Restaurantosaurus Burgers & Sundaes Review
Restaurantosaurus Burgers & Sundaes is one of Walt Disney World’s best new counter service options, especially if you’re on the Disney Dining Plan. In this restaurant review, we’ll share food photos and cover for whom this dining experience is best suited. (Updated January 20, 2020.)
Before giving this the vanilla title it has, we cycled through several “clever” titles. My favorites were “Supersaurus New Restaurant on the Disney Dining Plan” and “Restaurantosaurus Review: Bactrosaurus Burgers.” My goal was to really emphasize the Gigantoraptor quality of these burgers. (Fair warning: I spent too much time Googling “cool dinosaur names” before writing this, and if you think I won’t be putting my new knowledge to use in this post…well, you don’t know me at all.)
Another title I kicked around was “Restaurantosaurus Redemption.” That’s equally accurate, especially after our excoriating Dino-Sized Disappointment: Worst Restaurant at Walt Disney World? article from this spring. That garnered a ton of comments, with many of you strongly disagreeing. Well, good news! We now are in complete agreement: Restaurantosaurus is one of the best counter service restaurants at Walt Disney World–but that proclamation comes with an Argentinosaurus asterisk…
January 20, 2020 Update: Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes has been extended for additional dates between now and July 2020. It’s still technically considered a test for a future dining concept at Walt Disney World, but will nonetheless be sticking around through at least mid-2020, and possibly the entire year as demand dictates.
Additionally, we can confirm that Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes still accepts the Disney Dining Plan, and it is only one counter service credit. Walt Disney World’s official site has listed conflicting info on this, but it is still only one counter service credit. As we cover in our Restaurants Not Accepting 2020 Disney Dining Plan? post, sometimes the online info is wrong at the beginning of the year. That has been the case with Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes. We’ll keep you posted if anything with the future status of Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes changes…
Another thing to note is that this is not the normal Restaurantosaurus counter service menu that we’re praising. That is still definitely not our dino. Rather, this is about the relatively new Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes (which is also called “Restaurantosaurus Family-Style Dining” by DisneyWorld.com, despite not exactly being family-style dining).
Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes is only offered at dinner, is bookable in advance, and along with the Restaurantosaurus Lounge, cordons off about half of the restaurant. Most notably, Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes has a different menu consisting entirely of gourmet burgers and ice cream. Rather than using the normal Walt Disney World hockey puck “beef” patties, these use a blend of ground beef, chuck, short ribs, and brisket created by the culinary team at D-Luxe Burger in Disney Springs.
Currently priced at $22.99 per adult and $14.99 per child or a Disney Dining Plan counter service credit, guests at Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes select a burger entree, a side dish, non-alcoholic drink, and receive a token for a build-your-own-sundae bar.
Advance Dining Reservations are accepted at Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes, but not required. We booked a same-day ADR for what was otherwise a moderately busy day in October, and the reservation was totally unnecessary. We could’ve easily done it as a walk-up. In large part, that’s probably because there’s not a ton of buzz right now about this dinner…for some odd reason.
Let’s start our review with a look at the Bellusaurus burgers…
For my burger, I ordered the Pulled Pork Barbecue Burger with steak fries as my side.
This burger was perfection. The patty had all of the normal savory, juicy goodness of D-Luxe Burger, and the toppings provided texture and depth without overpowering the patty. (I might consider eating the onion rings separately with the dipping sauces.)
Sarah ordered the Plant-Based Burger with Onion Jam and Gouda.
Before ordering, we confirmed that this wasn’t the normal (disgusting bean burger) and were informed that it’s a Beyond Meat patty. Perfect. This was likewise fantastic, and while there’s a clear difference between this and the D-Luxe Burger blend of the meat patties, this is miles better than a normal Walt Disney World counter service beef patty.
For your side, you’ll absolutely want to get the steak fries or onion rings.
As with D-Luxe Burger, there are some house-made dipping sauces for these, and all four are fantastic.
Finally, you get to go to the ice cream station to receive your two scoops, and pile your bowl high with toppings to create your own ice cream sundae.
