Backstory and Theming

Located in Toy Story Land, aka Andy’s Backyard, the new Roundup Rodeo BBQ Restaurant carries forward theming that we’ve grown accustomed to throughout Toy Story Land. Mostly, the interior resembles the Toy Story Mania queue, which consists of cutout characters. The exterior is meant to resemble a cardboard box with crayon drawings and other adornments with household items as Andy throws together a rodeo arena for his toys.

As seen in the digital map, Roundup Rodeo BBQ is tucked away behind the Toy Story Land entrance marquee and the giant Woody figure.

Here’s the backstory that Disney has given for the restaurant:

A unique collaboration between Walt Disney Imagineering, Disney Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney World Food & Beverage, this one-of-a-kind dining experience is the first “Toy Story” table service restaurant in the world.

Using three cardboard boxes cut and taped together, Andy has created a new rodeo arena for all of his favorite toys, featuring game pieces and iconic “Toy Story” characters, stickers and more. When guests step into Roundup Rodeo BBQ, they become Andy’s honorary toys. Arriving in the dining room, they enter a scene depicting a toy rodeo in full swing and come face-to-face with life-size figures. Jessie and Trixie take the reins in the first dining space, while Bo Peep and her sheep command center stage in the second.  And while some pieces are definitely western-themed, what makes this rodeo special is the broad assortment of toys that have been brought together to create a fun, colorful mashup atmosphere that only a child could create.

Once inside, you’ll be surrounded by all of the rodeo festivities in action as well as western town and train station play sets. And you just might spot some of your favorite Pixar characters scattered throughout the restaurant in the form of toys and game pieces including a toy version of Jessie riding on the back of a Trixie pull-toy and unique toy versions of Bo Peep and her sheep, all who appear to be performing in the rodeo together. 

Disney World put out a walk-through video of the restaurant without anyone inside, so if you’d like to watch that, we’ve included it below.

Guests enter the barn before making their way to the main dining room. There are some photo ops and nicely themed props for guests in this waiting area. You’ll also find the restrooms in the entrance area should, as Cast Members put it “you need to do some rootin’ or tootin'”.

The barnyard theming of the area evening carries into the restrooms.

Pricing and Reservations

Advance reservations for Roundup Rodeo BBQ are highly recommended, and while there may be very limited day-of availability, we recommend that you make reservations as soon as you’re able to. Guests without a valid Disney Resort reservation can make reservations up to 60 days in advance, and guests with a valid Disney Resort reservation can make reservations for the entire length of the stay (up to 10 days) up to 60 days in advance. You can make dining reservations on the Disney World website, or on the My Disney Experience app.

Is Roundup Rodeo BBQ Character Dining?

When it was announced that there would be a Toy Story restaurant coming to Toy Story Land, and the first Toy Story table service restaurant in the world, many guests were wondering: is Roundup Rodeo BBQ character dining? Unfortunately, there are no characters in Roundup Rodeo BBQ despite the location being segmented off from the rest of Toy Story Land (read: no windows). Woody, Jessie, and Buzz Lightyear do meet in Toy Story Land, but they do not appear in Roundup Rodeo BBQ.

Roundup Rodeo BBQ Menu

We’ll go through the full menu of what we ordered below, but we wanted to include some photos of the menu for posterity and browsing. Roundup Rodeo BBQ is a family-style offering. You can also view the full menu on the Walt Disney World website or in the My Disney Experience app ahead of your visit.

Bread Service & Salads (“Get a Wiggle on your Greens!”)

Once you’re seated and drink orders have been placed, your server will bring over The Prospector’s Homemade Cheddar Biscuits with Sweet Pepper Jelly and the “salads”.

The biscuits were a standout. Soft, yet structured, but also willing to break off easily, they were a wonderful take on the cheddar biscuit and the sweet pepper jelly complimented nicely without introducing any pepper spice.

As a party of two, we received three biscuits and as a party of six, we received six biscuits. Of course, you can always order more, and you will be tempted to do so given how delicious these biscuits are, but we recommend at least taking a few bites of your entree before ordering more (and that’s exactly what we did).

Rootin’ Tootin Tomato Salad

Cucumbers, Pickled Red Onion, White Balsamic Vinaigrette (Plant-based)

These were my second-favorite starter behind the biscuits. The pickled red onions paired nicely with the white balsamic vinaigrette, and the entire dish was noticeably fresh. The tomatoes come in both traditional size and cherry tomato cuts.

