Reviews of Tusker House Lunch and Dinner Buffet
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Reviewed by HeartBreakKris Review Date: 09/19/2021
Rating: (10) Recommended
Some of the best character dining in Walt Disney World! I love the character’s Safari outfits! The buffet is one of my favorites at Walt Disney World because there are lots of unique flavors but still have enough of the “classics” that everyone can find something to eat! I went there with a vegan & she was able to find a lot of choices the suited her diet as well! I would definitely go back there on future trips to Animal Kingdom
Pros:
Lots of variety and something to eat for every palate!Cons:
A little expensiveReviewed by BiggestStitchsGreatEscapeFan Review Date: 03/03/2021
Rating: (10) Recommended
Me and my best friend experienced this place for the first time on his first trip to WDW. I made reservations after hearing how great the food, service, and character interaction is, and I gotta tell ya, I agree on all 3! The actually engage in conversation with you and you'll walk out pretty full if not too careful, LOL! You may not be able to try everything, but you'll get your money's worth for sure!
Pros:
It's a Fab 5 meal that offers something for everyone!Cons:
Minnie Mouse and Pluto are some of the characters that aren't here. May be a bit adventurous for some but it's worth checking out!Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 02/21/2021
Rating: (10) Recommended
This is one of my favorite places to eat. I love seeing the characters in their safari outfits. It is also a good place for me, a picky eater, to try some yummy food without having to commit to a whole meal. All of the food I have tried here was good.
Pros:
good food. good chance for picky eaters to try new foodsCons:
big place, characters could take a while to get to your table.Reviewed by AllyMom914 Review Date: 11/18/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
One of the best Character Dining experiences and some of the best food. The kids get up and dance with the Characters and all still come around to all the tables. We came at a late lunch not quite dinner time. We got each Character at least twice. Some of the best buffet style food you're gonna get. And a great variety of options.
Pros:
Great Character interactionsCons:
If you aren't adventurous with your food this may not be for you. Still was great food but not your chicken tenders and fries kinda place.Reviewed by Lyndsay Review Date: 11/02/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
This is my favorite place in Animal Kingdom. I love the variety of interesting foods and comfort foods.
Pros:
something for everyoneCons:
noneReviewed by ElizabethMarie Review Date: 04/25/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
The food is great and something a little different from what I normally think of as typical theme park food. I'm not even a very adventurous eater and I avoid pretty much anything spicy, but I had an easy time finding lots of things I liked here. The flavors were great and there were plenty of options. I also love the Safari characters, we typically go to Disney at non peak times, but we've had good luck with seeing all the characters in a pretty short amount of time here.
Pros:
Safari characters, great roasted meats, great atmosphere, standard options for kidsCons:
Not a great place for adults that don't like African flavorsReviewed by Shularc Review Date: 04/24/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
Best Character meal. Amazing food, and great Interactions. Go between lunch and dinner for the opportunity to see the characters multiple times.
Pros:
Great Food, and Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Daisy.Cons:
noneReviewed by ChaseDisneyWorldAdultsGuide Review Date: 02/19/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
Best character meal food on property as far as my family is concerned! Huge selection, great character outfits, outstanding theme-ing
Pros:
immersive and great foodCons:
very large so characters do not get to spend as much time with each table when it is really crowdedReviewed by AdventurelandFan Review Date: 02/16/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
I've been to a lot of buffets at Disney Parks. There are a lot of great ones out there. This is the best — not just at WDW but in North America.
Somehow, they — in my experience — are able to totally defeat the usual twin dooms of buffets by keeping all the food fresh, and by offering a massive variety of truly interesting dishes.
The variety here not only evokes Africa — as it should, since the restaurant is, yanno, in Africa — but it gives almost everyone something great they can eat. Almost all dietary preferences are accommodated from the regular buffet, and in a way that doesn't create social awkwardness. In other words, the buffet brings everyone together, rather than highlighting people's dietary differences.
It's also not slavishly upholding the line between "breakfast" and "lunch". If you get here earlier enough in the afternoon, there's an unofficial brunch. For about an hour around 1pm, I've found that they'll have both breakfast and lunch items on offer, until breakfast items are quietly ushered off stage. So if you've had a busy morning, but reserved for an early lunch here, your breakfast buffet dreams may still be alive.
The ambience here is ... not what you'd find in the Magic Kingdom. It's next-level imagineering, fully justifying the inconvenience of the longer journey to the Animal Kingdom you've probably had to endure. Tusker is a kind of extension of Harambe, generally — and it works so well that you'd be forgiven for missing the entrance to the joint. Once inside, prepare to be gobsmacked by the detailed beauty of the large, open buffet area. I couldn't stop myself from taking a lot of pictures of the restaurant interior before even thinking about eating. Seriously, take a long look at all the posters on the walls, the details above the buffet area, the imperfections knitted into the building's structure. It's so good that, especially when there are street players in the larger Harambe area, you might not think you're at a Disney Park at all.
Except, of course, that this restaurant, even after breakfast, has character dining. So, yes, the walking Mickey is gonna break the illusion. But if there's a compensation for the jarring visual, at least the original Disney characters are in the dress that I personally prefer. There are a lot of places to find the big five, but their "safari look" works for these original Disney characters. I'm not entirely sure that Daisy and Goofy can be found anywhere else in this specific garb, and this is surely an easier place to find Mickey and Minnie in that look than their "official" meet and greet spot elsewhere in Animal Kingdom. It's a little mystifying why Disney have chosen to do this, though. Surely the gang from DuckTales would make more sense for the "adventures in Africa" theme.
Moving away from that one headscratcher, Tusker is mightily convenient to other African goals. I personally wouldn't recommend eating here if your next stop is in another land. It's right down the street from Kilimanjaro Safaris and the train to Rafiki's and the disembarkation place for hard-ticketed "special" backstage tours — and, of course, The Lion King. That is, it's almost exactly central to Africa, so you'll find it incredibly convenient to wherever your African journeys take you. We went on the Caring for Giants backstage elephant tour, and there literally couldn't have been a better-placed restaurant for us.
Finally, it shouldn't be missed that there's a package deal with Rivers of Light which gets you special seating. Is It necessary? Maybe not. Is it nice to have a completely unobstructed first-row seat? Absolutely — especially if this is your favorite nighttime show at WDW, and you want to take a lot of pictures.
Pros:
Best buffet in WDW or Disneyland, astounding variety of food, central location to whatever you're doing in Africa, Great Rivers of Light package, impeccable theming, character dining (and breakfast!) go on for longer than advertised.Cons:
Though I love the safari look for the original Disney characters, they don't make sense. I hope one day DuckTakes characters take over here, since they're much, more logically going to have travelled to Africa than Mickey. If this place must have animated characters, it demands Scrooge, Webby and Launchpad — not Goofy.Reviewed by MuppetFanForever Review Date: 02/11/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
Easily my favorite buffet in all the parks! The selection of food was phenomional. I don't consider myself a picky eater, but the appearance of some of the dishes were... questionable, but I promised myself to try everything. I LOVED it all!! This is definitely a don't miss for me, and when I take my family here for their first Disney experience Cindy's Royal table when we all go in May.
I wish you would post an updated review. I watched the one for breakfast and it was made before Pandora was opened. Time for a Dinner review of Tusker House!
