet Hollywood. (Photo: September 20, 2003)

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: From the creators of the popular Rainforest Café, a new dining attraction has come to Downtown Disney. Ripped right out of the Crustaceous Period, T-Rex Café combines great food with life-sized animatronics dinosaurs to create a one of a kind experience. Construction began in 2007 and the restaurant opened to the public in fall 2008. It features dinosaur themes with animatronics dinosaurs that come to life every twenty minutes during a meteor shower. There is even a large dinosaur gift shop which houses a Build-A-Dino Workshop. The menu features American dishes such as: Burgers Country Fried Steak Rotissare Chicken Steak Seafood Salads The restaurant can become quite crowded during peak hours; you can make reservation through Walt Disney Dining. T-Rex Café is located in Downtown Disney, nestled between the Marketplace and Pleasure Island near parking lot E.

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: Downtown Disney is the entertainment complex of the Walt Disney World resort and features a collection of shopping, dining and nightlife to help enhance the theme park experience. One thing that continues to draw visitors to Downtown Disney is its large collections of restaurants. Downtown Disney features a diverse selection of dining options. From quick snacks to formal meals, there is something for everyone in the family. Many of the restaurants located here feature excellent food combined with great theming, making them attractions themselves. The restaurants can be broken down into two categories; counter service and full service. Counter service is where you order your food and seat yourself, similar to a fast food restaurant. Full service is a traditional style restaurant where a waiter or waitress serves your party. You will find the following counter service restaurants at Downtown Disney: Candy Cauldron: snacks and candy. Cooke’s of Dublin: fish and...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: Sunday morning marked the final day of our weekend trip to Disney. We began the morning by packing the car and getting it ready for our departure this afternoon. The park on today's agenda was Animal Kingdom. My parents and sister joined us for breakfast this morning at the Whispering Canyon. I learned from yesterday's experience and did not order soda, this time I chose a glass of OJ. My mom and sister did order a Coke but they were not surprised with a large glass like I was yesterday. I was looking forward to seeing their reaction. My wife chose the omelet again and this time I went with the Breakfast Skillet. The all-you-can-eat skillet contains eggs, waffles, bacon, sausage, potatoes and biscuits with gravy. Great choice and with all the food, one time through was enough for me. After breakfast, we hit the park. We got to the park an hour after opening and it was starting to get crowded. We headed straight to Kilimanjaro Safari. The animals did ...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: We spent our last day at Walt Disney World at Animal Kingdom. I am not a big fan of Animal Kingdom, but our son loves the animals. Like always, we arrived at the park first thing. We watched the opening ceremony with Mickey, Minnie and the gang. Once the ceremony concluded we began our journey through the park. Our first stop was the popular Kilimanjaro Safari. One of the most popular attractions in the park, we hit it first thing to avoid the crowds. Because the animals are so unpredictable, no two rides are the same. This time we managed to see the Cheetah, the other times we rode the safari, he was not visible. When we concluded the safari, we headed over to the Harambi train station to board the Wildlife Express train to take us to Conservation Station. While at Conservation Station, we briefly watched them perform surgery on an animal, met with Jiminy Cricket and Rafiki and then visited the animals of the petting zoo. We then hopped back on the...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: When people think of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, the first thing that comes to mind is the theme parks. But tucked away among the hustle and bustle of the parks is the shopping mecca known as Downtown Disney. Opened in 1975 to provide a shopping district for the planned residential community, Downtown Disney has grown into world class shopping destination hosting millions of tourists each year from around the globe. While much of the merchandise available for sale here is of the Disney variety, there are also some very unique items found within the shops of Downtown Disney. From the largest Disney store to a store dedicated to Lego building toys, there is something for everyone. There are over thirty stores to choose from. Here are the stores and a sample of items available for purchase: Arribas Brothers: crystal shop with glass blowing. Basin: homemade soaps, shampoos and more. Cirque du Soliel Boutique: items inspired from La Nouba. Curl by Sa...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: Downtown Disney is the shopping, dining and entertainment complex for Walt Disney World. Divided into three sections (Disney Marketplace, West Side and Pleasure Island) with constantly changing venues makes it one of the premiere entertainment complexes in the Orlando area. The concept for Downtown Disney began in March of 1975 with the opening of the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village. The village was to serve as the shopping center for the planned residential portion of the Disney development. The residential section never occurred and the complex became the shopping center for the Walt Disney World complex and was renamed Walt Disney World Village. In 1986, Walt Disney World Village grew with the opening of Pleasure Island. Pleasure Island was a an expansion to the village consisting of several adult night clubs, providing Walt Disney World with the adult nightlife it was looking for to help compete with other Orlando clubs. During this time, the Wal...