Fun fact the artists that designed the animals for rain forest cafe still produce work today their names are Carlos & Albert from Mexico and their pieces are sold all around the world.
I remember all I wanted was to go to Rainforest Cafe and my parents took me for my 8th birthday and then we went and watched the first Ironman in theatres. That was a good birthday.
Rainforest Cafe's biggest problem was that their food is bad. It seemed every menu entry was designed to save the rainforest by wiping out humans via heart disease. I mean - who can you make a Club Sandwich greasy?
Probably with a hint of grease smell from the animatronics. Also there were times I was reminded of waiting in line at a theme park when close to something mechanical and that grease smell.
My parents tried to take me to a Rainforest Cafe for my birthday once. I took on look at the giant animatronic snake at the entrance and started crying. They took me to Build a Bear instead. I think that’s where my fear of animatronics came from.
LUCKY. I had to go in with my parents. I’m so glad I wasn’t next to a giant animatronic because I was already really uneasy, but we sat next to a monkey that would move its hands from covering its eyes to its stomach.. but it’s fur pattern on its stomach looked like eyes too which freaked me out. I too have a severe fear of animatronics. Then a few years later my mom took my to Mars 2112 and I was so freaked out by the alien costumes that I cried when one came around for photos even though I cried asking the host to not let them near me, so I’m also afraid of mascot like costumes where I can’t see any bit of the person under it.
OH and we got lost while trying to leave Mars 2112 and ended up on a floor where there was an empty bar or something and then aliens started walking out and I was severely bugging out and my mom had to ask them for help on how to leave.
Me too! Rainforest cafe was on of my absolute favorites I went every year for my birthday. It breaks my heart that they’re slowing getting rid of them 😢
Me and my mom went to the mall with my sister one time and they had a rainforest cafe, so of course we had to go. The food looked so bad. And then the next day we all got sick soooooooooooooooo
I feel the same! In fact I was just visiting the cafe the other day at a mall here in Mesa and idk, I just love animals and tropical settings so I just always had a soft spot for it!
@@miguelchanes6064 it’s nice to look at but something about it just isn’t as cool as it used to be when I was younger. I hope it’s just the one that I went to but- eh
The divide with the Rainforest Cafe was that children will think the food tastes good if the place looks cool and parents can't believe they're wasting this much money on subpar diner food 😂 I have nothing but fond memories of the Rainforest Cafe and as an adult I have the utmost respect for the few times my mom tolerated lunch there. There weren't any near us so it was a "treat" if we ever got to go to one. My tiny ass was obsessed with jungle animals.
I went with my Girl Scout troop and I recall many of my friends didn’t like what they had but I liked mine. But yea I always loved animals too Lion King was a childhood favorite
I'm 20 and I still wouldn't mind going to a Rainforest Cafe for a fun day every once in a while. It's just silly fun that brings you back to being a kid. I still have a Medieval Times near me, and took a friend there just before Covid and we had a blast!
That's my buddy Steve being Forrest Gump at the end. At one point in his career he had been hired to appear at the grand opening of every Bubba Gump restarant in existence at that time. I think he has retired from doing Forrest Gump these days.
God the nostalgia that comes with rainforest cafe is unreal. I went there for my 4th birthday and at the end of the meal we got a volcano browny cake and I swear it was bigger than my head. Very scrumptious
I grew up in Richfield, MN, within driving distance of the Mall of America. One Sunday after church, Mom and I decided to check out Rainforest, which had had been open for 2 months. It was so neat and surreal, like an at-home Disneyland. I loved all the sound effects, the gift shop and Tracy the talking tree. I’ve eaten there many times since. The food is pretty expensive, but the experience is still a nostalgic adventure that always makes me feel like a kid again. Thanks for the wonderful video tribute!
I also live in MN, and as a child, Rainforest Cafe was a favorite of mine. I would always enjoy going there to celebrate my birthday. I don't remember when I went there last, but I remember the last time I did go there, they had a small 'Build a Bear Workshop' selection in the gift shop, where I stuffed a white tiger and got a Rainforest Cafe shirt for her. I would like to go back again sometime for just the experience since it has to have been well over 12 years since I've been to it.
fellow Minnesotan, raised in St Paul. I used to go on occasion but enjoyed Cafe Odyssey more (bummed it closed). Me and my husband went a few years ago and enjoyed it. I agree, food was pricey but not too bad.
Growing up I always wanted to eat there. One time I got the chance. I remember liking it. We even have a photo with a frame of our time there. It was my family plus some aunts, cousins and grandparents.
@@supergeeky7529 I loved Café odyssey!! 💖 I was able to find some photos online about a year ago, they were just a few photos but I was so glad just to have a tiny memory of the place. It was one of my favorite theme restaurants. I think I got photos of the undersea room and the safari room. What else am I forgetting?
Was tripping on acid at Disneyland around 2009...my friend and his sister made mid-afternoon reservations to eat at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. An already unique dining experience was enhanced to 9000 about an hour after peaking. Good times
I loved this place so much as a kid my bedroom was painted as like a rainforest- and still is sixteen years later. I believe my exact request was a room with "elephants and monkeys and with the ceiling having thunder and lightning and BOOM". Looking back the food was horrible, save for the $30 volcano brownie thing I only got once, and I once got severe food poisoning from their chicken nuggets. But the decor was well worth it, and I spent a lot of time staring at the aquariums. I blame them for my love of animals and my fish tank and reptile collection today.
I have a distinct memory of being about 3 years old and being obsessed with the animatronic crocodile at rainforest cafe. It closed shortly after and I didn’t learn the name of the restaurant until many years later, I just remembered that crocodile
They will make a comeback in the US given how physical retail is dying and people are craving for actual experiences instead sitting in front of a phone or screen.
As someone from Colorado, I'd rather have an enchilada from some roadside truck and watch acrobatics on television than put my gut flora through an enchilada from Casa Bonita.
My dad began a themed restaurant chain. It was my whole childhood and I was always so proud of him. He just passed near the end of 2020 and these are some of the fondest memories I had. He hired past Disney Imagineers to do the designs and immersion and the food was phenomenal. Gosh I miss him.
