Toy Story Land is finally home to a rootin’ tootin’ table service restaurant that Toy Story fans will absolutely adore called Roundup Rodeo BBQ.
I recently snagged a reservation for the new spot to see if it will live up to its expectations.
Here’s how it went!
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What is Roundup Rodeo BBQ?
Roundup Rodeo BBQ is a family style table service restaurant where you get to feel like one of Andy’s honorary toys inside a rodeo arena.
To craft an exciting and vibrant atmosphere, Andy has merged his cherished western toys and playsets with various other items such as blocks, lights, and life-sized cardboard cutouts of his favorite toys.
This unfortunately is not a character dining experience, which is a total bummer.
Roundup Rodeo BBQ Review
Here is my honest review of the lunch experience at Roundup Rodeo BBQ less than two weeks after opening.
Location
Roundup Rodeo BBQ is located towards the main entrance of Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
They are open for lunch between 10:45 am to 3:55 pm and dinner between 4:00 pm to 9:00 (or 9:30) pm, depending on the park hours.
How much does it cost to eat there?
Lunch at Roundup Rodeo BBQ costs $45 per adult and $25 per child (ages 3-9).
Dinner at Roundup Rodeo BBQ costs the same as lunch at $45 per adult and $25 per child (ages 3-9).
Prices do not include tax or gratuity.
Check-In
Checking in to Roundup Rodeo BBQ was painless.
20 minutes prior to my reservation time, I just opened up the My Disney Experience app and checked in. I then proceeded to the outdoor waiting area past the check-in podium and took a seat until our party name was called.
We were probably sitting for around 3 minutes until our party was called.
Dining Room
As soon as you step foot into the dining room, you enter a scene depicting a toy rodeo in full swing as you come face to face with the life-sized figures of Jessie, Trixie, Bo Peep and her three sheep, Billy Goat Gruff.
Personally, the design reminded me of Toy Story Mania, which isn’t a bad thing.
It’s not going to win any interior design awards but the overall feel of the restaurant was spacious and colorful.
But the coolest part about dining here besides the family-style, all you can eat meal, is that every 20-25 minutes, the restaurant would come alive with some special sounds and effects. Most popularly, there’s a countdown of when Andy is coming and everyone, the guests and servers included, have to go into “toy mode” and stay perfectly still.
It’s a cool aspect that I’m glad that they implemented into the restaurant.
My biggest knock was more of a personal issue, as since we were a party of 2, the tables felt pretty small, especially when all the food, drinks, and sides came out. It’s nothing major, but that was just a tiny inconvenience.
Food
The meal came out in courses.
First up was the bread service which consisted of The Prospector’s Homemade Cheddar Biscuits with Sweet Pepper Jelly.
These were incredible. The pairing of that sweet pepper jelly and those warm biscuits was next-level. Like they might be the best thing inside the entire park. No joke.
Then came the greens. We were brought Rootin’ Tootin Tomato Salad, Rex’s Romaine and Kale Salad, and Wheezy’s Watermelon Salad. These were all good.
Then came the main course.
We were served a platter filled with the following smoked items:
- Evil Dr. Smoked Ribs
- Buttercup’s Beef Briskey
- There’s Sausage in my Boot Fire-Grilled Pork Sausage
- BBQ Chicken – with Style!
The ribs were average. The brisket was tender but a little bland. The sausage was flavorful. The chicken was juicy.
All in all, the platter was okay. I honestly had to add some of the barbecue sauces that were on the table on all of the meats, especially the brisket.
We then had to select 4 sides out of the 8 options. The Reach for the Sides were:
- Mean Old Potato Salad
- Veggie Slaw
- Campire-roasted Vegetables
- Buckin Baked Beans
- The Married Spuds
- Force Field Fried Pickles
- Cowpoke Corn on the Cob
- Slinky Doooooooooog’s Mac & Cheese
We got The Married Spuds, Force Field Fried Pickles, Cowpoke Corn on the Cob, and Slinky Doooooooooog’s Mac and Cheese.
The Slinky Dog’s Mac & Cheese topped with crunched up Goldfish was probably the biggest hit, closely followed by The Married Spuds.
My wife really enjoyed the Force Field Pickles, and we both thought the corn was good.
The platter and sides were all-you-can eat, so you could request refills on anything.
Then came the Chuckwagon Desserts. The choices were:
- Bo’s Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake
- Goat’s Apple Pie
- Billy’s Chocolate Silk Pie
- Gruff’s Peach-Strawberry Pie
- Cupcake à la Forky
We choose the Bo’s Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake and the Cupcake à la Forky. The cupcake was good but I wasn’t a huge fan of the cheesecake since it had more of a pudding consistency.
Overall, the food was just okay.
Look, I understand that you can’t expect to get Michelin-quality meals at every restaurant, but the fact that one of my favorite BBQ spots at Disney, Trails End, could churn out better, top tier bbq at half the price was a little disappointing.
I knew coming in that the food wasn’t anything special, but deep down inside I was hoping for it to be great.
But don’t get me wrong, there were definitely some hits!
Service
Service was quick, friendly, and attentive.
Our food came out quick and our server constantly checked on us to see if we wanted any more food and sides.
Final Thoughts
For $45, this is a one-and-done dining experience for me.
Yes, the Prospector’s Homemade Cheddar Biscuits with the Sweet Pepper Jelly is incredible, but I can’t justify spending that much money just for some biscuits.
But if you adore Toy Story and the price doesn’t bother you, then this is definitely a cool restaurant to check out in Hollywood Studios.
But in all honesty, there are better options in the park that I would rather go to such as 50’s Prime Time Diner, Hollywood Brown Derby, and my personal favorite, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant.
So with that said, if you are in the mood for some barbecue that won’t break the bank, I recommend that you skip Roundup Rodeo BBQ and instead opt for a better, cheaper alternative at Regal Eagle Smokehouse in Epcot or the Polite Pig at Disney Springs.
Here’s a video I made of my meal if you’re interested:
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