We came, we saw, we ate … and then we came back to eat some more!

We’re nothing if not thorough here at DFB, and you know we couldn’t just review the newest table-service restaurant to open up in Disney World once! That’s right, we’re BACK at Roundup Rodeo BBQ on its official opening day, checking out all the eats, treats, and everything there is to see at this rootin’, tootin’ spot. So come with us to dig into some barbecue at Roundup Rodeo BBQ!

Atmosphere

Get ready to be transported to Andy’s backyard for a barbecue! This is a fully immersive western-style themed restaurant designed to help people feel like they’re really part of the Toy Story gang. Everywhere you look you’ll find hidden details and nods to some of your favorite characters.

You’ll really feel like you’re in the rodeo when you dine here since everywhere you look there are nods to Woody’s Roundup!

Seriously, there are even details on the ceiling…

…and you might even be seated in the middle of a Monopoly board! We could spend hours in here just taking in all the details and nods to nostalgic games and toys from our childhoods.

There is audio that plays where Sarge, one of the green army men, announces a yard sale, just like in the Toy Story movie. The servers all panic! It turns out to be just a false alarm, though, and Sarge announces that it’s actually a lemonade stand, not a yard sale. Our server even brought us some lemonade he snuck from Andy!

In addition to having enough details to keep us occupied for hours, there are plenty of places to sit here, too. But, keep in mind that you’ll either need a reservation or to join the waitlist on the My Disney Experience app if there is room.

The idea here is that Andy has created a backyard rodeo himself, and that’s where you’re eating! You might even hear that Andy is coming…

ANDY’S COMING!!! 😱

📍 Roundup Rodeo BBQ pic.twitter.com/pVoBTcZYkf

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) March 23, 2023

Since this is a barbecue restaurant, you’ll find lots of smoked meats and more on the menu — let’s check it out!

Menu

If you’re hungry — this is the place to be in Hollywood Studios! Food is served up family-style, but it’s all you care to enjoy, so you can get seconds of salads, sides, meats, and desserts too!

The feast here is $45 per adult and $25 per child (ages 3-9) — the same pricing for lunch and dinner. When we ate here on opening day, we were told by our server that right now, Roundup Rodeo BBQ is not accepting discounts of any kind. This could change in the future, and we’ll keep you updated!

The meal begins with some cheddar biscuits, then you can enjoy three salads to share. After that, your table will share a platter of house-smoked meats, or you can opt for the plant-based trio. There are also some cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks too.

But, enough of what we could eat, let’s check out what we did eat!

Eats

We kicked things off with the Prospector’s Homemade Cheddar Biscuits with Sweet Pepper Jelly. The meal honestly could have stopped here and we would have been fine with it. We really enjoyed these last time, but they weren’t exactly hot. This time around we were seriously wowed.

The biscuits are soft with the perfect amount of cheese in them, and the pepper jelly they’re served with is peppery, sweet, and has a vinegary zing to it — it’s different and super delicious.

Next, we tried some of the salads, starting with Rex’s Romaine and Kale Salad. It’s made with Apples, Dried Cranberries, Pumpkin Seeds, and Green Goddess Dressing. This was our least favorite of the three salads, but it was still pretty good. We wish there had been a bit more dressing, but we enjoyed the apples as they added a fruity crunch. The kale was soft and tender, and the pumpkin seeds added a nice saltiness. It was balanced but very earthy.

The Rootin’ Tootin Tomato Salad includes Cucumbers, Pickled Red Onion, and White Balsamic Vinaigrette. This was our favorite of the salads! It was vinegary without making us pucker, and there was a hint of sweetness. The cucumber and tomato were fresh and cut into the perfect size bites. It’s a great, light start to a heavier meal.

We tried Wheezy’s Watermelon Salad with fresh-torn mint. This is essentially just fresh watermelon and mint, but again — super fresh! Definitely adds to those backyard cookout vibes we get from the rest of this meal. Nothing fancy, but a light start to a heavier meal once again.

After all those healthy veggies, it was time for some meat. Enter the House-Smoked Meats Platter. It’s served with Evil Dr. Smoked Ribs, Buttercup’s Beef Brisket, There’s a Sausage in my Boot — Fire-grilled Pork Sausage, and BBQ Chicken with Style!

Let’s start with the BBQ Chicken — we thought this was well-seasoned and there was a good mix of white and dark meat on the platter. The dark meat was a lot more tender and juicier, but that’s typically the case with chicken. The white meat was still tasty, though, and it was still juicy and not dry.