I had a tiger from there that lasted over 25 years. It finally gave up the ghost when the thread died I it started leaking sawdust~! I loved that restaurant & that tiger! Had the best pancakes there. Went to the one in Idaho Falls, ID a lot as a kid
I used to LOVE Rainforest Cafe as a kid. Post-COVID, if I ever find myself in front of one again, I will not care even one percent if the food is overpriced and the restaurant is loud. I will be jumping up and down like a 5-year-old.
Same, I love the one at Disneyland, went there with my Mom and sister on a surprise Disney trip. I flipping loved it and if it ever closes I will be so sad!
@@Bowserjr-wi4dn Are you talking about the one in Downtown Disney? Sorry to break it to ya, but it's been closed for a long time already (so is the AMC; I was upset when I found out). They're replacing it with a Star Wars shop.
As a child, my biggest hyperfixation was volcanoes. I loved them and I wouldn’t ever shut up about them. Going to the library I would immediately go to the natural disasters section and would read the same few books over and over again. For birthdays I would ask for books, lego sets, and those mini ones you could make erupt with baking soda and stuff. I would be literally the only kid bouncing in her seat, raising her hand and ready to answer any question about it in school. Not to mention everyone had to write letters to a kid in class who was picked and when I got picked all they mentioned was that I liked volcanoes. I even tried to make volcanoes tie into the themes of many of my school projects. So when I went to DisneyWorld and saw one of these, I was elated. My parents took me there and I loved it but was also very scared. I remember walking through the volcano (which was a very great design choice) and sitting down. Every while or so the volcano would spew fire and it would be loud. I got very scared. I know now that it was two things; 1. My ears are very sensitive and it was giving me sensory overload and 2. I just loved volcanoes but knew that they had the potential to hurt people and I was more afraid of lava even though it’s the gas they release that would actually kill you. I knew it was fake but was still scared lol. Needless to say I liked looking only at afar when it came to them as there was also a golf course on another trip that I was afraid of (but actually got to go to later). My mother ended up bringing me to the bathroom where you couldn’t hear it but after I felt a lot more comfortable. Nowadays I’m more interested in other things but they have a very special place in my heart and I’m hoping after the pandemic I can visit a place that has one to see an eruption in real life since my trip to see the town of Pompeii was cancelled.
"everyone stopped going to them" Not my son. We took him there for his 10th birthday. He's 18 now and he still wants to go back every year. And it's pretty crowded every time we go.
Every time we went to the Rainforest Cafe in downtown Disney we always sat next to an aquarium. I loved watching the puffer fish doodle around while I ate.
My college is ten minutes away from a mall with a rainforest cafe!! I didn’t even realize that most of them had closed. I love walking by and getting that same smell that’s on Disney water rides ❤️
I feel like a lot of the public's desire for themed experiences outside of theme parks was transferred over to the escape room craze of the 2010s, at least until COVID-19 made being inside a compressed interior place with strangers dangerous. They're much more immersive (and beneficial for your body, mind, and relationship with the group you attend with) than eating a cheeseburger while animatronics make repetitive noises at you
They will make a comeback given how physical retail is dying and people are craving for actual experiences instead sitting in front of a phone or screen.
I have met the creator, and listened to his story of creating RC. He designed a lot of it in his basement. He was using so much electricity, the the power company had to alert the police because they felt he must have a huge drug lab. They raided his place in the middle of the night in Minneapolis. All they found were all of the animatronics that eventually went into the first RC. A good friend of mine was the district manager. He told me that he was a terrible owner/ boss. He made sure that as he moved on, he did everything the exact opposite as the owner.
That’s a really funny story!! I bought Stephen Schuessler‘s book and it wasn’t nearly as interesting as I was hoping. I know there are some more interesting stories about the things he has created that are not in the book.
I was terrified of the rain with rain forest cafe. I didn't want to get wet. and I was a kid at the time, I did cry, not wanting to go in there. But my parents made me. I have negative memories of that restaurant ever since.
I remember that i visited one rainforest café and there was a tree. I was curious and got to the tree to get a better look at it but it activated and started talking. I ran out of the rainforest café screaming while my mom tried to calm me down and for my cousin to laugh his butt off. Long story short. I never got to the place again. Not to mention that i live in Germany and we don't have this café things in Germany. 😅 I only came to America to visit my cousin and not to get scared by a talking tree 😅🇩🇪🇺🇸
I worked as a server at Rainforest Cafe in Nashville 20 years ago. It was easily the craziest serving job I ever had. It was so incredibly busy all the time. Every second it was open, they were on a wait. There would be some weekend where the wait times would get up to 4 HOURS! It was located at the Opryland Mall and hotel. So people would put in their name and go walk around shopping for a couple hours and be back and still have to wait another hour. It was insanely stressful working as a server there. We would have to wait in lines 8-10 servers long just to put in orders at the computers. Tip-outs were crazy. I'd have a shift where I would make $150 in tips, but walk with $75 after tipping out the bartender, the busser, the hosts, etc, etc, etc. Needless to say, I didn't stay there that long.
So important to hear from servers about places like this that are incredibly bizarre and unique and have to deal with so many people and so much wackiness and joy and general human condition stuff so intensely. The behind-the-scenes must be full of good stories and stuff like this, it's not intuitive to guess.
I really hope this trend doesn't die! I just love the idea of making businesses that gives people a good experience along with good service! It's one of the main reasons why I jumped at the opportunity to join Cracker Barrel.
It will come back around, we are going through a more tasteful time now but I think people are realising good taste is boring bring back the tacky days of the 70s-90s
That’s super cool! I wish that was me! They pretty much shut down everything here. We really only have a Burger King and On the Border. Both are dismal.
I distinctly remember being traumatized by Jekyll and Hyde's in NYC as a child. The entrace involved going in as a large group to corridor and then turning off the lights and telling you that you were trapped. Great way to start lunch as a claustrophobic 8 year old... I was convinced that something was going to jump out of my pea soup.
That is an awesome experience though. Got to go there and I can’t wait to go back once their dumbass Governor gets out of office and the people start realizing he’s making the state worse with all the high crime spikes, etc.
