Just shy of four years after it was announced, Roundup Rodeo BBQ has opened in Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! Infamous for its lack of seating and shade, the new restaurant fills several needs in the land. So naturally we headed down today on opening day to see how the barbecue fared!
Roundup Rodeo BBQ – Exterior
Roundup Rodeo BBQ is just beyond the giant Woody statue near the main entrance to Toy Story Land. Lanterns are tied onto the restaurant’s sign with giant green twist ties. Like the rest of the land, there are various Tinker Toy pieces around the sign.
Bullseye stands atop a green block decorated with a sheriff’s badge sticker.
Like the rest of Toy Story Land, Roundup Rodeo BBQ is made to look like it was constructed out of various toys. The main building resembles a cardboard box.
Andy drew a Western-style building on it with Jessie, Wheezy, and Bo Peep looking out of windows. Rounded banners above the main entrance were painted red, white, and blue.
Interior
The backstory of the restaurant is that Andy has built a rodeo restaurant out of toys and other spare items. Pixar animators designed figures and created artwork unique to Roundup Rodeo BBQ. Animators and Imagineers even designed full comic strips starring Woody, which Andy has used as part of the dining room ceiling.
There’s a “steam” train supported by colored pencils, a house of cards, and game boards. The cardboard box walls are covered in drawings of various roundup scenes.
Jessie, Trixie, and Bo Peep (with her sheep Billy, Goat, and Gruff) are the stars of the rodeo.
Little ones can ride to their table with a wooden stick horse.
Cast Members were also passing out “Toy Story” trivia sheets.
Family Style Menu – $45 for Adults, $25 for Children
Roundup Rodeo BBQ has the same menu for lunch and dinner.
The physical menu resembles a sheet of notebook paper taped onto a piece of cardboard and covered in doodles.
Bread Service
The Prospector’s Homemade Cheddar Biscuits
with Sweet Pepper Jelly
These biscuits taste like a Texas Barbecue version of the Cheddar Bay Biscuits from Red Lobster. They’re good but not quite as addictive.
They’re buttery and fresh. The cheddar flavor wasn’t too profound.
The jelly is sweet on the front end but doesn’t offer much else. That’s okay though because the biscuits are great on their own.
Get a Wiggle on your Greens!
Rootin’ Tootin Tomato Salad
Cucumbers, Pickled Red Onion, White Balsamic Vinaigrette (Plant-based)
This is nice and refreshing. The tomatoes were juicy. There was just the right amount of red onions to bring flavor without overpowering everything.
There’s a heavy amount of balsamic vinaigrette, which we enjoyed. This is our favorite of the three salads.
Rex’s Romaine and Kale Salad
Apples, Dried Cranberries, Pumpkin Seeds, Green Goddess Dressing
This salad is fresh and well-dressed, although the apples overpower the other ingredients. There also weren’t very many croutons — only two in our bowl.
Wheezy’s Watermelon Salad
Fresh-torn Mint (Plant-based)
This is fine enough, the watermelon is fresh and juicy. We got just a hint of the mint taste. All three salads are good and cater to different tastes.
It’s worth noting that your servers can bring you any of these after your first portion. You’re welcome to ask for other appetizers or more of the same.
Round Up Some Chow! (Choose One)
Platter of House-smoked Meats
Evil Dr. Smoked Ribs | Buttercup’s Beef Brisket | There’s a Sausage in my Boot – Fire-grilled Pork Sausage | BBQ Chicken – with Style!
The paper of this platter is the pattern of Woody’s shirt, while the vegan platter’s paper is his red bandana, which is a nice touch.
The sausage comes in a spiral held together with a thin stick. It’s a nice, high-quality sausage.
The casing isn’t too hard so it has a nice bite.
The ribs are fatty and tough. They’re bland on their own.
Spicy, classic, and sweet BBQ sauces are available at the table. We tried the spicy on the ribs, and it was thinner than we expected with a strong vinegar taste. Even with the sauce, the ribs were disappointing, especially following the excellent sausage.
The brisket is smokey but the quality of the meat wasn’t up to par. It was tender but tasted overdone with little flavor. We tried it with the classic BBQ sauce, which was really good and tangy.
The chicken looked good but it was overwhelmingly dry. We added the sweet sauce, which had a thicker consistency than the other two, but unfortunately, the chicken still wasn’t good. The sweet sauce reminded us of McDonald’s BBQ sauce — in a good way.
Trixie’s Plant-based Trio
Combat Carloflower with Harissa Drizzle and Walnut Gremolata | Scrumptious Bratwurst | Rip Roarin’ Rib Chop
The cauliflower is just fine. It’s soft and cooked okay but wasn’t warm.
