Rainforest Cafe

This weekend we were feeling a bit of cabin fever and decided to head to the Mall of America to get out of the house. We figured people watching and walking around would be a fun way to spend the afternoon. When we got there, we also thought it would be fun to do dinner at the Rainforest Cafe - what kid wouldn't want to have dinner in a jungle? We checked in and even though it was still well before 5, there was an hour wait. Thankfully we could walk around the mall while we waited.

Lego Land was a hit!

Loving the Disney store

So excited to see Sully

We returned a few minutes before our scheduled "safari" only to wait a bit longer. Dax was in good spirits, though, and we were looking forward to the adventure that was surely ahead. When we were finally being seated, they led us through a thunderstorm and past a mechanical gorilla in the middle of a rant. It was moving around and making lots of noise. Dax was terrified. I stood him in the booth next to me and explained that it was not real. We tried to tell him that the gorilla was just saying hi to him and was glad we were visiting. He didn't buy it. He wouldn't color on the kids' menu, wouldn't drink his milk, wouldn't sit in the high chair, and started to cry when I tried to move him to sit on my lap. He was literally frozen in fear. We learned that the thunderstorms would come every half hour and the gorilla would come to life every 15 minutes. Our special dinner was quickly turning into a nightmare. While we are pretty go-with-the-flow diners, we became "those people" and requested a new table (knowing that there was now almost a 2 hour wait and many people hoping for tables). They were so accommodating and we were promptly moved out of the gorilla room. Dax immediately said, "That's better!" and, even though he kept looking back to try to spot that scary gorilla, he ate his dinner and happily chatted with us throughout the rest of the meal.

Still willing to say "cheese", but not very enthusiastic

"That's better."

(After looking at a picture of himself on the camera display) "I want to see me smile."

"I want to see me giggle." Goofy boy!

He has not stopped talking about it since and consistently reminds us (himself?) that the gorilla was not real. Needless to say, we will not be going back, but would definitely recommend it to other families with braver children. The food was decent, the atmosphere fun, and the staff so wonderful.