I actually don't like when a video takes 20 mins to answer a title question (that could be answered in 4-5), but I still watched it all.. it's fine. :)
@@jefflong1799 the title literally is followed by "history of themed restaurants" after the question is posed, no shit it includes the history of themed restaurants? i mean learn to read
We didn’t have the Rainforest Cafe where I lived but we had something called the Mayan Adventure. It had a cool Indiana Jones inspired atmosphere with a giant waterfall as a center piece for the restaurant where professional diver/actors would tell these fictional Mayan stories while climbing around the set piece, interacting with people, and diving down the waterfall. You only went there for the experience though. The food was mediocre at best and probably was the sole reason why it closed. To be honest, if the food was good enough, it probably would’ve stayed open. But I remember going there for every single one of my childhood birthday dinners. I loved it so much. But alas, people grow up, develop, and move on. 🤷♀️
I remember going to the dinosaur themed one as a kid, I was about five and the dinosaurs terrified me so i cried through my meal and my parents never brought me to a themed restaurant again.
I'm still so sad their slowly leaving We have the 2nd rainforest cafe in az and its not as it used to be and is barely living. I'll probably cry when its gone, cause I've had so many birthdays and childhood memories there. Guess we'll see
Yeah, The snake is broken, the gator's missing an eye, and Tracy's eyes open-eyes shut thing is switched. I hope it doesn't close though, cause I love it so much :(
EXCUSE ME THEIR LAVA NACHOS WERE DELICIOSO AND I LOVED IT WHEN THE EMPLOYEES SCREAMED “VOLCANOOOOOOOO!!!!!” My fam and I always went to this restaurant when visiting Animal Kingdom 😪
I had literally watched the Casa Bonita South Park episode right before this and is made me think of Rainforest Cafe. Then I wondered what happened to that place. Now I’m here and I’m not disappointed.
Ooh that reminds me that Fry’s electronics was actually kinda “hyperthemed” too! All of their stores had really interesting different themes - the local one was jungle themed of course. Unfortunate that they’re also going out of business, but that’s more to do with their inability to innovate with the rise of e-commerce than with the downfall of hyperthemes. Still an interesting phenomenon nonetheless.
I was out visiting family out in California and we visited two Fry's Electronics. One was based entirely on Alice in Wonderland and the other was designed to look like a spaceship had crashed into the building and there was an alien invasion. It's said to hear they're going out of business, but I still loved them dearly.
@@sarahramon9524 this made me so happy to know the alien one is still open! they used to have old cars you would sit in and eat with a projector movie on it was so cool
The one in San Diego was "warehouse" themed. So I didn't even know it was a themed store until my friend showed me the Egyptian themed one up north. Whoever designed ours was an idiot. It looked like a Costco.
I had so much fun when my grandma used to take me to Rainforest Cafe when I was a little girl. She'd usually take me to get a cool game boy color game or take me to Limited Too. I miss her. I had a lot of fun back then.
I'm willing to bet that they will be back. Especially after this last year, were all craving the simplicity and safe drama of our childhoods. I mean, unless the hyper capitalists take over completely. Then its just gonna be boring and shitty.
what is a hyper-capitalist and how exactly would such a person automatically make something boring and shitty? wtf are you talking about? if you want an example of 'hyper-capitalism,' whatever that made-up term means, then look no further than di$ney, who doesn't know how *not* to make a themed restaurant.
I’m so glad you made a video on themed restaurants and their history. It doesn’t seem like many other channels bring this topic up. Rainforest Café was one of my favorite places as a kid and it will always hold a soft spot in my heart ❤️ even though the animatronics did scare me back then 😂
I never cared much for the food, but it became a family tradition when I was young to eat at the one in florida when we were there on vacation. Thank you for putting together this video.
I've been a Landry's Select Club Card holder since 2013. I recently went to the Rainforest in Disney Springs with a few friends that had never been before and we all had a great time. Rainforest Cafe will always remain as a special place for me.
We went there once in the early 2000s. The general atmosphere was ok, but the food was bad and there weren't alot of animatronics. And the few that were there only did the same animation and noises every few minutes which got annoying fast
There used to be a Rainforest Cafe relatively near where I lived, always had wanted to go there as a kid. Unfortunately, it was a bit out of the way and my parents never wanted to bother with it...it disappeared and I finally managed to eat at one on a larger family trip with extended family where part of the group ended up heading home the same way and stopped at the Mall of America. It was a decent food, but something fun to see. Also, the dinosaur themed restaurant in the video is, essentially, just another Rainforest Cafe with a few, minor, substitutions and renamings on the menu. It was designed and run by the same people...
I remember always eating at the Rainforest Cafe at the Disneyland in California. The food was probably trash and overpriced, but it will always be a nice memory of a silly tradition we did when I was young.
Living in Chicago my family went to that one every so often. I can still recall the shouts of Volcano every time someone got that dessert. Still have a magnet with my name on it on my fridge too. Such a strange place. I loved it.
Great start, Tyler! I worked with Nolan Bushnell on a Chuck E. Cheese follow-on called "Bot's Bites" where the animatronics not only entertained you, but brought the food to your table! Too bad he got distracted by a new project and it never went anywhere.
I remember back in the early 2000s when a shopping trip at the mall would be concluded with a dinner at the rainforest cafe. I enjoyed some birthdays there, stared at fish, decided that elephants were my favorite animal and got mildly traumatized by the thunder and lightning. felt really sad when it closed down and now there aren't any in Washington State
There’s still one in Auburn Hills, MI. I just ate there last week actually purely for nostalgia. I actually like the atmosphere and food. They also have fun cocktails🍹
There is still a Rainforest Cafe in my local mall. The food is definitely not worth the price ($20 for a plate of pasta?!) but I LOVE the atmosphere. I love theme parks and animatronics (well, practical effects in general) and animals, so it really checks a lot of boxes for me. When I used to work at the mall, sometimes, after work, I’d go say hi to the alligator animatronic out front. That guy is so nostalgic for me (I used to be kind of scared of him). I was pleased to see that, recently, the animatronics finally got a bit of refurbishment. You used to be able to see some of the metal sticking out of the jaguar’s flicking tail. The restaurant did kind of terrify me as a kid, though. I’ve always been very audio sensitive, so the thunderstorms (complete with freaked out elephant and gorillas) were too much for me. Now I love the thunderstorms!
My first and only experience at the rainforest cafe was witnessing a proposal at the table next to us. I was young, so I thought it was exciting, but I also remember thinking that the woman was not very enthusiastic either...she said yes, but maybe the rainforest cafe wasn’t the romantic proposal she was hoping for haha.
