Roundup Rodeo BBQ is rootin’-tootin’ eating experience

Hey Howdy Hey.

Climb aboard your stick horse and gallop inside the newest table service restaurant at Disney’s Hollywood Studio for an all-you-can-enjoy family-style BBQ meal surrounded by some of your favorite Toy Story friends.e

When you step inside Roundup Rodeo BBQ, you are one of Andy’s honorary toys, just as you are outside in Toy Story Land. The dining room is a scene of a toy rodeo in full swing where you come face-to-face with larger-than-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 dining room. (What are the sheep’s names? Billy, Goat and Gruff. This may come up when you visit the Roundup Rodeo.)

The restaurant looks like a mashup of the Toy Story Mania and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin queues. The ceiling of the first dining room has a special cartoon strip specifically created for the restaurant, a server said. The ceiling in the second dining room depicts planets and stars based on what is along the walls at Space Ranger Spin. And yes, there are Hidden Mickeys in the restaurant, about 10 of them, according to the Cast Members.

At the inside check-in area, there is a stable of stick horses you—or, more likely, your littles—can climb aboard and ride to your table. The horses are sized for kids but we saw plenty of game grown-ups playing along.

During your meal, listen for Sarge, who will warn you when Andy’s coming. And when Andy comes make sure your entire table freezes – remember you are toys, and you can’t move when he’s in the room. 

While the atmosphere and surroundings will bring smiles to your face, it’s the food that will make your tastebuds and belly happy.

This is an “all you can enjoy” “family-style” restaurant. That means you can always ask for more food— but it’s all you can enjoy in the restaurant, so no slinky doggie bags. And it means the food comes out ready to pass around the table. 

This seems to be a great place for a large group, but I tried it out as a party of two and there was more than enough food to go around—emphasis on more.

The meal kicks off with tender, scratch-made cheddar biscuits accompanied by sweet pepper jelly.  Be warned, I tasted more of the pepper than the sweet. The biscuit, though, was fantastic.

The next course involves a trio of salads, and you get to try all three. One is a fresh-torn mint watermelon salad, the second is a refreshing tomato, cucumber and pickled red onion salad dressed perfectly in white balsamic vinaigrette, and the third is a romaine and kale salad with apples, dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds with a green goddess dressing.

What was nice about all the salads was that they were all light and fresh, tempting your palate for the main course but not overwhelming you as some salads you have could be your meal.

Next is the main course. You have a choice between meats and plant-based trios. On this first trip, we tried the house-smoked items, which included beef brisket, pork sausage, smoked ribs, and BBQ chicken. All four were delightful; the chicken was nice and moist, the brisket was tasty, the sausage had a nice bite to it, and the rib brought up the rear.

I placed the rib at the bottom of the list mostly because of personal preference. I do enjoy a rib where the meat just falls off the bone. This is not the case here. Now, the meat was tender and easy to eat with a good rub on the meat, but it was not the type that just melts in your mouth.

Next time I want to try the plant-based menu of Combat Carloflower with Harissa Drizzle and Walnut Gremolata, Scrumptious Bratwurst and a Rip Roarin’ Rib Chop. You also may choose to add a piece of salmon to your meal. We didn’t try that, because it already seemed like we would have a lot of waste from the meal. (Our excellent server told us food waste is something the Roundup Rodeo team is keeping a close eye on.)

For those who want to jeuge up their meats, there are three different sauces on the table: sweet, regular and hot. 

While you have no choices to make on the salad and minimal on the main courses, there is a decision to make on the sides. Each table needs to choose 4 of the 8 available sides.

We tried the fried pickles, mac & cheese, baked beans, and corn on the cob. Next time, we’ll try the potato salad, loaded potato barrels, veggie slaw, and campfire-roasted vegetables.

Here’s the thing about the sides: there are a lot of them, and they can be quite filling, so try to hold back and enjoy the main courses. Of the four sides we ordered, the fried pickles were excellent, normally when you ordered them the pickles are too hot, these were just right; the baked beans had a little bight to them (plus some shredded chicken, we think?); the mac & cheese was delish with what looked like crushed goldfish crackers on top; the corn on the cob was billed as Mexican street corn, but there was way too much cheese and powder on top, taking away the taste of any corn.

And now, for dessert. Each person can choose one dessert, but you can ask for seconds if you want.  We did see tables order multiple rounds so they could try everything—but they had more than 2 people to do the heavy lifting. The desserts are small bites, a perfect ending for the meal. The choices are Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Silk Pie, Apple Pie, Peach-Strawberry Pie, and Gooey Chocolate Cake with Graham Cracker Buttercream frosting and a Forky Sugar Cookie on top.

We tried the apple pie and the gooey chocolate cake. Both were delicious, the apple pie was not too sweet, and the gooey chocolate was a lot like a lava cake, but not overwhelmingly sweet. Also, the Forky sugar cookie comes in three different versions with three different faces.

Soft drinks, iced tea and milk come with the meal. For an additional charge, the restaurant also serves cocktails, beer and wine, as well as some mocktails.

The cost of the meal seems reasonable —$45 per adult, plus tax and gratuity, and $25 per child (ages 3-9), plus tax and gratuity.

This sit-down restaurant is a great addition to Hollywood Studios, which could use another venue. It offers a place for good food, a good air-conditioned place to hide from the heat, and more BBQ.