I’ve dubbed this one the “Sauroposeidon Sundae,” which is named after the tallest sauropod.
Here’s Sarah’s ice cream, which I’ve dubbed the “Saurornitholestes Sundae.” It’s named after a dinosaur about the size of a small dog (perhaps a dachshund?).
The name Saurornitholestes means lizard-bird thief, which is also apt for various unspecified reasons.
In our full review of Restaurantosaurus, we defend the theme here–despite absolutely despising Dinorama and the overly-contrived “dueling” storyline of Dinorama and the Dino Institute.
The kitschy and tacky details of Restaurantosaurus work because they are over-the-top, goofy fun, and because the expectations aren’t the same for a counter service restaurant as they are for an attraction or entire land. It has always been the menu that has failed Restaurantosaurus, not the setting.
Despite being in what’s the normal lunch dining room, ambiance at Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes differs from the normal dining experience. Most notably, tables offer buckets filled with markers, crayons, Sinornithosaurus stencils, and are topped with white paper for dino-riffic doodling. The Cast Members servicing this dining room are very enthusiastic, and encouraged us to draw while awaiting our burgers.
Between that and the fun of building a sundae, Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes offers up a very fun atmosphere that works really well in the normal, kitschy setting.
I’d love if the Dino Institute underground radio station run by interns were pumped in here (who doesn’t want to hear “Diggin’ in Dinoland” while digging into an ice cream sundae?!) and if a faux paleontologist wandered the restaurant make it an even higher energy experience. Or really, anything to increase the dinosaur presence.
Even as it stands, Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes ranks very highly on the “fun” scale. We had an absolute blast–I enjoyed creating my “Sauroposeidon Sundae” way more than any thirty-something should, and eating it was an equally good time. From start to finish, the experience at Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes was entertaining. It’s hard to articulate exactly why, but it’s a situation of the whole being more than the sum of the parts.
If we loved the experience this much, it’s easy to envision this being a top-tier meal for kids. We’re talking something that approaches character meal quality, although obviously of a very different nature. Personally, this would’ve probably been my second-most memorable meal if I were a kid–right after T-Rex Cafe at Disney Springs. Even if it doesn’t rank as highly overall for your kids, it’ll probably claim the #1 counter service spot for them.
Speaking of which, now is a good time to address pricing. As noted above, it’s one counter service credit on the Disney Dining Plan and priced at $23 per adult with no discounts available. (After tax, we paid around $50.) This high pricing instantly makes it one of the absolute best uses of a counter service credit on the Disney Dining Plan.
Even with Animal Kingdom’s formidable food scene, Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes is a no-brainer if you’re on the Disney Dining Plan. In terms of meal strategy, we’d recommend Flame Tree BBQ or Satuli Canteen for lunch, followed by this for dinner.
Paying out of pocket is a different story. You could very easily spend less than $23 per person for dinner at Animal Kingdom. My new go-to has been the Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Pulled Pork at Flame Tree BBQ (pictured below). I usually order that and a water and am good to go for $12–roughly half the cost of Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes. However, that’s not really comparable.
If we instead ordered the St. Louis Rib Dinner at Flame Tree Barbecue, the Scrooge McDuck’s Billionaire Bacon Caramel Sundae at Dino-Bite Snacks, and a Coke we’d be looking at spending $28.27 based on current prices. I’d argue the ribs at Flame Tree are superior to these burgers (as good as they are), so let’s swap that out for the beef bowl at Satuli Canteen–total cost is still $25.97.
Whether dropping that much money on a counter service meal is justifiable is a personal question, but we think the pricing is about right if using other Walt Disney World menu prices as a baseline. It’s a great way to get a D-Luxe Burger without venturing to Disney Springs, and the ice cream sundae is easily worth another $7 (at least).
In reality, though, we have to imagine that the vast majority of guests at Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes will be those on the Disney Dining Plan. From that perspective, this is a total “value add.” Guests who might otherwise order a normal burger can instead essentially upgrade to this experience, which is unquestionably lower-margin for Walt Disney World. That leads us to ask a couple of questions–namely, “why are they offering this?” and “how long will it continue?”