I love hyper themed restaurants. I wish they became more popular again. ^^ If I could, I’d open my own and have it fantasy and mythology themed.
That sounds so cool NintendoAngel247, I’d go see that!
@@Joy6168
Thank you! Heh. Imagine it being filled with animatronic mythical creatures. Dragons, unicorns, fairies, mermaids, etc. :D
@@nintendoangel2478 oOoO it sounds really cool!
start a gofundme that sounds cool
Ooh! We’re would you have it?
Fun fact the artists that designed the animals for rain forest cafe still produce work today their names are Carlos & Albert from Mexico and their pieces are sold all around the world.
For once,info that actually matters was shared. Thank you.
I actually went to Sambo's when i was a kid once...
@@davidallamericananarchist9220 how was that
@@gterschluse I was like 14 at the time 30 now and it felt like it didn't age well even back then soooooo yeah...
What's up Carlos
I remember all I wanted was to go to Rainforest Cafe and my parents took me for my 8th birthday and then we went and watched the first Ironman in theatres. That was a good birthday.
damn sound magical
wow. good memories, good times.
That sounds amazing omg
I'm a grown ass man and I'd still love this for my birthday lol
@@Kill3rB345T yeah, it was pretty good. I was ecstatic. I even got a hit pink pair of Crocs that I'd really wanted.
Rainforest Cafe's biggest problem was that their food is bad. It seemed every menu entry was designed to save the rainforest by wiping out humans via heart disease. I mean - who can you make a Club Sandwich greasy?
Actually, you can make me a “club sandwich greasy”, if I don’t mind asking 😉
I actually was a child once who had their dinosaur chicken nuggets Then after that I vomited
Except I loved the Rasta Pasta.
@Shia Lebeouf: Life Coach this is a blatant lie McDonald’s burgers arnt greasy they’re juicy !
The closest one to where I live had corn that didn’t taste like corn? How do you do that, and it was in ILLINOIS. Which is part of the Corn Belt
No matter where you go, they all have the same distinct smell.
The one at Disney in FL smelled like sulfur and wet potting soil lol
@@RosebudKane41 fr
Probably either bromine or chlorine in the crocodile water lol
yesss the smell of my childhood
Probably with a hint of grease smell from the animatronics.
Also there were times I was reminded of waiting in line at a theme park when close to something mechanical and that grease smell.
My parents tried to take me to a Rainforest Cafe for my birthday once. I took on look at the giant animatronic snake at the entrance and started crying. They took me to Build a Bear instead. I think that’s where my fear of animatronics came from.
FNAF much?
Yeah I had a similar experience with the animated gorillas 🥺
LUCKY. I had to go in with my parents. I’m so glad I wasn’t next to a giant animatronic because I was already really uneasy, but we sat next to a monkey that would move its hands from covering its eyes to its stomach.. but it’s fur pattern on its stomach looked like eyes too which freaked me out. I too have a severe fear of animatronics. Then a few years later my mom took my to Mars 2112 and I was so freaked out by the alien costumes that I cried when one came around for photos even though I cried asking the host to not let them near me, so I’m also afraid of mascot like costumes where I can’t see any bit of the person under it.
OH and we got lost while trying to leave Mars 2112 and ended up on a floor where there was an empty bar or something and then aliens started walking out and I was severely bugging out and my mom had to ask them for help on how to leave.
Opposite, I went to WDW and Mall Of America, begged my parents to take me to Rainforest Cafe because I love animatronics.
I don't know about anyone else, but I absolutely love crazy, over-the-top themes!
especially jungle/nature related
Me too! Rainforest cafe was on of my absolute favorites I went every year for my birthday. It breaks my heart that they’re slowing getting rid of them 😢
Going to the huge rainforest cafe in Galveston today
I could not agree more!
I’m The Kid At 1:57 Lol 😂 Thank You For That! Can’t Believe You Found This Video.
Cool
Do you remember city was the commercial filmed in?
I actually like rainforest cafe. Their food is not perfect, but can still be good
Agreed, it has a strange charm to it.
I agree
Me and my mom went to the mall with my sister one time and they had a rainforest cafe, so of course we had to go. The food looked so bad. And then the next day we all got sick soooooooooooooooo
I feel the same! In fact I was just visiting the cafe the other day at a mall here in Mesa and idk, I just love animals and tropical settings so I just always had a soft spot for it!
@@miguelchanes6064 it’s nice to look at but something about it just isn’t as cool as it used to be when I was younger. I hope it’s just the one that I went to but- eh
You'll all be happy to hear that there's still a Rainforest Cafe at the Mall of America. The food isn't that good, but the whole rest of it is a trip.
There’s still two on both the US side and the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.
There is one in Seattle at southcenter mall
@@rubymarie6232 not anymore, it's been gone for a long time now. (Closed in early 2016)
I went to one recently in San Antonio ^_^
@@sovietninja6865 yea I went to the one in Canada
The divide with the Rainforest Cafe was that children will think the food tastes good if the place looks cool and parents can't believe they're wasting this much money on subpar diner food 😂 I have nothing but fond memories of the Rainforest Cafe and as an adult I have the utmost respect for the few times my mom tolerated lunch there. There weren't any near us so it was a "treat" if we ever got to go to one. My tiny ass was obsessed with jungle animals.
I went with my Girl Scout troop and I recall many of my friends didn’t like what they had but I liked mine. But yea I always loved animals too Lion King was a childhood favorite
Same here lol. The best part was the waterfalls that made rainbows and the way the mist smelled. Oh, and the ⛈ thunderstorms 🌩 lol
I'm 20 and I still wouldn't mind going to a Rainforest Cafe for a fun day every once in a while. It's just silly fun that brings you back to being a kid.
I still have a Medieval Times near me, and took a friend there just before Covid and we had a blast!
I randomly started thinking about the rainforest cafe. I’m so glad I found your video!
Same here haha I was like “I haven’t heard about that place in a good minute”
Same
Same!!
alexa must have heard you mumble the name in your sleep....
Oh you have the chip too ?
There’s still a Rainforest Cafe in Disney World and Atlantic City
Love the atmosphere
And sawgrass mall
theres one in niagara falls, new york
And in Las Vegas!
