


I really love shrimp---even fictional shrimp! Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. is a chain of restaurants themed to the 1994 Tom Hanks movie, Forrest Gump. The first Bubba Gump's restaurant debuted in 1996.
My first visit to Bubba Gump's was in October 2008 at the location in Anaheim, California's GardenWalk shopping district. Some of the people working there got a kick out of the fact that I had an Alabama Driver's License.
In November 2009, I got to visit Bubba Gump's at Universal CityWalk in Orlando, Florida. The staff seemed to enjoy giving little Forrest Gump trivia tests. I did pretty well!
I visited the Anaheim location twice in the same week. It was nice to escape the dinner and fireworks crowd at Disneyland and walk to GardenWalk for a relaxed meal. I got a Shrimp Po' Boy sandwich one night, and a Dixie Fishwich the other night. In Orlando, I tried the Baja Shrimp Tacos. Everything I tried was great!
When Forrest Gump was released, people often called me "Lieutenant Dan" (I still hear this today). I also still get called "Daniel-san" (from The Karate Kid).
Pictured here are fiberboard magnets from the Orlando restaurant's Gift Shop. I also have a plush shrimp keychain and a shrimp baseball from the Anaheim store.
Bubba Gump's shrimp character is probably the cutest shrimp I've ever seen. There are two designs---one is seen in the logo and the keychain, and a more cartoony version is on the map magnet and baseball.