Even on our return visit, I reached for these second after a biscuit. It’s worth noting that while the portions of the entrees and biscuits will change based on party size, we received the same size salads for a party of two as we did for a party of six. Ultimately, it’s not a problem given the fact that you can always order more. We felt that each course was portioned really well, even the “smaller” salad portions were smart because the entrees were right around the corner.

Rex’s Romaine and Kale Salad

Apples, Dried Cranberries, Pumpkin Seeds, Green Goddess Dressing

An otherwise normal romaine and kale salad is plussed with some slices of apples. The dried cranberries were either missing or tough to find, along with the pumpkin seeds.

What a difference a day makes! What was originally a plain salad on the first day (above) was clearly an error compared to what arrived on the second visit (below). The second visit included all of the dried cranberries and pumping seeds that were missing from our salad on the first visit. We enjoyed the salad much more on the second visit, and might even rank it above the watermelon.

Wheezy’s Watermelon Salad

Fresh-torn Mint (Plant-based)

The watermelon was another fresh offering, although mint might be a take-it-or-leave-it proposition for some. We could do without it, but it didn’t make the offering bad by any stretch of the imagination. We found that the mint was stronger and more prevalent on our first visit (first picture below) than it was on our second visit (second picture below).

Reach for the Sides!

Before we get to the main platters, we want to cover all of the sides. While you won’t have to make choices on which meats or plant-based items you get on the platter (you get them all!), you will have to make a selection of four of the eight available sides…at least initially. The current policy is that, because Roundup Rodeo BBQ is an all-you-care-to-enjoy restaurant, you can ultimately order all of the sides if you’d like, but you must put in the first order of four of the sides to prevent waste. Once your first round of sides is delivered to the table, you can put in for more, which could be more of the same or you could switch it up and order some of the sides you couldn’t in the first round. That said, unless you’re a big party, it might be wasteful to order all of the sides, so we’ve ranked our favorites, followed by photos and descriptions of each.

Force Field Fried Pickles

Jumbo pickle spears coated with a dill-flavored breading and fried

We also enjoyed the fried pickles. They were expertly fried, ensuring that neither the breading nor the pickle inside was compromised by the process. Some of the larger spears still had some crunch to them, but smaller ones were softened by the process, but (critically) without losing flavor. The balance of the breaded exterior was substantial enough to be considered “breaded” without an overwhelmingly thick shell. When we visited with the party of six, these were a big enough hit with adults and children that we ended up ordering another round.

Cowpoke Corn on the Cob

 Grilled street corn and seasoned with a chili-lime spice blend, cilantro, cotija cheese, and lime juice

Another solid offering, we’ve certainly had better street corn, and even better street corn at Walt Disney World, but there are still plenty of flavors here. Disney says that the corn is grilled and seasoned with a chili-lime spice blend, cilantro, cotija cheese, and lime juice. That sounds like a lot, and there is a bit of zest occasionally, but the cotija cheese on the exterior proves to be laborious at times. Of course, like just about anything that hits the table, you can ask for modifications, and forgoing the cheese might be a good call, but that’s up to you.

Slinky Doooooooooog’s Mac & Cheese

Spiral pasta in a creamy house-made cheese sauce topped with crumbled cheddar crackers 

Slinky Doooooooooog Mac & Cheese is better than an average mac & cheese, this is somewhere between more-than-a-side and not-quite-an-entree. It fills the gap nicely, and using goldfish as a crumble makes it more accessible to children and even adults who typically shy away from a breadcrumb topping. We enjoyed it.

The Married Spuds

Loaded potato barrels drizzled with green goddess dressing, cheese sauce, and seasoned BBQ spices

Another solid side, these can only become overwhelming by the BBQ spices. They tend to overpower and we’re not sure that the green goddess dressing or cheese sauces do enough to tame the spices. We actually liked the spices, but there’s probably double the amount that’s needed in our opinion. The potato barrels were cooked to perfection though with a slight crisp on the exterior never leading to a soggy bite – even with the sauces drenching the entire dish (in the best possible way).

Campfire-roasted Vegetables

A variety of roasted seasonal vegetables (plant-based)

These were good and certainly had a good roast to them. A variety of vegetables was probably overwhelmed by the amount of zucchini. We would’ve loved to have seen more broccoli in our dish.

Mean Old Potato Salad

Homestyle Red-skinned Potatoes

A traditional potato salad, there really isn’t much to say here, but it’s good and is a classic pairing with barbecue for a reason.