And Downtown Disney
That's my buddy Steve being Forrest Gump at the end. At one point in his career he had been hired to appear at the grand opening of every Bubba Gump restarant in existence at that time. I think he has retired from doing Forrest Gump these days.
He nailed the voice of hanx
he sounds just like tom hanks
God the nostalgia that comes with rainforest cafe is unreal. I went there for my 4th birthday and at the end of the meal we got a volcano browny cake and I swear it was bigger than my head. Very scrumptious
I grew up in Richfield, MN, within driving distance of the Mall of America. One Sunday after church, Mom and I decided to check out Rainforest, which had had been open for 2 months. It was so neat and surreal, like an at-home Disneyland. I loved all the sound effects, the gift shop and Tracy the talking tree. I’ve eaten there many times since. The food is pretty expensive, but the experience is still a nostalgic adventure that always makes me feel like a kid again. Thanks for the wonderful video tribute!
I also live in MN, and as a child, Rainforest Cafe was a favorite of mine. I would always enjoy going there to celebrate my birthday. I don't remember when I went there last, but I remember the last time I did go there, they had a small 'Build a Bear Workshop' selection in the gift shop, where I stuffed a white tiger and got a Rainforest Cafe shirt for her. I would like to go back again sometime for just the experience since it has to have been well over 12 years since I've been to it.
fellow Minnesotan, raised in St Paul. I used to go on occasion but enjoyed Cafe Odyssey more (bummed it closed). Me and my husband went a few years ago and enjoyed it. I agree, food was pricey but not too bad.
Growing up I always wanted to eat there. One time I got the chance. I remember liking it. We even have a photo with a frame of our time there. It was my family plus some aunts, cousins and grandparents.
@@supergeeky7529 I loved Café odyssey!! 💖 I was able to find some photos online about a year ago, they were just a few photos but I was so glad just to have a tiny memory of the place. It was one of my favorite theme restaurants. I think I got photos of the undersea room and the safari room. What else am I forgetting?
i went to a rainforest cafe back in 2019 just to relive the memories, and i remember the power went out twice while there lol
How did the power go out twice? Lol
@Yennifer Ramoz we went there for a part time field trip in 2nd grade
@@MustacheDLuffy they used the microwave in the back twice?
That fake thunder storm went too far 🤣
For a more authentic tropical experience!
Was tripping on acid at Disneyland around 2009...my friend and his sister made mid-afternoon reservations to eat at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. An already unique dining experience was enhanced to 9000 about an hour after peaking. Good times
The real question is, how did you get through security with acid? 😂😂😂
@@princessangie7809 easy to hide. small, odorless and ordinary looking
Omg I was just thinking imagine how insane this shit would be high bahahhaa wow
I loved this place so much as a kid my bedroom was painted as like a rainforest- and still is sixteen years later. I believe my exact request was a room with "elephants and monkeys and with the ceiling having thunder and lightning and BOOM".
Looking back the food was horrible, save for the $30 volcano brownie thing I only got once, and I once got severe food poisoning from their chicken nuggets. But the decor was well worth it, and I spent a lot of time staring at the aquariums. I blame them for my love of animals and my fish tank and reptile collection today.
I have a distinct memory of being about 3 years old and being obsessed with the animatronic crocodile at rainforest cafe. It closed shortly after and I didn’t learn the name of the restaurant until many years later, I just remembered that crocodile
Crunchy crocodile 🦖 (no emoji for it)
@@MustacheDLuffy 🐊
GIRL I SWEAR WE WENT TO THE SAME ONE
@@chickenchicken9072 I don’t suppose it was the palisades center mall 🤔
I used to be terrified of that crocodile lol
They will make a comeback in the US given how physical retail is dying and people are craving for actual experiences instead sitting in front of a phone or screen.
Not to mention that the real rainforest seems to be going extinct 😥
As someone from Colorado, I'd rather have an enchilada from some roadside truck and watch acrobatics on television than put my gut flora through an enchilada from Casa Bonita.
@@Flufferz626 But that's just, like, your opinion, man.
I have seen you before! I know so, but I don't know where...
@@sleepdeep305 Other theme park videos?
My dad began a themed restaurant chain. It was my whole childhood and I was always so proud of him. He just passed near the end of 2020 and these are some of the fondest memories I had. He hired past Disney Imagineers to do the designs and immersion and the food was phenomenal. Gosh I miss him.
A family friend used to call me little Sambo as a kid and I remember my mom didn’t like it lol everything makes sense now
I had a tiger from there that lasted over 25 years. It finally gave up the ghost when the thread died I it started leaking sawdust~! I loved that restaurant & that tiger! Had the best pancakes there. Went to the one in Idaho Falls, ID a lot as a kid
smhh
I used to LOVE Rainforest Cafe as a kid. Post-COVID, if I ever find myself in front of one again, I will not care even one percent if the food is overpriced and the restaurant is loud. I will be jumping up and down like a 5-year-old.
Same, I love the one at Disneyland, went there with my Mom and sister on a surprise Disney trip. I flipping loved it and if it ever closes I will be so sad!
@@Bowserjr-wi4dn Are you talking about the one in Downtown Disney? Sorry to break it to ya, but it's been closed for a long time already (so is the AMC; I was upset when I found out). They're replacing it with a Star Wars shop.
@@graceisgrace52 Wait really?! The one in Florida or California?
@@Bowserjr-wi4dn The one in California. I didn't know they had one in Florida! (Luckyyy)
@@graceisgrace52 Noooo! That sucks man...I am gonna miss that place, have some great memories...
If the one at Disney springs ever closes or the T-Rex cafe, I’m going to be devastated
Y?