The Evil Dr. Smoked Ribs were our favorite meat on the platter, which is saying something because neither of our reporters who tried them are typically rib people. They were tender and fell off the bone, plus there’s a sweet and sticky barbecue sauce on them. Don’t expect a dry rub here! All the meats are smoked in-house and you can really tell.

The Beef Brisket was pretty good, but it didn’t knock our socks off. It was tender and fell apart easily but we didn’t find ourselves going back for it as often as some of the other items. We did really enjoy it when paired with the barbecue sauces, though — but more on those later!

Last up for the smoked meat platter is the Fire Grilled Pork Sausage, affectionately called the There’s a Snake in My Boot! It’s adorably coiled up like a snake (if you’re into that sort of thing) and is visually appealing. This is one tasty snake if you ask us (it’s pork, don’t worry) as it had a great char on the outside and made the perfect snap. It was black peppery and was salty, greasy, and everything we wanted it to be.

Plant-based eaters can get Trixie’s Plant-Based Trio made with Combat Carloflower with Harissa Drizzle and Walnut Gremolata, Scrumptious Bratwurst, and Rip Roarin’ Rib Chop. 

We’re kicking things off with the Rip Roarin’ Rib Chop, which tasted like a really delicious, savory meatloaf (without the meat). It was seasoned with barbecue seasonings and sauce, and had the flavor of real meat to us — which could be a problem for some plant-based eaters. Our plant-based reporter who tried this said it was exciting to be in a barbecue restaurant and be able to eat more than just sides.

The Scrumptious Bratwurst was the standard Disney World plant-based sausage or brat, but this was prepared a bit differently. It was somehow tender and juicier than what we’ve had at other locations and is seasoned to taste like it had been barbecued. Definitely the best plant-based brat on property!

Last up for the plant-based platter was the Combat Carloflower which is served with a walnut gremolata and harissa drizzle. The harissa wasn’t spicy, so if you’re spice-averse you may still enjoy this. The cauliflower itself wasn’t very well seasoned, unfortunately, and most of the flavor came from the topping. While this was our least favorite of the platter, it was still really delicious and something we think meat eaters and non-meat eaters would both like.

Barbecue requires some sauces, and there are three different ones here: Classic, Sweet, and Spicy.

The sweet was LOVELY and reminded us of Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce — it still had a kick, but it was mild.

The Spicy Sauce had a Louisiana hot sauce vibe. It wasn’t SUPER spicy, but that heat could build up as you eat it and add more.

The Classic Sauce was peppery and vinegary — there’s just a little kick from the vinegar, but not a lot of heat. This is the one you’ll want to try if you like a Carolina or vinegar-based sauce. All really solid options that should please a variety of tastes!

We hope you like the sides because we got a LOT this time around. The Slinky Doooooooog’s Mac & Cheese was a really good mac & cheese (and we’ve tried a lot). The noodles are tiny which made for excellent soaking of sauce, and when we say sauce we mean it. This was pretty liquidy, but we didn’t hate it at all. The best part is the crunchy cheese crackers that are crushed up and sprinkled on top. They add a really fun crunch. This would be great for kids!

The Married Spuds are loaded potato barrels smothered in a cheese sauce and Green Goddess dressing. This was our favorite side! We loved the addition of the dressing and thought it was an interesting take on a loaded tot. The tots themselves were perfectly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. We did find that they got a bit soggy the more they sat, but they were so dang tasty that we didn’t even care.

We had the plant-based Veggie Slaw which was a great accompaniment to the meat, as it was tangy, crunchy, and fresh — a nice palate cleanser, almost. But compared to the other sides it was kind of lame. This had a pretty mayo-heavy flavor and was more on the traditional side, so slaw fans might like it.

You can also get some Campfire-roasted Vegetables! These were awesome. We weren’t expecting to like these as much as we did, but they had a really great flavor. They’re made with the same Carolina rub used on the ribs which makes for a smoky and tasty bite. Our veggies still had a nice crunch and weren’t mushy either.

The Buckin’ Baked Beans are plant-based, and instead of bacon or ham, you’ll find jackfruit instead! Not your average backyard barbecue side dish, but we enjoyed the beans with the jackfruit. They were sweet, tangy, and tasted like there was some sort of barbecue sauce in them.

