Downtown Disney

Since we visited the theme parks only on three days during this trip, we had a couple of days to laze around in the resort. During these 'lazy' days, we would take the bus to Downtown Disney during lunch. Downtown Disney has a variety of shopping, entertainment and dining options arranged around a lake.

A huge Virgin store for all the movies and music you want to buy, an AMC 24-screen multiplex, a Cirque du Soleil theater playing La Nouba, and the largest Disney shop in the world for Disney toys & clothing. It's all here in Downtown Disney along with night clubs in Pleasure Island which requires entry tickets. This is the only Disney location which seems to have something for the adults to do after being surrounded by Mickey, Donald and their pals in the theme parks!

However, what drew me here were the many dining choices. Bongo's serves Cuban food and is owned by Gloria Estefan and her husband. Other options are the House of Blues, Planet Hollywood, Wolfgang Puck, and the volcano-spewing Rainforest Cafe.

Here are some pictures of the rather interesting fare we sampled at the Rainforest Cafe. The Chimi Cha-Cha is a starter; light, crisp wonton skin embraces roasted chicken breast, sweet corn, black beans, citrus zest,roasted red peppers, and a 4 -cheese blend.

The Pastalaya, an entree, is made of shrimp, sauteed chicken breast, bell peppers, onions and Andouille sausage tossed in a hot and spicy Cajun sauce and served over linguini.

Of course, the most interesting thing in this eatery is the ambience: vines and trees all over the place, animals that move and make threatening noises accompanied by periodic thunder and lightning. My little angel felt threatened by the ugly-looking gorilla right above our table which would grunt and beat his chest every few minutes. Bad gorilla!