The food isn’t good honestly. Like it’s a cool environment but the food sucked
You mean downtown disney
@@RafzCampz it’s called Disney Springs in Florida now
@@ashleybuttafuoco downtown Disney
As a child, my biggest hyperfixation was volcanoes. I loved them and I wouldn’t ever shut up about them. Going to the library I would immediately go to the natural disasters section and would read the same few books over and over again. For birthdays I would ask for books, lego sets, and those mini ones you could make erupt with baking soda and stuff. I would be literally the only kid bouncing in her seat, raising her hand and ready to answer any question about it in school. Not to mention everyone had to write letters to a kid in class who was picked and when I got picked all they mentioned was that I liked volcanoes. I even tried to make volcanoes tie into the themes of many of my school projects. So when I went to DisneyWorld and saw one of these, I was elated. My parents took me there and I loved it but was also very scared. I remember walking through the volcano (which was a very great design choice) and sitting down. Every while or so the volcano would spew fire and it would be loud. I got very scared. I know now that it was two things; 1. My ears are very sensitive and it was giving me sensory overload and 2. I just loved volcanoes but knew that they had the potential to hurt people and I was more afraid of lava even though it’s the gas they release that would actually kill you. I knew it was fake but was still scared lol. Needless to say I liked looking only at afar when it came to them as there was also a golf course on another trip that I was afraid of (but actually got to go to later). My mother ended up bringing me to the bathroom where you couldn’t hear it but after I felt a lot more comfortable. Nowadays I’m more interested in other things but they have a very special place in my heart and I’m hoping after the pandemic I can visit a place that has one to see an eruption in real life since my trip to see the town of Pompeii was cancelled.
When I was a kid I thought these were the best goddamn restaurants ever. I remember everyone stopped going to them around 2008-2010.
i mean rainforest is still around
Recession made people stop going to take the kids out and habit never quite picked up.
"everyone stopped going to them"
Not my son. We took him there for his 10th birthday. He's 18 now and he still wants to go back every year. And it's pretty crowded every time we go.
Every time we went to the Rainforest Cafe in downtown Disney we always sat next to an aquarium. I loved watching the puffer fish doodle around while I ate.
I love how you described them as doodling around and can only imagine puffer fish with crayons and lil waterproof rainforest cafe kids menus
we saw a fish dying in the aquarium
My college is ten minutes away from a mall with a rainforest cafe!! I didn’t even realize that most of them had closed. I love walking by and getting that same smell that’s on Disney water rides ❤️
“Hoot hoot I scream” now that’s relatable.
Oh my god, this place actually exists? I went to one as a small kid and thought it was just my imagination lmao
anyone feeling nostalgic about childhood memories at the rainforest cafes in disney springs, sawgrass mills, and the one in animal kingdom?
I do it’s just their food is bad
i don’t remember the food that well ahaha
florida gang lol
the sawgrass one already clossed?? i didn’t knew. (and florida gaang~~)
i think they’re all still open but i haven’t been back in years
I feel like a lot of the public's desire for themed experiences outside of theme parks was transferred over to the escape room craze of the 2010s, at least until COVID-19 made being inside a compressed interior place with strangers dangerous. They're much more immersive (and beneficial for your body, mind, and relationship with the group you attend with) than eating a cheeseburger while animatronics make repetitive noises at you
Themed restaurants went out well before that. They honestly were pretty tired by the end of the 1990s.
There was a major shift from spectacle to a desire for quality food which, sadly, these pretty frequently miss the mark on heavily.
I wish I had gotten my butt up to go to one. They sounded fun, but I didnt really have anyone to go with.
They will make a comeback given how physical retail is dying and people are craving for actual experiences instead sitting in front of a phone or screen.
@@Clay3613 honestly it will be a very limited comeback if the food is as bad as Rainforest, planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Cafe, etc.
I have met the creator, and listened to his story of creating RC. He designed a lot of it in his basement. He was using so much electricity, the the power company had to alert the police because they felt he must have a huge drug lab. They raided his place in the middle of the night in Minneapolis. All they found were all of the animatronics that eventually went into the first RC. A good friend of mine was the district manager. He told me that he was a terrible owner/ boss. He made sure that as he moved on, he did everything the exact opposite as the owner.
That’s a really funny story!! I bought Stephen Schuessler‘s book and it wasn’t nearly as interesting as I was hoping. I know there are some more interesting stories about the things he has created that are not in the book.
Theres some serious nostalgia here. I remember going as a kid to these whenever my family would vacation in different spots.
I guess I'm not alone in being traumatized by a room full of uncanny fake jungle animals.
I was terrified of the rain with rain forest cafe. I didn't want to get wet. and I was a kid at the time, I did cry, not wanting to go in there. But my parents made me. I have negative memories of that restaurant ever since.
I was so scared to go there and I was like 5 or 6 at the time and same I was so scared of the animals there
For me it was a combo of the rainforest cafe and Mars 2112. I’m afraid of animatronics and even some fish tanks.
I actually wanted to go there when I was a kid I remember seeing the commercials and thinking it looked so cool but we never went ):
I remember that i visited one rainforest café and there was a tree. I was curious and got to the tree to get a better look at it but it activated and started talking. I ran out of the rainforest café screaming while my mom tried to calm me down and for my cousin to laugh his butt off. Long story short. I never got to the place again. Not to mention that i live in Germany and we don't have this café things in Germany. 😅 I only came to America to visit my cousin and not to get scared by a talking tree 😅🇩🇪🇺🇸
I worked as a server at Rainforest Cafe in Nashville 20 years ago. It was easily the craziest serving job I ever had. It was so incredibly busy all the time. Every second it was open, they were on a wait. There would be some weekend where the wait times would get up to 4 HOURS! It was located at the Opryland Mall and hotel. So people would put in their name and go walk around shopping for a couple hours and be back and still have to wait another hour. It was insanely stressful working as a server there. We would have to wait in lines 8-10 servers long just to put in orders at the computers. Tip-outs were crazy. I'd have a shift where I would make $150 in tips, but walk with $75 after tipping out the bartender, the busser, the hosts, etc, etc, etc. Needless to say, I didn't stay there that long.
So important to hear from servers about places like this that are incredibly bizarre and unique and have to deal with so many people and so much wackiness and joy and general human condition stuff so intensely. The behind-the-scenes must be full of good stories and stuff like this, it's not intuitive to guess.
tips are racist, and uniquely American
@@FirstLast-uz6eq what?
@@a.b.studios the history is from racist past. I had no idea either until i researched it. It is steeped in racism...
@@candiceannette8146 ok so??? Should we not too because????? What the fuck you want hun?
The rainforest cafe was one of the coolest restaurants ive ever been to, hands down.
I really hope this trend doesn't die! I just love the idea of making businesses that gives people a good experience along with good service! It's one of the main reasons why I jumped at the opportunity to join Cracker Barrel.
It will come back around, we are going through a more tasteful time now but I think people are realising good taste is boring bring back the tacky days of the 70s-90s
“Hoot Hoot I Scream” is what I say every morning when I wake up!