Your guesses as to the answers of those questions are as good as ours. However, we’d bet that this is a test for a future stand-alone concept and that Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes won’t last forever. In fact, we’d be surprised if this offering made it to 2021.
With all of that said, we’d highly recommend Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes to everyone. For those on the Disney Dining Plan, we have zero hesitations–book an ADR for this immediately. For those paying out of pocket, it might be more of a splurge (in which case, “compromise” by doing that cheaper Flame Tree Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Pulled Pork), but it’s one that’s worth it. There might be some sticker shock at such an expensive “counter service” meal, but this is something more, with food and an experience that together justify that higher price. And we say that as a blog that doesn’t exactly have a track record of showering Restaurantosaurus with praise.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Have you dined at Restaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes? Which burger did you order? What did you think of the quality? How about the overall experience and atmosphere? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Could you justify dropping ~$25 per person on a counter service meal? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I just tried to book for our August trip and it appears it is no longer a quick serve credit. Only Disney Dining Plan, the Plus Plan and Deluxe Plan accepted. I’m bummed. We just have the Quick Serve Plan.
I take my comment back, I think. Lol. I went further into the booking and at the end before you hit reserve you have to click a box saying you read the regulations. In the fine print in those regulations it says it’s a quick service credit. My confirmation email also says a quick service credit. So, I don’t know why one section says it is, and one says it’s not.
To clarify, the website says it’s quick service. When you pick a day and time, it says up in the corner that “some dining plans are NOT accepted”. I clicked on that and quick service wasn’t listed. That made me think it wasn’t a quick serve. But when you go further it does, and my confirmation email says quick serve. So I’m confident it is. I hope. Fingers crossed. Lol.
We just went 2 weeks ago and it was QS. Not many options of burgers but def big enough time split and the kids loved the sundae bar!!!
I made a reservation for feb 23. I did see it now says casual dining and people are saying that only lunch is qs and dinner is now a table service credit. Can we confirm anything as of today? I think we have reservations for 4:45. Thank you!
The food looks delicious
Ate there last year with a reservation which we were told was needed. It was only about 25% full and they refused people with out a reservation.
It doesn’t seemed like any questions are answered here by Mr. Bricker or anyone else, which is disappointing. I’m visiting Disney in September and was going to reserve this restaurant for QS. Others have said they are getting rid of it for 2020, some say they can’t even find the restaurant on the app in order to make reservations. Can we get any solid, factual answers,……PLEASE??? I am a serious planner and need info. We can do ADR on March 5th.
As Debbie P stated earlier today, it is a QS credit. She was just there. If they do decide to change it in the future, it will be announced well in advance of the change. The app can be glitchy, but reservations are available through it and the website. If it’s temporarily down, you may need to try back later, but this doesn’t happen regularly. Just make sure you are under the “Restaurantosaurus Burgers & Sundaes” listing, not the regular “Restaurantosaurus”.
In the app, search tool, type in “Restaurantosaurus”. If you type in the whole word or at least past the “o”, you should see an option for ”Restaurantosaurus Burgers & Sundaes“, it’s a separate entry from the Restaurantosaurus QS page. As of today (1/20/20), it is showing as available through July 18 which is 180 days from today.
Hopefully, they will open up September.
We had dinner there 18 December 2019; when I first looked for reservations, it was not listed but became available a few months before we went. We ended up having to call and postpone our reservation by 30 minutes because we got stuck on the last train from Rafiki’s watch. Despite walking in a few minutes late (around 6:15) there was no line and we ordered immediately. The dining room
wasn’t crowded at all and our food arrived quickly and was yummy.
Hope it’s still available for you in September, it was delicious with a great atmosphere and a nice break from the park.
my TA had to call for our reservation here, but we were just a couple weeks after it was rolled out. if you’re having trouble finding it online, call and ask. i find often that disney’s app and website are not in time with any announcements they make and agents on the phone often have trouble finding it themselves. disney’s IT level of reliability is… not great.
I was able to make a reservation through the app. We’re going to DW in April & I made the reservation about 5 minutes ago.