Force Field Fried Pickles, anyone? These are some of the best fried pickles we’ve ever had, and our reporter who said that is quite the pickle aficionado. They’re spears instead of chips and are fried in a dill batter which just adds to the pickle experience. The batter itself is crunchy and the pickles retained their crunch as well.

It’s corn! The Cowpoke Corn on the Cob is your typical street corn with cotija cheese and spices. It was well-spiced but not too spicy, and we loved the grilled flavor. Fair warning, though, this was a super buttery situation and you might need to wash your hands right after you eat this corn.

After we had our fill of savory items, we moved on to the desserts! Bo’s Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake is a perfect balance of sweet and tangy. The cheesecake is creamy and reminds us of New York Cheesecake. The blueberries are sweet and the lemon is nice and tart. You’ll find some sweet and buttery crumbles at the bottom too!

Griff’s Peach Strawberry Pie is plant-based, but you wouldn’t even know it! The peach and the strawberry combination was excellent, and not something we’re used to seeing often but makes sense with the vibes of the restaurant. Our only complaint is that we wish there had been more of the graham cracker crumble at the bottom of the jar!

The Goat’s Apple Pie is a super solid dessert. The apples were cooked but still had some snap to them. The dessert also had lots of cinnamon, too. It reminded us of the baked apples at Cracker Barrel and tasted homemade!

Billy’s Chocolate Silk Pie is definitely a winner for chocolate lovers. It reminded us of French silk pie — it was super smooth and surprisingly light. We really love the portion sizes of these desserts, they’re small, but you can ask for more and this way you get a little of everything!

The Cupcake a la Forky might be geared toward kids, but we loved it too. This is a classic chocolate cake with a gooey chocolate ganache center topped with velvety graham cracker buttercream and a sugar cookie. It was very sweet, but also a little basic. It sort of reminded us of the kind of cupcake you can pick up in any grocery store.

We had to get a few different drinks to wash this all down…

Drinks

We love a good sweet tea, and this Peach Iced Tea hit the spot. It was so flavorful but very lightly sweet. We were afraid it would be overly sweet and syrupy, but that wasn’t the case at all — it was light and refreshing. The peach flavor didn’t taste artificial either and we found ourselves wanting more.

The Partysaurus Tex is made with Minute Maid® Premium Lemonade and Strawberry Puree, garnished with Gummy Candy for $6.50. Kids will probably love this, but it’s just your basic strawberry lemonade and not a homemade one at that. Super fun but might not be worth the upcharge.

The Frozen Cowpoke Cocoa is a Frozen Cocoa and Minute Maid® Vanilla Smoothie topped with Mini Marshmallows for $6.50. This was like a super sweet chocolate milkshake. It wasn’t anything remarkable, but kids would like it and the marshmallows on top are a nice touch.

We also tried one of the “Grown-Up” drinks — the Grown-Up’s Peanut Butter & Jelly. It’s made with Frozen Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey, Minute Maid® Vanilla Smoothie Mix, and Grape Jelly for $16.50. 

We wanted to love this more than we did! Though we were hoping for something along the lines of the boozy PB&J milkshake from 50s Prime Time Cafe, so that might just be because we had some pretty high hopes. The peanut butter whiskey is delicious though, but we thought the grape jelly chilling on the bottom was strange. We would have rather had it mixed in or something!

But, is Roundup Rodeo BBQ worth a visit in Disney World?

Nosh or Not?

You should get your grub on at Roundup Rodeo BBQ if…

• You love Toy Story and are looking for an immersive, fun experience that will transport you smack dab into the story.
• You’ve got a big appetite and are really looking to chow down for a meal.
• You want a wide variety of items to try for one price and are looking for a break in the middle of your park day (though we can’t promise you won’t need a nap later!).

You should run like the wind from Roundup Rodeo BBQ if…

• You’re looking for a smaller meal or snack — you’ll pay one price for this meal and purchasing items individually isn’t an option.
• You don’t want to take an hour or two out of your day to sit down for a full meal.
• You don’t love barbecue or backyard picnic-style foods.

Overall

Like we said after our first trip here, Disney totally nailed the theme of a backyard barbecue here, both with the atmosphere and the food. We love the family-style service and the fact that you can order multiple sides and desserts. It’s an incredibly fun atmosphere, and a really great value if you’re looking to get a hearty meal during your park day.

We’ve enjoyed both meals we had here

Come See All the Hidden Details and More at Roundup Rodeo BBQ in Disney World

What are you looking forward to eating here? Let us know in the comments.