I can’t be the only one that was cracking up when it cut off “What are you doing with my apple!?”
Time stamp?
The UA-cam algorithm god’s are back at it again.
Thank you for making a video on this phenomenon. It never made sense why a restaurant with a 3 hour wait is somehow out of business
Nothing happened to it where I live. It's still there thriving as ever.
same
Same here
Ya but in a lot of places they shut down for some reason
That’s super cool! I wish that was me! They pretty much shut down everything here. We really only have a Burger King and On the Border. Both are dismal.
Does yours have fish tanks or used to have fish tanks? Ours did, and then after they did the episode of tanked the fish tank show, they removed them.
I distinctly remember being traumatized by Jekyll and Hyde's in NYC as a child. The entrace involved going in as a large group to corridor and then turning off the lights and telling you that you were trapped. Great way to start lunch as a claustrophobic 8 year old... I was convinced that something was going to jump out of my pea soup.
I LOVE IT THERE NOOOO
@@ambertorriero2425 I'm sure now I would be fine lol
I loved that place ! The show in the center was a little much for me at 5 though 😂
The thing that traumatized me was the "realistic" alligator, bro i would cry every time
That is an awesome experience though. Got to go there and I can’t wait to go back once their dumbass Governor gets out of office and the people start realizing he’s making the state worse with all the high crime spikes, etc.
Dude, I hated it whenever the animals went crazy during the thunderstorm. Talk about childhood trauma.
I had honestly forgotten that Rainforest Cafe even existed but just hearing that name sent me back
This feels like somebody's term paper in video form.
I actually don't like when a video takes 20 mins to answer a title question (that could be answered in 4-5), but I still watched it all.. it's fine. :)
@@jefflong1799 the title literally is followed by "history of themed restaurants" after the question is posed, no shit it includes the history of themed restaurants? i mean learn to read
@@jefflong1799 I agree (: this one was informative and had good jokes
It's called a video essay, it's a popular form of youtube video that goes in-depth on a subject
@@rattyeely You misspelled "form".
We didn’t have the Rainforest Cafe where I lived but we had something called the Mayan Adventure. It had a cool Indiana Jones inspired atmosphere with a giant waterfall as a center piece for the restaurant where professional diver/actors would tell these fictional Mayan stories while climbing around the set piece, interacting with people, and diving down the waterfall. You only went there for the experience though. The food was mediocre at best and probably was the sole reason why it closed. To be honest, if the food was good enough, it probably would’ve stayed open. But I remember going there for every single one of my childhood birthday dinners. I loved it so much. But alas, people grow up, develop, and move on. 🤷♀️
Sounds like Casa Bonita in Colorado. Horrible food but great atmosphere including cliff divers.
it should've hired culinary chefs that specialized in foreign cooking
Sounds like your from Utah
The Mayan was a copy of Casa Bonita
I remember going to the dinosaur themed one as a kid, I was about five and the dinosaurs terrified me so i cried through my meal and my parents never brought me to a themed restaurant again.
Haha, brings me back. I was always scared of the gorillas as a kid because of how rowdy they got in the storm
I'm still so sad their slowly leaving
We have the 2nd rainforest cafe in az and its not as it used to be and is barely living. I'll probably cry when its gone, cause I've had so many birthdays and childhood memories there. Guess we'll see
Yeah, The snake is broken, the gator's missing an eye, and Tracy's eyes open-eyes shut thing is switched. I hope it doesn't close though, cause I love it so much :(
This editing! This script! This knooowledge! *chef kiss*
EXCUSE ME THEIR LAVA NACHOS WERE DELICIOSO AND I LOVED IT WHEN THE EMPLOYEES SCREAMED “VOLCANOOOOOOOO!!!!!”
My fam and I always went to this restaurant when visiting Animal Kingdom 😪
I had literally watched the Casa Bonita South Park episode right before this and is made me think of Rainforest Cafe. Then I wondered what happened to that place. Now I’m here and I’m not disappointed.
As a kid of the 90’s who never got to go to Rainforest Cafe I’m happy to hear that some still exist lol
I absolutely loved Rainforest Cafe as a kid. Went there 2 or 3 times and it was extremely memorable.
11:27 "A powerful rat named Charles Entertainment Cheese."- Defunctland
Ooh that reminds me that Fry’s electronics was actually kinda “hyperthemed” too! All of their stores had really interesting different themes - the local one was jungle themed of course. Unfortunate that they’re also going out of business, but that’s more to do with their inability to innovate with the rise of e-commerce than with the downfall of hyperthemes. Still an interesting phenomenon nonetheless.
I was out visiting family out in California and we visited two Fry's Electronics. One was based entirely on Alice in Wonderland and the other was designed to look like a spaceship had crashed into the building and there was an alien invasion. It's said to hear they're going out of business, but I still loved them dearly.
I love fry's
@@sarahramon9524 this made me so happy to know the alien one is still open! they used to have old cars you would sit in and eat with a projector movie on it was so cool
@@sarahramon9524 I used to go to the UFO one all the time with my dad before we stopped talking, I’m also really sad to hear it closed :(
The one in San Diego was "warehouse" themed. So I didn't even know it was a themed store until my friend showed me the Egyptian themed one up north. Whoever designed ours was an idiot. It looked like a Costco.
ate there once in the mid 90's , ambiance was was cool , the food was terrible and way overpriced, first and last time
Just like all Landry’s owned restaurants
Ditto, shame as good atmosphere.
Mom and I went to one when visiting Texas a few years ago. The animatronics and sound effects were great but the food was just okay.
I had so much fun when my grandma used to take me to Rainforest Cafe when I was a little girl. She'd usually take me to get a cool game boy color game or take me to Limited Too. I miss her. I had a lot of fun back then.
This is an insanely high quality video for a youtuber of your size. I applaud you for being so dedicated, you will grow if you keep it up!
I'm willing to bet that they will be back. Especially after this last year, were all craving the simplicity and safe drama of our childhoods. I mean, unless the hyper capitalists take over completely. Then its just gonna be boring and shitty.
One of my old colleagues actually went to rainforest Café about a month ago. They’re still in business
@@masteroftheassassins where was it?