We have just finished eating here. Burgers were terrific-best I’ve had in Disney. The sundae was delicious! All for a counter service credit. Thanks Tom!
Thank you so much for the confirmation, I’m getting so much mixed info even from CM’s on the phone!
We ate here last week because I had read about it on your blog and it was great food! My kids loved building their own sundaes. Thank you so much for the recommendation!
Krystle, was it a quick service or table service when you were there last week? I can’t seem to find it on the app to make a reservation either, any tips on what I am doing wrong?
We did the Burger and Sundae dinner in November based on the recommendation from this blog and we all loved it! Our boys loved being able to color on the table and it was such a quiet meal as the word definitely was not out. Definitely could have walked up without a reservation. So glad it’s remaining a QS for 2020 as we booked it again for our June trip!
I have a reservation for 1/24. I’ve been getting ready to cancel it over the TS vs QS issue, but it looks like even Disney doesn’t know what’s going on. As of January 2nd their website has gone from indicating it will be a TS credit to saying “No Dining Plans Accepted”. I really hope there’s some clarification soon.
So I’m still a little confused. It is a QS credit for the burger n sundae? But you can make a reservation? I don’t see it on the app for reservations, only mobile order and that doesn’t include the burger/sundae meal also will kids be charges a kids QS credit or adult?
I ate there 1/14 and it was QS credits. Animal Kingdom was not particularly busy that day, so we were able to eat there without a reservation.
Wow! I can’t believe they are changing this to a Table Service meal in 2020. I was really looking forward to eating here on our upcoming trip. I’m glad I read the comments about the change in 2020. It is a complete waste of TS credit in my opinion. I may still check in at the restaurant to confirm its really a Table service credit, but I cancelled my reservation today. Thanks for the review though.
Restaurantosaurus Is complete garbage. Don’t waste your time or money there.
this burger and sundae option is totally separate from the regular menu there, which yes, is garbage. but this is not we ate there in september and it was really nice. tom also says the regular menu is terrible.
You had me at “build your own burger.” Then you added “build your own sundae” and I thought “I need to try this place.” Then you tell me I can draw on the table?! What the what?
I hope this place hangs around because I just found my family’s favorite Animal Kingdom restaurant.
Hi Tom,
The dates for Restaurantosaurus burgers and sundaes have been extended up to June 6th 2020. I mean they appear in blue in the calendar, but I can’t find any free spot, so I guess the booking is not (yet) available?
Have you any news / info?
We’d like to eat there in February, and I’d be happy to have a reservation and not hoping to manage to get a table with a walk-in.
For info, the reservation system just unlocked for Retaurantosaurus Burgers and Sundaes until June, 7 2020.
And it is now possible to book 🙂
I just went in and they are available with times, however, it is a table service credit in 2020 and not a quick service credit. For what you get, a table service credit seems like a waste
Looks like it’s switching to TS for 2020. QS plan not accepted, DDP uses 1 credit. We’ll be on the DDP for our Feb trip so I don’t think we’ll choose this.
Hmmmm, the ‘Burgers and Sundaes’ sounds like it’s a Quick Service credit. If it is accepted, guests 21yo+ on the plan get an entree and an alcoholic beverage. DDP should include a $10 beer or $13 margarita here. I give it an 80% chance. Plus you’ll save a snack credit by getting a sundae now. Save a snack credit for Epcot Festival Booth 😀
If we can do this, it will only be surpassed by BoG breakfast QS for the most expensive use of a credit. BoG is what… $28 entree and $15 alcohol beverage max?
Has anyone confirmed that you can get an alcoholic beverage with this on the DDP?
We did in October.
So happy they extended this for our trip mid-December!
l
Tried to book for our trip in 2 weeks but I could not use a Quick Service dining plan credit.
I had the same issue, but I went ahead with the reservation just in case. My confirmation email isn’t much clearer, though it does have a section on Disney Dining Plans that states that for Quick Service the entitlement required is 1 Dinner. However, at the bottom it states “If applicable, location requires 1 Quick Service meal for Disney Dining Plan” which makes the whole thing about as clear as mud.
Yak and Yeti is our favorite!! Underrated but always very good!