Don’t it always seem to go: They’re paving paradise and putting up a 700-room hotel at the Happiest Place on Earth.
In order to clear space for a massive new hotel, a few of Downtown Disney’s keystone venues are making their exits, including one of the most extra restaurants in Anaheim’s history: Rainforest Cafe, the literal temple to jungle-themed dining. Part relic of the ’90s, part feat of whimsical engineering, the international chain landed in Downtown Disney in 2001 with a waterfall-flanked, vine-entangled building inspired by Incan ruins, after launching in the Mall of America in 1994. Place your souvenir safari hats over your hearts, because, according to one current employee, Tuesday is the last day to visit one of the area’s strangest restaurants.
Truly, nothing screamed “You wanna know where you are? You’re in the jungle, baby.” quite like this animatronic legend. Not even upon entering Disneyland, home to the beloved Jungle Cruise ride—replete with its own swaying, fake gorillas—could you lose yourself in the majesty of a rainforest downpour quite like this, and certainly not while imbibing in a taco salad bowl.
Every 20 minutes, the “sky” cracks open, flashing lightning and wafting mist over guests with simulated storms. The gators gnash their teeth, the tigers snarl, the trees shake, the elephants roar—think tame Jumanji, without the monsoon in your lagoon.
“We are deeply saddened by this decision to close the Rainforest Anaheim location; however, it is ultimately Disney’s right as the landlord,” Keith Beitler told Time Out. The COO and senior vice president of Rainforest Cafe’s parent company—Landry’s, Inc.—continued, “We value our employees [and] their dedication to our company, and we are working aggressively to relocate them to other area concepts.”
Patrons waited as long as two hours for tables during Rainforest Cafe’s final weekend, according to the Orange Country Register. We’d bet a plate of Beef Lava Nachos that most killed the time by meandering the restaurant’s massive gift shop, where talking and blinking trees surround loud Hawaiian shirts, Beanie Babies knockoffs and Rasta lion tees. But the most awe-inspiring place to wait has always been beneath the restaurant’s aquarium archway—watching the blue tang and angel fish swim in an endless funnel—just before guests sit down to a plate of Tribal Salmon with Caribbean rice.
Photograph: Courtesy Mark C/Yelp
For nearly 20 years, Anaheim’s Rainforest Cafe served as an animatronic aperitif to the wonder within the Disney park’s walls, an amped-up Adventureland complete with frozen, boozy drinks served from a mushroom-themed bar. Those looking to answer Rainforest Cafe’s call of the wild can do so by walk-ins only, now through tomorrow evening—when the legends of Anaheim’s not-so-hidden temple will close the doors for good.
Anaheim’s Rainforest Cafe is located in Downtown Disney at 1515 S Disneyland Dr., near the Disneyland Hotel. California’s only other Rainforest Cafe is in Ontario Mills outlet mall.