REVIEW: Is Disney World’s BEST Mac and Cheese Hiding on a Buffet?!

Planning a trip to Disney World and not sure where you should eat while you’re there? Luckily, you’ve come to the right place!

Here at AllEars, we know all the ins and outs of Disney World restaurants — including where you should definitely eat, and where you should skip. We recently stopped by Tusker House Restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and are bringing you our FULL review!

Background

The restaurant is decorated to resemble an African marketplace. Be sure to look up for the nods to Imagineer Joe Rohde that you’ll find throughout the restaurant. Joe was instrumental in developing Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park and overseeing the vision for the park’s many lands and animals.

The Marketplace at Tusker House (the center area where all the food stations are located) is where the locals serve food and sell African items in an effort to help the people of Harambe Village. There are four named dining rooms: the School/Training Room, Marketplace, Blue Room, and the Artifacts Room.

Here’s what you need to know about dining at this restaurant.

Atmosphere

You might have heard this meal referred to by its alternate name, Donald’s Dining Safari. During your meal, you’ll have the opportunity to meet several characters, including Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy, with an occasional parade around the restaurant dressed in their safari outfits.

The menu here serves up an African-flavored buffet with choices for all meals, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Don’t worry — they try to keep them all the same at each meal so you don’t miss out!

But enough about that, what are we eating?!

Food & Drinks

Since this is a buffet-style meal, you’ll pay one price for the main offerings. Adults are priced at $64, and kids ages 3 to 9 are $42 plus taxes and gratuities. A selection of cocktails, beers, hard ciders, seltzers, wines, and non-alcoholic specialty beverages is also available at an additional cost.

We piled our plates with bread, potatoes, corn, and some sauces to try, and the whole plate was delicious. The bread was sweet and reminded us of po’ cakes, but a bit sweeter. We liked the corn flavor that came through, and when we paired it with the chimichurri sauce, it made it even sweeter.  The potatoes were diced and cooked well, and we also enjoyed the corn from the kids’ section. We tried the meatball, which we thought was a bit drier but had a nice chew to it. It’s on the plain side, but it also came with an optional sauce to add on.

The staff highly recommended the mac and cheese, and they weren’t wrong! It was cheesy and had a beautiful cheese pull to it, and we definitely went back to grab more. The tandoori chicken was perfectly cooked with a moist inside that peeled apart beautifully. The sauce had the perfect amount of spice, but not heat, and it was one of our favorites on the plate.

One of the chefs informed us that the desserts had been switched around, so we got to try a few new ones!

The hummingbird cake was similar to what we’ve had at EPCOT for some of the festivals. It was light and fluffy, with a subtle, almost carrot-like flavor. The cream cheese icing on top was more like a spread that was perfectly thick.

The pot de crème was fruity with a sweet glaze on top, reminiscent of caramel. A crunch was added on top, evoking the texture of chocolate pudding. Although it wasn’t our absolute favorite due to the gritty texture, we did enjoy the flavor.

The pineapple cupcake tasted like a DOLE Whip in a cupcake! The icing was pineapple flavored, and there were crispy pearls on top. The passion fruit cheese was probably one of our favorites. It was topped with different fruits, which were delicious!

Magic or Tragic?

This Disney World restaurant is a must-visit if…

• • You are looking for a great character dining option in Animal Kingdom to meet classic characters
  • You like buffets that offer familiar dishes with a twist
  • You prefer a meal where the whole family can get the dishes they like

You should skip this Disney World spot if…

• • Character dining plus a buffet can be overwhelming (hey, we get it!)
  • You want very classic dishes that you know your family will enjoy
  • You prefer a more affordable and faster meal on your Animal Kingdom day

Overall, we always enjoy heading to Tusker House! The food is always filling and spiced (but not necessarily spicy), and we think there’s a good variety of options. We also love meeting Mickey and the gang in their adorable safari outfits, too.

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Disney World and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to AllEars for the latest Disney news and more!

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Have you eaten at this Disney World restaurant before? Tell us in the comments.

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