The harissa drizzle doesn’t make it very spicy, which may be good news for some. It just adds some zesty flavor. The walnut gremolata adds texture, not taste.
If you like Impossible sausage, then you’ll like the bratwurst. We think it’s a great facsimile for real sausage, too.
It would benefit from BBQ sauce. We noticed the vegan rib chop came with a bit of sauce drizzled on it. We confirmed with a server that the sauces on the table are vegan, as well.
Speaking of the rib chop, it’s great. The sauce on it is spicy, with a good burn and a good flavor. It was different from the other spicy sauce.
The “meat” itself is good and comes on a sugar “bone.” Again, if you like Impossible, you’ll like this. We unexpectedly recommend Roundup Rodeo BBQ for a plant-based meal.
Cedar Plank Saloon Salmon
Available upon request
This is typical table-service salmon. The texture isn’t as flaky as we would like and the inside was a bit chalky.
The sweet glaze is nice.
It’s fine, but there are better salmon dishes at Walt Disney World.
Ultimately, we would rather have the salmon and the vegan platter than the regular platter, which was a disappointment other than the sausage.
Reach for the Sides (Choose Four for the Table)
Although you have to choose four sides as part of the all-you-care-to-enjoy menu, you can order the other four sides after getting the first round, so we were able to try them all.
Mean Old Potato Salad
Homestyle Red-skinned Potatoes
This is super creamy and smooth. The potatoes are the perfect soft texture — they’re not chalky.
It’s very good.
The Married Spuds
Loaded Potato Barrels
The description of this side just says “loaded,” not what the tots are loaded with. It’s good but we couldn’t identify the green sauce — maybe pesto. It brings a pleasant flavor. The yellow is a rich cheddar cheese sauce.
The toppings make the tots soft and mushy, which we enjoyed but some may not like. They did stick together a bit. Some on the bottom were crunchy and they were nicely seasoned.
“Marrying” the sauces together is good and makes this one of our favorite sides.
The Claw! Veggie Slaw (Plant-based)
This looks and tastes like your standard, run-of-the-mill coleslaw. There’s nothing wrong with it.
Force Field Fried Pickles
These are perfectly seasoned, salty, and fried. The pickle is no longer crunchy, it’s soft. But it hasn’t lost any of the pickle flavor, which comes through strong.
These are as good as, if not better than, fried pickles available elsewhere in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Campfire-roasted Vegetables (Plant-based)
The veggies are grilled well and not too covered in oil.
This is a solid option.
Slinky Doooooooooog’s Mac & Cheese
The mac & cheese is named after Slinky Dog because of the spring-shaped pasta. Crumbled Goldfish crackers are sprinkled on top.
Unfortunately, the pasta is cooked into a bit of a hardened mass on top. But once we got past that, we found it delicious. It’s doused in creamy cheese balanced by salty Goldfish.
Buckin’ Baked Beans (Plant-based)
What looks like pulled pork in the beans is actually jackfruit, although we wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. The sauce is tangy.
The beans are well cooked. This is a solid side.
Cowpoke Corn on the Cob
Grilled Street Corn
The corn is flavorful, juicy, and salty with delicious cotija cheese coated over it.
It’s cooked well and easy to bite. The seasoning adds a slight kick of pepper and we think cilantro.
It’s worth noting that your servers can bring you any of these after your first portion. You’re welcome to ask for other sides or more of the same.
Chuckwagon Desserts (Choose One)
Bo’s Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake
There are chunks of blueberry and graham cracker at the bottom.
It’s fine, we just wish there was a bit more flavor.
The tartness of the lemon overtakes everything else. We could feel the blueberry but didn’t taste it.
Billy’s Chocolate Silk Pie
This is like a nice, rich chocolate mousse. There’s a whipped topping and crumbs at the bottom.
The crumbs just add some texture.
This is a good option and our favorite of the jar desserts.
Goat’s Apple Pie
This tastes like apple pie filling from a can. There’s a lot of graham cracker and cinnamon flavor.
It’s not memorable. We wouldn’t get it again.
Gruff’s Peach-Strawberry Pie (Plant-based)
There are chunks of strawberry in a sweet gel nicely accented by the whipped topping.
There’s a creaminess.
This is our second favorite of the jar desserts, following the chocolate silk pie.
Cupcake à la Forky
For Lil’ Riders, Gooey Chocolate Cake, Graham Cracker, Buttercream, Sugar Cookie
As you can see, there are multiple different Forky faces for the cookie on top.
The cookie really has to come out to eat this treat.
Forky’s face is very hard. The cookie beneath is good though.
There’s a gummy string for Forky’s pipe cleaner arms. It tastes like Swedish Fish.
It’s a very good chocolate cupcake. The cream is nice, the cake is moist, the chocolate is rich.
