Is Tusker House the BEST Disney Character Meal?
Picture the perfect Walt Disney World vacation: sunny days filled with laughter, low wait time for all of your favorite attractions, and every delicious lunch or dinner is shared with the iconic Disney characters. When reality begins to set in, guests visiting in the heat of the summer may wonder if any of the things in their idyllic dreams could actually come true. Thanks to Tusker House Restaurant, a meal shared with the Disney characters can most definitely come true. Ready to consider a visit? Let me share three reasons why you should book that meal today.
Broaden your world
A trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom sets the mood for your visit to Tusker House right from the start. Its lush greenery and well-worn paths will lead you back to the Africa section of the park and straight to the restaurant’s check-in desk under the roof for Tamu Tamu. The exterior of the location is covered in “cracking” plaster and winding telephone and electrical cables. You’ve already begun your journey into the environment and flavors of Africa, and you might not even fully realize it.
Upon stepping through the doors of the restaurant, guests are transported into an African safari outpost, with time-worn notices and posters covering the walls, fabric cascading across the ceiling, and the warm scent of African flavor profiles wafting in the air. It’s fun from word “go,” and you’re in for a treat.
Flavortown
While Guy Fieri won’t find an over-the-top cheeseburger at Tusker House, guests will find just about everything else that their heart desires on the buffet. It’s a delicious array of offerings that range from Curry Corn Cakes and Za’Tar Naan to Red Red (African Stewed Beans) and Carrot Ginger Soup. In my mind, it’s the perfect way to try out African flavors that might be different than what you’re used to. These flavors are warm and somewhat autumnal ones, and you might just find a new favorite dish among the vast array of choices around the buffet.
Just in case you’re concerned as to whether or not there’ll be something on the buffet that your little picky eater will enjoy, let me put your mind at ease: there is a children’s buffet section, and it has one of the most delicious mac & cheese varieties you’ll find on Disney property. Chicken tenders, green beans, and French fries are also available for young and young at heart alike.
Please be sure to leave room for a trip (or three) to the dessert bar. You’ll find a little bit of everything, with several choices highlighting those wonderful, warm African flavors. While I enjoyed just about everything that I sampled from the dessert selection, the standout choices for me were the Safari Blondies (with sneaky dried cranberries inside) and the Hummingbird Cake. Please don’t miss them.
Dining with Character
This one’s a biggie, right? Part of the dream of the perfect Disney vacation has us enjoying something delicious with our favorite characters, and I have to say that Tusker House doesn’t disappoint in this category. This is Donald’s Safari Dinner, so it’s important to give Donald just a bit of deference when he comes by your table (he loves it, you know). The characters are the absolute cutest in their safari costumes, and, in addition to Donald, you’ll meet Daisy, Mickey and Goofy.
I have to give a HUGE shoutout to the character attendant cast members at Tusker House. During my dinner, Daisy visited the table while I was at the buffet. One of the character attendants came around later in the meal and asked if there was a character that we missed, and I mentioned that I missed Daisy, but that it was okay because it was my fault for being at the buffet at the time. The incredible cast member made sure that Daisy came back around to my table, allowing me to complete my character meet and greets for the dinner. Daisy was, of course, so very sassy. Just the way we like her, right?
Periodically throughout your meal, the characters will stop and have a dance party in your area of the dining room. Guests are asked to dance and clap at their tabes, and it’s a fun time for all. Who doesn’t love swinging a cloth napkin over their head during a Disney character meal?!
All in all, I have to say that the meal at Tusker House was the stuff of Disney dreams. That being said, I did learn one thing that I want to be sure to pass on to you. My reservation time was about 20 minutes before the close of the theme park, but was among many available reservation times, with some being up to an hour after mine. With a reservation so close to the end of the operating day, things started being cleaned up and consolidated during our meal. When I realized that this was happening, I was a bit panicked and felt a little rushed because I didn’t want to miss anything. Keep this in mind as you make your dining reservations for your visit; I’d hate for the experience to be less than magical because the clock is ticking.
Which Disney character dining experience is your favorite?
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