Buckin’ Baked Beans

A traditional BBQ picnic favorite (plant-based)

These were like the potato salad – a classic, but nothing that’ll knock your socks off.

Veggie Slaw

Crunchy shredded veggie slaw that is a summertime favorite! (plant-based)

Another barbecue classic that just isn’t interesting (or good) enough to be considered as a top-four side.

Meat Platter & Planet-Based Platter (Entrees)

When ordering the entree, you have a choice of either a meat platter or a plant-based trio. Note that even if you have mostly meat eaters at the table, you can still order “Trixie’s Plant-based Trio” for one or more members of your party. For example, on our second visit, we ordered meat for four of the guests at our table and a plant-based trio for two in our party. If you’re ordering for a single person, our server said you have either the option of starting with a single plate of items, or a platter, it’s up to you. That goes for the meats too, you can either get a plate of meats or ask for a platter of meats if you’re just one person. But remember, you can always order more. Ultimately, we’ve found that the Cast Members want to make sure you have a memorable meal and don’t leave hungry!

For our first visit as a party of two, we ordered the meat platter, which is a platter of house-smoked meats. Along with the platter, which includes all of the meats, guests can choose four of eight sides for the table to share. Note that the meats will be a “smaller” portion of roughly 1/2lb servings of each meat for a party of two (to start). For parties of three or more, the portion roughly doubles. You can always order more of any single item, or combination of items as you wish. This is an all-you-care-to-eat restaurant after all. More on that later. Here’s the spread for two people, along with the option of salmon at no additional cost.

And here’s the spread for three or more guests. Again, the portion of the platter roughly doubles when you have three or more sitting at the table. One thing that doesn’t seem to increase in portion size is the sides. As a party of two, we struggled through the sides, but as a party of six, we flew through them and ordered more. Any additional food comes at no additional cost.

And here’s a look at the plant-based platter. This is the “smaller” portion for parties of less than three guests. Just like the meat platter, this platter would be larger should more than three guests wish to partake.

Ok, with some of the overviews out of the way, let’s chow down on some individual items and see what’s good and what might be worth a pass.

Evil Dr. Smoked Ribs

Fall-off-the-bone pork ribs, slow-cooked for hours in our onsite smokehouse

Described as fall-off-the-bone pork ribs, these certainly don’t deliver. They were overly chewy and stuck to the bone. They’re similar to other Walt Disney World ribs, which is to say that they are not great. Probably the bottom of the barrel for us on the meat platter.

Buttercup’s Beef Brisket

Hand-sliced beef brisket, smoked then slow-cooked to juicy perfection

If the description on the ribs was a swing and a miss, the description of the brisket is a home run – maybe even a grand slam. Slow-cooked to juicy perfection is better than we could’ve said ourselves. Paired with some of the sweet sauce, the beef brisket is a true barbecue win. It’s worth noting that we’re including photos from both of our of meals, and while we tried our best to color correct, there was a significant difference in lighting at our tables. One tended to be more “blue” under the somewhat harsh show lights, and the other was a warmer color, and closer to the actual color of the meats. That said, there was some variation between the meats and how they were presented, even just a day apart. Both “versions” of the brisket were excellent and paired wonderfully with the sauces. The sauces on the table are “classic”, “sweet”, and “spicy”. Our favorite was the sweet sauce, even though we wanted to really like the spicy. As tends to be the case at Disney World, the “spicy” sauce wasn’t spicy at all.

There’s a Sausage in My Boot

Spiced pork sausage fire-grilled over live oak to give it an added kick 

The fire-grilled pork sausage may be the second-best item from the meat platter. Decidedly fire-grilled, there is a nice crunch to the exterior paired with a little bit of live oak smokiness. It’s a solid offering, even for those who might not be big fans of sausage. Roundup Rodeo BBQ has two on-site smokers that they use daily to create the best flavor possible and it shows up at times like with the sausage.

BBQ Chicken – with Style!

Chicken brined for 48 hours, rubbed with our secret backyard BBQ spice and smoked to tender juiciness

Another entree that missed the mark for us. The chicken was cooked well, but there ended up being far more dry bites than juicy bites, unfortunately. We did get a hint of smoked flavor, so when we got a juicy bite, it was delicious, but those weren’t frequent enough for us to get excited about the chicken. Hopefully this improves, because the smoked flavor was nice when we did get a good bite.