Most people I know who like to get bout to eat, choose based on food quality and price. These places seen crazy to me, in a good way!
@@dandeleon2764 ha, quality, price, and good service are things of the past.
what is a hyper-capitalist and how exactly would such a person automatically make something boring and shitty? wtf are you talking about? if you want an example of 'hyper-capitalism,' whatever that made-up term means, then look no further than di$ney, who doesn't know how *not* to make a themed restaurant.
As a Coloradoan. I have no clue why that's our top choice. I swear they asked one doofus that and it just became the default for the state.
That food chain chart is actually fake
I took my kids to Rainforest Cafe in Vegas many years ago and the whole time they complained and told me how Casa Bonita is so much better 😆
I’m so glad you made a video on themed restaurants and their history. It doesn’t seem like many other channels bring this topic up. Rainforest Café was one of my favorite places as a kid and it will always hold a soft spot in my heart ❤️ even though the animatronics did scare me back then 😂
This whole video was just a huge nostalgic kick to the face, my childhood
I legit saw the thumbnail and said to myself out loud, “What did ever happen too Rain Forest Cafe?” Great Video
I never cared much for the food, but it became a family tradition when I was young to eat at the one in florida when we were there on vacation. Thank you for putting together this video.
I've been a Landry's Select Club Card holder since 2013. I recently went to the Rainforest in Disney Springs with a few friends that had never been before and we all had a great time. Rainforest Cafe will always remain as a special place for me.
Waiting for my Harry Potter themed restaurant... yes I know it’s at Universal but I would love for it to be world wide.
My local one died in Seattle. So many fond childhood memories.
We went there once in the early 2000s. The general atmosphere was ok, but the food was bad and there weren't alot of animatronics. And the few that were there only did the same animation and noises every few minutes which got annoying fast
One of the pillars of my childhood! I loved that place so much! I loved the rainforest theme they had and the dessert, my god!
There used to be a Rainforest Cafe relatively near where I lived, always had wanted to go there as a kid. Unfortunately, it was a bit out of the way and my parents never wanted to bother with it...it disappeared and I finally managed to eat at one on a larger family trip with extended family where part of the group ended up heading home the same way and stopped at the Mall of America. It was a decent food, but something fun to see.
Also, the dinosaur themed restaurant in the video is, essentially, just another Rainforest Cafe with a few, minor, substitutions and renamings on the menu. It was designed and run by the same people...
Oh my god this brought back flashbacks to something I thought was just a childhood fever dream
Yea. I even got to be at one with my cousins and family.
I remember always eating at the Rainforest Cafe at the Disneyland in California. The food was probably trash and overpriced, but it will always be a nice memory of a silly tradition we did when I was young.
I'm always impressed with the sheer level of research you put into all your videos. Thank you
Living in Chicago my family went to that one every so often. I can still recall the shouts of Volcano every time someone got that dessert. Still have a magnet with my name on it on my fridge too. Such a strange place. I loved it.
Ya know, the food wasn’t bad and the environment was wonderful.
Great start, Tyler! I worked with Nolan Bushnell on a Chuck E. Cheese follow-on called "Bot's Bites" where the animatronics not only entertained you, but brought the food to your table! Too bad he got distracted by a new project and it never went anywhere.
Walking into the rainforest cafe and just seeing the scenery was enough for me to love it as a child
the best thing about 2020-2021 is when youtubers make our worst days of covid better.
I absolutely love the Rainforest Cafe, I'm sad they're fading out.
I thought they were when I stopped hearing about it
I remember back in the early 2000s when a shopping trip at the mall would be concluded with a dinner at the rainforest cafe. I enjoyed some birthdays there, stared at fish, decided that elephants were my favorite animal and got mildly traumatized by the thunder and lightning. felt really sad when it closed down
and now there aren't any in Washington State
Literally just went to rainforest cafe for my 21st birthday less than a week ago!
Good thing Disney World Still has their Rainforest Cafe
Man I loved going to rainforest cafe, just for the gift shop we never ate there
I want more T-Rex Cafe locations to happen like a Las Vegas location, a Mall of America location, a Honolulu location, etc.!
There’s still one in Auburn Hills, MI. I just ate there last week actually purely for nostalgia. I actually like the atmosphere and food. They also have fun cocktails🍹
Imagine if there was an Asian Restaurant that was like a blend between Rainforest Café and Medieval Times
There is still a Rainforest Cafe in my local mall. The food is definitely not worth the price ($20 for a plate of pasta?!) but I LOVE the atmosphere. I love theme parks and animatronics (well, practical effects in general) and animals, so it really checks a lot of boxes for me. When I used to work at the mall, sometimes, after work, I’d go say hi to the alligator animatronic out front. That guy is so nostalgic for me (I used to be kind of scared of him). I was pleased to see that, recently, the animatronics finally got a bit of refurbishment. You used to be able to see some of the metal sticking out of the jaguar’s flicking tail. The restaurant did kind of terrify me as a kid, though. I’ve always been very audio sensitive, so the thunderstorms (complete with freaked out elephant and gorillas) were too much for me. Now I love the thunderstorms!
I'm from Sunrise Florida and we have one
does anyone else remember getting the Rainbow Smoothie and coming home with half of it in their cool take home cup?
This took a lot of really fun turns and you made some connections with your research I wouldn’t have thought of! This was great
I used to LOVE themed restaurants like this, I want them to come back so badly. I have so many cool memories at places like this
“It soon became a favorite birthday party location of children of the seventies and eighties-“
Me: And the nineties*
and the 2000s
Definitely the 2000s even some early 2010’s creep
@@memethyst 2000's here! Love the one at Disneyland!
My first and only experience at the rainforest cafe was witnessing a proposal at the table next to us. I was young, so I thought it was exciting, but I also remember thinking that the woman was not very enthusiastic either...she said yes, but maybe the rainforest cafe wasn’t the romantic proposal she was hoping for haha.
That poor lady, I hope they were already engaged and just doing the thing to try to get a free piece of cake where you pretend to get engaged
I loved the Rainforest Cafe as a kid, and I still do. Gotta hit up it up ever time I visit family in San Antonio. :)
I remember everyone in Chicago lamenting the closure of our Rainforest Cafe. Seeing them take down the frog outside was painful.
My “local” one is still open and I plan on going there as a graduation party with friends when I’m out of high school