It’s one of Disney’s better cupcakes.
We prefer this over all the jar desserts.
And if you want to try them all, your server will gladly bring out a different flavor or type once your first portion is done. The service here truly is all-you-can-eat, so come hungry!
Included Beverages
Assorted Fountain Beverages
Coca-Cola, Diet Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Sprite, Fanta Orange, Minute Maid Zero Sugar Lemonade, Powerade Mountain Blast, Barq’s Root Beer
Freshly Brewed Iced Tea
Unsweetened Iced Tea, Sweet Iced Tea, Peach Iced Tea
Kids’ Picks
Small Lowfat Milk, Small DASANI Bottled Water
Lil’ Rider Refreshments
These are aimed at kids but are also good for adults who want something fun, sweet, and non-alcoholic.
Molly’s Frozen Iced Tea – $6.50
Frosty blend of Iced Tea and Citrus flavors
The citrus makes this a very tart and sweet frozen tea.
Frozen Cowpoke Cocoa – $6.50
Frozen Cocoa and Minute Maid Vanilla Smoothie topped with Mini Marshmallows
According to our waiter, this uses Joffrey’s frozen cocoa. It’s great and reminds us of the frozen hot cocoa drink available at Disney’s Blizzard Beach.
It’s creamy, with a perfect cocoa flavor. It being cold instead of hot is perfect for Florida.
Partysaurus Tex – $6.50
Minute Maid Premium Lemonade and Strawberry Puree, garnished with Gummy Candy
This is also very tart. It’s more like your standard, sweet theme park (non-alcoholic) co*cktail.
The gummy candy garnishes fell to the bottom, so you may have to drink the whole drink or fish them out to eat them.
Partysaurus Tex isn’t just the name of this drink — it’s also a brief, periodic dance “party” that happens in the restaurant, with Woody making an announcement and lights flashing to a beat.
Grown-up Drinks with Alcohol
Grown-up’s Peanut Butter & Jelly – $16.50
Frozen Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey, Minute Maid Vanilla Smoothie Mix, Grape Jelly
This has the same smoothie mix as the Frozen Cowpoke Cocoa, which bodes well considering how much we liked that.
This didn’t disappoint. Skrewball is smooth with a profound peanut butter flavor, exactly what you want from a drink named after PB&J. The jelly sits at the bottom, giving the drink a hint of that grape taste on the backend as you sip from a straw.
This is just as good as the Frozen Cowpoke Cocoa. We would have a hard time choosing just one to drink.
Snake Eye Margarita – $14.50
Teremana Blanco Tequila, Watermelon Juice, Lime Juice, Agave, Smoked Chili Bitters
This is light and refreshing with a fresh watermelon taste. A manager told us they use compressed watermelon, making it more flavorful and less syrupy.
There’s just a perfect hint of sweetness.
It’s fantastic, even if you don’t love margaritas.
The Rodeo Mule – $15.50
Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Lime Juice, Cane Sugar, Fever-Tree Ginger Beer
This drink is also light and refreshing. The lime and ginger beer dominate.
It’s sweet and well-made.
Rum on the Range – $15.50
SelvaRey Chocolate Rum, RumChata Liqueur, Chocolate, Toasted Marshmallow
We needed to stir this one. It is, as you might expect from the ingredients, chocolatey.
The toasted marshmallow and rumchata flavors still came through fortunately. It was a slightly more subdued, alcoholic version of the Frozen Cowpoke Cocoa.
This makes for a great dessert drink.
Whinnyin’ Whiskey Lemonade – $15.50
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Aperol Liqueur, Strawberry Puree, Lemonade, Basil
This is another fantastic, easy drink. It’s also on the sweet side, with just a hint of strawberry. The whiskey taste is strong.
It’s pleasant and refreshing.
Rattler Rum Punch – $14.50
Bacardi Superior Rum, Orange-Pineapple Juice, Lime, and Passion Fruit, garnished with a Sweet-and-Spicy Rim
The sweet-and-spicy rim has a kick — they should add it to some of the food options.
This almost tastes like POG juice with rum.
It was our least favorite, but still good.
Overall
The theming of Roundup Rodeo BBQ is fun, especially for young kids and “Toy Story” fans. For Disney, the price isn’t too bad, and it is all-you-can-eat. Even though we didn’t like everything, there’s enough good stuff that you can order more of that you won’t leave hungry. The bread and most of the sides were good. Half of the desserts were solid. The co*cktails were fantastic and ultimately the best thing on the menu. The Cast Members made the experience great, of course, participating in the various “show” things that happened. Roundup Rodeo BBQ isn’t going to be your best meal at Walt Disney World, but it will be memorable.
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Katie Francis