Here’s a look at the plate put together. Speaking of the plates, they are a clever ceramic plate that has been shaped to look like a backyard paper plate. Rest assured, they are not paper and while the effect is convincing, there will be no soaked plates at this barbecue.

Cedar Plank Saloon Salmon

Available at no additional cost, the cedar plank salmon is wonderfully cooked and glazed. We think it is absolutely worth asking for the salmon to supplement your meal.

IMPOSSIBLE “Rib Chop”

“Rip Roarin’ Rib Chop” Barbecue-seasoned and glazed Impossible Chop. Seasoned with spices, then roasted and glazed with sweet BBQ sauce and skewered on a sugar cane “bone”

This was probably the highlight of the plant-based platter, for meat eaters too! A wonderful barbecue glaze surprised us as being better, or at least better portioned than what’s available with the meat dishes. The Impossible chop was absolutely amazing and better than some of the meat options. The blend used added some significant spice to the chop. The Impossible blend was actually so spicy that it surpassed anything else in the whole meal – including the “spicy” sauce. It was surprising, but in a good way given that we’re generally fans of spicy foods. I don’t think “borderline unapproachable” is the correct phrase, but just be ready for some heat.

Oven-roasted “Bratwurst”

“Scrumptious Bratwurst” tender and juicy, sliced to perfection

This is a rather standard “bratwurst” and reminded us of similar “sausage” around property, which is a good thing. Nothing out of left field like the Impossible chop was.

Slow-smoked Cauliflower

“Combat Carloflower” topped with sweet harissa drizzle and crunchy walnut gremolata

Unfortunately, we couldn’t end on a high for the plant-based platter. The cauliflower, which we’ve heard some guests really enjoyed, wasn’t a standout for us. The cauliflower was at least cooked well, if not almost too soft.

Specialty Drinks & Beer

Before we get to dessert and wrap things up, we wanted to cover some of the drinks that we had. Guests can either choose from complimentary soft drinks and iced teas or upcharge specialty drinks. For the kids or kids at heart, there are Lil’ Rider Refreshments. For adults, there are Grown-Up Drinks which are specialty mixed drinks and there are also beer and hard cider options. Here’s how Disney describes the drinks before we take a sip of what we ordered:

We didn’t drink all of the beverages, but we probably didn’t necessarily need to. We had the Grown-Up’s PB&J and the Whinnyin Whiskey Lemonade. Both were delicious, but also very much Disney Drinks in that they were high on flavor (sugar) and relatively low on alcoholic punch. That said, Disney has done a great job of creating some fun flavors, but at $14-$17 per drink, it’s a very tough sell.

Chuckwagon Desserts

Guests can choose from one of five different “chuckwagon desserts” to round out their Roundup experience.

Bo’s Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake

An iconic creamy dessert that balances the tanginess of the cheesecake with the natural sweetness of blueberries and lemon

This might have been our top dessert. It has undeniable tartness but delivers on flavor. This is anything but balanced. That said, it creates a stark enough difference after a meat platter that we think it’ll be a hit.

Billy’s Chocolate Silk Pie

Layers of graham cracker crust and silky chocolate mousse topped with chantilly cream

Another solid option, this will certainly be popular as the chocolate option. We enjoyed the dessert more on our second visit because there was more crumble than seen in our photo below. Without a solid helping of crumble, this gets dangerously close to just a pudding.

Goat’s Apple Pie

A picnic classic! Tart apples and warm pie spices balance perfectly with the creamy sweet filling under a crumble crust

The final two “cups” of dessert have a lot going on. This classically-flavored apple pie delivers chunks of apple, and a wonderful crumble to create a perfect apple pie bite.

Gruff’s Peach-Strawberry Pie

With its silky sweet peaches and tartness of strawberries, this dessert is a fruit-centric delight! (plant-based)

Like the apple pie above, the peach-strawberry pie below contains slices of peach and a subtle strawberry flavor to create a fruity dessert.

Cupcake à la Forky

Forky is up to something sweet! A classic chocolate cake with a gooey chocolate ganache center topped with velvety graham cracker buttercream and a sugar cookie

If pies aren’t your thing, there is a mini cupcake offered with a Toy Story 4 friend. The Forky sugar cookie isn’t great, but we did enjoy a truly gooey chocolate ganache filling.

Is Roundup Rodeo BBQ Worth It?

Ultimately, the question is: is Roundup Rodeo BBQ worth it? There are a few factors that will go into any decision as to if something is “worth it”, but we’ll try to speak to a few of them now.